Alarms start going off at 6:30. My alarm goes off at 7:30. I am ready by 8. Breakfast: 8:00-8:15. Elaine, Ashley, and I are out the door by 8:20. We walk about half a mile to get to a spot where the bus (ChiChi Suarez) will pick us up. We usually wait 5-15 minutes for the bus to come around. The ChiChi Suarez never fails to be packed with people making their way to work. We pay our 8 pesos to enter the bus, already a little sweaty. Because the bus is so full, we usually stand, gripping the metal railings towards the top of the bus. Merida’s streets are crazy – we swerve and come to abrupt stops all while dripping with sweat. We spend about 30 minutes on the bus, asking to be dropped off at the corner before the overpass. When we are dropped at this corner, we only have to walk down the highway for about a quarter of a mile to reach the food bank at around 9am.
We rejoice when we see the food bank. We drink some water and get ready to work. Today, we decide to work on some material for the future classes that the food bank is planning on implementing when they move into their new facility. We work on material regarding exercise, creating a PowerPoint that goes over topics such as BMI, heart rate, and various types of exercise. We use our nutrition textbook for most of the information, also utilizing the internet and our own knowledge. We all collaborate on the information discussing whether or not certain topics should be included in the lesson. After about an hour and half, we decide to make our way out to the warehouse to help out the collaborators (those who work at the food bank in exchange for discounted food). I work with a collaborator named Marina sorting limes, then we move on to sorting bread. I always ask the collaborators what they like to cook and eat which keeps the conversation going for quite some time – I have learned that the ladies love to talk about cooking traditional Yucatecan food. Elaine and Ashley work in different areas of the warehouse aiding different employees and collaborators. The clock strikes noon and it is our time to leave the food bank. We say goodbye to everyone and make our way to catch the bus home.
Today, we are excited to get home because we are taking a day trip to Uxmal. We eat lunch made at the house and meet our driver Sergio to make the hour-long trip from Merida to Uxmal. Uxmal contains well preserved and reconstructed Mayan ruins that date back to 700 AD. We soon learn that these ruins are like no other – there are several temples and buildings that are great in condition and size. After exploring the ruins for a bit, we make our way to the Choco-Story Museum located less than a mile from the ruins. The Choco-Story Museum is one of the coolest things we have done here. It explains the history of chocolate leading up to the manufacturing of chocolate. I learned that chocolate consumption began in Mayan culture – royal people would drink processed cocoa bean. Following the museum, we return to the ruins in Uxmal to see the light show which follows a story about the Mayans praying to their rain god. Crazy because it actually started raining during the show!
After our full day, we make our way back to the guest house in Merida. We are always ready to turn on the fans and lay down.
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