Happy Birthday, Andrea!

I remember the day Andrea was born. It was also the day of my graduation from 6th grade so there was lots of activity around the house when we got up. Mom and Dad had already gone to the hospital; Dad had notified Lucille and she was helping us to get ready. I loved my dress (blue, empire waist set pink ribbon), but the most exciting thing was that I got to wear nylons for the first time. Now, today, the thought of pulling on a pair of panty hose makes me sweat. Most of us do whatever we can to avoid to avoid wearing panty hose at all costs, but, at that time, I felt so grown up and wearing nylons added to the specialness of the day.



The ceremony was to begin at 1:00. Just as we were forming a line to march in, Pops arrived. He was all flushed with excitement and managed to tell me that I had a new baby sister as the line started moving. He looked fabulous, by the way, with his navy blazer, white shirt, khaki pants, tan as always. My memory is that he was the only father present that day which could very well have been the case because this was 1966 after all...very few, if any fathers, attended daytime school events.



I was bursting with the good news and could not stop smiling. I had been looking forward to the baby's birth since the day Mom announced her pregnancy. I just knew she was going to have a girl! I wish I could remember the naming process, but I just don't. All I remember is loving her from the top of her bald little head to the tips of her sweet little toes the moment I laid eyes on her. I loved her then, love her now and will love her forever. She is my baby sistah!

Summer plans

Central's summer school program is a go! Eight students arrive May 31 for a 4-week intensive language program that includes 5 hours of classes daily, living with families, and, of course, the ubiquitous field trips. Many, many summer study abroad programs throughout Mexico were cancelled because of the flu outbreak including two of the three programs that had been going to rent the Central House. We are still waiting to hear from the July program. If that program cancels, we will have to make some hard decisions about lay-offs and big budget cuts as the summer programs generate income. Employees have said they would rather face a decrease in days than a lay-off. If the July program confirms, we should be in good shape and will not have to cut employees.

Once students depart on June 27, my life becomes my own again. I will be headquartered in Fort Dodge beginning June 30 until my return to Mérida on July 25. My only concrete plan right now is to head to Indiana upon my arrival to spend a few days with Patti and family. Additional road trips are under discussion. Invitations to visit are welcome! Have rental car, will travel. I wish I could fit in a trip to California, but I think I will wait until next year. That is the news from my part of the world. For now, I have classes to prepare, files to review, and trips to plan.

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.