July 6, Celestun and Uxmal

With our AstroBus once again back in commission, we departed Hotel Casa Lucia in Merida, bound for the wildlife sanctuary at Celestun. Along the way, we viewed a panorama of terrains and landscapes, mostly untouched by the usual signs of civilization. Arriving at our destination, we quickly surveyed Celestun, observing the town, its people and various buildings and businesses. The three-wheeled and covered transports that have become familiar to us were everywhere. We walked to the beach, where we boarded our own “fleet” of three outboards.

The Celestun wildlife sanctuary is home to many resident and migratory waterfowl, with pink flamingos as the “star attraction.” The water itself is an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. Between March and August, adult flamingos fly between here and Cancun to feed on plankton for their young.
The boats docked briefly, so that we could see the petrified trees and shock-absorbing soil at one feeding site. Those of us who stayed on the boat heard our driver describe a typical Maya drink of coconut water and rum called, Cocofis.

Perched amid the tree branches, along the sandy shores and in the skies overhead were pelicans, cormorants and egrets. As we rode the choppy waters toward the stand of flamingos, our camera shutters were rapidly clicking, hoping to capture images of these bright pink birds in all their splendor.

Marcela shared an interesting tidbit about Peru’s flamingos, which are white and red. “When San Martin came to Peru,” she explained, “he said that the country’s flag was going to be red and white just like the flamingos.”

From the flamingo area, we next went through a mangrove tunnel, complete with termite hills and droves of pesky mosquitoes. We once again docked; this time so we could see a freshwater spring. Before disembarking, we literally coated ourselves in insect repellant, although its effectiveness was questionable. (Rumor has it that even Flat Stanley was itching afterward!)

Relieved to return to our boats, we rode the choppy waters toward shore. There, we perused the tables of handicrafts, including wooden parrots, flamingos and jewelry. Lunch was at La Boya, one of the local beachside restaurants. Besides the usual fare, some of us had coconut milk right from the coconut!

Following the meal, it was time to continue our journey to our next destination, Uxmal. We did make two brief stops on the way, one at a Maya home and the other at a cemetery, Cementario General. As we were leaving the latter, we noticed a funeral procession approaching. Most of the mourners were walking alongside or behind the hearse.

Back in our bus, we prepared for the long ride to The Hacienda Uxmal. The afternoon rain began to fall and we settled in to viewing several DVDs in The Soul of Mexico series. Those of us who weren’t watching were reading, talking or napping, among other things.

Rested and revived, we arrived in Uxmal around 6 p.m. We were warmly welcomed and treated to a refreshing glass of grapefruit juice. We had just enough time to check in and unload our bags, before walking to the nearby ruins at Uxmal. The light and sound show we viewed at the sight was quite a spectacle and a perfect segueway to our visit the next morning.

In response to Fulbrighter Maryann’s remarkable ability to meet and converse with the many people we have met comes this definitive quote of the day: “Candy opens any door.” – Jacques Paire.

Gail -- Teacher/Media Specialist -- Cleveland, OH

July 5th Loltun and Ticul

We will probably remember the rain most. And the thunder and running up the stairs of the cave, Lol-tun ,to seek shelter, but that was really not the original plan for the day. But then it was a day in which original plans were not meant to be. Let’s go back. It did not take long to realize that our reliable bus driver Benito was not here at his scheduled time. So it’s 9:30 and we are for the most part ready and sitting in the lobby- but no Benito. When I first see him, he is dripping with sweat; the problem: a broken down bus. The solution: ( after some finagling) are mini vans to transport the lot of us to Ticul. So off we go. To market, to market to buy a fine pig, or chicken or corn of huipils. The ride of an hour and a half finally finds us in the market. The ride must have been somewhat torturous for Jorge who was deprived of a seat and was cramped between the door and a seat.

The market at Ticul gave a view of how the population of that city survives. Stands with bananas, guineps (chenett), guanabanas, limes and many other fruits crowded the stands. Most interesting was the corn roasted in the pibil. Pibils are ground ovens; a style to cooking still used by today’s Maya. Carol B. was fascinated by a pig head and the vendor who was selling it. As he prepared it for sale, he shaved the head with a razor. She asked and found out that the age of the pig was six months. She explained that she does not usually see such sights in Washington, D.C. The vendor seemed unimpressed with life in the United States, referring to it only as alla. His partner’s features were reminiscent of many of the Maya sculptures we saw. Like many we saw( the woman flower vendor, the vendor who sold hardware such as chicken coups, machete cases and other essential tool) , he willingly let us take his picture.
A walk through the town yielded a view of one that is not tourist ridden and one with people who were very willing to share a smile and a hello. The impression was also of a town going about its daily business: carting goods to and from, adult tricycles with large spaces in the front for carrying packages and vendors selling to their community. Examples of the ancient Maya were seen in the statues that were seen on some corners or on islands in the street.

A trip to Los Almendras restaurant satisfied our thirst for Yucatan food. The food was plentiful and tasty, though the flan was disappointing. And then to the caves,Lol-tun our Mayan guide Bernardo walked us through the caves and told stories of how the Maya used this ancient structure. The use of the caves as a place for sacrifices was not new. I am intrigued by the Caste War and the role of the Maya in that war. This topic that will take up a lot of my interest for a while especially since I was given two sources for information by a visiting professor from Allegheny University.

We end, of course, where our story began, with the rain. We had not seen such a downpour since we arrived. We could have stayed in the comforts of the cave until it subsided, but then I suppose our guides would have been asked to spend more time with us than expected. So... we ran up the steep steps and into the torrent. As we ran to shelter someone suggested that this would be an ideal time for a group photo. The perfect end to a perfectly planned day.

Antoinette - Brooklyn, fifth grade teacher

July 4th - Mayab Lectures

Flat Stanley enjoyed the day. It was a day of learning and lectures. They were very interesting. We heard from anthropologists working on some unusual projects with migration of people, altering of genetic makeup, adaptation of man over the centuries. They answered questions like:

• How everyone could have come from Africa
• How skin color changes based on the temperature and climate of a region
• Why Mexicans will risk everything to cross the border
• Where do the Maya from the Yucatan work when they cross to America

The typical Mexican earns $5 a day, but in the US he can earn $6 an hour and he is willing to work super hard to be able to send money home. They usually send between 250-500 per month home to their families. Usually it is young men who risk it all and leave. Finally, the Maya from the Yucatan go to San Francisco and Oregon, and they work in the food industry. Most come back after 7 years to stay in the Yucatan.

We had lunch at a fabulous place in Merida called Hacienda Teya. It served typical Yucatan Cuisine. It is fish, meat, or chicken cooked in banana leaves and served with corn tortillas and very hot Habenero pepper sauce. We had a sweet orange liquor for digestion called Licor de naranja agria, pamuchios, gouda cheese stuffed with sausage mixture,etc. For dessert the guide ordered several dishes so we could all sample them. The Consul joined us for lunch and was quite pleasant to talk to. She has to get involved when an American dies unexpectedly in accidents in the three states around Merida. Someone she knew died last night and it was a mess. She said that is a typical thing in Mexcio now that the laws have changed and you need a passport to come and go here too. The tourist has to drive 4 hours to Merida from Cancun and then back again.

After lunch at 5 we walked for what seemed like miles to go to a folk art museum which was closed, then to another small but lovely art museum, then on to the cathedral. We are so hot! Dinner was on our own. Several ate in the hotel lobby.

Stanley had some cappachino at the restaurant.

Submitted by Carole, Madison, IN

July 3rd Big Day in the Yucatan at Chichen Itza

Man is it hot. It must be 100 in the shade and so humid. I sweat so much and seldom go to the bathroom. I am drinking lots of water and I hope that helps me avoid heat stroke. The day began with breakfast and a walk along the beach in Cancun. At the end of breakfast, we were handed a cookie by our waiter. Gail called it a "Get outta here cookie", or a new technique to tell you to leave now! Then the bill was delivered and ironically the waiter did not ask any of the older ladies to sign for it, but instead went directly for young looking, Lori, our administrator! Her natural leadership oozed forth!

We learned a lot about the Mayan kingdom and the different periods of history of Mexico. The pre classic period was from 2500 B.C. to 0. That was the time of the origins of the country and the people were primarily Olmec. These are the people that produced very large stone heads. Then the next period was called classic period from 0 to 800 A.D.. During this time the people were Toltec or Zapotec or Maya. The Post classic period went from 800 to 1519 and that was the time of Maya and Aztec in Mexico. This went into the colonial period when Spain dominated Mexico until 1850 and the modern times of the country.

We rode the bus a long time through the peninsula on the road from Cancun to Merida we stopped at Chichen Itza (It means Sacred Well of the tribe of Itza). This site was just recently named one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was truly amazing and Rene proved to be an excellent guide. He was explaining the significance of the different temples. The one for the Sun God is the largest. It told the Maya when to plant and when to harvest their crops. It had to do with the Sun and the shadows that were cast by the temple. The Temple of War was the place where the human sacrifices took place. It was actually an honor to be sacrificed because the Maya believed in reincarnation and that type of death was a sure way to gain heaven.

The temples were originally covered with stucco and painted red , beige, and other wonderful colors. There was some evidence even here. Kukulcan was the feathered serpent, God of the Maya. In Aztec, it is Quetzalcoatl. There were many remarkable images of this god all over the temples. It was a rattlesnake with a feathered tail!

Maya wanted to flatten their heads as a sign of nobility. So the moms would put boards on the heads of their infants and gradually screw them tighter and tighter to make the top of the head flatten out creating an oblong head shape. They also drilled pieces of jade into their teeth. They found these skulls in the well where they would toss the bones of nobles when they died. Our guide suggested that perhaps this practice contaminated the water which poisoned the drinking water and that led to the abandonment of the site. They really do not know why the Maya abandoned the cities in favor of the countryside and smaller family groupings.

The Maya played a ball game that went back to their pre classic period. The game required the players to hit the ball into a hole in a vertical wheel using only their elbows, shoulders, or knees. The rubber ball represented the sun, and was very heavy. Because it was representative of the sun to touch it with hands, head or feet would be wrong. The game could go on for days and the one who scored had to die and that ended the game.

Skulls represented power and the skulls would have been placed on sticks and pounded into the ground on a field surrounded by a wall of skulls. Some people who died there were nobles because of the shape of the head. Others were slaves without mishapen head stuctures.

There was so much to remember....Let me see, seven...it is a special number. In the game of ball, seven players take the field. The snake god, has seven tongues, the head has seven openings in it. and finally when you clap your hands in the ball court, it echoes seven times.

At night we settled into our hotel, dressed for dinner at the American Consulate and went in waving our little flags. The food served was from Fridays. The drinks ran freely, I selected Corona with lime. The bugs started to bite, Diane, from Richmond, VA provided many people with tiny citronella pins that eliminated the biting bugs almost immediately. I had a great time circulating the room and meeting the French Consulate, some businessmen, the secretary for the Governor of Yucatan and a professor from the university in San Francisco who is here to help children get ahead and go on to college. She was very interesting.

I got lost tonight after working on the blog. I walked the wrong way out of the Internet Cafe, wandered around alone for a while and then realized I needed to come back and start over to find my way. Only one problem - I did not know the name of the street, hotel or even the plaza. A policeman helped me when I explained that it was somewhere nearby, and on the same street as the Hyatt! Learn from this, always get the name of the hotel, and make sure you can speak some Spanish!

Maryann

July 2, 2008

Everyone is up early – excited to embark on our journey to Mexico and Peru. We meet in the lobby at 6:30, and I’m watching how everyone travels – from 3 bags to a small duffle bag. Our group is adjusting to one another as new friendships and dynamics are forming. At the airport, we wait with great anticipation. There are readers, mp3/ipod listeners, thinkers caught up in their own thoughts, and those final phone calls home. We fly from Austin to Dallas F.W., Dallas F.W. to Cancun. We are whisked off by our big blue Astro Bus that will be our home for many miles and sights to come across Mexico.

Our first stop is Cecyte’s Technical School. The school has a population of 1800 15-17 year old students, 50 teachers, and has two sessions of classes (7 A.M. - 2 P.M. and
2 P.M.- 8 P.M.). The school trains students to work in jobs for the tourist field. The students have prepared a wonderful program with introductions, some tradition dances, a couple of songs from Grease – in Spanish, and a short movie about their school. They take us on a tour of their classes - handicrafts, computer repair and networking, and bartending. Our session ends with refreshments and gifts. We are all touched by their generosity and kindness.
http://www.cecyteqroo.edu.mx

The big blue bus heads on to Cancun. A dip in the Caribbean Sea, and a dinner with ocean breeze blowing is the perfect end to a very busy day.

Jorge’s list of myths about Mexico:
1. They don’t eat burritos.
2. They don’t drink Margaritas
3. They don’t eat nachos
4. No hard shell tacos – only corn
5. Independence from Spain on September 16 is a bigger celebration than Cinco De Mayo.

Submitted by Brenda, Menomonie Middle School, 6th grade

July 1 Austin

Breakfast: quiche, scones, fruit, juice

Today, the final day to get our acts together before we go international. Maybe we were a bit overwhelmed, maybe motivated to invest ourselves in our curriculum projects, but certainly the expectations of high quality curriculum units was clear. Resources seem plentiful, Natalie A. is readily available and I am confident we will surpass the expectations and design curriculum that will have far reaching impact to our students and communities.

In our first lecture of the day, Michael allowed us the pleasure of examining selected treasures from the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. Wow! These pieces were old! Jorge, our Tour Guide for Mexico, gets the award for taking pictures of absolutely everything, at every angle. And there was a lot to see. 1550 native parchment scroll in pictograph, ear plugs, nose plugs, “Tlaxcala.” Churches became a new symbol of unity, footprints, water as serpent, stigmata, friars, seamonsters-all telling stories of the past. Phew. We were awed by our introduction to Sister Juana Inez De La Cruz who Michael suggested may have been the first feminist in the 1600s.  I must insert here that women rock-as all of the teachers on this trip ARE women. The maps are amazingly detailed and magically colorful.  The books are carefully stored and illustrate aspects of Mexico and Peru.  We are sure to integrate our much anticipated cultural explorations into our projects.  Access to many archives are available at www.lib.ut.edu/benson

As our next presenter, Naomi, delivered her detailed lecture (she was a walking annotated bibliography!) on “Literary Intellectuals,” I found myself wondering if I was educated enough to be a part of this group. My brain felt numb. These people are smart! What does the word “excurgius” even mean? Is that what she said? Good thing I could use context clues to figure it out, and chuckle a bit at myself along the way. And again, we discovered that resources are plentiful. Naomi reviewed translated literary works portraying anthropological and ethnological perspectives of indigenous peoples. The novels may be useful to expand our own understandings but may contain scenes too graphic for classroom use such as the crucifixion of a child.

Picnic lunch: salads, fruit, bread and a cookie

Next Raul discussed the socio-economic hierarchy and political history of Peru. Quechua is the predominant indigenous language of Peru but is fading since there is some degree of shame and embarrassment about being indigenous. We were treated to Marcela’s Quechua phrase, however, that meant, “You are as sweet as pork meat.” Apparently in Latin America it is not a good idea to ask people about their race or ethnicity. Almost 2/3 of indigenous people are poor, with 1/3 of those being extremely poor. 

In general, indigenous people in Peru complete 6.4 years of schooling, while non-indigenous people complete 9 years. For women, the averages are even lower. For more social statistics see www.inei.gob.pe/ . An absence of organizational legitimacy impacts the lack of indigenous political movements…left. Austerity politics. White elite. Populist appeal. Reform. Defeat of the “Shining Star.” Bribes. Blackmailing. Video chaos. Election fraud. (Am I still in Chicago?) Oh, and a note passed around the room, which, among a group of teachers who usually confiscate exactly such notes, ironically ended up in the hand of the serious presenter mid sentence: “Shauna, Do you have an allergy pill?” The whole room needed a laugh I guess. Oops. Embarrassment. So….politics, oh and they were killed. Superiority of the copper colored people. His popularity goes on. Protest. Election fraud. “There was a poncho issue going on there.” It meant the emergence of ethnic politics. 

Must be break time because our heads were about to explode with all sorts of new information, perhaps too much. Do we do this to our students?! Be on that bus in 7 minutes, we are headed to the museum people. A short but interesting tour of the Aztec and Maya Revival show at the Mexic Arte Museum in Austin. Lots of detailed carvings, select pieces of indigenous art, and a few silly movies too. Are teachers shopping already in that gift shop? This could be trouble. Walk on back to that hotel for a break. Phew, breaks are good. Is that what our students want too? For more information on the Mexic Arte Museum and its plethora of resources see www.mexic-artemuseum.org .

The Capital Cruise on Lake Austin with Tex Mex fajitas and wine, was just swell. Group photo on upper deck, yes, that would be Jorge again. It was also goodbye to our curriculum coordinator Natalie, and our Fulbright Leader, Gale. But first, we had to watch with many locals and lots of tourists, as the world's largest bat colony flew out to devour their own dinner experiences. Now we ready ourselves for our own flight of sorts, to devour the cultures of Mexico and Peru. Adios!

Blogger: Amber 8th grade teacher, Plainfield, IL

June 30, Austin

The sleep number did a number on me. It was not so comfortable and I was up with the sun at 6 AM. The bus was on time and we took off for the Latin American Studies Center at University of Texas. Learned some unique facts today. Pissarro was the founder of Peru and Cortez the founder of Mexico. In the 16th Century Spain was the most powerful nation in the world. They were in competition with France, Portugal and England to explore and gain territory for their Kings. At that same time Luther was gaining converts with the reformation and Spain wanted to spread the faith to others by converting the new world. The Incan empire was huge 25 million in Mexico and 9 million in South America. It literally extended all the length of the coast of South America along the Andes. Spain also went to gain riches for the King. This was accomplished in both places with silver primarily but also some gold.

We will see how Spain impressed its domination over the indigenous people by conversion, exploitation and spreading illness. But the natives were also sick of taxation by the Inca nobility and were willing to band together to defeat the common enemy.

Anyway, we should see evidence in the buildings, Zocalo (Town square) and the layout of the cities we visit. In the churches we will see the images of a native looking Christ child wearing the Incan headdress and yet raising three fingers in symbolic gesture of the Trinity.

In the Yucatan we will be with the largest indigenous population of all the states. Oaxaca, where I went for the Days of the Dead is the second largest population. The story about the struggle of power went on and on. Mexico has had lots of political struggles and corruption. Even today it is the Indians who are the poorest and with the least amount of rights. The new President is Calderon, and he is working on multi cultural policies and dealing with the Zapistas with the Mano Duro (Heavy Hand).

By far the best talk, in my opinion, was from Professor Doolittle who I likened to a Texan version of Indiana Jones! He spoke about the Pyramid builders need to eat! Doolittle swaggered in, removed his shades, and entertained us for an hour. He showed images of the places we will see and dropped unusual tidbits of information.

It took 20 people in the fields to feed one unproductive artist.
Where were these fields in Maya lands?
If thousands built the temple, 20 thousand had to feed them...this would require a lot of land.
Where could all this land be near the pyramids?
When Professor Alfred Siemans was flying over the Yucatan in a small plane in the 60's, he just happened to notice the landscape below near the pyramids looked unnatural. When he took a closer look...he learned that it was swamp land that was created into terraced and built up farms. That was the way these people were fed with smaller plots of land. Before that they used the slash and burn technique to prepare the land for farming.

The Mayans also were bee keepers! They cut down the hollow trees that had hives in them, capped the ends and drilled a hole in the center so the bees could go in and out. They stacked these hives in neat rows.

Finally, Doolittle told us about Dennis Puleston from Penn State who was researching for his masters in the Yucatan. He wrote a huge paper on the Ramon Tree that produced fruit and seemed to be plentiful around these pyramids. He proposed that this tree fed the people. Later on his proposal was contradicted, but it was a great theory.  Dennis actually was struck and killed by lightning from the top of a pyramid at Chichen Itza when his two sons were standing beside him. Weird huh! He was only 38 years old!

Tonight, we eat Mexican food. Group is still good. No political discussions, but I did find out that 58 people applied for this trip, only 16 were accepted. This trip costs the Fulbright commission spent $28,500 per person. Fulbright has been doing these trips since Sputnik....because we cannot be isolated in this world!

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/puleston_dennis.html

Maryann, Clifford Pierce Middle School, Merrillville, Indiana