Last Tango in Merida

As part of Friday's farewell party, the students' favorite pilates instructor came by the Central House with his friends to perform several dances from their recent tango recital. They were fabulous; we were in awe.

Plenty of thanks to report

Our Thanksgiving dinner was a a huge success. We had planned for 60 people with the thought that we could have 50 or 70. It turns out we had at least 72 guests that we can remember. Guests included students and some of their friends, all of our instructors and their family members, the families of two students who were visiting for the week, instructors from our affiliated Yucatecan universities where advanced language students take classes, internship and service learning community partners, former language assistants, and a former student and her family who were in town. George Ann even came this year which I consider a major sign of healing. Perhaps my favorite guests were the entire staff of the pilates studio where a number of students take classes.

We served a traditional meal, but tradition ended with the arrival of the mariachi band and the salsa dance marathon that followed. The pilates instructors provided lessons to those with two left feet. All of the guests from the US commented that their next Thanksgiving dinner will be dull and boring in comparison.

Pictured below are Veronica and Eduardo who were language assistants in Pella last year where they experienced their first Thanksgiving. They are good friends of the current group of students and have been extremely helpful in making their experiences memorable.



Pictured here are some of the US visitors. We had tables set up in the main house and also in our outdoor classroom.

Sofia was our youngest guest by far. She is the daughter of our anthropology professor. She danced until she fell asleep.

Part of the kitchen staff without whom none of this would have been possible.

An invitation

If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to consider yourself invited to our Thanksgiving dinner.

My name is Valerie, and I....

...am a recovering magazine addict. I love magazines, but with the advent of blogs, my addiction has been much more manageable. For me to walk out of my magazine store this afternoon with only three magazines is nothing short of a miracle. I have completely given up Spanish & US shelter magazines, food magazines, hairstyle magazines, People magazine and US fashion magazines. But not to worry, I have not gone cold turkey and continue to buy my favorites including the 3 pictured above. For some strange reason, I still have a thing for Spanish Vogue and will undoubtedly buy it when the December issue comes out. I am home for the evening, have checked my favorite blogs, am now blogging myself, have a pot of lentil soup cooking on the stove. Let the good times roll!

Dress codes

Without exception, the question most frequently asked question by students preparing for the semester abroad is, "What do I bring for clothes?" Even though I talk about the differences in how students dress here and provide lists of clothing prepared by students, they are always surprised by how much dressier the dress codes are here especially for bars and clubs. I am now including photos in pre-departure orientation information.



For going out to restaurant/bars on a weeknight:

For weekend clubbing:

The female students are now lamenting the fact that there will be few, if any, opportunities to show off their newly acquired club clothes (and shoes!) when they return to Pella. Sadly, they are getting negative feedback from friends and relatives at home about this kind of dress, but they are responding positively and proudly about how comfortable they feel, how they love fitting into the local culture, and how much they will miss the fun they are having in social settings that, for most of them, were completely different from anything they had ever experienced.

Hurricane Ida

The odds are I will experience a hurricane before my time as director ends, but Hurricane Ida will not be the one. We have had rain most of the week because of the storm, but the area along the coast of Cancun is getting the worst of it as Ida passes into the Gulf of Mexico today.

Whew.....

Random Chiapas Shots

Agua Azul without students The basilica in San Cristobal de las Casas

Lunch

The entrance to our hotel

What I do not have photos of was our most fascinating experience. I had read about Day of the Dead ceremonies in a small indigenous village; the article said foreigners are not always welcome. We decided to take a chance. When we arrived, we were told by the local authorities that we were welcome to observe the festivities, but we were not allowed to take photos. Anyone caught taking photos would have his/her camera confiscated and could face a fine or even jail. The pageantry we observed left of breathless and with a million mental images of Catholic saints dressed in indigenous clothing, the predominance of crosses painted green, the candles, the fireworks, the number of times the villagers paraded around the plaza in front of the church, the language spoken by most of the villagers, the prohibition against photos. I think it was actually a good thing that we were unable to witness all that we saw through the lens of a camera. I am looking forward to reading students' journals and blogs as they attempt to describe the morning without simply referring everyone to their photos.

The trip was not without its problems. On the first day while we were at the archaeological site of Palenque, our ever present guide, Luis Medina, fell off of a 8 foot high platform and landed flat on his back. He has 3 broken ribs and a fourth is cracked. I had to step in as temporary van driver thus earning the title of "La Brava" or "The Fearless One." The wife of the visiting professor came down with a bad, bad case of Moctezuma's revenge. She earned a different title that won't be mentioned here. We had trouble with one of the vehicles in a remote part of the trip, and we ran into heavy rain storms. Overall, however, students rated this the best field trip ever. I agree.

A contender....

Each semester we choose a group photo to represent the semester. Pictured here is a contender taken at Agua Azul, a waterfall in Chiapas.

Dia de los muertos

Our traditional extended field trip to Chiapas took place this semester over Dia de los muertos. Prior to leaving Merida, we created our own altar (second photo) following a wonderful presentation by a woman who specializes in community museums. She began her presentation by explaining that Mexicans feel death is a natural part of life and should thereby be celebrated. She then discussed the importance of each item that is normally placed on an altar: colored candles for children, black and white candles for adults, toys for children to play with, a native dress for the visiting soul to slip into while visiting, an invigorating refreshment such as tequila, a warm drink such as hot chocolate and food such as tamales, bread, sugar cane and sweets. Burning incense lets the dead know it is time to visit. Flowers welcome them.

This year, the women who work in the Central House placed a photo of Dona Alejandra, (the staff member who died in the house in June, 2008.) Her photo was not present last year because a person must be dead for at least a year before he or she is honored on an altar. The belief is that it takes at least a year for a soul to become comfortable in his/her new world. It is inappropriate to place photos of living souls on the altar. The photo directly below is of an altar in one of the hotels in which we stayed.

Another important part of Dia de los muertos involves a visit to the graves of family members. Out of respect, none of us took photos of families at the grave sites who were cleaning, painting, repairing and decorating the graves of their family members. We visited the main cemetery of the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, a city of about 80,000 inhabitants on Saturday afternoon, October 31. There were thousands of people in the cemetery including families, musicians, and food vendors. Outside the main gates, it was possible to buy beautiful flowers, food, and even beer. In some parts of Mexico, families remain at the grave sites throughout the night, but in this area, only a few families still follow this tradition according to people we spoke with. Nevertheless, many of the grave sites include benches where family members take time to sit, talk, tell stories and share a meal with their dead. We were all overwhelmed by the activity, colors, smells, family gatherings and flowers. Pictured below is a grave covered with pine needles which represents a cleansing. Marigolds are the traditional Day of the Dead flowers. The cross on the grave below is made of marigold petals.

Thanks to our neighbors in the north

Having just thanked Naphtali for new postings on her blog, I am inspired to post on mine.

The big news today is that we are experiencing what is called here a norte meaning cool weather from our neighbors to the north. Today was the first day in a very long time that, when I opened my front door to leave, I was not met with a wall of heat and humidity. There was actually a breeze that was energizing rather than enervating. I walked for slightly more than hour this morning and recently returned from another hour-long walk. I pray to the weather gods that this norte marks the beginning of our "winter" weather and I thank you one and all for sending some of your unseasonably cold weather south.

In other news, the semester is speeding along. Students are returning today from a 5 day Fall Break. Most went to the Caribbean while others went to a small island near where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Caribbean. Three students hosted family members. It was great to see the surprise, astonishment and pride on the looks of the family members as their student became the tour guide. It was also a boost for the students' morale to realize how far they have come in a short while both language and culture-wise.

We have two major field trips remaining. One is to the state of Chiapas where we will spend the weekend of Dia de los Muertos and where some serious shopping is planned. Place your orders now for amber! The final field trip will be to a Mayan village where we will spend 3 days/2 nights living with Mayan families. Both of these trips are normally the highlights of the semester. I hope this group feels the same as they wrap up their semester abroad. Departure is December 5.

I am then off until a small group of students arrive on Jan. 3 for a three week January program...the first one we have ever had. Basically, I am providing the intensive summer program in January so there is not a lot of new work required.

I am almost done pouting about November's cancelled directors' meeting in Paris. Almost, not quite.

Spring 2010 students arrive January 24. I will be at a conference in Nicaragua in February, have the first program evaluation in more than 10 years in early March, will be in Iowa for directors' week in April and the semester ends on May 8.

I will stop here. I am also camera shopping as mine died which explains why there are no photos with this post. I am open to suggestions as to what I should buy.

Thanks again for el norte.

Yet another white shirt

I finally thought of a label for my wardrobe: Always Summer. Except for the odd trip, my reality is that it is always summer in Merida. Temperatures vary from a cool 75 to a sweltering 110, and I need to dress accordingly. My other reality is that I need protection from the sun. Layering is unnecessary as it is hot 24 hours a day. Scarves, my favorite accessory, make me sweat just thinking about them. I half-seriously commented to Ilona that I would be perfectly happy living in white cotton or linen shirts and black cotton or linen pants for the rest of my life.

Here is the newest addition to my wardrobe made by my tailor, Don Roberto. He made the shirt first in cotton and is now working on one in white linen. Total cost? Cotton fabric - $4.00 US. Labor: $12.00 US. Linen here, as everywhere, is more expensive. I paid $30 US for the linen but labor costs remain the same. I love the the tucks/pleats/folds or whatever they are called plus the mother-of-pearl buttons. But mainly I love the comfort.

Part 3 for Naphtali

The table runner and the small table cloth are made in the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico. Traditionally, the work is multi-colored like the runner, but one color only are becoming more popular. The small store where I purchased these examples did not have much in stock but I have a large on that I have used as a bedspread. They are all hand stitched.

Yes, more pillow cases. These are from Guatemala and are made of old "huipiles" which is what the indigenous overblouses worn by both men and women are called. They are gorgeous.

OK, that is all I have for right now. Who knows where we will go from here, but I am looking forward to feedback.

More for Naphtali

These first bags I bought at a market here in Merida with the idea that "we" can make them should there be interest this type of ethnic fabric made into bags.

The small bags pictured below were our first products. The fabric is hand woven here. I purchases scraps for practice and think they turned out well. All have zippers!

This bag was our most ambitious project....hand woven fabric, lined and with a zipper:

Stay tuned for Part 3

For Naphtali - Part 1

While visiting Naphtali last summer, we talked about the possibility of incorporating textiles from south of the border into secondstreetdesigns. I agreed to send some samples for a trial run at one of her fall sales. To alleviate Naphtali's anxiety and to satisfy her curiosity, here are some examples what will be in the box I am sending tomorrow.

First are two oil cloth shopping bags/totes that two women who work part time at the Central House are making.

The next three shots are of pillowcases made by a women's coop in the southern state of Chiapas. The photos do not do them justice as the hand work in incredibly detailed.

Continued in Part 2

Fall Equinox

The spring semester group was lucky enough to experience the spring equinox at Dzibilchaltun. They voted that the fall group should definitely see the fall equinox so we did. (I had the wrong date for the fall equinox last year....yes, one of my finer moments as a program director.) We were there waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too early - 5:00 and the phenomena did not occur until a little after 7:00, but we also agreed that the wait seemed short because we were able to experience the millions of stars in the dark sky just as the ancient Mayans would have. These are but a few of the photos I took.

Tick tock, tick tock

I can be found here in my home office most nights and weekends working on the dreaded dissertation. I have exactly one year to complete the final product. I learned while in Iowa this summer that the proposal I had defended via teleconferencing in mid-June had been accepted. I am now in the process of running the project and getting a head start on the statistical analysis section.

My topic? Social determinants of health in a traditional Mayan village. In the "first" world, social determinants of health include work, innoculations, a certain level of income, etc. My project does a compare/contrast of first world and traditional values. Nothing that will change the world but relevant to my work now. More importantly, it is the last hoop I need to jump through to finish my doctorate.

Summer photos

Not a single photo was taken during my July "vacation" in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, but here are a couple of memorable summer moments in Merida.

The first is of an hacienda located about 45 minutes outside of the city where the woman who ran the Central House, Dona Beatrice, for 30 years celebrated her 80th birthday. Dona Beatrice's daughter, Claudina, is the person who runs the house now. Her mother taught her well.
Dona Beatrice is pictured below in the center. Many of the women wore the traditional Yucatecan "huipil" to the party. Claudina is in the background and Dona Beatriz' 92-year old sister is seated next to her.

Here is a photo of Jerry Dreyer and his family. Jerry and I were classmates here in Merida back in the day and have remained friends. His daughter, Juliana, was one of my summer students. Yes, we have come full circle!

I have made a list of future posts and plan to post again regularly....just in case anyone is interested.

Saying hello....

The fall semester began August 24 with the arrival of 10 students - 8 females, 2 males, 7 Central students, 3 non-Central students plus Central Visiting Professor Phil Webber and his wife, Jan. It is a good group with all students speaking at least an intermediate level of Spanish and all are involved in a variety of internships and service learning projects.

As has become a tradition, we ended our week of orientation with a trip to the flamingo reserve at Celestun. I think we saw the greatest number of flamingos at the site since I began bringing groups here. I continue to get chills when watching the birds and am determined to get a telescopic lens because my camera as it is now is simply not up to the job of capturing their beauty, color and elegance.....of the birds, not the girls.

More to come....

Saying good bye....

The summer program ended on Friday with a lovely meal and a trip to.....the beach. Where else would be spend yet another 100+ degree afternoon? The group was great as were their comments and recommendations for the next program. We spent a long time trying to figure out how to explain to subsequent groups what kind of clothes and shoes to wear for clubbing which along with the beach, is a major attraction here in Merida. They decided they would forward me some of their photos. A picture is worth a thousand words whether in English or Spanish.

I was working. Seriously.

Our Friday field trip began here at Chichen Itzá: And ended here at Tulum:

Always trying to learn from my mistakes, I included a weekend at the beach as part of this year's summer program. Last summer, I gave students a three-day weekend for the purpose of spending time along the Caribbean. It turned out that for a variety of logistical and language reasons, they had a miserable time. I decided this year that I would make hostel reservations for them, provide transportation, lay out some options for them such a snorkeling, para sailing, etc, but I was not going to lead them around or even stay where they stayed. I selected Tulum as the designated site. We would visit the archaeological site of Chichen Itzá on our way to Tulum, I would drop them off and then rendezvous on Sunday afternoon at 4:00. My plan worked like a dream.

The students loved their hostel, snorkeled, swam in cenotes, biked all over the area on bikes provided by the hostel, ate well, met people from all over the world and had a wonderful time.

I, in the meantime, checked in a little hotel I had been reading about. Pictured below is my delightful cabaña. The photo above is from my front door. I had a few spa treatments, attended yoga and meditation classes, and walked on the beach. I also slept well partly because of the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves, but also because there is no electricity. Once the sun goes down, that is it. Both nights I was there, I read for awhile using my flashlight, but then I finally gave up/in and slept. I participated in the daybreak yoga and meditation session and then relaxed the rest of the day.

What is not to like about this job?

One man, one machete, no ladder

I wish I had been here when the tree trimmer began his work today. By the time I arrived, he had already made good progress....all by himself. With no ladder and using his machete to chop branches. Actually, maybe it was good that I wasn't here. Luckily, the rubber tree seems indestructible.