Hola a todos! Welcome back to the Merida 2015 Blog! We are now in our last week of the program if you can believe it! This will be the last blog for us as well! Here is what went on this week for us all here in Mérida...
Monday some of us went to the local cinema to watch "Minions"
Afterwards we headed to dine at Chili’s for a little
change in cuisine, a it closer to home :)
Wednesday before
heading to play sports the students came early to the school to help out with
prop design for the musical that we will have this Wednesday at the farewell
show.
Friday afternoon we had an intense 4 hour rehearsal for the musical. Dance, choir and theater all joined forces to begin to work everything in to one final masterpiece. We will have 3 or 4 more rehearsals this week before the big day on Wednesday. We can’t wait, as the musical is coming together very nicely. We are hoping to be able to video record it and send the files or a copy to everyone upon their return to the U.S.
A few of the songs the dancers have been working on all summer, working to polish this week, and will exhibit Wednesday evening:
Friday evening we
were NOT rained out and were able to attend “El Juego de la Pelota” downtown, which occurs every Friday. Juego de la Pelota is a
traditional Maya game which each team tries to score as many points as possible
passing the ball (with a weight of 3-4 kilograms!) back and forth using only
the hip, knee or elbow! Quite a challenge…but perhaps not as difficult and
incredible as when the ball was set on fire and the two teams passed it back
and forth! (See video below!) We all enjoyed the game and it was great to finally get to see in action something
we have heard and learned about the past several weeks. The intersection of Maya culture
and traditions here in Mérida has made our trip very unique!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjaN_p2rIAo
https://youtu.be/CSsMqp98Fsc
Saturday afternoon
many of us visited El Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. We took a 2.5 hour tour through the galleries and
exhibitions and learned even more about Maya history, culture, traditions and their impact here in Mérida.
Our week together
came to a close Saturday night at La Noche Mexicana, a festival that takes
place every Saturday evening close to downtown where there is traditional song,
dance, shopping and eating of course!
Ahhh México...
https://youtu.be/S-hL00BSE_Y