She sells seashells by the seashore

For me, every day is different here in Mexico. Some days I am acutely aware of the poverty and dangers, as well as the distance I am from home; other days I find myself swept up in the more romantic, exotic aspects of this tropical existence. For example, yesterday I saw a huge, dead scorpion on the street and two people with severely debilitating health problems, and I felt far away from all my friends and family on Thanksgiving. (Of course, I was so thankful for having a great turkey dinner on Wednesday and for having the ability to talk with my family.) Then, today I bought a bag of fresh, peeled fruits for about 75 cents and my favorite sweet snack (cocada de limón) at the market on my way to work, and later I´ll go to meet up with some family friends, the Overks, who are vacationing in Tulum. It will be great to see them!
As for the job, we are nearing the end of the cuatrimestre here at UNO. I will give all my classes their final exam next week. It´s not going to be possible to cover all of the material due to missed classes because of the holiday last week and schedule changes due to sick colleagues, but I would prefer that my students learn fewer topics more in depth than the other way around. I may even have some of them next cuatri anyway!
One interesting thing that happened last week was that I was sharing a bunch of tongue twisters in English with my students, and I asked if there are any Mayan tongue twisters, and one of my students performed one. It was really amazing to hear it, and if I can, I will try to get it recorded somehow.
I´m really looking forward to coming home for the holidays in just about three weeks! Well, I´d better get back to working on this exam. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto..."

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early here in Valladolid at the Universidad de Oriente - and we went all out! The English department hosted a dinner for about about 30 university faculty and staff members and we cooked everything in the university's industrial kitchen, right alongside our students (chefs-in-training) who were taking a final exam. I was making the salad as they were busily whisking bechamels, pureeing vegetables, and simmering tomato sauces. I felt like I was making Thanksgiving on the set of Top Chef!
As for our meal, we made two large turkeys, and we had a huge pan of stuffing, a large pitcher of gravy, an enormous pot of mashed potatoes, and another of mashed sweet potatoes. We also had a big salad and some peas and carrots. For dessert, one of the UNO faculty members made three amazing pumpkin pies from scratch (the local pumpkins are very much in season) and we made our own as well: two huge pans of apple crisp. We had vanilla ice cream to go with both.
Cooking in the huge UNO kitchen was great (and a nice change from the little kitchenette in my apartment). It was interesting, as well, to get the chance to see my Gastronomy students in their element, wearing chefs' whites, cooking up a storm.
Everyone ate a lot and it was a big success, I would say, based on the empty plates and bowls. Overall, all of us in the English department put a lot of effort into it and it was a lot of work, but it felt great to be involved in something culturally familiar, and to have our Mexican colleagues here be so enthusiastic to share in the experience. And of course, I love a good turkey dinner!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

comments welcome!

Hey everyone,
I just changed my settings so if you've wanted to leave comments, but haven't been able to because you didn't know how to navigate the Spanish headings and subheadings to become a seguidor, your worries are over (or they should be anyway)! I would love to hear your comments and input about anything I've been writing about. Let me know if the comments (comentarios) thing works now, too.
I went through a couple busy weeks what with work and Josh's visit, but I'm glad to have a bit of time this weekend to catch up on the blog. I hope you hadn't given up on me!
Many of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving this week - I hope it's beautiful for you, wherever you are. Do me a favor and enjoy the best American holiday there is, and I'll let you know how ours goes too. We're cooking a feast for faculty as part of the English department's cultural contributions to the campus, and I'm excited to see if it turns out as authentic as we hope...

Mayan prophecies

Has anyone gone to see that movie, "2012" yet? I saw the trailer and it looks like a real blockbuster. I don't think they are showing it in Yucatan, but I could be wrong.

I was watching an interesting youtube video earlier about the Mayan calendar and the predictions and prophecies for the coming years. Just so you know, it is not all doom and gloom down here. From what I understand, people seem to believe that the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 is the beginning of a new age, a new conception of time, and a breaking away from the limits and parameters of our lives as we presently know them to be. They explain that our consciousness is evolving and things in the universe are happening and changing more rapidly. It might be pretty far out for some, but I think spiritual evolution is a good thing. I am hoping to get a chance to speak with some of the professors at UNO in the Mayan Linguistics and Culture department to pick their brains about the Mayan calendar some more.

BONUS:

Here's a cool link where you can find your Mayan Astrology sun sign! (The link is at the bottom of the page.)

www.mayanmajix.com/TZOLKIN/DT/DT.html

Viva la Revolucion!

Today is another major holiday - the celebration of the Mexican Revolution! The banks are closed and my students have been practicing all week for the big desfile (des FEEL ay), or parade, that is making its way through town as I write this blog. On the one hand, it's been nice to have a sort of relaxed week: no school Monday for the official holiday and no classes today (though I'll be at work anyway); and Tuesday through Thursday, it seemed that my students had to leave to practice their pyramid formations and marching orders just as class was supposed to begin. On the other hand, we are getting so close to the end of the cuatrimestre (2 weeks from today!) and I still have material get through. It is definitely a cultural learning experience, though. Holidays are really taken seriously here. I think another factor is that, since tourism is such a big part of UNO and because Yucatecan culture is a major tourist attraction, students are really encouraged to be involved in cultural events. But, suffice it to say, we did not have much class time this week. Next week will be very busy!
Today was the last day of my Hotel English course. I am happy with how it turned out and I really enjoyed working with my two groups at Meson del Marques. I don't know if we will repeat the course with another group next cuatrimestre or if we will expand it and take it to other hotels or what, but it's a possibility anyway. It was a great experience to develop the course and to have the opportunity to present it twice and tailor it as I went along. It was also a great thing to work with actual hotel employees, many of whom represent what my present UNO students will be doing in the future. It gave me a new perspective on what information is most relevant for my university students.
Well, more soon...BTW, Josh is back in the states and we had a great time here in Yucatan! So glad he could be my first visitor!

Celebracion de octavario

I wanted to write a blog about Hanal Pixan (pronounced ha-nahl pee-shan), the Mayan Day of the Dead (Nov. 1-2), but it's taken me a while to get around to it. It is a very sacred holiday here in Yucatan. The meaning of Hanal Pixan is "food for the souls" and I think more than just feeding the souls of the departed, the offerings of this holiday feed the souls of the living. I think it is a beautiful tradition that offers a healthy perspective on loss and mortality. To celebrate it, I decided to set up my own little altar at home, to pay respect to my ancestors and to the people who are no longer with us. Following tradition, I bought special sweets (including a coconut cake with candied lime zest that is out of this world!), fruits, and a gourd bowl at the farmers' market. I had special candles, incense, and flowers, as well as items with significance to the departed, and I set them up on my kitchen counter.

On the 8th day after Hanal Pixan, there is another celebration. Today, being the 8th day, we celebrated the octavario at UNO. The students and faculty all built altars around the open area you see when you first enter the campus. The altars are built of sticks and palms, and flowers, branches, banana leaves, and offerings are placed on them. Many people dressed in traditional Yucatecan clothing (women in huipiles and men in white guayaberas, white slacks, and light-colored straw hats). Offerings included peeled oranges and tangerines, gourd bowls filled with atole (a sweet drink made from corn), candles, tamales or chachacuas, sweet pumpkin seed candies, and other items that represent things that the ancestors loved. For example, some altars had bottles of liquor, photos of loved ones, tobacco, etc. Interestingly, several altars had printed pictures of Michael Jackson for their altars! Incense was lit, Mayan prayers were said, and once it was dark, candles were lit as well. It was really beautiful and the students were very into the entire process. (They also didn't have any academic classes today because of the activities!)
My brother, Josh, arrived in Valladolid yesterday and he timed it perfectly: He was able to see the campus in the midst of one of its most beautiful cultural traditions and Hurricane Ida had just barely gone on her way towards the Gulf, skirting the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Josh took some photos that I hope to share with you in the future so you can see the amazing effort that went into the altars and get a sense of the reverence for the preservation of Mayan culture that is found at UNO.
Tomorrow I will take him to the mercado in the morning for juice and breakfast, and then he will take in some of the sights and sounds of Valladolid, as well as a nearby cenote (a sacred sinkhole/natural well of the ancient Maya)!