Day Seven - Merida

So we arrived in Merida last night at Hotel El Conquistador and had a nice evening stroll along El Pasejo de Montejo. First we stopped at Sorbeteria de Colon and I enjoyed some helado de coco (coconut ice cream). Then we continued on to a local University in Merida to watch a Folkloric Dance show, with performances from the states of Puebla, Tamaulipas, and Colima. It was a cultural paradise – the music was rhythmic, the dancing graceful, and the costumes intricately designed. I’ll try to post a video soon showing one of the performances.

Today was almost as busy as yesterday! We left the hotel around 10am to head to la Escuela Secondaria Technologica No. 2. Here we took a small tour of the campus and then spoke with a few English teachers from various Merida schools. There were two things from the school that left a big impression on me. The first was that some Mexican schools have public sponsors to provide resources for their students. For example, at Escuela No. 2, it appears that Pepsi made an arrangement to provide basketball hoops and a playing field (as evident from the huge Pepsi logos painted all around the athletic area), and in return there was a huge Pepsi vending machine on one of the patios. The second thing that left a huge impression was the paintings within some of the classrooms. As one of the teachers explained to me, the school would have a drawing contest and the winning design would be painted as a mural on one of the classroom walls. I think that’s a great incentive to get students to school – since students can help paint the murals, it helps encourage students to come to school to paint with their teachers, to come to the classroom and see their artwork, and to take care of their educational surroundings. Here’s a picture from one of the History classrooms:

After touring the school, we sat down in the [air conditioned] computer room to chat with local teachers about various topics. A few of us spoke with a teacher named Emma who was very open and honest about issues in Mexico, like teenage pregnancy, reasons why some Mexicans do not get a good education, private vs. public school, and the change in attitudes towards education over time. We had some really good conversations and made connections that should prove to be helpful in time.

When we were finished at the school, we made our way to Hacienda Teya. A hacienda is a place where some type of manufacturing or production is done, and there are also buildings for residences, dining purposes, etc. This particular hacienda was designed to handle sisal, a type of plant that is used to produce industrial ropes and sacks. According to Jacques, I’ll learn more about the sisal manufacturing process on Monday, so I’ll update more on sisal then! Anyway, we were at the hacienda to enjoy a fabulous meal with the U.S. Consul in Merida, Gregory Segas, as this particular place was turned into a hotel/restaurant (which has hosted many popular Americans, including Hillary Rodham Clinton). The food was DELICIOUS! I enjoyed appetizers of empanadas with baby shark, queso relleno (stuffed cheese), and a meal of chiles stuffed with baby shark. For dessert we shared the hacienda’s award-winning flan. We also spoke with Gregory about his job and the current political situation in the country, which gave me a lot of insight into a system I once learned much about in college.

After a long day, we headed back to the hotel and a new friend, Veronica, and I took a walk into the main part of Merida. We stopped in a local handicraft shop and I purchased a colorful Mayan tablecloth for the round table in my classroom (Oh, I can't wait to see it in room 311!). We kept walking and eventually got ourselves lost in the downtown section of the city. We walked through an indoor market, which felt a lot like a Caribbean market or the side streets of Kusadasi, Turkey. The vendors in the market were a little too persistent which turned me off, so I didn’t buy anything. Eventually we made our way back through the main part of the city and headed back towards our hotel (about a mile away). We stopped at a local park that was hosting a free folkdance concert and enjoyed one of their performances. Finally, before bedtime we decided to go back to Sorbeteria de Colon and tried a flavor of ice cream called Mamey, which is an ice cream flavor that comes from the chiclet tree.  Fue muy rico!!!