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Mexico for Intersession

February 02, 2008

Never have I had such a great winter break. After finally seeing my family for the first time since I left for college back in August, it was as if nothing had changed. Even though my brother took over my room and I was introduced to the “guest room” (my brother’s old room), I felt a peaceful state of mind I hadn’t felt since I had left. I missed the view of Valencia from our living room, I missed being in my home, but more importantly I realized something I did not know I would experience. At home, I missed being at Rollins. All throughout my first semester I swore I would never call a college campus home but I was mistaken.

Miraculously, my flight from Valencia to Miami only had a half-hour delay. A week earlier, that same daily flight had been canceled for three consecutive days. About 500 passengers total were left stranded both in Valencia and Miami. Nothing was going to ruin the second half of my winter break. Intersession course Anthropology 305F Mexico as a Global Culture with Professor of Anthropology Pedro Pequeño. One of the seven off-campus intersession courses (the other six being Ecuador, New York, Puerto Rico, Barbados, New Orleans and Morocco) we traveled to Mexico from January 3rd to the 14th. Out of the nearly two weeks we spent there, half of it was in Mexico City and the other half in the Yucatán peninsula.

This trip was optional to those who took the semester-long course in the fall and it was open to those who had not taken the class as well. We stayed at the Galeria Plaza, a block away from the Plaza del Angel. Out of the first six days in Mexico City we spent most of the time in the surrounding cities and sites of Puebla, Tula, and Teotihuacan.

The most memorable moment during our stay in the capital was the evening before we left, our show at the Palacio de las Bellas Artes was canceled and we were taken to Plaza Garibaldi instead. That is where I bought my hat and passed as a wealthy Mexican cattle rancher wherever I went. At the plaza we had a mariachi band sing “Amor Eterno” by the late Rocio Durcal followed by a mariachi show at a restaurant founded by the iconic Pedro Infante. There was a live band so we all got up to dance.

By the next day we had left Mexico City for Merida, a Caribbean-climate city in the Yucatán peninsula. Dr. Pequeño is a celebrity in this city. We stayed at the Casa del Balam and from there we walked all around and enjoyed the liveliness of the Yucatecos. There was nothing special going on that week, but on a regular weeknight there was a live band in the plaza nearby.

The last day in Merida we took a bus all the way to see the pyramid and ruins of Chichen Itzá, one of the newly-named Seven Wonders of the World, which received the most votes. We then continued on the road to Cancun, where we would spend the rest of the afternoon and evening before heading back to Rollins the next day.

I would have never imagined going on an off-campus experience after just one semester of college. I wasn’t the only freshman in this field study opportunity and certainly not the only one with financial need. Even though your regular aid money does not apply, there are scholarships available for these trips that will cover as much as half the costs at times.

Photo 1: Pedro and I were roommates for the trip.
Photo 2: Melanie and Dr. Pequeño dancing on a night out.
Photo 3: If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the pyramid at Chichen Itza on Jamie's and Marcos' sunglasses.

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