Ashley's blog

Hello, world...

I haven't updated my blogs at ALL and, since I'm home and they're all complete, I thought I should post them!

Enjoy!!

Culture Shock…in the U.S.

April 3^rd, 2008

            Prior to my trip, everyone insisted that I needed to brace myself for culture shock in Mexico.  Because of the differences between Mexico and the U.S., I was told to be aware that my first few weeks would be extremely difficult as I acculturated.  Honestly, I never felt this uneasiness, nor did I realize how or when I became accustomed to Mexican culture.  Although I was aware that I was fitting in better and better, I had no technique or strategy to avoid culture shock but, somehow, I never felt the stress that most people feel when adjusting to a new country. 

            Stress did arise during the trip into the U.S.  Entering our first plane, I did not feel uneasy or shocked; rather, I felt excited and ready to return to the U.S.  While attempting to board our second flight in Mexico City, I was reminded about the rules and regulations of American flight policies.  As I entered the plane with three carry-ons and was told that I could not board with all three, I became a frustrated American that was willing to lie and say “Oh, this bag is my friend’s.”  After being seated on the plane, I began to think about this.  When I boarded the Mexicana airline, I was not bombarded with such strict regulations, leaving me to feel comfortable and relaxed, while the Delta airline immediately frustrated me.  I realized that the relaxed policies in Mexico had left me to become relaxed, as well, and made me able to find myself rather than the constantly stressed-out individual that I usually am.  Has the U.S. made me into this stressed-out individual?  With my encounter with flight policy in our first Delta flight, I was reminded that American lifestyle is tense and stressful, leaving all Americans left with abnormal, unnecessarily high stress levels.

            Finally, we landed in Atlanta.  My excitement took over me as we waited for our baggage at baggage claim, and I began calling my friends and family to tell them that I was in the U.S.  After this, however, we entered the terminal area to wait for our flight into Philadelphia.  I had been thinking about this day for a few weeks now, just hoping to get “American” food in the airport.  Although I did have the chance to buy “American” food, I was feeling culture shock!  How could this be?  I’m in my native country, and I’m feeling out of place?  Many aspects, including the hustle-and-bustle of the airport, the fact that I no longer was one of the tallest people in the general vicinity, the lack of Maya-Mexican people, and the prevalence of the English language, made me feel a true sense of discomfort.  Even when I was attempting to order my food in the airport, I had a difficult time understanding the English of the cashier and I found myself actually putting forth effort in order to resist speaking in Spanish! 

            With so many differences being immediately apparent to me, I felt out of place.  As odd as it seems, I’m sure it is just a matter of time before I am used to the American culture again, but I hope that I will not forget my knowledge and learned appreciation of Mexican culture.  Indeed, this study abroad experience has changed my outlook on life.  If I had chosen a different study abroad program to European country, such as France, for example, I would have learned about European culture, but I am certain that I would not have learned about myself and how I want to live my life.  As European countries are Westernized in a similar manner as seen in the U.S., I know that I would not have only extended my knowledge of language and culture.  Without seeing the hardships that Mexican families face, I would not have realized the strength of my desire to help less fortunate or my desire to improve conditions throughout the world.  My desire to become a doctor has now expanded into a yearning to help the less fortunate, thus making me hope to learn more about similar conditions of poverty-stricken countries of the world so that I will be able to provide medical assistance to these people in the future.  In addition, my appreciation for nature has grown into an inexplicable love that I would not have gained in another abroad program.  If I had not been granted the opportunity to live in the jungles of Mexico, to climb mountains, or to white water raft, my love for nature would never have developed, nor would I have ever been granted the opportunity to explore and truly experience the adventure of life! 

Tal Vez

April 1^st, 2008

            While in Merida, I had a number of opportunities to listen to the radio.  One of the most played songs on the radio, entitled “Tal Vez” by Kudai, quickly became one of my favorite Mexican songs.  After leaving Merida, I continued to hear “Tal Vez” on the radio, in restaurants, and even in karaoke bars.  While in a karaoke bar in Celestun, I asked a waitor to give me the name and artist of this song.  Although I have had this information for a few weeks, today was the first that I researched the lyrics and their translation into English.

            Within the first stanza, mention of “memories [not] killing my faith” provoked my attention.  Building on this, the repeating chorus states:

            I want to speak, I want to see,

I want to be and I want to be

And in your arms to be born again... 

“To be born again” stood out to me, as it seemed to be a very Christian idea that one can be born again into the Christian faith.  The song continues to speak of a sort of re-birth, and the song ends by repeating “tal vez,” meaning “perhaps”, with the haunting background repeating “memories do not kill my faith” and “and in your arms to be born again.” 

With my curiosity at its peak, I decided to find the music video for this popular song (http://youtube.com/watch?v=N7J2Lx7w7qo).  The video shows the story of a young woman fighting against an alcohol addiction.  While she empties her liquor cabinet and attends group therapy meetings, the members of Kudai are shown within a Catholic church, where they are shown infront of the church’s altar.  Towards the end of the video, the woman enters the church to pray with her rosary beads.  Additionally, the camera zooms into her neck, where it shows her grabbing a silver crucifix on her neck, followed by her releasing the crucifix and lifting her hands in a prayer.

This video and song would never have been popular in the U.S.  With “Tal Vez” being one of the most popular, mainstream songs in Mexico, it is evident that Mexican culture is one that openly embraces religious expression.  In the United States, however, we are taught to keep religion separate from almost all other aspects of life, as if it were taboo to be religious.  Through the mention of rebirth and allowing religion to change one’s lifestyle, Kudai readily mentions religion, and the entire country responded by making this song one of the most popular songs in Mexico.

This difference in the embracing of religion has also become more evident to me while in San Cristobal.  A few days ago, while on break during evolution class, a parade of evangelical Christians passed by Jovel.  Initially, I felt a bit uncomfortable with this, as it seemed a bit controversial for this group of non-Catholic Christians to pass through the road preaching to this largely Catholic country.  If this had happened in the United States, especially with a minority religion parading through the streets, riots surely would have broken out, possibly resulting in the injuring of individuals within the parade for such open preaching of their religion.  In Mexico, however, people seemed to openly embrace it, as there were people that exited buildings and inquired about the parade while readily receiving pamphlets and information from the parade members. 

It is difficult to become comfortable with such open displays of religion after being taught to privately worship in one’s religion.  Through the multiple displays of religion in Mexico, as in popular music, parades, and even through household religious decorations, Mexicans are much more open about religion when compared to Americans.  With this openness, it seems as though a lowered amount of violence results from religious displays, potentially proving that this openness allows for less hostility between religions.  Even though the fact that the majority of the country is Catholic, the people, who were most likely Catholics, watching the evangelical parade did not respond with physical or verbal violence; they were accepting and willing to hear the ideas of these Protestants, proving the increased receptiveness to religion through this open-religion policy in Mexico.

Ohh, we’re climbing THAT mountain?

March 29^th, 2008

            After meeting with some classmates in the Zocalo, we stood and waited for taxis to take us to Huitepec.  Because of the fact that it was so early in the morning, I did not expect to see much activity in the Zocalo.  Surprisingly, however, there was a multitude of activity seen by Chamulan women as they tried to sell some of their goods.  Even young children were selling to support their families, reminding me of the lack of education that children receive in Mexico.  Unsurprisingly, Mexicans only receive an average of 7.2 years of formal education; even with this known, however, I wondered how much education the children of Chamula receive.  Regardless of the average, the children of Chamula must be an exception, as I have seen countless children during all hours of the day attempting to sell items and provide additional support for their families.  As their mothers and fathers, selling hemp wristbands and scarves will be their destiny, with little opportunity to branch into any other occupation.             

When our taxis arrived, we began to near Huitepec.  Prior to this trip to Huitepec, I do not think that I understood the meaning of a “nature hike.”  After not having done much physical activity in the past two weeks, my body was not ready for today’s hike.  As we made our ascend up the mountain side, I could not help but feel like I was having a heart attack!  My body ached and my breathing became extremely heavy, but I continued to climb.   

            With this continued climb, I kept thinking about how I have never physically forced myself to do anything like this.  I have always pushed myself in other ways, such as academically and emotionally, but never have I found myself in a physically strenuous situation where I was in need of pushing myself to continue.  As I climbed, I kept thinking to myself “this isn’t killing me, so I just need to keep going,” and I did. 

            By physically forcing myself to climb further, I found myself at the top of the mountain.  The view was amazing!  I could not believe that I was able to see the tops of surrounding mountains through the tree line.  The beauty of surrounding Chiapas was truly stunning, and I could not imagine a more beautiful view.  Adding to this beauty was the sound of many bird species singing.  As we sat on fallen trees within the woods, we all became silent, with our attention completely taken by the many elaborate songs flooding our ears.  Even in the U.S., where I have had opportunities to listen to multiple bird songs, I have never felt so amazed by the song structure of birds.  Without this hike, I believe that my appreciation of nature would never have fully developed without witnessing the deluge of bird songs at the top of Huitepec.

            Although Huitepec did not show me any differences between cultures, it showed me how I have developed as an individual through this study abroad experience.  I have never actually climbed anything of this sort in the United States, nor would I have ever thought to climb a mountain and physically exert myself to such an extreme.  Without this trip, I know that I may never have done anything like this climb at Huitepec.  After seeing the tree-lined view from the top, hearing the songs of the many bird species, and feeling an overwhelming feeling of success at the top of the mountain, I realize that I would love to do something like this again, and I hope that I will be able to extend my new found love for nature after my return to the U.S.!

Visit to Chamula

March 24^th, 2008

            Driving to Chamula, I was in awe of the views we were seeing surrounding San Cristobal.  With the beautiful, rolling hills and the city sitting within the valley, I looked out of the van window thinking about how beautiful Mexico really is.  After seeing this beauty, however, we parked outside of a church within walking distance of Chamula.  Outside of the church was a graveyard which truly shocked me.  As I looked at the graves, I was disturbed by the fact that the ground was completely covered in litter.  Surrounding each tombstone was a multitude of garbage, in addition to a lack of upkeep of the gravesites, in general.  Unlike any cemetery in the U.S., the gravesites each lacked a grassy covering but, rather, showed exposed mounds of dirt where each person had been buried.  As I looked at the cemetery, I couldn’t help but notice two women visiting grave sites.  Neither appeared to mind the fact that their loved ones’ graves were bare and covered in garbage but, rather, they appeared to be making a visit as anyone in the U.S. would.  Without an apparent care of the disrespectful litter, I wondered why these women did not appear to be concerned.  In the U.S., the upkeep of cemeteries would be the responsibility of the church.  With the apparent lack of such policies in Mexico, or at least in Chamula, I can understand why these women would not care: they were not taught to care.  In addition, such policies cost the churches money to continue and, because Mexico, including Chamula, is not a wealthy country, I understand why there would be a litter problem and a lack of planted grass on each of the grave sites. 

            Following our visit to the cemetery, we entered Chamula, where we visited the San Juan Chamula church.  As we entered the church, we were told not to take photographs inside of the church, as to keep the church a sacred place for the people of Chamula rather than simply a spectacle.  Regardless of this rule, however, I felt as though, as a visitor, I was making this church into a sort of amusement ride.  With its beauty and sacredness, I felt extremely uncomfortable looking around the church, especially while Chamulans were observing prayer within the church during our visit.  As our group stood in the back, I felt that I needed to leave from this church, but, instead, we walked through the rest of the church.  Looking at all of the candles and pine needles covering the floor, I was astounded by the ways in which the people were religiously worshiping, as it truly was something that I had never experienced before. 

            Although I had never experienced it before, I am not certain that I will ever return to Chamula.  I kept thinking about how uncomfortable I would feel if a large group of Mexicans (just to turn the situation around) were visiting my church and standing in the back while I sat with my family in a pew and prayed.  With this, I knew that we, as non-natives to Chamula, should not have been standing and watching others during their sacred, religious worship.  As religion is so important to people across the globe, it is hard to fathom how people would have started visiting places like Chamula and making spectacle at the expense of others’ devoutness to a religion.  Not even curiosity can justify such action, and I felt truly uncomfortable during my visit in San Juan Chamula.

            In addition to this, when I returned to my host-family’s house after visiting Chamula, I began doing research about the church.  While finding that the church is considered to be a “blend of Catholicism, the former pagan [Mayan] religion, and capitalism,”¹ I found many instances where people were complaining of the begging done by children of Chamulan families.  I just wish that short-term tourists who are making these pages would realize the daily trials that Mexican families face while trying to feed, house, and clothe their families.  Without having seen the rest of the country, or having done prior research on the extent of poverty in Mexico, I feel as though tourists will never be able to fathom the horrid conditions that many are forced to call “home.”

            With these ignorant viewpoints, I also was able to find a multitude of photographs and video of the inside of the San Juan Chamula church.  As this footage is being spread throughout the internet, I cannot help but feel even worse for my visit inside of the church.  Why can nothing be sacred anymore?  With expanding technology, we are left to find that knowledge is more readily available.  This knowledge, however, should not be at the expense of an entire town’s religious view.

¹http://wild-net.com.au/mexico/html/san_cristobal_-_san_juan_chamu.phtml

Wait, I’m not Catholic…and I have no idea what you’re saying!

March 23^rd, 2008

Easter is one of two holidays where I am able to see my entire family during the course of the year.  Knowing that study abroad would overlap with this holiday, I knew that I would be missing out on having the traditional, semi-annual reunion with my extended family.  Every year, my family and I wake up, making every attempt to wake up in time to attend church service, and we make our “rounds” visiting family and friends.  As I knew that this was all still going on, but without me, I really felt homesick today.  In hopes of quelling this yearning for home, I attended church service with my host mother.  Knowing that most of the people in Mexico (approximately 77% of the population) are Catholic, I felt that I could assume that she, too, was a Catholic, which turned out to be true.  Even though I knew she was most likely Catholic, I still agreed to go with her to mass. 

As we entered the San Francisco, a medium-sized Catholic church about two blocks from “El Zocolo,” I saw people staring at me, mainly because I stand out quite a bit in Mexico.  As if this didn’t make me feel uncomfortable enough, I slowly began to realize exactly how different Catholic mass and Protestant church services are.  With the constant “up and down” motion, in addition to the blessings with Holy Water, I began to feel more and more uncomfortable in this church.  On top of this, the entire service was, of course, in Spanish, so it made it quite difficult for me to understand much, if anything, that they were saying about Easter Sunday.

I was, however, able to understand two very important concepts during the mass.  During the beginning of the service, I was able to translate parts of the Priest’s Spanish sermon concerning the fact that everyone around the world, no matter their language or nationality, was celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  With this sermon, alone, I felt a bit more at ease and consoled about the fact that I could not be with my family.  Even though I could not be with them, I was, at this time, reassured that we were still celebrating Easter together, regardless of the fact that I was in a different country.  Being able to understand this also led me to comprehend the fact that language should not be a barrier for me.  As much as I love other languages, I still felt frustrated during the service, as I felt that I could not accurately translate everything and felt excluded from fully participating in the service.  In being able to understand this concept, however, I was reminded about the fact that languages are at the core of all societies and, in order to better inform myself of the world and various cultures, it is completely necessary for me to make every effort to learn other languages.

With this thought, I attempted to pick out more words and phrases within the sermon.  One of the only other phrases that I understand was “escuchar a todo” within the middle of a sentence.  Understanding this phrase alone showed me that I must expand my mind and truly attempt to learn as much as I can of everything.  In my mind, this phrase spoke to me, telling me to hear others opinions without forcing judgment on other ideas, while simultaneously formulating my own opinions based on my collective knowledge. 

I took this statement very seriously, especially my perception of our class on evolution.  Although I am certain that the priest would not have wanted his message on Easter Sunday to provoke Catholics to open their minds to ideas such as evolution, I took this phrase as such, especially with my Christian background and my tendency to be closed minded.  Even though I have already formulated my own ideas on religion and evolution, I felt that this Spanish sermon showed me that I need to learn to listen, even in other languages, in order to learn about other cultures and ideas to my maximum potential.  Even through my exploration of Mexican culture have I felt that, at some points, I may have closed off some ideas of Mexican culture, such as aspects of the Spanish language, which was initially difficult for me, and cat-calls by Mexican men.  I hope that, throughout the rest of the trip, that I will be able to continue to take this piece of the sermon to heart, enabling myself to continue my growth as a person and enhance my understanding of other ideas and Mexican culture.

            Additionally, Easter Sunday was not as large of a celebration in Mexico as it is in the U.S.  Unlike the U.S., where Easter festivities include pictures with the Easter Bunny, Easter baskets filled with miscellaneous candies, and grandiose celebrations with family and friends, the people of San Cristobal did not make Easter into such an extravagance.  Rather, the people went to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that was it!  In my host family’s house, there wasn’t a family dinner or Easter candy, but it seemed as though the people took it as a regular day outside of the Catholic mass.  As aforementioned, my family and I go to great lengths to celebrate Easter, so I was shocked that there wasn’t a “special dinner” in the house or mention of one in any of the other host family houses where other students are staying. 

            With this large difference, I began to question why.  Why isn’t Easter a “big deal” in Mexico as it is in the U.S., especially after seeing how influential American Christmas festivities are on Mexican celebrations?  I began to wonder if, possibly, because so much of the nation is Catholic, there is less of a celebration but, because I do not know much of American Catholic traditions, I feel that I cannot make this assumption.  I also began to wonder, however, if American corporations have a large effect on Easter celebrations.  With the lack of true significance of the Easter Bunny in the realm of Christianity, I could see how this would be a possibility.  Potentially, Easter has become such a large corporately-influenced holiday that we, as Americans, are making this holiday into something larger than it is.  Regardless, I cannot comprehend why Mexico hasn’t adopted it yet.  Perhaps it is just a matter of time before Mexican children will be asking their parents to drive them to local malls to visit the Easter Bunny but, for now, I am still curious as to why they have not already started doing so.

Can we leave?  I think I am going to be sick…

March 22^nd, 2008

I was honestly excited to see a bull fight.  After hearing about some of my friends’ experiences at bull fights, I thought that I would enjoy seeing the fight and the extravagant costumes of the fighters.  When I told my parents that I was going to a bull fight, however, they warned me that they, too, had gone to one in Mexico and that Mexican bull fights, unlike bull fights in Spain, end in the death of the bull.  Knowing this but not quite comprehending that “killing of the bull” really meant “murder of the bull,” I went to the bull fight and witnessed one of the most repulsive, immoral events I could have ever imagined. 

             Prior to the start of the bull fight, the bull fighters rode into the ring on horseback.  While showing their horse riding skills and their strength, the men rallied the crowd, which was highly anticipating the entrance of the bull.  Following this, the first bull entered, and the crowd roared.  I, too, was excited, until the moment when I saw the large wound in the side of the bull.  With this already inflicted wound, the bull was angered and chased after the men in the ring.  As the bull neared, one of the men raised a large dagger in his hand and stabbed the bull again.  At this moment, I knew that I really was not going to enjoy this.

            We sat through the next three bull murders.  I sat in shock, with my face in my hands, just in case I needed them to cover my eyes or to wipe away tears if I cried.  All of us felt this way.  But the crowd felt an emotion truly opposite from mine.  With the loud cheers from the crowd, the bull fighters continued to increase their levels of brutality, which only resulted in more obnoxious cheers from the audience.  Even a woman sitting next to me was cheering “Torro! Torro!” in order to show her support for the killing of the bull.  All of the people in the audience were regular-looking Mexicans; it was not as if these people were the most brutal of all Mexicans and came to the bull fight to prove their love for violence.  This, indeed, was a time when I realized that Mexican and American cultures are completely different.

            I can only relate the emotions evoke within the bull fight’s audience members to my emotions at basketball games.  While sitting in the stands, I become the obnoxious audience member that yells at the top of my lungs to the players and the coaching staff.  I am not, however, yelling to the players to murder the other team’s members.  To me, the passion I display through my yells seems normal, but to most of my friends, who are not basketball fans, I appear to be crazy.  While I sat in the stands at the bull fight, I was viewing the audience members as crazy.  Even though I still do not agree with the fact that the bull fighters did murder the bull, I cannot judge the fans.  Bull fights resulting in the death of the bull is a part of Mexican culture, as basketball is a part of American culture.  Although quite different in the outcome, bull fights and basketball can be equated to one another in the fact of the passion evoked within fans of the sporting events. 

            With this understanding, I realized that, if I had grown up in Mexico, my passion for basketball, most likely, would not exist.  Rather, this passion may have been expressed at a bull fight, where my Mexican father would have taken me to a bull fight rather than a basketball game.  With the parallels in passion for a sport, it is easy to see how Mexicans are able to enjoy the thrill of bull fights in a similar manner that I am able to enjoy the thrill of basketball games.  Because of my cultural upbringing, I cannot understand the thrill of killing a bull, but I am able to comprehend that this would be possible and completely dependent on the cultural nature of one’s upbringing.

Goodbye, Merida!

February 10^th, 2008

As I write this blog entry, I am sitting on the bus driving to Kiuic, the biological reserve that I will be staying at for the next two weeks.  Since we only left the Merida one hour ago, it is interesting to see that there is absolutely nothing outside of the city.  Currently, we are driving on a small road through what appears to be a short tree forest, with the only sign of civilization being road signs and some power lines which lead to homes that are not visible at the current time.  Unlike the U.S., there are no true suburban areas that I have seen, but, rather, it seems to be that many of the homes outside of the city are widespread.  Some of the homes resemble the stucco homes in Merida, while others have only thatched or aluminum rooftops.  I am sure that we will see many more of the thatched rooftop homes as we move even further into the jungles and towards areas mainly inhabited by Maya individuals.

It was surprisingly easy to leave the city this morning.  As I did not “anchor” myself that much into any aspects of the city, I felt that it was hardest to say goodbye to my host brother, who is 12 years old and always joked around with me.  Otherwise, I am very excited to be seeing more of Mexico outside of the city.  Although city life is “fun” and “exciting,” I would much rather be living in rougher conditions and experiencing something new than staying in a city for my entire study abroad experience!

My desire to leave the city was expedited slightly after a small, yet extremely awkward moment that Allison and I had with our host mom. From no apparent reason, our toilet stopped working.  Doesn’t seem to be that horrible, right?  Well, according to our host mom, it was a very big deal.  Because of the fact that you cannot flush toilet paper down toilets in Mexico, the immediate reason for our toilet’s inability to flush was assumed to be because we placed toilet paper in the toilet.  Since neither Allison nor I placed toilet paper in the toilet, we told our host mom, but she did believe us. 

The next morning at breakfast, our host mom told us that we must pay for the toilet to be repaired by a plumber.  Due to the fact that we did not break the toilet, we brought up the plumber issue with the coordinator at CIS.  He agreed with us that we should not have to pay for the toilet repair, and he called our host mom to tell her this. 

The next day at breakfast, our host mom began asking us about our previous night in Campeche.  Since we did not return home until 10 PM and she had already gone to sleep, she was asking us if we had taken a taxi home.  When we told her “No,” she questioned us as to why we did not simply take a taxi, and continually stated that because the exchange rate is good from U.S. dollars to Mexican pesos, we should utilize the taxi system.  Regardless of the exchange rate, I am a college student.  Because the bus only costs $0.50 per ride, while the taxi costs $5.00 per ride, it is clear to see how constantly taking a taxi would rapidly drain my checking account. 

After trying to explain this to my host mom, she still insisted that we are American and because of this, we should easily be able to pay for the amenities in Mexico, including plumbing. 

From the statement, I knew that she had talked to the coordinator at CIS, and she was not willing to accept the fact that we were not paying for her plumbing issues.  I understand that because she is a single, unemployed mother that it may be difficult to pay for plumbing repairs but, after hearing her thoughts on the supposedly “rich Americans,” I was a bit angered. 

From this, I was shocked at the extreme of which my host mom stereotyped Americans.  As mentioned in a previous blog, my host mom described her stereotype of an American girl, and, not surprisingly, I fit the stereotype to a T.  Her addition onto this stereotype, however, truly shocked me.  Due to the fact that her prior description of an American girl was only superficial, the expansion on this description included her financial views on the U.S.  According to my host mother, the U.S. is so affluent that we should be able to “live the good life” in Mexico without draining much of our bank account.

Clearly, Mexicans stereotype Americans, just as Americans stereotype Mexicans.  Why do we create certain stereotypes about other nationalities?  Is there a basis upon which we formulate these descriptions that we further assume the rest of the nationality to fit?  Indeed, stereotypes depend on the group of individuals that one is exposed. 

Because stereotypes are initially formulated via contact with a visiting group, many characteristics about the visiting group can be deduced.   For example, the U.S. stereotype about Mexicans, although not politically correct, includes the phrase “dirty Mexicans” and will often evoke an image of many illegal immigrant, Mexican male individuals riding to work in the back of a pick-up truck.  From this, it can be assumed that the population of Mexicans entering the country is poor and searching for jobs.  From current Census statistics, there are 15.1 million Mexicans in the United States.  Of these individuals, over 5.3 million are illegal, most of which crossed the border after being “recruited” by various corporations to do unskilled labor in the U.S.  In addition, these immigrants are only making an average of $12,000 in the U.S.

With the aforementioned, one can easily see how the Mexican stereotype can be formulated.  Because Mexicans are entering the U.S. due to their low, and still decreasing, GDP in Mexico, the stereotype of Mexicans develops into one in which all Mexican individuals are poor.  In addition, due to current levels of media coverage on illegal immigration into the U.S., it is assumed that all Mexicans are illegal but, as seen above, only one-third are actually illegal.  Thus, the above perception does not take into consideration the entire Mexican population, but only those Mexicans which have entered the U.S. and had the opportunity to be stereotyped.

Mexican stereotypes in regards to Americans have been formulated in a similar fashion.  Because most Americans who visit Mexico due so for tourist reasons, Americans are generally stereotyped to be wealthy and able to spend endless amounts of money on non-essential things, such as luxurious hotels, souvenirs, and taxis.  But this stereotype does not accurately represent all American citizens, especially poor, college students! 

How can this stereotyping of other nationalities be resolved?  Honestly, I believe that there is no solution to correct individual perceptions about other groups of people.  Stereotypes can only be made through contact, although this contact is often limited to only a select group of individuals.  Only through diversifying the groups entering and/or visiting other countries will stereotypes begin to evolve into more accurate representations of a group but, then again, how accurate can a stereotype truly be?

MACAY!

February 8^th, 2008

As required by the Dawleys, all students were to write blog about MACAY, a contemporary art museum in Centro.  Since I have been to many art museums in the past, I did not experience any zeal when I was told to go to MACAY.  To top this off, when I went to the museum for the first time last Tuesday, they were closed (the only day that the museum was closed was on Tuesday…aahh!).  Being that it was the end of our last week in Merida, I forced myself to go to MACAY, where I was shockingly impressed with the featured works of art.

The first display that I entered showed samples of art from Ileana Gutierrez.  This display, which was entitled “Matices De Mi Tierra,” was the first of many exposures to art that stimulated my mind during my visit.  As I looked around the room, I saw various scenes of the Merida area, including the usual market scene, full of fruits, vegetables, and locals; a view of the beach at Progresso; and a picturesque view of Centro.  Within all of these samples of Gutierrez’s art, a single trend was seen throughout all of these: the presence of prism imagery.  As each of these scenes was depicted as views through a multifaceted prism, variations in color and shapes were seen.  Although each facet pieced together to show the complete picture, each facet showed a variation in perspective of the scene.  Looking at the number of perspectives seen within each section of these paintings hyperbolized the extensive amount of views seen throughout the world on certain subject matters, including culture, religion, and politics.  Because of this, Gutierrez creates a sort of critic of the views on these institutions, enabling her audience to question the basis of their views on a single, basic topic of varying perspectives

This general trend of perspective variations pervaded throughout MACAY; “Luz Sonoma V” continues this trend.  Shown as eight, square photographs of the ocean, this artwork was able to reveal another aspect upon which outlooks on one topic may arise.  In this piece, for example, the complex motions of the waves are depicted, but at varying light intensities that result in the audience to view each of the paintings as different entities.  After examination, however, it was evident that each of these photographs was of the same ocean wave sequence but could be determined as different views if quickly observed.  In addition to this general theme of perspective variation, it became clear that only through further analysis of topics can additional perspectives be formulated.  Without this expansion on analysis of topics, it seems as though a single view point would be created on a number of subject matter, thus creating less variation of viewpoints and destroying the ability for a number of institutionalized disciplines to exist.

As I continued to walk through the exhibit and into one of the larger rooms with a multitude of abstract art pieces, I was approached by one of my classmates who insisted that he could not and would never be able to understand abstract art.  In trying to encourage him, I told him that it was necessary to practically dissect the artwork and, from the observed pieces, formulate a conclusion on the pieces meaning.  Even after trying to help him to comprehend one of the pieces, he refused to try and returned to another section which featured a number of portraits featuring portraits of varying individuals.  Seeing his seemingly intolerable outlook in regard to abstract art made me question thoughts and resulting motives.  Why is it necessary for people to completely discredit sub-disciplines of culture while trying to appear to comprehend all?  Could this be a result of impatience, or does this lack of understanding stem from another source?  As I had been recently evaluating a number of artworks, I immediately was able to relate his actions to the ability for variations in perspective to develop.  In his perspective, the paintings seemed to be out of his grasp and understanding.  In my perspective, however, these paintings had a lot of depth in which I could, in some instances, formulate a meaning for the painting.  Another student on the trip, who had analyzed the same work of art, interpreted a different meaning, which provides additional support for the widespread theme of perspectives.

As a true testimony to perspectives which pervade a number of cultural aspects, the piece entitled “Tierra y Blanca” provided me with a truly meaningful comprehension of outlook variation.  Walking around the exhibit, this piece caught my attention solely because of the fact that it had French words on it; although this is completely a superficial observation, I was able to see within this piece a true definition of perspectives.  Pieces of fabric, including tile, paper, and carpet, were spread over the piece.  Each of the paper pieces were cut-outs from magazines, newspapers, and flyers, all of which showed either English, Spanish, or French text.  Being that all of these are different forms of communication, one can see immediately that this piece was depicting the ability for perspectives to vary.  Beyond this, the other textiles were cut into various shapes.  In analyzing these shapes, however, I noticed a small, red arrow which directed a small, tile piece into a larger, wooden piece.  The wooden piece had a chunk cut out of it, which was the exact size of the aforementioned tile piece.  Noticing this small arrow and making this connection allowed me to see that the underlying languages were informalities behind the larger, more prominent textile cutouts.  In relating this to society, it was evident that languages should not define barriers and, in realizing this, individuals should place more emphasis on the subject matter.  This ability to essentially override seemingly superficial aspects of culture will allow for individuals to devise their perspectives rather than emphasizing potential societal barriers.

In being able to realize this, I am able to say, in retrospect, that I truly enjoyed MACAY.  From this experience, along with my preconception of my lack of interest in going to the museum, I realized that I had never truly evaluated the pieces of art on exhibit in art museums I had previously visited.  Although this may be due to the fact that I visited them at a younger age, I can truly say that I now have a blossoming appreciation for contemporary art.   

What’s Tecoh? Oh, the place with the bullfighting ring…

February 5^th, 2008

The title of this blog entry is intentionally misleading, mainly because that is how I know many people felt after leaving Tecoh; however, after visiting Tecoh, I was completely distraught.  Although our time at Tecoh was extremely short in comparison to our other site visits, I feel as though my time here truly opened my eyes into the history and culture of Maya Mexico.

Prior to our arrival at Tecoh, we were told that we were stopping at a small town to see a cathedral.  When we arrived, we exited the bus outside of a medium-sized bull fighting ring.  Through reverting into my “tourism mode,” I began taking lots of pictures of the ring, especially since it was the first one that I had seen.  Hugo, our tour guide, informed us that at this ring, the bull is killed at the end of the match.  Although this is disturbing, this was not the source of my distress.

Following the picture taking at the ring, we began walking up a small hill towards the cathedral.  A hill?  In the Yucatan?!?  In fact, it wasn’t a hill.  This small mound was the remnants of a Mayan structure, which was disassembled in order to use its cut limestone blocks to build the cathedral that we were visiting.  Although the Cathedral in Merida was built in a similar fashion, I feel as though I didn’t quite comprehend the symbolism of this.  Being able to actually see the remnants of a Maya structure underneath of the Cathedral in Tecoh made me realize the extent at which the Mayan culture was disturbed by the Spanish conquerors.

I quickly began to question the ability of one culture to enter and destroy another.  What makes this conquering culture feel as though they are superior and, thus, have the right to demolish sacred temples of another culture?  Is there one culture that is right, while all of the rest are wrong?  Both of these thoughts raced through my mind, yet I was unable to fathom either.  I know that I am not the person to create a decisive answer to either of these questions, nor is any other person for that matter.  I strongly believe that no one has the right to blatantly judge another culture and force their beliefs onto others.  Because culture and the beliefs which accompany it are based upon the person’s society and individual choice, “outside” individuals should not feel as though it is their duty to convert and change the lifestyles of others.

After this, I found myself questioning the presence of various celebratory streamers which, oddly enough, were draped from the bull fighting ring to the roof of the Cathedral.  At this moment, my distress was at its peak, yet I found myself in denial.  How could the Catholic Church promote such violent spectacles, upon which the observed being was killed at the end?   After asking Hugo, however, it was confirmed that the church pays for the bull fighting ring as a part of the celebration of Carnaval. 

In every aspect, this church is corrupt.  Not only was it created based upon the corrupt belief that the destruction of other cultures is acceptable, the church was now promoting the violence and drunkenness of Carnaval!

I am not sure if I was disturbed based on my views of what the Catholic Church should be based upon, and I know that I will never be able to comprehend the source of my emotions. Through this realization, however, I became even more aware of the fact that various ideas and aspects of one’s culture will surface regardless of the individual’s location and surroundings.  For me, this idea was further proven when, as I stood in front of the Cathedral, I saw a Mayan woman exiting the front doors of the church.  Although the ancient Mayan structure which I was standing had been destroyed, the Mayan culture prevailed and pervades through many aspects of contemporary Mexican culture. 

Visit to the Governor’s Palace

February 1^st, 2008

Today was the second time that I visited the Palacio de Gobierno.  In visiting a second time, I realized how little I learned the first time and was able to recognize the multitudes of information available to learn while looking at the featured paintings.  When we arrived, the large murals, which are on the within the halls of the first and second levels, were all covered due to recent renovations and painting of the walls in the Palacio.  There was, however, one room which featured many of the depictions of the fall of the Maya civilization while being conquered by the Spanish.

I was able to view and interpret a few of the paintings, some of which I will share with you all.  One painting, which is still very vivid in my mind, depicts Guererro, a Spaniard who was captured in Campeche during one of the first voyages to the Yucatan Peninsula.  While all of the others were either put into slavery or killed, Guererro and Aguilar, another Spaniard on this particular voyage, were spared by the Maya.  Guererro married a Mayan woman, and they had a child together; in this painting, the artist shows this family but, through color variations, the painting reveals much more.  Guererro’s wife, who was the daughter of the chief of Chetumal, was colored red, which is often a color used to depict natives.  Guererro, who was pictured in the center, was shown as a white color, all of which was mainly focused around his face; however, parts of him, which were touching either his child or his wife, were shown as a light red color. This red coloration shows his willingness to acculturate into Maya society, thus making him partially red.  His face, which is the part of the body used to identify a person, is completely white, which shows the viewer that although he was willing to integrate into Maya culture, his true heritage stayed with him as he was always identified as a Spaniard.  His child is shown as a mix of white and red, showing his heritage and the mixing of Spanish and Mayan blood to create the mestizaje race.   

Another fairly interesting aspect of the Spanish conquest was depicted in “Sale of Indians.”  Within this painting, coloration of individuals is also used to show a deeper meaning within the history of the Maya civilization collapse.  Within this painting, the Mayan people, who have a yellow coloration, are being taken away to be sold to Cuban slave traders.  This bright, yellow coloration can be interpreted as either their continued hope for their lives and culture, or it can be determined as their origination from maize, which is described within the Maya “Popol Vuh.”  Each of the Mayans are shown with sad expressions; large, pouty eyes; bowed heads; and slouched posture, all of which hyperbolize their emotions and sentiments as they are taken away to become slaves.  This brightness from the yellow coloration contrasts with the gray background, which also symbolizes the anguish of the depicted situation.  Within this gray coloration, a number of Spanish conquistadors are pictured.  Each of the conquistadors are shown with the same face, which is a large head with very distinguishable facial features, including a beard and pronounced cheek bones.  Through making each of the conquistadors have the same face, the artist is able to make them seem unified and lack a true identification of each individual Spaniard.  In addition, two conquistadors in the front of the crowd are shown slyly passing a bag of gold,  while still keeping their visual attention on the Maya people.  Through this, a number of aspects of symbolism is represented.  First, the passing of a large bag of gold shows the focus of the conquest and the Spaniards’ desire to take over the Yucatan in order to benefit themselves while forcing an entire civilization into extinction.  The bag is also colored red, which indicates the corruption behind the Spaniards’ actions, especially since their focus was to locate the sources of gold within the Yucatan.  Through both of these, this symbolic passing of gold shows the apathetic views of the Spaniards and their lack of concern for the Mayan people; this is especially emphasized due to the fact that while secretly passing the gold, the men are gathering and selling the Maya in order to further benefit themselves.

Although the paintings in the museum were extremely enlightening on the culture and history of the Yucatan, I found the setting and various slight observations to be extremely useful in extending my knowledge of this history.  When I entered the room of the paintings, I first saw a woman speaking with her grandson about the descriptions of the paintings.  Even though she did not appear to be Mayan, she was translating each word of the Mayan description into Spanish.  From what I could understand in their Spanish conversation, she seemed to be telling him about the history in Mayan not only to teach him some Mayan vocabulary, but also to emphasize the meaning behind the paintings.  Because each of the paintings depicts some form of Mayan life and culture, her use of the Mayan language truly placed an emphasis on the importance of completely comprehending the many aspects of history, including the emotions and culture of historical individuals, rather than simply memorizing facts and dates. 

In addition to this, I couldn’t help but look outside of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the room as I analyzed the historical paintings.  Through the windows, a picturesque view of Merida could be seen, including Centro and the Cathedral.  Beyond these structures, however, I continued to look at the actions of the people.  With the rush of afternoon traffic, the rapid movement of the people, and the preparations going on for Carnaval, I was seeing how the past can truly impact individuals of today.  This view of a Westernized Mexican city made me question the true impact of conquering of the Maya. 

Without the demise of the Maya, would contemporary Merida appear as it does today?  Without the conquest, the Palacio de Gobierno would not exist, and I, most likely, would not be visiting Merida.  If the Maya had not been conquered by the Spanish, would the same fate have resulted from a conquest by the Aztecs?  What if the Maya were never conquered?  Could the Mayan plaza which once existed in place of the streets and Centro still be standing and, potentially, still be used to practice Maya rituals? 

Because history can’t be changed, I am only left to ponder these unanswerable questions.  Even though I am unable to formulate answers to these questions, I was able to realize that, although the Palacio and the visible Cathedral are beautiful, all of the structures of Merida were built only after millions of Maya individuals were displaced from their homes, sold as slaves, and faced with numerous trials full of pain and sorrow.  Through the misery of the conquest, however, my mind was quelled as I remembered the woman speaking to her grandchild, reminding me of the strength of the Maya in their ability to continue their culture and language even after such horrible events.  Thus, although history cannot be changed, nor can future events be determined, the influence of the Maya in multiple aspects of Yucatecan culture shows the ability for a culture to persist, but only through the perseverance of individuals will this occur.     

My thought-provoking bus rides

January 28, 2008

I can not believe it is our fifth week studying abroad!  Through these past five weeks, I have really been learning a lot about the culture and history of Mexico, especially since the start of our Maya course.  Since starting the Maya course, I feel as though my eyes have opened a bit more to the actions of people, rather than the more easily noticeable and superficial aspects of Mexico.  Although it is true that many aspects of Mexico are drastically different from the United States, I feel as though the actions of the people are extremely different as well.

I began noticing these differences when I saw a woman openly praying on the bus.  In the U.S., I feel as though someone who blessed herself on a public transportation vehicle would be looked at differently, as if the person was in the wrong place to be displaying devotion to God.  In Mexico, however, religious displays are done openly.  As I drive on the bus in the morning (yes, I do learn a lot while riding the bus for an hour a day!), I see many houses ornamented with Christian crosses, pictures of the Virgin Mary, and rosary beads.  Also, if you haven't seen my pictures of my room, I have an extremely large crucifix hanging over my bed.  Clearly, openly displaying religion in Mexico is not as "taboo" as it may seem in the United States. 

Why is the U.S. general public so adverse to such religious displays?  Wasn't our country founded in order to escape religious prosecution and, thus, worship as we please?  With these thoughts, I began wondering why Mexicans are able to pray on a bus, or display crucifixes in their front yards, without causing disturbances.

It turns out that the Mexican population is 76.5% Catholic.  Immediately, it was evident to me that, because the United States is so diverse in the numbers of religions, many people find it to be offensive to openly display religious devotion in public. 

In retrospect, this seems to be an "obvious" fact, and possibly something that I should have picked up on my own.  But, in the moment when I saw this woman praying, I immediately felt that she was out of place by praying on the bus. The fact that my views of public religious displays have conformed to the American idea that this is "wrong" had not dawned upon me until I found the aforementioned statistic.  With this realization that I was, again, following the American stereotype made me feel horrible.  I began to wonder why I constantly follow the ways of my American culture.

I remember learning the definition of "culture" in my 8th grade "World Cultures" class.  "Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by people as members of society." In 8th grade, this definition seemed just like a multitude of words.  Through my experiences in Mexico thus far, however, I am beginning to understand the many aspects of the definition of culture.  My culture is mainly influenced by the United States, and ONLY the United States.  Through living in Mexico, however, I am realizing that the U.S. and Spain have such a strong influence on Mexican culture.  Why is Mexican culture integrated with other cultures, while American culture isolates itself from the world?  Is it because of prior conquest in Mexico, or because Mexico is "weak?”  I feel that it is neither of these options.  In all honesty, I believe that Mexico is more open to other cultures, while the U.S. seems to be more unwilling to integrate other cultures into our culture.

With this understanding of Mexican culture, in comparison to American culture, I began analyzing the issue of immigration into the United States.  Last semester, I took a sociology class on U.S. immigration and, while learning about the contemporary issues of immigration, I began wondering about Mexican immigration and why immigrants are hated by so many U.S. citizens.  And, by living in Mexico for the past five weeks, I am realizing that it is because the U.S. is a very arrogant country (I can not think of any other way to put it).  We constantly feel as though we are better than everyone else, hence why we do not allow other cultures to integrate into our own.  Rather, we expect immigrating individuals to conform to our society and to practically abandon their own culture.  On the contrary, Mexicans are willing to learn about other cultures, as well as integrating aspects of other cultures into their own.  Although religious views may be the same for many Mexican citizens, they seem to be more willing to accept other’s lifestyles, as well, which allows me to see that the establishment of a hybrid culture may be more inviting to the expansion of culture and, thus, enable the elimination of judgment of others.

Through this brief sight of religious display, the idea that religion should not be displayed in public is just one aspect of my American culture that I have realized during my stay in Merida.  From this, I have come to learn that, as humans, we are only able to learn more about ourselves through life experiences.  As I had mentioned before, I missed my blowdryer.  As funny as this may sound, I realized my dependence on technology through this desire for a blowdryer.  In addition, I have realized that I am more unaware of other cultures than I had originally thought.  Because of the fact that my American culture continues to surface throughout this trip, I am realizing that I have a lot to learn about the world. 

This past week has been extremely chaotic, so I am sorry that I haven't had the opportunity to write!  I am, however, going to give a brief run-down of events from last week, just to keep everyone up to date!

I saw my first car accident in Mexico last week.  I know that this sounds like a horrible thing to be talking about, but if I could show all of you the driving style in Merida, you would all be surprised that I hadn't seen a car accident sooner!  I keep experiencing more and more surprises with the driving style in Merida AND the public transportation system.  The busses last week were just horrendous.  I had two busses that didn't even follow the normal bus route, so I ended up walking many more blocks than necessary.  I can't imagine the complaints that would come from Americans if a bus driver did not follow the bus route in an U.S. city.  This just further proved to me that Mexicans seem to be much more laid back and tend to do what they feel.  It just seems to be so entirely different from America, especially in the fact that people feel they need to be so regimented and follow certain standards, which is probably why I was so angered by the fact that the bus driver was not following what I knew to be "the correct" driving route!

Last week, I studied every day for my Spanish final.  Even though it is "only" Spanish 101, or "Elementary Spanish I," I can honestly say that I was struggling.  I am able to comprehend alot of the grammatical aspect of Spanish due to my knowledge of the French language, but I felt extremely frustrated when I would try to speak.  Since the majority of the vocabulary I had to know was completely different from French, I was starting a whole new language, and I guess I just forgot how hard that truly is!  Regardless, I had to keep going and try to practice my Spanish as much as possible, both in aspects of comprehension and responses.  I feel as though I am able to really comprehend people (as long as they speak slowly, of course!), but I really have a difficult time speaking back.  Even though I start of speaking Spanish, I somehow find a way to incorporate a French word in my speech without realizing that my mind is switching languages on me!  As I learned more and more Spanish, this became the most frustrating thing for me.  I didn't realize how challenging it would be to enter a Spanish speaking country and expect to just "learn" the language without any prior experience!

After my Spanish final on Friday, a small group of us bought tickets to see a symphony, a soprano soloist, and choreographed ball-room dancing at the Instituto de Cultura de Yucatan.  Under the direction of Jose Luis Chan Sabido, the symphonic orchestra was really excellent.  While I was listening to the orchestra, however, I felt like I was at an ordinary concert.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially due to the fact that the performance was very well done, but I was more excited to be in the theater during one of the final pieces.  Just as I had thought the performance was not extraordinary, Maestro Sabido began conducting the audience to clap to the beat with the orchestra, in addition to instructing us to become forte or piano!  I have never been to a performance where the experience was interactive!  I'm not sure if it was just the fun-nature of the conductor, or if this is acceptable in Mexican art performances, but I really loved it!  Because of that three-minute piece, I can say that my trip to the orchestra was the best 80 pesos that I have spent on this trip!

On Saturday, we took a trip to Oxkintok, which is a Mayan city about an hour and fifteen minutes from Merida.  It was the first time that we used our field notebooks and binoculars, so it was truly quite the experience!  I couldn't believe how challenging it was to spot a bird, grab my binoculars, and find the bird through the binoculars before it would fly away!  I still do not have the "hang of it," but I was able to observe grackels, tropical mockingbirds, turkey vultures, and a mot-mot!

In addition, we explored the ruins of Oxkintok.  I was able to talk with our Mayan anthropology teacher, Rebecca Hill, about some of the things that we were seeing, including the architecture of the buildings.  She told me that in this region of the Yucatan, many of the ruins were characterized as being "Puuc" styled architecture due to their location in the Puuc Hills Region of the Yucatan.  She also showed me two types of vaults which were seen throughout this region, which include the boot vault, which is made from triangular shaped stone pieces that are stacked so that the stability of the structure comes from a more outwardly located center of gravity; and the inverted stairwell vault, which truly resembled an inverted stairwell!

As I walked around the ruins and climbed some of the structures, I felt that it was most interesting to see the hills which bordered the city of Oxkintok.  After being told over and over that the Yucatan is completely flat like an antacid pill, I was a bit confused by this.  I was looking over top of Mayan ruins, but I was suddenly reminded of the hills that I can see outside of my window at home!  We were later told that these hills are a part of the aforementioned Puuc Hills, but I still felt that this was quite odd to see rolling hills in background this Mayan city!

After Oxkintok, we visited Usil, which is a cave a short distance from Oxkintok.  Being that this was my first visit to a cave in the Yucatan, I was very excited to enter but, after hearing that there were hieroglyphs left by the Mayans in the cave, I was even MORE excited!  I was in awe looking at the hieroglyphs that covered the ceiling of the cave.  There was evidence found that part of the hieroglyphs symbolized the entrace into the underworld, while others displayed the Mayan numbering system to show the year in which the Mayans wrote in the cave!  After looking at the hieroglyphs, we entered a small, enclosed part of the cave in which many small rocks were placed as a form of offering to the Mayan dieties and to the underworld.  In this area, there was also a small, carved Mayan head.  When I saw this, I was initially intrigued but, after thinking logically, I began to wonder how legitimate this was.  Following this, the guides showed us a very large rock that was covered in bone and pottery pieces that were left by the Mayans.  Although the pieces appeared to be real artifacts, it seemed as though someone had placed them there rather than the Mayans leaving them there.  Rebecca Hill confirmed my thoughts and stated that she felt that the hieroglyphs were legitimate but that the Mayan head figure and the placement of bones and pottery may have been done by someone else.  It was interesting, however, that she felt that although the ancient Mayans did not do this, it may have been another Mayan individual who did this more recently in order to honor their Mayan religion and culture.

We then went to swim in a cenote.  I was really excited to go swimming, especially since I was completely covered in mud from the ruins and the cave!  When we got to the entrance of the cenote, I began feeling really nervous after I saw HOW I had to enter the cenote. Through the small entrance, I could see a small, very "riggity"-looking ladder that I would have to use in order to decend into the cave.  As I dangled my leg into the hole, I could not seem to find the step, and I started feeling really anxious.  I stepped back and let everyone else go so that I would be able to relax and go at my own pace.  This cenote was totally different from the others, especially in the fact that it was entirely underground and was lit by huge lamps rather than by some form of sunlight!  I'm really glad that I am getting the opportunity to visit so many different types of cenotes, especially since each cenote seems to have something special about it!

Yesterday and Saturday night were solely devoted to working on my Bio 220 project.  I was able to finish, which was great, but I was so sick yesterday that the day just felt like it would not end!!!

I don't really have any updates for today, besides the fact that we started our Biology 220 and Mayan Civilization classes today.  I really think that I'm going to love the rest of my classes and learning about the Mayans and biological aspects of the Yucatan through hands on experiences!!

That's all for now, folks!  I miss you all so much!!!

Love,

Ashley

Today was the first day that I reverted back into my American lifestyle.  Although I am enjoying Mexican culture and all it has to offer, I just really needed a day inspired by the good ol' U.S.A.  The day began with plans of going to the beach in Progreso but, because the weather was horrible today, no one wanted to go.  Instead, Amanda and I paid 100 pesos (or $10 U.S.) to go to the spa and pool at "FiestAmericana", which is a hotel in Centro that allows non-hotel guests to pay to use their services.  Because this was my first taste of "gringo" life, I felt like I was in my glory.  The pool, jacuzzi, sauna, and (you have no idea how excited I was to see this in el bano) HAIRDRYERS all made me think of America and how I miss the many novelties that it offers me.  Having not originally planned to make the day a "gringo," American day, I am, in retrospect, shocked at how fast I became completely comfortable at the luxuries of the hotel!

After roasting in the sauna, swimming in the frigid pool, and bathing in the jacuzzi, I took a shower.  It was all down-hill from there for me.  The ability to use a hairdryer made me so thrilled that my downward spiral into gringo-ism accelerated rapidly.  From this point on, I was a tourist.  No longer did I feel as though I was living in Merida.  With my hairblown dry hair and my camera on my wrist, Amanda and I walked through Merida taking pictures of things that we had seen multiple times, but never as tourists.  Not to say that this is a bad thing, but I definitely was a tourist.  My gringo tendencies did not quite sink in until, as usual, a man came up to me to say his usual catcall but, this time, he said "Hello, Gringa!" 

Gringa? Really?  Until this afternoon, I had yet to be called out as a gringo, but I guess there's a first time for everything.  Even though I was willing to accept the fact that, today, I was a tourist, I still felt a bit taken back by this.  I knew that it was obvious that I am not a Mexican native, but the fact that I was "called-out" on it made me feel a bit confused.  What do I want to be: a gringo or a civilian?  The one day of this entire trip that I have felt as though I was a tourist made me realize that I don't want to be the "American stereotype" or the "gringa"; I want to be able to fit into the culture and fully emerge myself.  I hope that I will be able to do this more effectively this week and be able to learn more about how to "live" in Mexico rather than just being a visitor. 

Aside from this, however, Amanda and I had an awesome day.  I'm not quite sure if it is because I felt like a tourist or if it's just because I was able to explore the landmarks of the city without having to "get to class" or meet a group of people downtown.  I had my first McDonald's meal today which, shockingly, was extremely refreshing.  I hadn't realized how much I was craving a "taste" of home, even if it had to be through McDonald's greasy burgers and salty french fries.  To add to our tourist-inspired day, Amanda and I headed to Centro and walked around to the different vendors (all of which speak English for the visiting tourists) and looked at souvenirs.  Almost as equally shocking as the wonderful taste of the McDonald's food, today was the first day that I bought any souvenirs for myself (see, Cory? I don't always spend alot of money!): two pairs of glass-blown earings (for only $8 U.S.)!  After all of these America-inspired actions, I feel that I am now ready to re-initate my emergence into Mexican culture!

Also, Amanda and I met an interesting vendor who was trying to help us with our Spanish and was telling us some of the history of the oldest church on the American mainland, which is called Catedral de San Ildefonso.  Inside of the church was a crucifix of Jesus Christ that was originally in a cathedral in Guatemala.  The church had been struck by lightning and the only piece of the building that remained erect was this crucifix, which only was blackened by the smoke of the fire.  More interestingly was the fact that the crucifix was not blackened at the points of which Jesus was crucified (on his palms and feet)!  The man kept saying (in Spanish, of course) that this was truly a miracle and has been regarded as such by the Catholic church.  A statue of the Virgin of the Yucatan was also featured within the church and symbolically was shown standing on top of a serpent with an apple in its mouth; this was displayed as such to show the defeat of the tempting serpent in the Garden of Eden whom told Adam and Eve to eat the fruits of the garden.  In addition, a huge crucifix of Jesus Christ was featured in the middle of the cathedral and, as told by our friendly vendor, three unusual pieces were different about this crucifix when compared to others: Jesus was depicted as being crucified through his wrists rather than his palms; Jesus was not wearing the "Crown of Thorns"; and the wound which was inflicted upon Jesus's side was missing.  Of all of the places that I've been to so far in Merida, I can say that I truly enjoyed visiting this cathedral the most! 

In addition to teaching us history, I was able to ask the vendor about the lifestyles of the Mexican working class.  He was telling me about the popularity of hammocks in the home and, even though he has a bed at home, he often sleeps in his hammock for half of the night and then will move over to his bed.  Through his knowledge of the city, I was also able to see the pride in which Merida's citizens have for the city.  Not only did he know the locations of various monuments in town, but he was able to tell us indepth details about the smallest, almost unnoticeable details of each building in Centro (as seen above!).  Through his pride in his city and his devoutness to Mexican culture, I was able to see that Mexican citizens are truely genuine people.  Not many individuals in the U.S. could tell you much about the monuments in neighboring cities, nor could they say that they've been able to stay true to their heritage and ancestral culture!  Because of this genuine care for preserving their culture, I began questioning why many of the streets and houses in Merida appear to be so poorly maintained.  Is it because of their culture that the country is not able to move forward economically?  Could the desire to remain devoted to ancestral cultural aspects be resulting in Mexico's inability to become a "developed country" rather than remaining "developing?"  To be honest, I'm not quite certain.  By retaining cultural aspects, for example, as an occupation may limit some Mexicans in their ability to become economically secure, but I feel as though one must weigh the benefits and the disadvantages.  Because culture is so rich in Mexico, it may be a limitation on societal growth but, as more influence from America comes in, I feel as though the country will continue to grow.  As this occurs, however, much of the Mexican culture will be lost as financially suffering individuals resort to jobs in American corporations, such as the many McDonalds or the soon to be Hershey factory in Mexico.  As I see more and more American corporations in the city, all of which seem to be located within close proximity to one another, I feel as though the city is more economically sound.  Travelling to the outskirts of the city, however, prove to me that the city is still poor, although parts of it seem to be thriving in tourism and business.  It will be interesting to see how the towns in Mexico change as we travel to areas where little or no American/corporative influence has been experienced. 

After walking around Centro, we took a cab to the Dawley's, where we met up with our whole group for some good company!  In addition, we walked around the Dawley's beautiful backyard and identified plant species.  It may not sound that fun, but I really think that knowing the names of different species is very interesting!

And, just to update on last night's activities, a small group of us met in Centro and went to a restaurant/bar that had live music.  It was alot of fun, especially because we had a small singing competition going on between our table and the neighboring Mexican table.  The competition began when "Living On a Prayer", by Bon Jovi, came on and our entire table sang/yelled the words very loudly.  Following this song, the Mexican group next to our table began singing the next song obnoxiously loud as well, mainly because it was in Spanish and they knew we wouldn't be able to compete with them! 

That's it for today.  I miss you all, and I will be sure to continue to update you on my Mexican adventure!

Love,

Ashley 

Last night, I began wondering what is so great about this trip.  I was feeling frustrated and a bit tense as Amanda, Allison, Jessie, and I walked from a random bowling alley to find a street which actually had busses running on it.  All I could think of was how completely exhausted I was and, really, had no desire whatsoever to go and do anything.  Because of my exhaustion and frustration with the "finding a bus" situation, which, keep in mind, lasted for about an hour, I hopped in a taxi and went back to my homestay.  As I sat in the room alone, my frustration continued.  I hadn't felt like this all trip, and I really began wondering what I was doing.  After talking with some friends online and then to my family, I went to bed so that I could get up at 6:30 AM today. 

With today's "planned fun" Saturday, I was reminded why I am on this trip.  I love all of the things that we're doing and seeing.  Everyone is bound to get frustrated at some point and question their study abroad experience but, since my questioning was so abrupt (especially since, prior to yesterday, I hadn't felt any such emotions), I was taken off-guard and forgot that bowling and the "city-life" is only part of my experience, but not my sole reason for being here!

Today, we went to Dzibilchaltun, which is a small, ancient Mayan city 10 miles from the Gulf Coast.  While we were going to the ruins (I'll admit it...), I was a bit "bucky" as my mom likes to call me, but once we got there, I was so excited/happy/glad to be exploring the ruins!  The city was MUCH smaller than Chichen Itza, but it was still very neat to learn about the significance of the various remaining buildings.

One of our drivers told us a bit of background information about Dzibilchaltun.  Because of its close proximity to Merida, many of the Spanish conquerers travelled to Dzibilchaltun and disassembled many of the buildings in order to use the already cut limestone for contruction of Spanish-influenced buildings and churches in Merida.  Due to this, most of the city was only made up of basic frameworks marking where the city's buildings used to stand. 

In addition, the driver informed us not to believe many of the stories about Mayan culture and society that were written by conquerers of the Maya.  Because the Spanish were trying to make the Mayans look vulgar, the Spanish were able to make the Mayan culture seem not worth preserving, which allowed for many of the Spaniards to support the dismantling of many of the Mayan cities.  For example, the driver stated that many of the stories of Mayan sacrifices were not true.  Many of the findings of bodies in cenotes and other supposed "sacrificial ceremonies" were to honor individuals who had died, thus making the findings of bodies in cenotes only a type of "burial ceremony" rather than an actual sacrifice.  Some cities, however, did have evidence of sacrifice.  Because of these inconsistencies, I will blog later about any more information I find on the sacrifices during my Mayan culture course!

While we were at the ruins, we visited one of the still intact buildings of the city.  This building was one of the only Mayan buldings to have actual windows in it; these windows were used to detect the soltices based on the way that the sunlight would pass through the windows.  By knowing when the solstice was, Mayans were able to identify the coming of various weather changes, including when the rainy and dry seasons would begin!  In this building, the Dawleys saw animal feces on the ground.  I'll admit that I was very grossed out when I saw it, but after it was determined that it was an owl pellet AND there was a whole mouse skull in the pellet, I was very intrigued.  The entire skull of the mouse was intact, so Dr. Dawley kept it for her collection of animal skulls!

After this, we walked to the cenote that was in Dzibilchaltun.  The driver also told us that this is one of the only Mayan cities that has a cenote in the city!  Other Mayan cities who were more inland did not have cenotes due to the fact that the fresh water was so far underground that it could not be reached in the form of cenote; thus, Mayans in these inland cities were forced to find other ways of having water sources (when we learn about them, I will be sure to blog more about it!). 

It was alot of fun swimming in the cenote, especially since it wasnt in a cave, so it was completely different from the ones that we saw last week!  Overall, the trip to Dzibilchaltun was really fun, and I can't wait to see more of the Mayan cities soon!

As for tonight, I'm still not quite sure what I am doing, but I will be sure to write about it in a future blog for you all!

Miss you all!

Love,

Ashley

UPDATE:

Sorry that the above post was the first in three days.  Here's the blogs that I didn't have a chance to post until now!

January 17th:

Today is my dad's birthday!!!!  I was able to call him twice today using wonderful skype and talk to him.  I hope that he had a good birthday! :-D

As for my blogging, last night was alot of fun.  We went to the "Mambo Cafe, which is a salsa dance club about 10 minutes from my homestay!  A group of us met there and waited until the dancing started.  I started getting very impatient waiting for the dancing to start but, once it did, it was so much fun!  There was even a live band at the club playing salsa music!  While Dana, Amanda, and I were dancing on the dance floor, three guys came up to us and asked us to dance.  The guy that I was dancing with did not speak English, and because I know very little Spanish, we just kept dancing and laughing because that was all that we could do to communicate! 

After this, the live band took a break, and regular club music came on, most of which was in English.  It is so strange to me how so many things here are in English and have American influence!  From the restaurants to the popular clothing styles, a large number of things constantly remind me of home;  maybe this is another reason why I have not been very homesick! 

During class today, we took a trip to Centro and looked at a number of the stores featuring Yucatan fashions.  At the "Casa de los Artesanos," we saw a number of handcrafted items which were made from Henequen.  Just as a refresher (or if you haven't read the blog about this), henequen was a major product shipped from the Yucatan to other countries as a textile to make many things, including ropes.  Some of the things that were handcrafted there included handbags, hammocks, and small toys!  We also visited a small jewelry store that had the supposedly fashionable "maquech" pins. Maqueches are LIVE beetles are decorated with jewels and a long, gold chain to make it look like a pin.  The beetle just grabs onto your clothes and sits there!  This was so weird to me, but I still tried one on!  It was kind of neat when it was on my clothes, but I was still minorly disturbed by it!

That's all for today!  Adios, muchachos!

Love,

-Ashley

January 18th:

Today, all of the culture classes took a trip to the Anthropological museum in Merida, which showcased alot of the artifacts and general information about the Maya.  We learned alot about the Mayan calendar and the numbering system, but I found the concept of "Mayan death" to be very interesting!  The museum information stated that, after an individual died, the person would be placed on a sort of display and surrounded with their favorite personal belongings and food to take with them to the underworld.  Individuals who were regarded as the nobility were be buried due to their potential to become divine beings. It was also very interesting to find out that the entrance to the underworld was believed to be the cenotes!  In addition, those who passed through the cenotes into the underworld were able to control those who still were alive on earth. 

Also, I had been wondering what the significance of "Chac Mool" was and, after visiting the museum, I was informed that it was used to place the hearts of those who were sacrificed.  In the stomach of the Chac Mool was a small container in which the heart was placed.  Following this, the bodies of the individuals were thrown into a cenote as a sacrifice to the underworld!

While reading many of the signs about the Mayan, I began looking over at the Spanish just to see how much I could understand of it.  As I read, I noticed that many of the things were not translated over to English and, often times, the signs contained more information in Spanish than they did on the English signs.  I can only imagine that this would be a result of the lack of translating ability of the person who made the signs, but I still found this to be very interesting!

Tonight, our host mom plans to take us bowling, so I will let you know how that goes!

Love you all! Miss you!

-Ashley    

The phrase "De donde eres?" translates to "Where are you from/what nationality are you?"  Being in the lowest level of Spanish classes at CIS has exposed me to this question, as it is one of the basic questions in the Spanish language.  I find it to be ironic, however, that it is one of the first questions that I've learned to ask others, especially because I am studying abroad in such a different country compared to the U.S.  In reflecting upon this question, I have realized some of the most basic amentities that I take for granted in America, in addition to seeing how others are able to lead their lives based on a completely different culture and, somehow, are able to exist!

I know I stated before about how I've longed for my blowdryer, but, besides that, I feel that I haven't gone into much depth about the differences between Mexico (as seen in Merida, at least) and the United States.  If you have talked to me online or on the phone, you know about the many catcalls that come from Mexicans as anyone (females AND males) walk down the street.  Although it still makes me feel a sense of anger when I hear it, I have heard from my teachers at CIS that it is simply a form of flattery in Mexican culture and is not used to belittle females.  My preconception of such catcalls was seen, in my mind, as it would be by most American females; I felt as though I was getting attention as a piece of "meat" and was considering it to be using my self-worth as a target.  Because it has been brought to my attention that this is not their intention, in addition to the fact that none of the men that have yelled/whistled at me have acted upon it, I feel as though I'm beginning to accept it more.

In following through with the idea of acceptation, I feel as though my past travels to various countries throughout the world has opened my eyes to a number of cultures and has allowed me to take many of the obstacles I have faced thus far as simply learning experiences rather than hindrances.  I have heard many times that students studying abroad are often faced with a sense of "culture shock," especially within the first three weeks of being abroad.  As this is my second week in Mexico, and I have yet to feel any sense of such "shock," I feel that I can contribute my ability to adjust to my past experiences throughout the world with my family.  Also, because this is my third time in Mexico, I feel that I had more or a sense of the Mexican lifestyle, although it is my first time here without my family, which does make things a bit more complicated. 

Without my family here to tell me that things are "okay," I have felt myself step back and reflect many times about what I was seeing.  For example, I was reminded about the sense of uncertainty about the public transportation bus drivers here this morning as I was on one of the same busses that I was on before; the only reason I know this is because the driver was reading the newspaper while driving again, which quickly reminded me of one of my days last week when I was on his bus!  Normally, on vacation with my family, my mom and dad would assure my brother and I that we'd be okay if we saw something like this but, now that it is just me, I have to reassure myself because I do not have them here to depend on. 

As I find more things to reflect upon and share with you, I will definitely do so!  Now, I'm just going to go through my past two days because I haven't had time to blog!

The past two days have been solely devoted to studying.  Tuesday morning, we had a quix on the taxonomy of birds, which was quite challenging to study for, but I think that I did fine.  Today, we had our first Spanish exam, which counts for 25% of my grade because our Spanish course only lasts until next Friday (which is when my final is!!).  Besides studying, not much has happened.  I was able to talk to my crazy friend Meaghan on the phone two days ago, which was great because I haven't been able to talk to her and I really missed just being able to vent/talk/laugh with her!  I also talked with my parents both days, which I always enjoy :-D ! 

Yesterday, to review for our exam, we played a Yucateca game called "Loteria," which is similar to BINGO but involves Spanish and Mayan words rather than simply numbers.  Valentina, my Spanish teacher, told us that this is a traditional game in Mexico, and that during hot days, parents will have their children play this game at mid-day so that the kids are not outside playing in the heat!  It has been a game played traditionally at family functions, as well, for many decades here in Mexico.  I really enjoyed playing this game not only because it helped me to review for my exam I had today, but because it exposed me to a bit more of the traditions of Mexico!

Today, after our exam, we learned more of the past tense of verbs (yes, its only week two and we're already on past tense...it's just so fast!).  I think that I'm beginning to enjoy Spanish a bit more now that we're learning verbs because I'm beginning to be able to express myself more to others in Spanish!  In culture class, we learned the history of panuchos, which is a traditional and economical Mexican dish.  It started out as a dish for a guest at a restaurant who was very picky and wanted something made only from "Restos de comida," or left-overs.  The restaurant owner made a dish which the guest loved.  Because he loved it so much, he asked for the name of it but, because the owner had made it simply through his creativity, he did not have a name.  The guest asked for the owner's name, which was Jesus, but his nickname was Chucho.  From his nickname, the guest called the dish "Pan de Chucho," which later developed into "Panuchos."  Essentially, two tortillas are fried with refried beans inbetween them, so that the beans are contained inbetween the two fried together tortillas.  Refried beans are placed ontop of the tortilla, along with shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and onion.  We were all able to help make the dish, in addition to taste-testing it!  It was alot of fun, and the food was really good.  I hope that I can continue to experience such cultural aspects of Mexico to further enhance my study abroad experience! :-D

Now, I'm going to go study before I go out with some of my classmates to "Mambo Cafe" tonight, which is a salsa dance club!  It should be alot of fun, and I'll be sure to write about it tomorrow!

Hastas mena! 

Love,

-Ashley   

Here's a recap from last night:

We all met in town and listened to a concert that they were having at the Plaza de Montejo (it seems like they have free parties for the city residents constantly!).  Then, some of us went to a bar/restaurant while the rest of us went to a karaoke place called "Up All Time" (we're pretty sure they forgot the "The" when they were trying to make it an Americanized karaoke place).  We all had alot of fun, and four of us got up and sang "Stop" by the Spice Girls!  After karaoke, we all met up in town and danced in the street with a bunch of natives to salsa/merengue music.  It was so much fun!!!

Today, most of us met up and went to the beach at Progresso.  It was so much fun having all of us there just tanning/swimming and being on the beach in Mexico!!!  A few of us went out on banana boats twice, too.  I flew off the boat both times, of course, and had to be pulled back on, but it was still so much fun.  Especially the first time, we kept yelling "muy rapido!" and putting our thumbs up, so they kept going faster and faster and making us swirve like crazy.  The second time around, they remembered us and just started off at the same pace as we had ended the first time, and from then, they got faster!  It was seriously a ton of fun, but now I'm exhausted and can't wait to go to sleep.  AND I didn't get sunburned, thank God, so my lathering techniques for sunscreen really seemed to help! :-D

Other than the above, not much is new.  I've just been really enjoying myself here and getting to know everyone on the trip.  It seems like we're going to continue to have a really good time!

Ohh and I updated my Photobucket, so feel free to check out my new pictures!

Love you all!  Miss you!!!

-Ashley

I had to pee today OUTSIDE of an old abandoned hut.  Now THAT was interesting.  I had to go to the bathroom so bad that I didnt even care where it was, or if anything would bite me in the butt...thank goodness nothing did, but I didn't even think about any of that.

My lack-of-bathroom experience was today at the cenotes.  I had such a good time just swimming all morning/early afternoon...it was seriously sooo much fun! (I'll put those pictures up on Photobucket for you all haha)

Anyway, I didnt get to write on here yesterday because it was a really hectic day.  I went to school, learned how to salsa dance (which was fabulous, by the way), and then was picked up from school by my host-mom to go and have lunch with her and her family.  It was really interesting how all of the women were expected to stand until the men and guests (aka me and Allison) finished eating...totally different from the United States!!

After this, we all met up at CIS for a "Welcome to Merida" party, where everyone and their host family went and had dinner together.  Then, a group of us went out to Sega____(I don't remember the whole name...it was something that began with Sega though haha), which was a small lounge area.  When we finally made it home, after having to fight to get a taxi, of course (haha), I fell asleep and had to wake up at 630 this morning!

But it was worth it because we went to the cenotes today.  There was a platform that all of us were jumping off of into the water, and it was sooo much fun!  I can't wait until we all go to the beach in Progresso tomorrow!!! :-D

Welp, that's it for now...I'll update my pictures sometime today!

Miss you all!!!

-Ashley

http://s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj59/asoconnell/

So that is my Photobucket site that I will be using to upload pictures.  It told me yesterday on facebook that it would take 10 hours to upload my pictures and, after I waited for an hour and it said 9 more, I decided to forget that.  Also, vox won't let me upload pictures because the connection seems to be slow, so I'll just do it through that site!

Anyway, today has been pretty good.  I've been able to relax today after class and just gradually do my homework, which is a nice pace compared to the past few days where we've been constantly running around! 

This morning, I woke up and had breakfast.  It's funny because, since my housemom has realized that I can't eat heavy foods at breakfast, she's been giving me a plate of fruit, which is always amazing.  Then, Allison and I went to school and made it there safely; I think we've really got this "public transportation" thing under control.  At school, we took our Mammal taxonomy quiz, which I think went well.  After this, I had Spanish class.

In Spanish class, we learned numbers, verbs, some gramatical words, and, best of all, how to go to a place and meet guys (while speaking only in Spanish, of course!).  It was pretty interesting not only doing this as an exercise, but seeing the opinion of my Mexican teacher and how Mexican culture approaches meeting guys haha.

After Spanish, I was able to convert 1/2 of my U.S. dollars into pesos, which was good because after the bus this morning, I had absolutely no pesos left!  We then had our culture class and learned about how, in Mexican culture, guys will pay for a trio to go and serenade the women that they are interested in.  Roger said that, for one song, it costs 50 pesos (or 5 dollars U.S.), but because the entire neighborhood watches and listens to the serenade, the guy will often purchase at least a 1/2 hour's worth of music, or about 500 pesos ($50).  If he does not go "all out," the neighbors will think that the guy is poor, so it seems to me as though it is a form of flattery for the girl, in addition to a status symbol for the guy!

We then returned to our homestay and have just been sitting here relaxing.  I was able to catch up with some friends from home online, too, and it was so nice to just be able to talk to some of them for a while! 

Tonight, I will probably just study some Spanish with my CDs that my dad bought me over Thanksgiving break (I told you I'd use them!!!!), and then go to bed early because I am EXHAUSTED!

Enjoy the pictures!

Hastas manana!  I love you all!

-Ashley

I hate my hair.  It is so gross down here because I'm sweaty all of the time and I can never blow dry it...ughh I sound so vain but it's cool...haha.  I just finished taking the best shower of my LIFE.  The water was freezing cold and felt amazing because I've been so warm all day long.  It's kind of gross though to see dirt in the water that is flowing off of your skin...kinda made me feel really disgusting today.

So thats my rant about Merida.  Everything besides my hair and feeling dirty 24/7 has been really great.  The people here all seem to be very friendly, the classes are interesting, and the food is good! 

This morning, our house-mom woke us up an hour early because she didn't know that we didnt have class at 8 today (it was at 9 instead because we didn't have a taxonomy quiz).  I didn't really even wake up though and I ended up getting up at 7:30, getting ready for school, and then having breakfast.  After breakfast, Allison and I took the bus by OURSELVES for the first time.  We were able to survive finding the school and everything, so it was a successful trip!

At school, we learned more vocabulary, include the parts of the body, some verbs (hacer, trabajar, etc.), and articles of clothing.  Then, we played a game where there were 5 chairs for 5 people in the class and then the remaining 6th person had to say a part of the body or an article of clothing and if you had it, you had to get up and move to a new seat; whoever was the last one standing had to ask the next question.

Then, we had culture class, where we went to a museum (Museo de la Cancion) but, because it wasn't free and the teacher had thought it was (because it used to be), we just read an article outside of the museum about it.

After class, we all went to a small restaurant for lunch, where I had "Arroz con pollo", which was really good.  Then, we took a historical tour of the city. 

After 10 hours of being away from my homestay, Allison and I returned and are now sitting here about to study for our 2nd quiz tomorrow on the taxonomy for the class Mammalia.  It should be a fairly interesting day tomorrow and, hopefully, there will be some down time so that I can maybe go over some of my Spanish vocabulary before my first exam next Wednesday!

Adios, muchachos!  Tu me manques!

(the last part is in French, just because I miss speaking it...alot...oo and that means "I miss you") (if you know French, don't translate that literally...it's a special relexive verb where you make the direct object the subject of the sentence :-) )

-Ashley

P.S.  The internet connection here won't let me upload pictures (it told me that it would take 9 hours to upload pictures on facebook...and that was after I waited for an hour haha)...I will try to figure out where I can do that faster and get back to you all on that :-D