This morning I got up for school about 6 AM (woke up late again), got dressed, packed my bag (including a nice muffin breakfast), and headed out the door. And today, class was exciting! (Shocking, I know). Why? Cause we learned how to do Mayan math!! Random Side Notes: Did you know that the Mayans were the first ones to use the number 0? Also, the Mayans used a base of 20 in all their mathematical equations (unlike us, who use a base of 10) #legit
Anyway, here's how you count in Mayan:
1 = hun
2 = ka’
3 = ox
4 = kan
5 = ho
6 = uak
7 = uuk
8 = uaxak
9 = bolon
10 = lahun
12 = lahka’
13 = oxlahun (3 y 10)
14 = kanlahun
Etc
I would explain to you how the Mayans did mathematical problems (subtraction, multiplication, addition), but that would take too much time, and I'd probably not be able to explain it too well over my blog. But if you ever want to learn the Mayan way to do math, you know who to talk to :)
So yeah! Super fun class, mainly because it was so interactive. I really enjoyed it.
After that class (and a 15-ish minute break), I went to my advanced grammar class (yay...). And *drum roll please* I got an 80% on my test! Though, technically, I should have gotten a 66%. Buuuuut, he graded it in a way that raised our grades A LOT. For which I am grateful. Though I still feel awful about my lack of Spanish. If there's one thing studying abroad does, it's that it makes you realize how not good at a language you are. #thestruggleisreal However, I didn't feel bad for too long, mainly because I learned that I got into the Top 50 stage of a competition I'm in, AND I got a reimbursement from DownEast (two of my shirts I bought from them got destroyed after only 3 washes. So I wrote them an e-mail and they were like, here's 27 dollars! Use wisely) Thinking back on it now, I still feel bad about my test, but I'll just try to do better next time. But yeah, I definitely have felt very incompetent in Spanish lately. Hopefully that will drive me to improve myself (I do believe it already has).
After class, our whole group had a meeting over what excursion we wanted to do this weekend. Because, what had happened is Marcello (the co-conspirator that helps Profe plan excursion) found this opportunity for our group to go caving and to also explore cenotes (all within our budget. Aka, no out of pocket expense for us kiddies). A lot of people were chill with that, but some weren't, and there were lots of other ideas floating around, so Profe called for a meeting. Anyway, in the meeting we threw around the idea of going to Campestre, Cancun, or Tulum, but all of those were waaay too expensive and would cost all of us extra money to go. So, we decided to just stick with the original plan of going to the caves and to the cenotes - and whoever wanted to go could go. (I was okay with that, part of me was sad because I'd wanted to go to Tulum - apparently it's on the world list of places to see before you die. But, with my eye on my wallet, I knew it probably wouldn't be happening for me anytime soon).
UNTIL. Fate stepped in. We learned that (later on that afternoon) the caves were closed due to some government probs (which I learned about right after my epic deceleration/decision that I was gonna go caving. And I was gonna enjoy it too,) So, our awesome Profe (because he really is awesome) talked with Marcello and they found a fabulous deal! In which we are now able to go to...
TULUM!!!!!!!! *ahem* I'm just slightly excited. And not only is our budget able to cover the bus ride there, but it's also able to give each of us 150 pesos for food, and (I believe) cover the park expenses. It's gonna make a loooooong day (we're leaving at 6 AM in the morning and not getting back till 1 or 2 the next morning). But totally worth it. I am SO excited. It'll be my first trip to the Caribbean Sea! SO excited.
It's gonna be awesome. (Stay tuned).
Anyway, at about 1:30ish Christina and I had lunch. We ate early today because we had plans to go to the Museo Maya at 3 PM with the group, and we had to catch the bus. (Lunch was delicious! Rice and this little breaded chicken thing stuffed with vegetables). So about 2 PM Brandon came over to meet us (we were still eating), and we left about 2:10 PM. Catching the bus was fairly easy, as was finding the museum, so we arrived about 20 minutes early. So we sat in the shade and waited for others to come (I tried lying on the bench, but I totes got in trouble with a security guard for doing so. Oops).
The Museo Maya was interesting. I feel like a person could spend hours just staring at all the stuff they have on display there. They also had three cool videos that we watched. The first one was about the end of the dinosaurs (the whole meteorite thing). The second was about the Mayan beliefs and how they viewed the universe. The third was about the people today. It was quite interesting. I have to say, the more I learn about the Mayans...the more I'm unsure if I like them or not (kinda silly to say I guess). I mainly say this because today in the tour, we learned some uh, interesting customs that the Mayans had (which I will not share because it grossed me out). Sacrifice being among them (of which I already knew). Anyway, yeah. So I have a little love-hate relationship with them right now.
Regardless, the museum was still pretty and, of course, I took pictures.
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| And I thought the stick bugs in MO were huge. I stand corrected. |
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| A wooden version of Merida. Pretty legit. The place in the middle there, with all the trees, that's the centro |
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| I should note, right above this little miniature Merida was a video about all the different sights here in the Yucatan. What was cool is that I had been to most, if not all, of the sites they were showing (they was a lot of footage from the place where we did the boat tour. It was just cool to be able to say, "I've been there!!" |
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| This was cool cause it was in the floor and you could step on it and look down. This is a map of the peninsula of Mexico. |
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| Traditional Mayan dress (it's so pretty!) |
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| So for each thing, they had an explanation in Mayan, Spanish, and English. This is the explanation in Mayan. |
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| The English translation |
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| Pelota court!! It's a reconstruction of the one at Chichen Itza. (Christina got some pretty good foot selfies when we were standing on some of these. I'll be sure to post them later). |
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| The original Farmer's Almanac |
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| Awkward selife |
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| Me and Becca |
So yeah! It was pretty fun. The tour guide was entertaining and made sure that all of us interacted at some point. I recommend coming here if you ever visit Merida.
After the Museum, our group split up one again. Brandon and I went with Profe (who kindly dropped us off at our houses. Well he dropped Brandon off at the store. Which, I should note, Brandon was a gentleman and took the back middle sit between the kiddies. I got to sit up front). Christina and the others went and saw Ant-Man. Had I not been so tired or keen to do my homework, I would have gone with them.
As it was, I returned home, did my homework, then, by accident, took a little nap. When I woke up, it was time for dinner! We had burritos! (My favorite!) And then, Elisa and I talked for a good hour and a half about politics, our work experiences, religion, etc. It was super interesting and fantastic. A good way to end the day. I can now say, I may not know everything there is to know about Spanish, but I can at least hold an hour and a half conversation with a native!
It was super interesting to get her input and views on America. I think it was also good to realize that even though our news portrays Mexico as a country solely made up of lazy, war-mongering, and corrupt people, who are constantly involved in drug wars, that that's NOT the reality of these people. Just like the majority of people in the world, people in Mexico want to live in peace - free of drug wars and other forms of corruption. They want to work and live out their lives in honesty, enjoying their families and their life experiences. This conversation just helped me to realize and remember that how the world is portrayed is not actually how it is. Yeah there's bad stuff out there, but that's not all there is. And I think I can safely say that there are definitely more good than bad people in the world. Hopefully that will never change.
Anyway, it's late, so I shall now be heading off to bed.
'Til Tomorrow.
R J Carr
"definitely more good than bad people in the world." Excellent lesson to learn. Now the trick is remembering it and preaching it everywhere you go... even at church. Awesome!
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