Visiting a City "Three Times Rebuilt" and a Cave Called "Flower Stone"

Yesterday was quite the adventure! We started off in Uxmal...

Uxmal comes from "Ox mal" meaning three times constructed

Pyramid of the sorcerer or Pyramid of the dwarf is a perfect example of the ornate style of Uxmal

Mouth of the Beast of the underworld

Facing the Quadrangle of the Birds

The rain god "Chaak" is found in many different forms

Excited about the arco falso an architectural invention of the Mayans

Documenting the Quadrangle of the Nuns

Smile!

Our beloved teachers

Learning about the juego de pelota, or Mayan ball game

Heading to see the House of the Turtles

Rafael sharing his knowledge

The Mayan calendar was based on 52 year cycles, and each cycle a new ruler would come to power and build over the existing pyramids, here you can see a representation of Chaak that was covered in the most recent remodelation

Taking a break at the Governors Palace

Made it to the top!

Coming back down carefully

Continuing our exploration

After getting our fill of Mayan ruins for the day, we headed to lunch in Santa Elena

We took a tour of Dona Kiki's patio to see her fruit trees, animals and methane collector which she uses as a source of renewable energy

A blurry, but happy, photo of our lunch, puchero with handmade tortillas and salpicon

Next we took a look at the museum of the pueblo. When they were renovating the church, archaeologists found that it had been used as a Mayan burial site and they recovered hundreds of skeletons. Now you can see the traditional burial arrangement right under your feet!

Some of the corpses were preserved so well in this dry area that they became mummified

We took a look at the church while we were there

And gained a few new passengers for the ride back!

Next stop: the caves of Loltun!

Beginning the descent

Our guide Don Frederico giving us some tips before we enter the cave

Loltun means "flower stone" in Mayan

this cave is well lit so you can see all the details

Here we found some "instruments," both stalactites are hollow and make a certain tone when you hit them, one says "loool" and the other "tuuun"

The Beginning of Immersion: Diving In!

During the first part of the student’s time in Merida, meeting and integrating into their host families is probably the most important step in beginning an immersion program. The host families in Mérida are fundamental for the students to adapt to their new urban context. Another important aspect of the students' time in Mérida are their Spanish classes, since the language will allow them to interact and immerse themselves more profoundly in the culture. During these language classes, the students not only learn grammar and structure, but they are also able to develop their own linguistic abilities by sharing, discussing and practicing everyday vocabulary and expressions that they hear outside of the classroom. The culture classes are another key part of the program, they help the students understand diverse aspects of the culture, how a Yucatecan family lives, the differences between interacting in an urban or a rural setting, and provide the hidden historical context for what w

Merida: Our Days in the City

The first part of the student’s time in Merida, meeting and integrating into their host families, is probably the most important step in beginning an immersion program. In our case, here in Merida, host families are fundamental for the students to adapt to their new urban context. Another important aspect of their time in Merida are their Spanish classes, since the language will allow them to interact and immerse themselves more completely in the culture. During these language classes, the students not only learn grammar and structure, but they are also able to develop their own linguistic abilities by sharing, discussing and practicing the everyday vocabulary and expressions that they hear outside of the classroom. Mayan culture classes are another key part of the program, they help the students understand diverse aspects of the culture, how a Yucatecan family lives, the differences between interacting in an urban or a rural setting, and provide the hidden historical context for wha

Small Town Days: Our time in Yaxunah

Before we began our time in the rural community of Yaxunah, we passed through the small city of Acanceh, where we were able to tour through the market and visit the prehispanic structures that make up the ancient Mayan settlement that today is fused with the architecture and modernity of the town. These ancient structures tell their story through the exposed stones and glimpses of preserved stucco. The pyramid of the masks holds eight stuccoed masks, two on each side of the structure, each one with characteristics associated with the sun god Kinich Ahau. A few blocks away, past the large catholic church and down a side street, surrounded by family homes, the Palace of Stuccos has a frisee that adorns the north face of the building with zoomorphic beings. Just like in the city, the best part of the program is when the students get to meet their new host families. The family is the main pillar of support for the student’s immersion into any context, but it is especially important in smal

Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

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