Mexico | Chickens, Flamingoes, and Other Birds

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By Andrea Zheng

It’s week 2 and we had our first midterm this week (ya, a midterm after 6 days of class. Life moves fast here.). But with that over, it was time to go to Chichén-Itzá, Izamal, and Celestún!

The first stop was the world famous Chichén-Itzá, or “at the mouth of the well of the water sorcerer” (or as our tour guide called it: Chicken Pizza). One of the seven wonders of the world, Chichén-Itzá is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Mexico. On the day that we went, there were so many tour groups bustling around, with guides speaking a variety of languages.

It was here that I learned how advanced the Mayans were in their architecture and knowledge of the world around them. The main pyramid, the Castillo Templo, was built in such a way that at a specific time during the two Spring and Fall equinoxes, the sun would come through the pyramid to create the image of a snake slithering down the side of the temple. This image was made to honor one of the Mayan gods, Kulkulcan, the plumed serpent god.

I thought this was incredible because ancient civilizations are often thought of as not advanced, but this shows how much the Mayans figured out about natural phenomena like the movement of the sun.

After Chichén-Itzá, we went to Izamal, a small city that is painted entirely yellow. It is thought that the city was painted yellow before Pope John Paul II visited Izamal in 1993 to make the city look pretty and clean. It was truly amazing to be pulled down the streets in our horse drawn carriages and see building after building a bright yellow. There is also another temple here (that we of course climbed) dedicated to the god Kinich Kak Moo, the Mayan sun god.

The next day we headed out to Celestún, a small beach town that is home to a diverse ecosystem of plants and animals. When we visited, it was just the right time to see the flamingoes that pass through the area while following their migration patterns. I never realized how weird of an animal flamingoes are, with their skinny knees and almost too flexible necks.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re incredibly beautiful animals, just a little funky looking. It was incredible to drive in our speedboat around the surrounding wetlands to see the flocks of flamingoes, but no matter how many pictures I tried to take, it didn’t do them justice.

The rest of the day was spent by the beach (just how I like it). We have a free Saturday and Sunday now and a few of us have planned a trip to Playa del Carmen, so click HERE to read more about how that trip went!

Andrea Zheng studied abroad in Merida in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/Span-Mexico/

Mexico | Typical Day in the Life

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By Andrea Zheng

After a week of being here, I have settled into somewhat of a routine from the craziness of figuring out this new city. A big component of this program is of course the classroom content that you will be learning, so I’m going to outline what a typical school day looks like! Keep in mind that I am taking the Spanish 150/170 class, so I will be mainly focusing on that class but the structure is very similar for the other classes as well.

Classes generally run Monday through Thursday (with some exceptions) and begin at 9 AM at Tecnología Turística Total in downtown Merida. It will vary depending on the location of your house, but my roommates and I typically got up around 7:00 AM (more like 7:15 AM for me) to get ready for school.

Our mamá would always make us breakfast in the morning before sending us off to catch the bus, which is the mode of transportation for us to get to school. The mamás show us the bus route before we have to take it by ourselves, so don’t worry if you (like me) are clueless to the public transport system.

Like I said before, class begins at 9 AM and will last until 1 PM on a typical day. During this time, my teacher (Professor Falce-Robinson) would go over the readings that we did the previous night using discussion questions. I really like her style of teaching, because instead of lecturing at us, we would use discussion among small groups and then the class as a whole.

A four-hour class would be exhausting to sit through in its entirety, so we get a break 30-minute break halfway through class. Because we are in a downtown area with lots of little shops, a lot of people will walk to Starbucks to get their caffeine fill or to a local grocery shop to get a little snack before heading back to the second part of class.

After class is over, it’s time to head home for lunch. Our mamá was amazing and would make sure that lunch was ready by the time our hungry selves came home from school. After a big lunch, what else is there to do but take a siesta! Normally, there will be a thunderstorm with rain going on anyway, so it’s the perfect time to take a little nap to pass the time.

This is also a good time to get the reading done for the next day (or in the case of the other two classes MySpanishLab). A tip I would give to future students is to get as much homework done before the program as possible, as this will leave you so much more time to explore the city. There’s nothing worse than having to stay in for homework while your classmates are out and about.

Once the homework is done and the rain clears, we generally grab a quick bite to eat for dinner and then we have free time to do whatever we want.

This is of course a very rough outline that can change based on the day, but hopefully this gave you guys some idea about how a normal day passes here. The teachers are very good about making sure the students are understanding the content, given that it is a very fast-paced learning environment and they will sometimes even hold office hours before midterms. They understand that an important part of the program is experiencing the culture and tradition of the city, not just being cooped up doing homework, and that reflects in the course load.

This is how a typical Monday through Thursday week looks, so what do we do the days we don’t have class you ask? Well check out the blogs about Cultural Excursions to see the amazing trips that we get to go on!

Andrea Zheng studied abroad in Merida in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/Span-Mexico/

Mexico | Underground, Twice

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By Andrea Zheng

This past week we had our first weekend of excursions! Every week, we have a set of places that we go to around the Yucatan peninsula and this week it was Lol-tún, Uxmal, and Cenotes Cuzamá. Our first destination, Lol-tún, is a cave that translate to “Flower Stone” in the Mayan language. There were many uses for this cave, including as a shelter to hide in and a source of clay, which the ancient Mayans used to make tools. There is also physical evidence of the Mayans use of this place because there are hand prints on the cave walls along with drawings of animals.

One of the coolest things in Lol-tún is when all the lights go off. Although the Mayans used to move through the cave using torch light, the cave is now illuminated by path lights so that tourists don’t get lost in the dark. But there was a moment when our tour guide turned off all the lights and it was one of the craziest experiences ever.

I had never before been somewhere where I had my eyes wide open but still could not see a thing, as there is normally at least some light filtering in. Not a single person moved when it was dark because you lose all sense of your body in space.

Back in the sunlight, we continued on to our second location, Uxmal. Uxmal is an ancient Mayan city that translates to “three times built” in the Mayan language. Something that I learned during our tour was that the pyramid that we saw on the outside wasn’t the only pyramid in that exact spot.

When the Mayans wanted to build a new pyramid, instead of building a new one, they would just build around the old one, incasing the old pyramid into the new one. This means that there is a Russian nesting doll situation with the pyramids that we see today.

We were also able to climb up the tallest pyramids, which gave us an incredible view of the area surrounding Uxmal. Because I know that I’m really clumsy and prone to tripping, I was very wary to climb the EXTREMELY steep pyramid. Thankfully, I made it down unscathed and was able to continue onto the next day’s excursion, Cenotes Cuzamá.

Cenotes are natural pits of water that are below ground. There are a lot of cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula, but only some are accessible to the public. (Apparently, there was even a cenote in the Costco parking lot in Merida but I never got to see it). Some of the more accessible cenotes have been commercialized and have become popular tourist destinations, like the Cenotes in Cuzamá.

Here, there were four different cenotes, so we were able to walk to each of the different ones and float around for a little bit. Apparently all cenotes are connected by underwater tunnels, but I wasn’t about to dive down and test that theory.

It was a fun (and tiring) weekend and first week here in Merida so I’m looking forward to getting some sleep before tackling another week.

Andrea Zheng studied abroad in Merida in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/Span-Mexico/

Guam | Pagat

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By Tecpatl Kuauhtzin

Our last class field trip was to Pagat, a beautiful area with historical knowledge weaved into the land. Uncle Joe, my mentor from the Guam Preservation Trust, took my entire class down to visit the land and waters. Professor Camacho also went, which made me happy because I was able to hike with him. Not often do students at UCLA get to hike with their professors, but Professor Camacho is one of the great ones.

The entire hike was about an hour long, and it went from jungle to coast. It was amazing being with such knowledgeable people. When we reached the cave, we took a few minutes to re-center ourselves before going in. It was a really cool experience being able to walk in. I took my camera in my bag and when we reached the deeper part of the water while going in, I had to hold it against the rocks. I was having such a good time that I didn’t realize I had my wallet in my pockets, and the water was waist deep, lol!

I made this image while looking out a few steps in.

The cave was extremely dark and the water was fresh. the echo inside was incredible. Many of us took out or flashlights and cameras to try to take a few pictures, but they were mostly grainy. Unfortunately, while we were in there a group of tourists came in yelling and laughing very disrespectfully. Their tour guide was Chamoru but did not seem to care, and in fact was motivating them to do so. After multiple times of us asking them to be more quiet, Uncle Joe spoke to their tour guide. He expressed that he did not care, and was rather disrespectful. This was hard to witness, as I can relate and have been in situations where our sacred sites at home are disrespected by tourists.

This is an image of Uncle Joe after we exited the cave. As we headed down to the coast, I asked him to pose, and he did so with grace! lol.

When we finally reached the coast, I was amazed to see a natural hole in the rock formations. Dan, a local student that was with us, told us that Chamoru youth jump off from here often. It can be dangerous, but if you know where to jump it will be fine he explained. I would be lying if I said I did not think about jumping, but I figured my professor would probably not let me, haha. I had a blast nonetheless.

Guam | Public Forum and Visiting Litekyan

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By Tecpatl Kuauhtzin

Community organizations came together in Hagåtña at the legislature for a public hearing on financial support. Guam officials have cut funding to all community organizations, including the organizations that we are aiding as students. Our class nominated Kat and I to speak with and on behalf of the Håya Foundation, who are a community organization of traditional Chamoru healers. They are mostly elderly women who have taken it upon themselves to support their community, and they do it with no pay. As a non-profit organization, they need support from the government to remain open.

I spoke about the importance of healing and traditional medicine from my perspective. I shared about how much of my culture has been lost because of colonization and how dire it is for our youth to be surrounded by these healing practices. Intergenerational trauma and suicide rates of youth in both the Native American community and the Chamoru community are at an all time high, and I posed the fact that traditional medicine is counteracting this reality. I asked for the Speaker and chairman to support Håya and the other community organizations with their requests.

Because today is Wednesday, it was field trip day! We visited the nature center in Litekyan today, and took a tour around the area. Our guides reminded us that this is where the Marines want to build their firing range, and that if they succeeded it would shut down access to the entire area. Furthermore, it would be such a large environmental impact, and the land there is sacred. In the nature center, our guides explained the importance of respect while we visit the sites in the area. They also shared that there are multiple caves with ancient pictographs and artifacts. We prepared ourselves for the hike by learning about the history of the area.

The first cave we visited, we made sure to ask for permission to enter. Our guides pointed out multiple pictographs and shared their current theories as to what they represent or what story they tell. They shared that they are not 100 percent sure about the representations. I appreciated how involved our guides were with the community. Too often in the United States, natural tours are conducted by non-Indigenous Peoples and there is a large disconnect they have with the land and its history. It is just science. For this reason, I was happy to be learning from people who came from the land and care for it.

We reached a site that was home to many Lattes and possibly housed over 300 people. Our guides explained that all around this area, there are remains of Latte stone and other kinds of structures. It was awesome to be able to visit this land and share space with our guides and my class.

Tecpatl studied abroad in Guam in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/asianam-guam/

Guam | Fua Rock

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By Tecpatl Kuauhtzin

One of Guam’s most sacred places is the Fua Rock, and for good reason. Unfortunately, a lot of the teachings about the rock have been forgotten due to colonization and religious indoctrination during the Spanish invasion. Regardless, uncle Joe took us down to his village in Umatac, where the Fua Rock is located, and took us to visit the rock. He explained to us that it is customary to keep a low volume so as to not disturb the spirits in the area, and the importance of asking for permission before entering the locale. Out of respect, we all kept a low talking voice while walking around Umatac. The town is one of the most rural in Guam, and it was beautiful. The waters were also some of the clearest.

During our hike, Uncle Joe explained a lot about the different kinds of rock, trees and plants in the area. He pointed out many things and explained their uses and importance.

There was so much life in the area, and every turn there was a little animal. My eyes caught a little hermit crab and I locked on, following it and watching its movements. It was gentle and took its time walking from rock to rock. I took a few pictures and said my goodbyes, thanking it for allowing me to visit.

We saw the Fua Rock from across the shore, and Joe explained its significance. As I mentioned earlier, the Chamoru had to forget many teachings related to the rock for its survival. If the Spanish knew how importance this area was, they would have destroyed it as they did with other sacred structures and areas. Nevertheless, Uncle Joe shared what they do know: the area was used for new life ceremony. It was traditionally a place where women prayed and practiced their protocol. Today, young men hold ceremony there as well. We did not approach the rock out of respect, and instead took it in from afar. We even got a group picture!

Tecpatl studied abroad in Guam in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/asianam-guam/

Guam | Atan Tano

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By Tecpatl Kuauhtzin

My group got our assigned organization and I could not be happier! I was paired up with the Guam Preservation Trust (GPT) and met with Joe, Andrew and Charmaine. We visited our site at the Lujan House and talked about our group project, which consists of surveying Guam’s local population and understanding both general attitudes towards cultural heritage preservation and specific attitudes towards a new project by GPT in which ancestral land, previously owned by the oil company Shell, would be used to create Guam’s first cultural heritage preserve.

Uncle Joe explained to us that because we are going to work with Atan Tano, we need to get to know it personally. We need to visit and introduce ourselves to the land, so that is what we did.

The drive was about 30 minutes from the Lujan House, and I was fortunate enough to ride with Uncle Joe. The rest of my group drove with Andrew and Charmaine in the GPT van. On the way, Uncle Joe and I talked about my background, similarities in our community protocols, and what I hope to get out of working with the Guam Preservation Trust. I expressed to him that I was grateful to be part of these efforts and that I was hoping to learn about everything from how to manage land as a community process to how to work with legal documents pertaining to land. I was intrigued by how GPT was able to acquire this territory back from a corporation, and Uncle Joe explained to me that it was a divestment.

Upon arriving, we talked about the importance of safety and asking the land and spirits for permission to enter. We had a small group talk, and made our way to the trail. Charmaine and Andrew explained that students of the University of Guam came a week ago to begin clearing this trail out, which was previously started by wild boars. Funny enough, we found some boar droppings, lol!

I began documenting our journey with the intention of using the images to tell a story for our final presentation. Charmaine and Andrew taught us many things along the way about different plants in the area, and we even came across a plant called sleeping grass that shrinks when you touch it. Unfortunately, the plant is invasive.

The greenery, humidity and sounds in Atan Tano were all very new to me. It was an experience that I will never forget, and I am grateful to the land for taking care of us while we visited.

Tecpatl studied abroad in Guam in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/asianam-guam/

Guam | The Lancho

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By Tecpatl Kuauhtzin

One of my classmates named Jade recently announced that she was informed she had family in Guam. Apparently, her parents let her know that she had relatives living here right before she boarded her plane! She told my cohort that her uncle wanted us all to go over for a Barbecue on his Lancho (farm).

Today was the day of the BBQ, and wow that food was just as amazing as his home. We took a walk around his garden and came across trees with hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies. We then walked through an awesome natural tunnel leading to the coast and the view was incredible. I turned around and saw a really cool beach tree-house they are constructing, and snapped a picture.

I remember feeling lucky to be here. I thought about my family and my community that helped me get here and is supporting me from afar while I watched the waves crash. They mean everything to me. After about half an hour of sitting and watching the waves, my cohort was called in by Jade’s uncle. He said it was time for dinner! We had an amazing feast with great company.

Tecpatl studied abroad in Guam in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/asianam-guam/

Mexico | First Few Days…

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By Andrea Zheng

Greetings from Mexico! Today is the second day I’m in Mexico as I landed last night. I met my mamá right off the plane and she even had a little sign made for me (how cute!). Driving back to the house, she started introducing herself, telling me about Merida, and what to expect for my next month to come. My Spanish was a little rusty to say the least, but she was very nice about explaining words that I didn’t know or repeating things until I understood what was going on.

On this second day, we met at the school that we are going to be having classes in, Tecnología Turística Total. This school is an adorable niche that you wouldn’t expect to find in the bustling downtown of Merida. There’s a little fountain right when you walk in and a cute patio area in the back to relax during the breaks in class. Check out the Typical Day in the Life blog to read a little bit more about classes and homework for this program.

After getting a small tour of the school, it was time to go on a tour of Merida. The first stop was the Plaza Grande, which is the main plaza in downtown Merida and the site of many of the activities that the city puts on. It’s only a few blocks from school (an easy 5-minute walk) and has places where you can buy souvenirs, exchange money, or (most importantly) get ice cream. Of course, we stopped at the colorful Merida sign to take a couple pictures (more like a hundred pictures to be fair).

To tour the city of Merida, we hopped on an open top tour bus, which took us on a 45-minute tour of the city. For the bus, I would 100% recommend sitting at the top because it’s so much better seeing the sites (and taking pictures) when you’re not sitting behind a window. Just make sure you put on LOTS of sunscreen and keep an eye out for low hanging tree branches so you don’t get smacked in the face.

Here are some of the highlights from the tour.

Paseo de Montejo

This famous avenue is named after Francisco de Montejo, who was a Spanish conquistador who founded the city. Along the road, the light posts have cute hanging flower pots and there are many local shops, banks, and old buildings. One of these old buildings is the Quinta Montes Molina – Casa Museo, which the house of the Molina family that also functions as a museum.

ADDED NOTE: When we later got a tour of this museum a lot of the rooms had hammocks or hooks to hang hammocks and I learned that the hammock is actually the preferred method of sleep in Merida due to the ventilation it provides during the stuffy nights. (Catch me adding a hammock to my Amazon cart ASAP).

Churches in Merida

While in the downtown area, there were four different churches within a four block radius, highlighting the importance of religion in Merida. The most well-known church is the Cathedral of Merida, which was the first church to be built on mainland America. This church sits on the border of the Plaza Grande and was built using parts from the original Mayan temple that it now replaces.

Ice cream shops

This needs no explanation 🙂

After a long day, I’m ready to get into bed (unfortunately not a hammock) and start getting ready for school on Monday!

Andrea Zheng studied abroad in Merida in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/Span-Mexico/

Mexico | Let’s Get Ready!

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By Andrea Zheng

Hey guys! It’s a few days out from my flight to Merida so it’s time to start preparing. Here are a few tips on things to bring and NOT to bring on this trip. First thing to know about Merida is that it is hot, hot, HOT. Not only that, it’s also very humid. This means that the main attire will be t-shirt/tank top, shorts, and comfy walking shoes. DON’T bring a lot of heavy sweaters and jackets, because even at night, it’s not cold enough to wear those. There will be one fancy thank you lunch for the lovely host mamás at the end of the trip so pack at least one nice outfit (button up shirt, sundress and sandals, something along those lines).

I’ve never been on a trip that I didn’t over pack for, so of course, I packed over 30 shirts and more than 10 pairs of shorts. This is definitely not necessary, as there are laundromats near the houses you will staying at as well as laundry machines in some of the houses, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Also, don’t forget a swimsuit because there will be MANY trips to the beach, both spontaneous trips to the beach 45 minutes away from Merida and planned program-wide excursions to different beaches along the Yucatan Peninsula. Along with a swimsuit, it’s a good idea to bring a towel, sunscreen*, and some flip-flops.

Even though it’s hot in Merida, that doesn’t mean there isn’t rain. There will definitely be thunder and lightning storms so be sure to bring an umbrella and rain jacket to pull out when necessary. Along with rain comes mosquitos, so don’t forget insect repellant to help protect from bites, otherwise you’ll be itching all night long.

Of course, there is also the school side to this program, so be sure to prepare any materials for class that you might need, like notebooks, textbooks, and pencils/pens. While talking about school, I would advise that you try and finish all the homework you can before the program, as this will leave you more time to explore and experience the city while there.

Don’t forget to leave a little extra space in the suitcases in case you’re looking to buy some souvenirs while in Mexico.

Make sure to check with your doctor to get any prescriptions filled that you may need on the trip and make sure you keep them in their original bottle so you don’t have trouble with airport security.

A few logistical things that may need to be done.

  1. Make that you have a passport that won’t expire until at least 6 months after the trip. And if you don’t have a passport, make sure to get one (or a visa) ASAP!
  2. Check with your bank to convert some dollars to pesos for your trip, or ask about their policy for getting money out of the ATMs in Mexico (transaction fees and such).
  3. Check with your phone company about their policy for using data, texting, and calling in Mexico because you might have a plan that can be used in Mexico with no extra fees. 

With my bags packed and flight checked into, I’m extremely excited for this trip and can’t wait to have you guys follow along as I spend the next month in Mexico!

*There is a trip to Xcaret where biodegradable sunscreen is the only type that you can bring in, so it may be a good idea to check Amazon for acceptable brands. Alternatively, you can just buy sunscreen when in Xcaret. 

Andrea Zheng studied abroad in Merida in Summer 2019. https://ieo.ucla.edu/travelstudy/Span-Mexico/