Laura vs. the World: July 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Tixkokob, Izamal, Ek' Balam...try pronouncing those!

This week was full of adventures! I only had class twice this week, so there was tons of time on my hands. Tuesday a group of us hit the beach in Progreso for the better part of the day. After being in the sun for about three hours, it started to pour rain. But that didn't phase us; we just swam in the the rain. It was so fun! Wednesday, we went to our weekly salsa class at Institute. We tried to get there earlier to make sure we would get a male partner, because half the time I end up dancing with another girl since we're short on guys {isn't it always that way at church dances?} But boy did I have a surprise in for me! The instructor called me up to the stage to help him demonstrate all the salsa moves. I was so nervous because I am still learning myself, but I think I did pretty well. I was able to keep up with everything he was doing, at least. After Institute, a group of us headed to a park to rent bikes, or bicis. Mérida was having a ride, promoting bike riding. It was basically organized by a group of Mexican hipsters, no joke. But it was so fun! We rode around Mérida for about three hours on bikes at night with 350 people. Quite the experience!

We had excursions on Friday and Saturday this week, so double the fun! Friday, we first headed to Tixkokob, the hammock capital of Yucatán, maybe even the world. Unfortunately, the thread factory we were going to go to to buy hammocks was closed, so we ended up go into some the residents garages to buy them. I'm pretty sure that almost everyone in Tixkokob knows how to weave a hammock. There are two basic materials used to make hammocks: nylon and cotton. Cotton hammocks have larger holes than nylon, which keeps you cooler; most yucatecos prefer cotton. Nylon hammocks have really close stitches and are more suaves than cotton ones. But because of the stitches, they are hotter than cotton hammocks. Hammocks also come in different sizes: individual, matrimonial {queen size}, king size, etc. However, we had limited selections because we shopping in people's garages. I ended up not buying a hammock in Tixkokob because I just felt like maybe I should wait and see what other options I would have in color and size somewhere else. And get this, after our excursions on Friday, two women knocked on our door after our family had finished dinner, and they were selling hammocks! And they were great quality hammocks; our Mamá even encouraged us to buy them, and she is very critical when it comes to hammocks. AND they had a yellow matrimonial-sized hammock, which was exactly what I had been looking for. AND it was only 350 pesos, whereas the Tixkokob hammocks were about 800 pesos! It was a very lucky day for me.

On Friday we also visited Izamal, my Mamá's hometown and the town where our parents got married. The whole town is painted yellow, instead of multiple colors like other towns. Pope John Paul II visited Izamal in 1993. Even though he was only there for two hours, the gente there mention it to everyone who comes through. It is a pretty big deal for a town of 20,000. Another cool thing about Izamal is the fact the there are Mayan ruins in the middle of the city. Right in the backyards of its residents! After visiting the cathedral and ruins, we rode down a path of shops around the town in horse-drawn buggies. It was pretty neat.

Saturday we went to another cenote, the ruins at Ek' Balam, and Valladolid. The cenote was SOOOO beautiful. It was a lot more touristy than la Ruta de los Cenotes, but cool none the less. Ek' Balam was especially fun because unlike Chichén Itzá or Uxmal, you can climb and explore the ruins as much as you please. The view from the biggest pyramid was stunning! You could see jungle for miles, or kilometers! We didn't get very much time in Valladolid, so we just checked out some of the local shops. If you are ever in Valladolid, I HIGHLY recommend the helado de coco sold by the vendors in la plaza central. It was excellent. So excellent, in fact, I bought two.

Here come the pictures. Have a relaxing Sunday and a wonderful week. ¡Nos vemos!

In this man's garage, learning how to make las hamacas.

So many colors!

Izamal

the statue of Pope John Paul II at la catedral de Izamal

la catedral de Izamal

All the buildings in Izamal are painted yellow!

I found the Copacabana!!!

las ruinas in the middle of Izamal

Photo credit: Ryan Hill

What a view!

the whole group on top of the ruins
Photo credit: Ryan Hill

I got to sit up front with the buggy driver. And yes our horse was wearing a sombero!

This was a tin shop we stopped by in Izamal. This man makes all of his products by hand.

The cenote! And I forgot the name!Photo credit: Ryan Hill

Can you see me getting ready to jump?Photo credit: Thomas White

Photo credit: Ryan Hill

the ruins at Ek' Balam {photo bomb!}

Laura²!

One of the guys ran all the way up these stairs in 25 seconds, while we sang the Rocky theme.

Great view!

I could hear the jungle calling...

Helado de coco in Valladolid! Perfect end to a perfect day :)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Leap of Faith

It’s amazing how time flies. It seems like yesterday, I was frantically trying to find my way around the Cancun airport. In just three short weeks I will be on a plane back to Utah, and two weeks after that I will begin my sophomore year of college. Wow.

I’ve been thinking lately about how much of a blessing it is that I am here in México. Heavenly Father certainly has blessed me more than I deserve. This past winter, I began a goal journal, just a little notebook where I write my life goals in. The very first goal I wrote was “Learn Spanish.” The second “Go to México.” I never ever believed I could be fulfilling those goals just a couple months after I wrote them. Granted, the first will take a lot more time, but wow. I truly have been blessed. I’ve learned so much this past year about myself; about who I am. And one of the most important things I’ve learned is you really can do anything you set your mind to. I know it sounds cliché, but I have seen this pattern in my life so much lately. When my senior year of high school began, I had NO idea where I was going to go with my life after graduation. But I decided I wanted to go to BYU and did everything I could to be an desirable applicant. I was accepted. Last semester, I heard about a study abroad program and decided I would love nothing more than to go to México. I was selected and here I am in Mérida. Now, because I know this truth, the future doesn’t seem so scary. In fact, it is absolutely thrilling.

These past weeks have been packed with fun, inspiring, and amazing experiences. I have done everything from ice skating to visiting Chichén Itzá and salsa dancing to watching Ice Age 4 in Spanish. Some of my favorite memories, however, are sitting around the dinner table with Mamá and Papá, just talking. Mamá is soooo funny but she also imparts her knowledge to us, about God, about food, about the Mayan language. She is such an amazing woman; I couldn’t have asked for a better host mom. And Papá is one of best men I’ve ever met. He is kind and caring, and so adorable. Sometimes he speaks English to us and it’s just about the best thing in the world. I am dreading saying goodbye to them.

So I did something kind of crazy this past Saturday. We went to La Ruta de los Cenotes or a route of cenotes. Cenotes are fresh water sources that the Mayans used. They are basically water holes found in caves that are connected by an underground water system. Sometimes they were also used as sacrificial sites and now, they are used as swimming holes. Go figure. But the water is the clearest, bluest water I have ever seen! Anyway, like I said, most are in caves, underground. One we went to was about 50 feet underground and had a hole in the ceiling. Well, one of the guys on our group just jumped off as soon as we got there! It was crazy! And then of course someone else tried until finally, I decided I wanted to jump. I climbed all the way back up to the surface and stepped over the wire fencing off the hole. And then I looked down. It was a looooooong way down. For about a minute or two I fought with myself, my friends encouraging me in the background. Then I had a friend count me down. 3…2…1…and then I jumped. It was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done! Not that I am going to become an adrenaline junkie or anything, but I thought it was so cool, I went back and jumped again before we left. Sometimes, you’ve just got to take a leap of faith. :)

Hopefully these next couple of weeks I’ll be better about posting, but I really think the pictures tell my stories better than I. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Family night out! We went to one of the best restaurants in town Los Trompos and had pizza al pastor. Poor Papa...so many girls!

Papa with all his BYU hijas

Mama and me and pizza al pastor! Yum!

Ice skating with some friends from Institute. When in Mexico...

Chichén Itzá! These are representations of the Mayan god, Chaac.

This building was one of my favorites! Look at that detail...

Chichén Itzá is filled with vendors! If your not taking pictures, then you're beginning offered souvenirs by the vendors.

Chichén Itzá

El Castillo! When I first saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes. I have now visited one of the 7 Wonders of the World!

Long way up...

My wonderful roommate Rachel and me

the ballcourt at Chichén Itzá

Chichén Itzá

the entrance to the first cenote
"We're supposed to climb down there?!"

From ground level looking down

This is the hole where I jumped off...

....50 feet.

It's was a loooooong way down.

The water was so beautiful! Definitely want to go visit more cenotes!
Photo credit: Caitlin Hibbert

BYU Merida, Mexico 2012

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Conocarpus erectus

Today was an amazing day! This week’s excursion took us to Celestún, a town located just on the border of the states Campeche and Yucatán. This fishing town is famous for the wild flamingos that take residence in the wetlands mostly during the winter. La Parque Natural del Flamenco Mexicano surrounds the town and is the home not only to flamingos, but herons, pelicans, and sea turtles. The town’s clean streets are lined with brightly painted house, stores and restaurants. I think it’s the prettiest town I’ve been too so far.

After we arrived, we headed straight to the beach to board our lanchas, or motor boats. There were seven to a boat, so we had a whole fleet of lanchitas to our group. We left the beach and headed towards the mangroves. After driving for about 20 minutes, we reached this clearing, and in it, flamingos! We were so lucky to see them, since this isn’t usually the time of year when there are many flamingos. The last time I saw a flamingo was in the zoo when I was really young, so it was really amazing to see these huge group of wild, bright pink flamingos. Our conductor told us that you can tell which of the flamingos are younger by their feathers. Apparently, flamingos get their pink color from the shrimp they eat, so the younger ones have less color than the adults.

Once we were done taking pictures, we turned around and headed into the mangrove trees that surrounded the clearing. We drove just for a couple minutes in a tunnel of mangroves; it was absolutely beautiful! And the water was red! Our conductor explained that the water wasn’t dirty, but that the roots or raices from the trees colored the water an orange-red color. We then “parked” our lanchita and got walked to a swimming hole in the middle of the mangroves. Not going to lie, I felt so gross swimming in the red water, even though I knew it wasn’t dirty. But you can’t help but feel that way when you look down into the water and your arms and legs are orange. It was really fun nonetheless. Afterwards, we returned to the beach, swam, and then ate at a restaurant right on the beach.

Such an amazing experience and one of the best excursions yet! Enjoy the pictures and have a wonderful day!