Final Exam. Wrapping up my Semester Abroad

1. Vocabulario- Words that I learned in the Yucatán

Xix- Remainder, leftover.  As in- por qué solamente queda el xix de la Coca Cola?
Camión- bus. (Based on my Costa Rican Spanish, this word always meant "truck" to me.) As in- Voy a ir al parque en camión con él.
Padre- Cool. As in- Class is cancelled! Qué padre!
Onda- Going on; happening. As in- Qué onda Luis? Cómo has estado?
Vacilar- Tease; make fun. As in- Él solamente estaba vacilando contigo, no te preocupes.
Recámara- Room; bedroom. As in- Creo que debo ir a mi recámara y dormir; tengo sueño.
Cochinita- Little female pig. As in- Vamos a comer cochinita pibil mañana.
Nevera- Fridge; icebox. As in- La leche está en la nevera o en la mesa?
Chuch- Cute. As in- El niño es muy chuch. Como se llama?
Ceiba- A species of tree native to the Yucatan. As in- Ella está sentada bajo las ramas de la ceiba.

2. Mayan Ruins that I Visited- Ruinas mayas que visité

De todos los sitios que he visitado, Chichén Itzá es el más turístico. El cenote sagrado era un lugar muy importante para los sacrificios y ritos religiosos.- Out of all of the places that I went, Chichén Itzá is the most tourist-y. The sacred cenote was an important site for sacrifices and religious rituals.

Uxmal es de la época clásica y tiene un cuadrángulo llamado el "Cuadrángulo de las monjas" porque parece un convento.- Uxmal is from the classic period and has a quadrangle called "The Nun's Quadrangle" because it looks like a convent.

Mis ruinas favoritas son las de Ek Balam por su belleza y porque se puede escalarlas todas.- My favorite ruins are the ones from Ek Balam because of their beauty and because I got to climb them all.

At the top!

3. Historia- History

I have learned a lot about the pre-Spanish period of Mexican history as well as 16th century history.

Sé que la historia de los maya está dividida en tres grandes secciones: pre-clásico, clásico, pos-clásico.- Mayan history is divided into three large sections: pre-classic, classic, and post-classic periods.

De México en general, he aprendido que es un país muy diverso de cultura, comida, manera de pensar, clima, etc.- While on this program, I have learned that Mexico is a very diverse country in terms of culture, food, manner of thinking, climate, etc.


4. My Favorite School Reading

Syllabus! Just kidding...

Mi lectura favorita ha sido el Relato de Gonzalo Guerrero. Me encantó su estilo narrativo y aprender la historia de un hombre que naufragó en Yucatán, fue cautivo de los mayas, llegó a casarse con una princesa maya, y es considerado el padre de mestizaje.- My favorite reading was el Relato de Gonzalo Guerrero. I loved the narrative style as well as learning about history through the experiences of a man who shipwrecked in the Yucatán, was captured by Mayans, eventually married a Mayan princess and is considered the father of mestizaje (mixed race/ blended families. Meant in a positive manner.)

Gonzalo Guerrero represented in a painting.

5. Best and Worst of the Yucatán-

Best- Compared with the hectic and busy qualities of American culture, Mexico is considerably more relaxed. There is always enough time to finish the work you didn't get around to today and there is usually more than enough time to sleep. There is less time-related pressure than in the United States. I believe that this correlates with lower rates of depression.

Worst- There is still a distinct socioeconomic difference between people of creole lineage and Mayans. I have yet to see a light-skinned Mexican begging in the streets or working as a maid in someone's house. Although there are laws to protect Mayans and their rights, there is still a distinct socioeconomic gap in reality.

6. My favorite food in Mexico 

My absolute favorite food in Mexico is called Panuchos. I thought about describing it, but I thought that only a picture could really do it justice:

Foto taken from- http://theoriginalsalsaandsalsa.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/panuchos-a-typical-delight-from-the-yucatecan-kitchen/


7. The difference between Mérida and Izamal


Mérida is the capital city of the State of Yucatan whereas Izamal is a small city nearby. I find that the best way to differentiate between a big and small city (other than Mérida having nearly one million residents whereas Izamal has slightly over fifteen thousand) is to look at ATMs. If you walk far enough in any direction in Mérida you will eventually run into a bank. In Izamal, we could not find a single ATM.

 The church was pretty though

Fray Diego de Landa and I in Izamal.

8. Política- Politics 

Aprendí que ahora la política de México está más tranquila que la de los Estados Unidos. Mientras los Estados Unidos tienen dos grandes partidos políticos; México tiene tres. Realmente la política no ha sido mencionado mucho aquí como en los Estados Unidos donde hay amenazas de Corea del Norte, reformas de armas, etc. - I have learned that Mexican politics is currently more peaceful than American politics. While the USA has a two party system generally when it comes to elections, Mexico has three. I have heard little mention of politics here whereas in the United States politics is hotly debated due to threats from North Korea, gun reform, and other such issues.



9. Regrets
I would rather not talk about my regrets publicly, but I will mention that I wish that I had known how to get in contact with the cathedral archives in January so that I had more time to do research there. If I had known how to get permission in January, it would have been so much simpler.
Luckily for me, it all worked out and the archives are awesome.



10. Recuerdos- Memories


Memories that I will take back with me:

- Thinking of crazy metaphors for prose class.
- Following Diego de Landa and Gonzalo Guerrero's footsteps across the peninsula.
- Grains of sand permanently embedded in my swimsuit.
- Memories of my host family laughing over dinner.

Would I come back?

In a heartbeat. I would love to see my host family, go to cenotes, swim at the beach, and go to archives again. With one caveat- not in the summer. It gets up to 110 degrees fahrenheit sometimes.