Hola fellow bloggees! Welcome back once again to our weekly Merida IUHPFL 2015 Blog. As per usual, we have many experiences to share with you from this past week. Sit back and enjoy!
Monday and Tuesday were very relaxed days as students attended classes and spent time with each other and their families. Tuesday afternoon before heading home for the day, students were given their mid term individual evaluations. While waiting their turn, some decided to try their luck at the Yucatan version of Monopoly.
A sneak peek inside one host family's casa!
Wednesday we had our weekly sports at the local park/sports facility about a 5-10 min. walk from the school. This time we tried our luck on the soccer field, and right away the students were able to recruit a local to help out!
Each team trying to convince him to join them!
Some of us, however, enjoyed stretching and relaxing on the sidelines, no soccer for us today!
Back at it..
https://youtu.be/8GuFC9ntSzc
One of our new friends..or, recruitees? even joined us in the photo!
DEPORTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday evening we had our final weekly lecture and this week's topic was the Maya calendar and a bit of Maya culture.
Friday we headed out to Celestuín, beach and ecological reserve located a couple hours west of Mérida.
Gettin ready to hop on a boat ride to take a tour of Celestun!
http://youtu.be/rm8jdUGQfuc
https://youtu.be/AVR-NBE1oLw
A short pit stop at a laguna near by. Just for viewing...
Ok, maybe not..we could not resist!!
https://youtu.be/HXrvdHHjufA
Back to the main beach!
Adiós Celestún!
Heading back to Mérida...oh so many magical places to visit here in the Yucatan!
We arrived back to Mérida Friday evening, and encountered a little friend while the students were waiting to be picked by their families.
Selfies with random street folk!
Saturday morning we took off to Yaxunah to have our third and final day of volunteer work. We began the day with a tour of the local medicinal plants and trees in the village and learned a great deal about the different natural remedies used by the locals to cure various ailments.
Enthralled with the Mexican flag, or something, it appears..
We then visited the local "cenote" or laguna, naturally formed and from what we were told dating back to a million years ago. The water is new water, however, it is not stagnant and this laguna is over 100 feet deep.
Oh how we longed to dive in! But....no....not this time!
We can live vicariously through these guys!
https://youtu.be/ArUBmhEkD6U
So close, but so far!
In future visits to the cenotes perhaps we can take the plunge! So adiós for now!
We then took a tour of the local Maya museum exhibiting local art from the community
Later in the day we viewed a presentation on Maya culture
and the day ended by the students dividing up into groups to tackle various tasks. One group helped move cinder blocks to the storage center to aid in its construction.
A true team effort! It's hot...and we mean...REALLY hot, but we stuck with it and moved over 70 blocks!
Another group worked together with recycled items such as tires to serve as soil holders for planting.
Ta da!! (It's much harder than it looks!)
Others helped water the plants we had planted the week prior.
Last but not least, the final group set out to collect recycled items around the village to aid in not only the recycling efforts of the community but also its cleanliness.
Ok, more fun with the tires, we can do this!!
And, of course, a few Mayan lessons before we depart from our friends for good!
Adios Yaxunah! It has been a great experience helping your community, making new friends, and of course, learning a lot of Maya! We will miss you.
Sunday evening we had our 4th of July celebration at a local social event venue in Mérida.
Before...
During...
More of the during..
https://youtu.be/AMl9PCo5W-o
And the aftermath...
A patriotic farewell to evening ( the only exception to the Honor Code) :)
https://youtu.be/DUtO-6mGgyI
After the rush of excitement from the party, and well, the sugar from the piñatas, we all headed home having had a blast celebrating USA independence day! We cannot believe how fast time is flying by, as the program is more than half way over already! Please check back with us next Monday to hear about our experiences this upcoming week which include the highly anticipated and magical 3-day excursion to Punta Laguna and Tulum!
Thanks for joining us as always! Til next time- Adios amigos! :)
Thursday evening we had our final weekly lecture and this week's topic was the Maya calendar and a bit of Maya culture.
Friday we headed out to Celestuín, beach and ecological reserve located a couple hours west of Mérida.
Gettin ready to hop on a boat ride to take a tour of Celestun!
https://youtu.be/AVR-NBE1oLw
A short pit stop at a laguna near by. Just for viewing...
Ok, maybe not..we could not resist!!
https://youtu.be/HXrvdHHjufA
Back to the main beach!
Heading back to Mérida...oh so many magical places to visit here in the Yucatan!
We arrived back to Mérida Friday evening, and encountered a little friend while the students were waiting to be picked by their families.
Selfies with random street folk!
Saturday morning we took off to Yaxunah to have our third and final day of volunteer work. We began the day with a tour of the local medicinal plants and trees in the village and learned a great deal about the different natural remedies used by the locals to cure various ailments.
Enthralled with the Mexican flag, or something, it appears..
We then visited the local "cenote" or laguna, naturally formed and from what we were told dating back to a million years ago. The water is new water, however, it is not stagnant and this laguna is over 100 feet deep.
Oh how we longed to dive in! But....no....not this time!
We can live vicariously through these guys!
https://youtu.be/ArUBmhEkD6U
So close, but so far!
In future visits to the cenotes perhaps we can take the plunge! So adiós for now!
We then took a tour of the local Maya museum exhibiting local art from the community
Later in the day we viewed a presentation on Maya culture
Another group worked together with recycled items such as tires to serve as soil holders for planting.
Ta da!! (It's much harder than it looks!)
Others helped water the plants we had planted the week prior.
Ok, more fun with the tires, we can do this!!
And, of course, a few Mayan lessons before we depart from our friends for good!
Adios Yaxunah! It has been a great experience helping your community, making new friends, and of course, learning a lot of Maya! We will miss you.
Sunday evening we had our 4th of July celebration at a local social event venue in Mérida.
Before...
More of the during..
https://youtu.be/AMl9PCo5W-o
And the aftermath...
A patriotic farewell to evening ( the only exception to the Honor Code) :)
https://youtu.be/DUtO-6mGgyI
After the rush of excitement from the party, and well, the sugar from the piñatas, we all headed home having had a blast celebrating USA independence day! We cannot believe how fast time is flying by, as the program is more than half way over already! Please check back with us next Monday to hear about our experiences this upcoming week which include the highly anticipated and magical 3-day excursion to Punta Laguna and Tulum!
Thanks for joining us as always! Til next time- Adios amigos! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment