Adventures in Yucatan, Mexico

     Today, the final student takes off for the final step of the total immersion program: the independent project. Here at PICY, we put a lot of emphasis on this final stage. The independent project it is when the student is able to take all that they have learned during the time that they have been with us, and focus that knowledge and those strategies toward a specific topic that interests them. We have students setting off to fishing villages, to cities, to tiny pueblos, and headed to the farthest reaches of the state of Yucatan to study topics from the Mayan language, to midwifery, to wood carving. Each year we see a unique set of independent projects from a unique group of students. For an idea of what students have done in the past, here is an  interactive map  of student projects during the final stage of our total immersion program.      Before heading out on their independent journeys, each student completed and presented an ethnograph...

     Today we had our final meal together as part of the Salem College program. Yesterday morning, the students presented their final projects: 15 minutes presenting a topic that they are interested in, completely in Spanish! We heard about the regional geology, traditional dances of Mexico, the concept of family, city parks, desserts, religion, the changing role of the Yucatecan mother, and the Mayan language. The students put a lot of effort into their projects, and it showed! Chloe describing the formation of cenotes , the sinkholes that are the only sources of fresh water in the Yucatecan peninsula, there are no lakes or rivers. Lola talking about the modern generation of mothers in Yucatan Olivia teaching us about the Mayan language of yesterday and today Isabel comparing family structures in the U.S. with what she has seen during her time here.  The whole group: coordinators, professors and students!

     Our students from COA right now are nearing the end of their stay in a rural community. They have been there together since Monday and will return tomorrow evening. They've had quite a few adventures, here's a taste of what they've been up to! enjoying the village green Lilyana Kendall Waiting to meet families Emanuel Haleigh Rosa Emma Galo Emily Jay fitting right in! Guillermo Nina Heading out early for a bird-watching expedition Preparing vines for basket-weaving  Everyone hard at work! The students with their mentors and final products!

     This morning we headed off to the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya to learn about the rich culture of the Yucatan. Two of our professors came along to guide us through the incredible amount of information!      We started out learning about the meteorite that landed along the coast of the Yucatan peninsula, causing a dramatic climactic change that killed the dinosaurs but allowed mammals to evolve. We learned about Mayan architecture, traditions, ceramics, burial practices, the ceremonial game juego de pelota,  world view, the class war, the age of "green gold" when henequen plantations were ubiquitous and much more.

     Yesterday we had a full, but incredibly rewarding day! We got up early to head to a pueblo on the outskirts of the city to prepare a meal from beginning to end. A local family welcomed us into their home and showed us how to cook a traditional dish: pollo pibil . "Pib", is a method of cooking underground in a pit filled with hot stones that acts as an oven.      The first step was to meet the chickens... two of the birds we bought from a neighbor the "market" group sharing what they bought: tomatoes, chiles, onions, and achiote the final words of the rooster as witnessed by a curious kitty Raul explaining the process of softening dried corn kernels to be able to grind them into masa  for tortillas plucking the birds after a hot bath finding banana leaves for later on in the process preparing the meat taking the seeds out of the achiote, a spiny green fruit that has seeds with a special flavor and......