An abrupt ending

The program came to an abrupt halt yesterday as we decided to send students home in light of the flu scare. Nine of the twelve students left this morning while two are leaving tomorrow and the final student leaves next Monday. The students pictured here are shown getting ready for their departure to the airport. We were not sure if they would be required to wear masks once inside the airport so we decided to err on the side of caution and be prepared. It turned out that the airport has no face mask requirement in place. I estimate about half the people in the airport were wearing them anyway. The fate of the summer program has not been decided. Even if the program is cancelled. I have more than enough work to keep me busy through May which does leave a considerable amount of time to play this summer. Stay tuned for more information.

The Final Field Trip of Spring 2009

Along with archaeological sites, markets, and the many natural wonders of Mexico, we also never tire of exploring haciendas. When we visited this hacienda last semester, the big "de-fibering" machine was broken, but yesterday, all production phases were in full swing. Pictured here are the piles of henequen leaves, the horse and cart transporting the fiber to dry, the drying racks and one of the rope making machines. Students were fascinated. We agreed seeing the entire production process brought together much of the Yucatecan history we have been studying all semester from colonization to the exploitation of the Maya as slave labor to the rise and fall of the Yucatecan economy based solely on henequen to today's efforts to rebuild the economy through producing natural fibers once again in response to market demand. We also agreed that while there is much to learn from the well-known tourist sites, we are lucky to have access to local haciendas such as this one in Aké.

It is hard to believe the semester ends May 8. Students still need to complete research papers and final projects for most of their courses. A few classes will end with a final exam. We have a farewell party scheduled for April 30. And then there is the ultimate goal: the quest for the perfect tan. The house is deserted today as most students have taken off for the beach. Not to worry....there are still plenty of more photo opps before the end of the semester.

Keep your fingers crossed that swine flu stays far away from Mérida!

Amber by request

Amber comes from the sap of prehistoric pine trees that existed 40-50 million years ago. Over time, natural catastrophes altered the Earth's crust , burying these trees. This allowed the almost eternal process of petrification to occur, transforming the sap into amber. Amber is typically golden, although it can also be white, pink, red, wine, brown or black. It can be opaque, transparent, or marbled depending upon its purity. Prehistoric insects and nests are sometimes trapped inside the sap which raises the value of the amber. There is evidence of amber being used in Chiapas as adornments as early as 250 BC. Chiapas is the amber capital of Mexico and the world's third most important source of amber after the Baltics and the Dominican Republic. We can thank Blue Moon for this information. Feel free to place your orders in anticipation of next fall's field trip.

Color in San Cristóbal de las Casas

Archaeological sites

One would think we would get tired of visiting archaeological sites, but that is not true at all. As we learn more and more from lectures, classes and readings, we continue to marvel at the knowledge and skills of the Maya people. These photos are from our stop in Palenque, Chiapas, that dates to around 600 A.D.

Cascadas

We were lucky enough to experince three waterfalls.

Tourism humor

Being a tourist has its good points and bad. During our trip, we saw many examples of the bad side of tourism that made us embarrassed to be classified as tourists. Most of these involved tourists ignoring the signs and wishes of indigenous people to NOT take photos while in their communities. We found ways to "spoil" the tourist shots particularly when they involved taking photos of children. The above, however, is a great example of tourism humor. A passing French person took to the time to correct and grade the French used on this sign. I laughed.

Field trip to Chiapas

We leave Thursday morning at 5:00 am for a trip to the southern state of Chiapas. Our trip will include one archeological site, 2 waterfalls, 3 indigenous villages, 4 howler monkeys, five embroidered blouses and a toucan in a rubber tree. We return late Monday night. Stay tuned for photos.

The only birthday of the semester

Also on Good Friday, we celebrated the only birthday of the semester with this lovely piñata of Ferdinand the Bull. No one wanted to smack it because it was so cute. Eventually, however, the desire for candy and other treats trumped cuteness.


The birthday girl below:

Catching up

After 2 weeks of meetings, recruiting trips, meetings, receptions, meetings, and a final recruiting trip, I returned home just in time to take the group to Acankeh, a small town about 40 minutes from Merida where the townspeople hold an incredible Passion Play on Good Fridays. We arrived just in time to watch the soldiers escort Jesus to see P. Pilate. This is a scene from the meeting with Pilate who then sends Jesus to Herod.

The townspeople play all the parts including those of the townspeople. We happened to talk to Jesus last year just before his performance. He told us he was portraying Jesus for the third time and hoped it would be his last. Alas, this year´s Jesus was also last year´s Jesus.

Here is the scene as Jesus's cross is being raised. Both thieves were already in place even though only one can be seen here. What is most impressive is the sight of the Mayan temple as the backdrop to this most Christian of stories. Jesus is not actually nailed to the cross, but the soldiers make it seem real. The three men remain suspended on their crosses for about 20 minutes and are then taken down.