My Family in Xocen

I loved my family in Xocen (pronounced Sho-kem by the people who live there). They were so sweet and willing to help me try to learn their language. When I really needed to communicate something I was able to speak to them in Spanish of course, but the whole point of the program was to use the Maaya T'aan that I could and hopefully to build on my vocabulary. But I think that the main part of the program was also to, inevitably, share this experience with other human beings, to connect with other human beings through the study of their language and culture. I hope that Dona Jermina (my host "maamaj" or "na") realized that I truly enjoyed being in her home, being surrounded by her family (u laaksilo'ob), attempting to speak her mother tongue, and engaging in a learning experience. If I am able to do the second level next summer, I would love to be assigned once again to Dona Jermina and her family! They didn't seem to mind that I was very tall ("jach ka'anal") and commented on it several times a day (I felt very tall there as I usually do in Mexico but even more so in Xocen! Hahaha, it was pretty funny!).

One of my favorite activities of the days that I spent in Xocen was being able to "pak'ach" or "make tortillas." Although potentially humiliating, I think that I did ok; the first day, three of the five tortillas that I made from the "masa" or dough were not circular or really very aesthetically pleasing at all; we still ate them though because the dough itself (after being cooked of course) was really good! But I think that I got better at it the more I did it. However, Dona Jermina and her daughters were pros! Their tortillas, every single time, were perfectly round and flat! They were soooooo goooooooood! My mouth is watering right now as I'm remembering how good the tortillas were. It was really the experience of sitting in a modern-day Maya family's kitchen, making tortillas as we conversed in Maaya, that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I had to include a picture of the road that we walked down everyday in order to arrive at Dona Jermina's house. Even though she is 34 years old, Dona Jermina was my host mama. At first she was a little taciturn, but after a few hours of continually asking questions, I think she started to like me and open up to having me in her house. One day we all got to attend Victoria's end of the school year dance where a lot of people from Xocen gathered to applaud the various dances performed by the different grade levels. Victoria looked so nice in her very best dress. It was a highlight for the people of Xocen and definitely a highlight for all of us.

One of my absolutely favorite people I met in Xocen is Angel (or Angelito). He's two and a half years young. I cannot express how much this little kid stole my heart!! He was always smiling and so happy to just play around the house. He loved to swing in the hammocks with Ricardo (one of my Maaya instructors) or with me. The very first day that we met, Angel and I played with a little ball in his house for like an hour and a half! He just made me smile and laugh constantly. No one really knows what language he speaks (the few words he knows sound like a mixture of Spanish and Maaya T'aan) but he is just about the cutest kid I've ever met in Mexico.

And here are a few more pictures of me with Angel, my host sisters Eugenia, Josefina and Victoria; I've also included a picture of my host mom, Dona Jermina, making the most delicious "waajo'ob" or tortillas (just "waaj" in the singular).
Anna, the other student in Level 1 who was assigned to Dona Jermina, took a lot of these pictures with her camera. I love the picture of almost all of us walking down the road we walked down everyday in order to arrive at Dona Jermina's house. Even though it was so hot, I usually enjoyed our brief and often funny conversations as we walked (funny because of Anna's and my own limited Maya vocabulary!).