Mérida: here I come!

Hola,

So, surprise! My Fulbright site and project changed; due to violent political protests in Oaxaca, the US Embassy has placed a travel ban to the state. I hope that the situation will calm down so that I can still do some work later in the year with Niño a Niño, my previous community partner, in Oaxaca.

For now, my home will be Mérida, a city in the Yucatán peninsula. There, I will be working with Proyecto Itzaes, an organization working with the local Mayan villages on literacy and traditional ecological knowledge. I am hoping to tie in the organization's needs with my interest in community health.

While the change of site/project is certainly disruptive, I am also excited to learn more about Mérida and Proyecto Itzaes in the months to come. The place has already captured my heart with its incredible kind people and natural landscapes. All the large parks have wifi, how cool is that? And there are tons of parks interspersing greenery throughout the city.I'm so excited that I am already starting my blog about my time México when really I am still at Houston airport :P

Abrazos,

Vyoleta

P.S. Later that night...

Merida from descending above

During my first couple days, I was able to observe a few things...

Sunset after the storm

There is a daily storm with rain that floods the streets almost every afternoon here. Lightning and thunderstorms are incredible here, so I was a bit taken aback at first. However, I soon learned that each time the storm passes, easy comes and easy goes in 20 minutes. Above is a view of the sunset from my walk on the seashell shore with Cindy Wilber, my host from Proyecto Itzaes after the rain. There are many wealthy people who own houses by the beach so I see recreational boats (like above picture that I took) as well as fishing boats next to each other.

The cat whose battle field is on my shoes

"Tiny" here likes to fight with my shoelaces and bites the shoes + my bare toes plenty often. Cindy found her when she was so tiny- hence the name- that her whole body fitted inside a small coffee cup. Now that she's getting fatter, Cindy is thinking about switching name to " Gordita."

Bodega Aurrera - aka Mexican Walmart

Walmart actually owns this chain, as well as a few others with different names in México. There are actual Walmarts in the area so I have a hypothesis that Walmart takes on different names to make its dominant presence less detectable by the locals.

Lots of coke consumption in this area. There is a Coca Cola sign at almost every corner.

Lightbulb moment

Besides increasing rate of obesity, Coke also has some other uses. I've seen planetariums made from recycled water as well as water system which uses coke containers to capture humidified liquid for plants in dry areas when I visited the forest in Cenotillo.

Baby orchid

During my field visit in the Bio reserve, my guide Jorge gave me a splendid tour of the plants and history of the area. This baby orchid is one of many that he and his colleagues planted.

Jorge himself worked in the United States (Colorado and Chicago) for 5 years before being deported. While he would like to return, he says it's quite difficult now. We talked about the tightening of the border control and our shared fear of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president. Jorge now does construction work for Cindy's new center for the bio reserve. He is approaching his 4th year, building out and cutting down paths in the forest. I feel for him because it's hard work under very hot and humid tropical weather.

Paco the parrot

Lupita here is holding Paco, a baby bird saved during deforestation. Here in front of my eyes is the reality of disappearing animals and fauna every day as humans continue to push mother nature's limits.

Me riding on the back of a pickup truck

One of the best parts of the field visit :)

PC: Lupita

Lunch on our way back

I will definitely be coming back to this place and the golden village (everything is painted yellow) of Ixmal.

Chicxulub at night

On my last night in Chicxulub with Cindy, I marveled at the village's fiesta season for a bit before taking a solitary walk reflecting on my first few days in Yucatán. While disappointed that I would not be able to work with Proyecto Itzaes nor the bioreserve, I must continue searching for a feasible project in Mérida.

#Chicxulubvillage #BioReserve #Fieldvisit #July #ProyectoItzaes