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 what we can see and experience today. The Spanish language the culture classes perfectly complement each other, as the knowledge and confidence acquired in the Spanish classroom allows the students to better write, speak and interact in different contexts in their culture class.
As part of the students preparation, and so that they are able to gain as much knowledge as possible before they leave the city to spend three weeks in the rural community of Yaxunah, we invited some local experts to be guest lecturers to help connect topics that were seen in class with contemporary Mayan life. One of these lectures was given by the specialist Felipe Chan Chi, where the students were able to learn how the ancient Mayans observed the heavens, how they documented the passing of the moon, the sun and the planets using carefully designed architecture as their tools, as well as how they documented the stars and constellations in designs that reflected details of the Mayan worldview. This fascinating presentation helped the students connect the culture of observing nature with the daily and sacred activities of Mayans today such as traditional agriculture, ceremonies with prehispanic origins and traditional medicine, to mention a few.
Another interesting guest lecture was given by the archeologist Maria Novelo, where she explained the difference between Yucatecan food and Maya-Yucatecan food, as well as what was eaten and how it was prepared and cooked in prehispanic times according to archaeological evidence. This lecture was very interesting for students and helped them understand more about how the gastronomy in Yucatan has evolved.
One of the favorite guest lectures every year is about prehispanic mesoamerican instruments and the sounds that they offer us today. In this presentation our students were able to learn about the different kinds of musical instruments that existed in prehispanic times, the reasons and function behind the music, where certain forms and kinds of ancient instruments were discovered, as well as what instruments are still around today and continue to be important in modern culture. At the end of the talk, the students were able to experiment with the instruments and, all together, create a musical piece.
We also visited the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, a museum that contains an exhaustive collection of artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the Yucatan peninsula from the time of the dinosaurs up to modern day. The students were able to connect many of the ideas they had seen in classes with the archeological and historic elements seen in the museum.
Within the linguistic landscape of Merida, it is common to hear many words or colloquialisms that are in the Mayan language. We believe it is important for the students to have some familiarity with the language, so we invited social anthropologist and educator Ismael May May to give an introductory Mayan language class. This was fundamental for the students to learn certain phrases and expressions in Yucatec Mayan that will help them in their next phase of the program when they spend time in the rural community of Yaxunah.
