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 Belize | |
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In July 2004, I spent five weeks with an archaeological field school in Belize in the Cayo District working at Cahal Pech in San Ignacio. It was hot, humid and very hard work. I ate mostly peanut butter and avacado sandwiches for lunch and beans and rice for dinner, washed down by a many Belikin Beers, of course. Apart from the locals (mostly Guatemalan refugees), San Ignacio is a town full of archaeologists and backpackers - in the summer at least. Our group excavated a trench across half of the main plaza at Cahal Pech.
On weekend breaks, small excursions were taken. One such weekend we rented a canoe from some locals who, in turn, dropped us off down an out of the way access dotted by fruit trees way up river. With a bottle of rum and some limes and we departed from that spot. It rained on us, we found a butterfly farm and got proceded to drink rum with a squeeze of lime and just talk as we floated peacefully down the river. Other excursions, included a cave tour, a trek into Guatemala to visit Tikal, Mayan ruins within Belize, swimming at the Blue Hole, swimming out at Bullet Tree Falls, and a treck out to Caye Caulker. |
 Mexico | |
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During July and August 2005, I lived in Guanajuato, Mexico as part of a my Spanish III and IV foreign language immersion program at Texas State. Guanajuato is an amazing city full of culture and things to do. My host family consisted of a grandfather, his daughter and his two granddaughters. It was quite an experience living with a family from another country. Being a vegetarian was challenging for the mother to create meals for me but she did great. Breakfast was typically beans, eggs and avocado. Lunches were the main meal, served around 2pm, and was a time where the whole family ate together at the table. Dinner was typically pan dolce and milk.
Our group saw many sites around Guanajuato and headed into San Miguel de Allende and Querétaro for visits. Sharon flew down for one weekend and we enjoyed some of the sites around the city. Toward the end of the trip, we headed into México City and went to Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan. One of the more memorable experiences was participating in Dia de la Cueva where so many people hiked up to the top of Cerro de la Bufa. After the climb up, we all climbed back down and our teachers hosted a picnic complete with cervezas and BBQ (well, I didn't eat the BBQ). We sat around and spoke spanish and enjoyed the moment. |
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