Itchy or Purple.

Well look who it is! It´s you! How are you?

Since my last post we really haven´t done all that much...it´s been class all week and one field trip. Classes are good. It still just seems wierd to me to have class in the month of May. I haven´t had class in May since I was in highschool.

On Tuesday we went to a small village called Muna. It really opened my eyes to what Mexico is really like. Up until then we had only been in major cities and tourist attractions. Rural Mexico seemingly has little unemployment, but there is certainly a degree of poverty. Houses are small, but sustaining. One that we visited had a Catholic Shrine of pictures and books and flowers relating to Catholicism, however also contained one ornamental turtle. Turtles to the Mayans are a symbol of fertility. It was very interesting to discover (for lack of a better term) a duality of allegiance in their faith.

Six of us also visited a Curandera while we were in Muna to help us with our group assignment. The assignment we are studying is mayan herbal healing practices. Curanderas/Curanderos are traditional folk healers, prevalent in Latin America, that are dedicated to curing physical and/or spiritual illnesses. They often use herbs and other natural remedies to cure ailments, but their primary method of healing is the supernatural. This is because they believe that the cause of many illnesses are lost malevolent spirits, a lesson from God, or a curse. The Curandera we visited was also psychic. Although she was very old woman, and literally falling apart, she was very peaceful and I doubt any of us will soon forget the things she said.

In other news, Im sick again. Well not so much sick as in...wierd reactions to bug bites. The bites just wont go away! And when they stop itching (or when I´ve itched them to death...) they just bruise. So random spots on my body are either itchy, or purple. Today Mary and I went to the pharmacy to pick up some ointment and some pills for it, so hopefully I´ll be okay by next week.

Other than that, not much else has gone on. Tonight we´re going back to the Mambo Cafe. We are all so excited. Our friends booked us a big table in the middle of the club, right in front of the stage. Best band tonight too - aaah I´m so excited. I´m already there in my mind and I´m already having a good time. I see it now.

We hit the road again on Saturday morning for Chiapas. We get to see the Palenque!!! I¨m so pumped. I´ve been looking forward to this site since I signed up for the trip. The pictures alone are breathtaking. I´m not sure how much internet access I´ll have over the next week. But I´ll keeep a personal journal so I don´t forget anything in this blog.

Laaaaater,

D.