Our last week

After our exciting weekend in Tulum, we were happy to be back at peaceful, quiet Central House. Monday morning Val gathered us nine Language students around the dining room table and talked to us about schedules and plans for our final week here in Mérida. I went to class from 9 to 10:30, but then I had to leave. I went to my room and slept until 3:00. The only thing I was upset about was missing my literature class! Monday night I spent catching up on homework and looking through my pictures from Tulum.

Tuesday we had class for about an hour, and then six of us piled into two taxis and left. Regan and Nicole had already left with Danni and Alex and their teacher for the other zoo in Mérida, but we were going to a school with our teacher. The dance instructor, Shari, had invited us to come talk with her English classes. We arrived at the school (I am ashamed to say I can't remember the name of it) just before 10 AM. It didn't look very large. It was a public "secundaria" school. The Mexican school system is different than the American one, but this would be about the equivalent of a middle or junior high school. Shari's class were 8th graders, 13-14 years old.

We spent one hour with Shari's class. They had divided themselves into three different groups and prepared games to play with us. Debora went with the first group, Katie and I with the second, and Bailey and Jasmin with the third.

With our group, Katie and I answered endless questions about America and Mexico and our opinions. We also had a very interesting conversation about stereotypes. They asked us what stereotypes we held about Mexico, and then we turned it around and made them share stereotypes they held about America. We encouraged them to be honest, and this is what we got: American basketball players are mostly black, Americans (in general) are mostly white, Americans are mostly tall, every American goes to Disneyland or Disney World on vacation, Americans think all Mexicans eat tacos, and several others which are escaping me at the moment.

After about 20 minutes, we rotated and Katie and I went to the next group, where they had prepared a card game similar to Uno. If we couldn't play from our hand and had to draw a card, they asked us a question. As they warmed up to us, they stopped reminding us to play the game and kept asking questions! They wanted to know what our favorite Mexican food was, where we lived, what we liked about Mexico, and other questions. We asked them questions about how long they had been studying English (since age 4 or 5!) and where in the world they would live if they could choose anywhere (because they asked us that first). We heard Germany, Moscow, Brazil, Miami, New York, Europe, and Paris. Quite a variety!

After another 20 minutes, we went on to the third and final group. They made us shoot two free throws, and if we couldn't make it, we had to pick a question out of the hat. I think they were disappointed when we both made our shots! Then they took turns, but instead of answering the questions, they asked us! They wanted to know if we thought all Mexican people eat tacos, what we thought about Mexico before coming here (provoking another stereotype discussion), and what we think of Mexico now. Their English was very good! After we finished with that group, we all went back in the classroom to pose for a picture and say goodbye. Their chorus of goodbyes and thank yous was absolutely deafening! Apparently they really enjoyed themselves!




Shari's class

After leaving Shari's classroom, we went next door to her co-teacher's classroom. They had also split themselves into three groups, and we played different games. This time Debora went with Katie, Bailey went with Jasmin, and that left me alone. The first game I played was Lotería, which is similar to our Bingo. Lotería is played with objects instead of letter-number combinations, so it is a perfect way to practice new vocabulary words. The interesting assortment included everything from pot, tree, sun, crown, fish, and bird to cock (rooster), pine (tree), gentleman, lady, rose, and--I almost laughed out loud--drunk. The picture of the drunk showed a ragged, scruffy man stumbling along the street with a bottle in one hand and the other hand on the wall for support! As we played, the students asked me questions like the first group.

After several rounds of Lotería, I moved on to the next table where they had set up Memorama, or Memory. We had to match pictures of traditional Yucatecan foods with their names. Whenever we got a match, the spokesman of the group explained to me how that food is prepared. That was one of my favorite games, because I had eaten some of the foods during my time here.

The final game was hopscotch, which has about sixty different names in Spanish, as far as I can tell. In Yucatán the most common is chicharra, but in other parts of México they call it avioncito. I was impressed when I made it through the first round, but let's just say they were entertained during the second round. After each person went through, they asked questions. We talked about food, school,  stereotypes, and plans for the future.

After our time was up, we went back into the classroom for another picture and another deafening chorus of goodbyes, this one complete with one student jumping up and down, another running to hug us, and another begging us to return "tomorrow or next week, please!" We had a lot of fun chatting with them, and we were glad they had a lot of fun as well. We were all impressed by how well they spoke English. Of course there were some who barely spoke because they were so shy, but that is normal in any group. The outgoing ones tended to dominate the conversations, so we had to consciously include each student in the discussions. Our memories were challenged to the max as we met and tried to remember the names of some forty students. My one regret is that we did not have a chance to tour the school and to learn more about a typical Mexican school day. I guess I should have asked the students to share that with me!

Wednesday we had another class excursion to the Centro, this time to do any last-minute shopping for souvenirs and gifts. We found some good bargains and had a nice time. When we got back, I had my literature class, lunch, and homework time. I fell asleep at 4:30, intending to wake up for supper at 6. When I rolled over and rubbed my eyes, I realized it was almost dark already, and the clock said 7:42. Oops... The only good thing was that I had no trouble falling asleep again at midnight.

 

Thursday we had our full class time. We spent it reviewing for the final exams, which will be held tomorrow. The written exam is supposed to last about 1.5 hours. For the oral exam, we need to be prepared to talk for about ten minutes about one of six different topics. We need to prepare for all six topics, because we will draw the topic randomly from six cards facedown on the table. I spent the afternoon working on my blog and taking a nap (this time I did wake up in time for supper, but only because I set an alarm!) After supper the dance teacher came for the last night of dance class, but I stayed in my room to "study." Somehow, I found so many other things to do that I ran out of time to study. What a shame.

 

After I stopped procrastinating, I got out my suitcases and started packing. That was quite a job.

 

This doesn't look like much, but try fitting it into suitcases that are already full! These three bags are what I am bringing back as souvenirs and gifts. And I hadn't gone to the chocolate store yet!

Friday morning I got up and ate my last breakfast here with everyone. In class, we started with our written final. Then we hung out in the hallway chatting and took turns going in for our oral final. We printed boarding passes, posed for pictures, and talked about the foods we are going to eat when we get back to the US. I don't have anything I can't live without, but you should have seen Nicole's list! At least fifteen items and growing!

After lunch, I took a power nap and then headed out to catch the bus. I was planning to meet Jasmin, Kayla, and Nicole at the chocolate store, but they had already left by the time I arrived. I looked around, tasted some of the samples, and made my selections. I walked back to Central House, about a 45 minute walk. I didn't mind: I was walking in the shade and there was a nice breeze blowing. Plus everyone that met me said Good afternoon, which made me smile. And blush a few times :D The walk home made me realize how much I am going to miss Merida. Despite getting sick, I have really enjoyed my time here.

Friday night Central House hosted our farewell party. We invited our home hosts and any of the local students we had met and formed friendships with. I sat chatting with my host mom for the first hour and then she left and our language partners came. I only have a few pictures of the night, but I will post more when I get them.

We were entertained for a while by live music! They started with a popular goodbye song.

They were really enjoying themselves, especially when Eric and Sioned started dancing.

This picture is worthy of an explanation. It was the marquesita cart where Katie and I tried our first marquesitas. A marquesita is made by pouring a small amount of batter onto one of these irons and cooking it into a wafer. Once ready, fillings are spread onto the wafer which is then quickly rolled up. The outer layer of wafer is then crispy, while the inside is more chewy. The possible list of fillings is only limited by your imagination, but they had available cheese or Nutella. The young man with Katie, however, insisted we try cheese AND Nutella...mixed! On the same marquesita! We were skeptical, to say the least, but we tried it and were surprised by how good it was. I am a simple girl, and I would prefer the one or the other, but I had no problem eating them together! You just never know until you try something. This is normally a street vendor cart, but they were hired to come in for the evening and make marquesitas for the party.



I should have taken the time to snap a clearer picture, because this was also interesting. This is the taco cart, which was serving tacos al pastor. Anytime something is al pastor, it means it has been cooked in this interesting method. See the red, cone-shaped object hanging in about the center of the picture? That is a cone of meat! See how it appears to be to the right of a tall metal shield? That was shielding the propane flame, which is slowly cooking the meat as it turns on a spit. As it cooks, the cook shaves it off bit by bit and serves it as the meat in the tacos. It was marinated in the typical Yucatecan sauce (made with achiote), which is always delicious. We could choose between corn or flour tortillas, and we could top our meat with guacamole, two other types of salsa, onion, and pineapple. It sounds strange, but I put on guacamole, onion, and pineapple and it was one of the best tacos I have ever eaten.

We had a frenzy of picture taking, but this was the only one that ended up on my camera. This is Lenny, my Spanish teacher. She was making jokes about standing on her tiptoes to make herself look taller, because she was shorter than all of us! We loved having class with her, and we learned so much from her. She was always interrupting class time to tell us stories or start interesting discussions about the themes we were discussing. When we went out on excursions, she was always watching to be sure we were understanding and getting the most out of the experience. I will miss her a lot.

Saturday morning we climbed into taxis at 6 am for our ride to the airport. Jasmin and I were pleasantly surprised when the United agent said she could bump up our afternoon flight by four hours. That cut our layover in Denver from six to two hours. All our flights and connections went smoothly, and we landed in Sioux Falls just after 6 PM. It was great to be home!

Four weeks in Merida: gone! Now they are a beautiful memory. I have enjoyed keeping this blog, as much for myself as for everyone else reading it. I still have a few more pictures that I will share with stories, and Jasmin also has promised to send me pictures from our farewell party. Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it!