July 5 - So this is Campeche

What did I notice? 

This morning I woke up to go for a run overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in Campeche.  This is a beautiful, undiscovered town which also appears to be physically fit.  Aerobics classes were in action at different places along the well-kept boardwalk, a pull-up bar was available just off the trail, and there runners filled the path.  

Campeche is a town that has a wall built around it with one gate to the seaside near the running trail and one gate to the land side.  The street that connects the seaside gate to the land side gate is filled with artisan shops, seafood restaurants, and bakeries.  The wall was built as a barrier to pirates that may have attacked the town.  Our first stop today was a fortress that the Spanish built for further protection from those French pirates.   

Watching the sunset in Campeche

What question do I have?

Our second stop today was the Edzna archeological zone.  The beauty of Campeche and the grandness of the Mayan ruins at Edzna left me wondering how this place could be so undiscovered.  Edzna is an incredible site with its own large game field and huge temple structures with intricate designs.  Unlike Chichen Itza, we were almost alone at Edzna.  There were no crowds of people taking pictures in front of the structures and no vendors trying to sell us Edzna memorabilia. 

July 4

Our morning started on the light side today. My fellow teacher, Jennifer, and I asked the Oaxaca baseball players who were staying at our hotel if we could take a picture with them. Awesome.  We loaded the bus to find Jaques playing the National anthem and waving a small American flag.  Nice.  

What questions do I have?

Throughout our first week in Mexico, I have found myself thinking a lot about the presence of the Mayan culture and history in everything that we have seen.  Some of the places we have visited, like Chichen Itza, seem to be an obvious place to discuss the Mayan population.  It surprised me to hear the number of people who speak Mayan, the way that Mayan slang words are incorporated into Spanish, and the acknowledgement of Mayan history throughout different towns we are visiting.   It leaves me with the questions: What misunderstandings do people outside of Mexico have about the prevalence of Mayan culture in Mexico today? and How do we integrate all of the voices of American history into the present?  

These questions, along with others came to my mind during our journey today.  

What connections did I make?

Our first stop today was to the Hacienda “Sotuta de Peon”.  This was a working Hacienda until 1950, growing plants that produce sosquil, a fiber used to make ropes.  The farm has been restored to show people the process of making this fiber into natural ropes and still has a small production.  It cannot sustain itself as a farm alone because it takes too much land to grow enough of the plants to make a profit on the harvest.  Synthetic ropes are made much cheaper and faster.  Being on the Hacienda and photographing every step of the process exemplified the struggles of creating natural products and food.  This stop highlighted the challenge of meeting needs that grow faster than natural processes can create.  

What did I observe?

Just when I thought Sotuta de Peon couldn’t get any more interesting, we loaded wagons pulled by mules and rode through the fields to get to our stop.  We unloaded from the wagons and made our way into a cave with a natural cenote (sinkhole) at the bottom.  A hole in the top of the cave let a circle of light shine onto the naturally warm water.  We could see through the deep water to the rocks below us and look up to the formations on top of us.  It was incredible.  

Our last stop of the day was in a small town called Becal, where we climbed into an entirely different kind of cave.  We took bike taxis to a hat shop with a man-made cave. This time, the cave was for workers to create Panama-style hats.  The air in the caves keeps the material soft and easy to work with.  The result of the meticulous work of weaving for two and a half days in a hot and crowded cave is one hat.  I made my first purchase today.  

July 3 - A Different View

Today we went to Celestun, a small town west of Merida.  We went on a boat ride at the Reserva de la Biosferea Ria Celestun, a wildlife sanctuary that is known for it's flamingos.

What did I notice?
Celestun is a small town filled with motorcycles and relaxed restaurants on the beach.  An empty carnival sat on one side of the main street and a few simple stores across from it.  We loaded into boats at the beach and our guides took us on a tour of an inlet off of the Gulf of Mexico.  I was eager to volunteer for the "most adventurous" position on the boat and had a chance to sit in the very front.  Our ride provided us with plenty of beautiful views of birds and shorelines, but after an hour of our boat continuously crashing down on waves, I allowed Alejandro (one of our trip guides) to trade places with me.  I enjoyed every moment of the somewhat turbulent ride.

We were able to get close to a group of pink flamingos settled in a corner of the inlet.  Later in our trip we went into a narrow inlet of water, surrounded by trees that created a dome around us.  It led us to a sinkhole in a forested area where a few people jumped in for a quick swim.  We made our way back to the beach, passing herons and pelicans.

We were left with a little bit of time to jump into the warm water for a quick swim, and I spent some time reading on the beach.  (I highly recommend Born to Run by Christopher McDougall)

What connections did I make?

The water and the condition of the beach reminded me of what we saw in Cancun, but the area around it was quite different.  Instead of resorts down the street, we were near small homes made of cinderblocks and sheets of metal.  Rather than a Pizza Hut and Subway, men carried trays of pan dulce (sweet bread) for us to buy, walking through the tent-covered extensions of the local restaurants. There were few tourists on the beach and Spanish was the dominant language.

A view of the other boat from our boat (no life jackets required)

                                              

July 2 - Merida

What connections did I make?

Today we met with teachers who work in the area of Merida.  Groups of teachers usually have a lot to say and today was no exception.  Our topics ranged from day-to-day teacher duties to the educational system in Mexico.  The commonalities among school challenges and experiences was an easy bridge for our conversations.  

The teachers shared with us the frustrations of having 40 - 50 students in one class and the difficulties of managing so many students’ individual needs at once.  They talked about schedules, homework completion, attendance problems, test scores and drop-out rates.  All of these concerns are important, but I was struck by the genuine interest the individual teachers had with making education better for their students.  The room quickly become loud with outbursts of shared teaching strategies, questions following questions, and laughter at stories.  We all talked about connecting with individual students and encouraging them to imagine what they can do.  I was in a room of optimists and hard workers.  It was comforting to be with so many teachers who believe so strongly in the possibilities of education, and a little disheartening to discover the recurring challenges.  

Talking with Teachers

Running Around 

Today I spent a little time in my room with Pepto Bismol.  All seems fine now, but I did have a little time to think about other things I've noticed in our trip thus far.  

I’m lucky to have a fellow-runner in our group who is willing to get up early and explore the streets surrounding our hotel each morning.  This morning Kate and I realized how different each run has felt.  

What have I observed?

In Cancun, I mentioned the soft sand.  We also noticed entire groups of (presumably) American runners passing us in both directions.  A group of  local workers who were busy cleaning the seaweed from the beach stopped to look at us and shake their heads a few times.  For the most part, they carried on with their work while we ran at the edge of the water past one hotel resort after another, each section flaunting a slightly different theme.  Whether it was the stately colonial style building or the sleek glass patio covered building, the beaches in front were covered with the same shade umbrellas over padded lounging chairs, the volleyball net next to a bar, and the towel distributing stand.  

Cancun

In Valladolid we stepped out of the gate to our hotel and began our run around the town courtyard.  The square park was lined with chairs made for two people (a feature of the Yucatan) and benches.  A few men who were sweeping the sidewalks of the park looked up at us with a head tilt, clearly wondering what we crazy Americanos were doing.  We made our way single-file down narrow streets lined with mult-colored buildings.  At each corner an officer was waiting to tell us when to pass, sharing the same quizzical look as the men sweeping the sidewalks.    

Rainbow over a street in Valledolid

Running in Merida has felt very natural.  Wide sidewalks line a street divided by medians filled with trees.  We passed a few other runners and shared “buenos dias” to the people who seemed to be walking to work.  I haven’t quite mastered crossing the streets at the many round-abouts, but patient drivers have waved me through.  It has a cosmopolitan feel to it while colonial style buildings sit on many block ends.  

The Streets of Merida

July 1 - Warming Up

Today was a full list of story-telling history sites.    

What did I observe?

Chichen Itza - I don’t really think I can do justice to one of the Seven Wonders of The World in a descriptive paragraph.  I will say that highlights of the Mayan archeological site included the acoustic organization (who doesn’t like crazy cool echo features?) and the vastness of the site.  Stage one of our day required the first and second layer of sunscreen and bugspray. The sweating began.  Luckily our Astrobus is fully loaded with water bottles for all. 

Caves at Balankache - I admit to being a little claustrophobic, so I’m proud of myself for not panicking in the dark and extremely humid caves that were our second stop today.  I think it helped that there was a prerecorded drum-like music that was playing throughout our cave hike.  It made me feel a little bit like Indiana Jones...or something.  The sweating kicked it up about two notches at this point in the day.  I'm not sure how people spent hours holding meetings here.

We loaded up the bus and headed to Merida, our home for the next couple of days. 

Ballet Foloklorico de Yucatan - Back into the heat, we walked to the University to watch the Ballet Folklorico at their open air stage.  The energetic dancing and singing which tells the history of Mexican culture influences made the final round of heat worth it. 

Chichen Itza + Sun

Cenote (sink hole where the mayan sacrificed women and children)

Humid Cave

Ballet Folklorico

June 30 - Back to La Escuela

Today we transitioned from Cancun to our first school visit.  We attended CECYTE, a technical school near Cancun that trains students in electronics, English and tourism, computers, and biology.  Down the road from the hotel that we stayed at last night, the school is in the middle of a community lacking in resources.  We toured the school, shared a meal and conversation, and watched a performance by the students.  

What did I observe?

Hospitality: The students welcomed us with their smiles and openness to conversation - their developing English and my less developed Spanish. 

They led us through their classrooms and to the open courtyard where they had prepared a meal of cochinilla and tomales.  Then, we sat back and watched them perform contemporary songs, followed by traditional folkloric dances. They  were dressed in traditional clothing.  The girls wore bright colors while the young men looked sharp in their white shirts and black pants.  The entire group smiled as they smoothly moved from one formation to the next.      

What connections did I make? 

Roger, an electronics teacher caught my attention as he explained his daily experiences as a teacher at CECYTE.  I couldn’t help but become a little emotional when I realized the problems that the school faces and the similarities between the problems here and the problems that I encounter in my own school.  CECYTE has much larger class sizes and less resources than my own school. In addition, they struggle with some of the same problems that many schools in America face but to a greater degree.  Roger explained that his goal is to keep kids in school and off of the streets.  Sixty percent of the students that start at CECYTE finish the program.  That means that forty percent are pulled into a life on the street and the dangers that come with that choice.  In my own district, the number of dropouts, particularly male Latino dropouts, is too high.  In both cases, the struggle is to make education seem more relevant than the other choices for students.  

On a different note, talking to the students and teachers reminded me of one of the things that I love about teaching:  I look forward to hearing my students’ stories, and today I enjoyed every moment of connecting with students and their stories here.  

After some follow-up conversation our group left the school.  We loaded our bus and made our way to Valladolid.  It was a calm evening of strolling through the streets and eating tacos.  

Students at CECYTE

Chairs made for two at the park in Valladolid

June 29: Welcome to Paradise

This afternoon we arrived in Cancun.  Jaques, our trip coordinator, gave us one instruction for today: Enjoy Cancun and be aware that this is the only part of Mexico that many people see.  I decided to embrace the task.  

What did I observe?

I went directly to the beach.  Beautiful blue water - check. Margarita-check. Abundance of sunscreen and book in hand - check.  AND, there’s the silky sand.  It had the mysterious ability to stay cool around my feet, under the heat of the sun.  (No hopping from chair-to-water-back-to-chair required.) It is the type of sand meant for toe squishing. My new running buddy, Kate, and I went for a barefoot run on the beach.  It did feel a little bit like paradise. 

Christina, fellow teacher, and I walked around the streets of Cancun for a little while.  We saw  Coke, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks, Dominoes, KFC, and our favorite: Jumbo Mexican Outlet.  The recurring sign (in English): "Welcome to Paradise"  

I headed back to the beach outside of our hotel for a shrimp enchilada dinner.  

Questions

Clearly, Cancun is a beautiful place that is developed with American influences.  What else might Cancun look like?