Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

It's our second to last day of the program! Yesterday we had a marathon day of final presentations where each student spoke for a half-hour about their experiences in rural communities. We saw the embroidered napkins and blouses, photos, artwork, hammocks and sombreros that the students produced in only three weeks and heard some amazing stories of their time. Today we have feedback sessions and are filming testimonials and tomorrow we say adios!  to all!  Interested in seeing some images from the final presentations? Check out our instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/picy.yucatan/  

Our students come back from their independent projects in the next few days. Here are some images from our visits with them in their communities. There will be many more images and stories to share once they arrive! Ella with the women of her family Haley with her family  Julia with her mother and puppies! Susana with her family showing off one of 2 hammocks she has made so far!

During our week away, we spent an entire day cooking with a local family. We made tamales, starting with preparing the banana leaves, buying the chickens, grinding the corn into dough and harvesting the fruit that we used to make juice. It was a full day, but our hard work paid off when we finally got to taste the finished product: fresh, steaming hot tamales! 

We began our week-long adventure at 6am on a Saturday morning. We loaded up the van and headed east toward expert artisans, Mayan ruins, ecological reserves and small communities. Working with a third-generation potter whose specialty is making clay whistles. The family uses clay that they make themselves from a mixture of mud, rock, red and white soils found in local caves.  Showing off our silvatos  (whistles) in front of the oven Entering the Mayan ruin of Ek Balam and stopping for an introduction under the great ceiba  We made it to the coast! Floating around in the salt flats The natural Mayan spa In the evening, we put on art workshops for the children in the community After our workshops were finished, we went to learn from the master hammock weavers After a few days of traveling around, we arrived to the community that we would call home for four days and met our host families. Here is Cata with hers!...