Mérida, México: In the milpa, the mighty milpa, the Mayans sleep tonight!

It's like it was meant to be, Mayans rhymes perfectly with lions, and for that reason - we sang our version of the Lion King song at the top of our lungs various times this weekend :)

I don't even know where to start with this post... I wish I could have carried a video camera with me all weekend so I could really share my experiences with you. Wow, it was incredible!! I'll attempt to walk you through everything I saw, smelt, felt, heard, and tasted - it was quite the adventure for all my senses! The whole weekend we were so fortunate to not have the hot sun beating on us, the weekend was mostly overcast, with a little rain here and there, but nothing unbearable! We were so happy to be a little wet from rain, rather than sweat :)

Friday:

We left very early at 7:30am, and due to rain and my different bags, my mom dropped me off at the Central House. We left first for Chichen Itza (which is pictured at the top of my blog), one of the seven modern wonders of the world. It's a site of Mayan ruins and pyramids! It was very neat - unfortunately since this site is more protected we weren't able to climb them! It provided a rich history and more of a cultural experience than the other ruins we have visited. We saw a whole new scene, very touristy with an average of 8,000 people visiting each day! Lots of people from all over the world, and many many vendors! They lined the paths to proclaim "Good price!", "Almost free!" or "For your mother-in-law!" We'd often just tell them we don't speak English, and we'd get in some pretty funny conversations with them - they're not used to the 'tourists' actually talking back to them - we wish we could explain to people that we're not just passing through, but we're students here for 4 months!! It was craziness, but we loved it! Then we drove to Tinum, met with Lisa and Schultze (the American couple with ties to Central that started this experience for students), and got the lay of the land. The village of Tinum is very rustic, traditional, and full of wise people in the town of 5,000. Lisa brought me to my host home - Doña Jacinta (pronounced Ha-seen-ta) - who is absolutely precious was my host mom! Her husband died 6 years ago in a construction work accident. She has 4 grown children, one of which lives on the property with her four grandchildren as well. They were so enthusiastic, ready to play, and great to have there - Brian is 1, Suemi is 4, Jenni is 7, and Perlita is 8. I didn't spend much time with Brian, considering he cried every time he saw me, but the girls were quick to become friends with me! The home was nice, and what people would call a 'humble home' but I was completely surprised for how much I was warned about it being rustic! My room had four walls and a door, in which my hammock fit perfectly - but my room was the only with such nice upkeep. There was a GIANT palapa structure in the middle of the property (her sons built it using the skills their father taught them). They even had a room her son designed that has a big stereo system... a little funny! We all discussed how the life in Tinum is a mezcla (mix) as most homes although rustic, had very modern things such as internet, stereos, nice TVs, etc. Everything was thatch roof, and many of the parts of the home had stick walls. The kitchen was wonderful, and completely Mayan village type - small fire for a stove, the stick walls, water basins to wash, and I got to make tortillas! I gotta say - I wasn't half bad :) Doña Jacinta even was impressed and she couldn't believe it was my first time! We have no idea what tortillas are. I thought even the ones I've had here in Merida were the best, but they can't even compare to what we had in Tinum. Since the people live off the corn, tortillas are served with everything, and they're apart of every meal. Made by hand, the complete process is all done in the home. If your family doesn't have a milpa (corn field), you buy the corn, then peel it, cook it, grind it, and make masa (the dough-type mixture), then form your tortillas and place them on the wood stove. From there they go straight to your plate!! I have never felt so comfortable like I did in Tinum, and the confidence I had with my Spanish was like I've never had. This made it so easy to talk with my family and hear their life stories. I played cards and ball games with the girls in the afternoon. I had quite the adventure learning that the "bathroom" is really just wherever you feel most comfortable going! I am more than fine with this concept, I was just confused if I was doing it right, or if I was being the stupid American. My home was the only without a "real" bathroom (or as real as they get there). Doña Jacinta makes hammocks and huipils (pronounced e-peels, the white embroidered dresses) for a living. Friday night Doña, the three girls and I went to a novena - a candle, worship, prayer service (Catholic) at a family member's home. Turns out it was where Katelynn and Liberty were staying! They were praying to a saint of the Christ child because they all promised to pray for nine days out of this month every year to thank God for keeping a child alive and healthy that was born premature about five years ago. The life there amazes me... such diligence, patience, and hard work!

Saturday:

Such an extraordinary day! Rolled out of my hammock, ate breakfast, and left to meet the group! I slept surprisingly well for my first night in a hammock – only waking up a few times, and then again in the morning, much thanks to the roosters and radio station that began blaring music at 4am (for anyone that was in Peru with me – it was the same thing we dealt with there ha!!). We ventured out to the milpa where we observed the entire process of harvesting corn. We peeled the corn, removed kernels, saw where they store it,

Learned how they plant it, watched how they gather it, and got a hunting demonstration! These Mayans are brilliant and so resourceful. We came back to ‘town’ and visited the Panadería where a massive stone fire hearth is used to bake breads (soooo delicious) and also visited La Molina (where you can take your corn to be ground and prepared, or have your masa made into tortillas if you don’t choose to make them by hand). I returned home and played more with the three girls! After lunch our group went to the extremely small village of Loop Xul with a population of only 50 people, from 8 families. This pueblo is known for its basket weaving, and what wonderful work they do! We got to help peel the vines that they use for the baskets, then we went on a long walk to look at a milpa, check out where they make charcoal, and head back to the home where we peeled more vines and got to purchase some of their baskets! If only it was easier to get them home, I would have bought the bigger ones, but I stuck with two small baskets instead! It is insane how inexpensive they are, for all the work and beauty that they are. It was neat that after watching them make different crafts we were able to buy them! Went home to have dinner and make tortillas with Doña Jacinta, then just sat in hammocks and relaxed and talked! As I got ready for bed a church next door was having worship and it was so cool to hear familiar praise songs in Spanish as people glorified the same God in a completely different culture and part of the world!

Sunday:

Had breakfast, packed up, and said my goodbyes to my Mayan family. It was actually really sad but Doña Jacinta was sure to invite me back if I have time during my stay in Mexico. I really hope I can work something out to go back and stay with them another weekend! Our group then met back the Lisa and Schultze’s home to have a closing time and chat about our individual experiences. Then a long and quiet ride back to Merida as most of us slept the entire way! I got more stares than usual as I sauntered down El Circuito with my duffle bag, backpack, and pillow to get home. Some family was over so I spent some time with them before unpacking all my things, catching up with emails, and taking time to just relax… Feels good!! It’ll be a rough morning waking up for classes, but excited for another week of new experiences! This weekend was absolutely wonderful, and I feel blessed to have had the time in Tinum, see the beauty of Chichen Itza, and be apart of yet another new family!

Lisa and Schultze had asked each of us students to have something ready to share during our closing time this morning – here is what I shared, and one of the biggest realizations I made during my time in Tinum:

“The Simple Life”

You show people pictures of your time in Tinum and they may be prone to say, “Now that is the simple life.” And I’d be lying to say I haven’t made similar comments about places I’ve visited like this in the past. Sure it can seem simple – but I think we see the lifestyle in villages like this in a false sense. There is nothing simple or easy about the way Doña Jacinta lives, and surely nothing simple or easy about the way Tachi does his work on the milpa. No, what’s easy is the way I purchase tortillas at the grocery store, the way I turn the knob to cook my food, and the way I open a can to eat corn for dinner. These things are easy. I believe things have just gotten mixed up or confused. While the life here in Tinum might seem easy and simple, it’s because the people haven’t allowed machines and systems to complicate things. Instead they pull their own weight, they labor and sweat over the things that we’ve lost the creativity to do in the States. We hurry about pushing buttons and arranging cords so that we can have things done for us. Any native of Tinum would observe and see that we in fact live the easy, simple, or lazy life. Yes indeed these Mayan people lead the lives that are hard and complex. So we shouldn’t discredit what’s going on here – we have to step out of our preconceived ideas and recognize that people here living with the basics, or sometimes less than basics, do not live easily. They have not allowed laziness or man-made things to rot out their creativity and perseverance. Instead it’s Americans who live in a society where the clutter of things has created for us an easy, comfortable, and simple life. I can’t deny that I appreciate, love, and embrace the things I have which make my life a little easier or convenient. I’d just hate to overlook the complex way of life that occurs here every day. We must appreciate the determination, thought, time, and process that goes into everything, every day here in Tinum and so many other places around the world. And surely after our experience this weekend we’re must more aware. So as I sit in my hammock and soak up this fresh and possibly deceiving lifestyle, I begin to notice that things are nearly as simple as they may have once seemed.

Sorry, that was quite the extensive report - but I hope you were able to get an idea of what my weekend entailed!

Ps. Down below if you scroll you will see I added the post I had written for Thursday, but since my house didn't have internet I wasn't able to add it until today!