Bliss is a 16 year old language enthusiast from New York. He travelled to Carrillo Puerto to study Maya for three weeks, as well as tour some of the incredible ruins in the area. Click here to read his blog in full.

Good evening from Felipe Carrillo Puerto! After such a hectic weekend, I thought that the beginning of this week would be a good time to settle back down. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ve been extremely busy the last few days, and here’s what I’ve been up to: on Tuesday, instead of the usual Maya class at Na’atik, I ventured with my teacher, x-Linda, to her native village of Uh-May.

 Unlike Felipe Carrillo Puerto, which is a (relatively) large town of 30,000, Uh-May only contains 600 inhabitants, all native Maya. While there, I practiced with x-Linda’s family the Mayan phrases I have been learning in class, and helped prepare the lunch of chicken pibil. Chicken pibil is a traditional Maya dish of chicken prepared by burying the chicken with its seasonings in a large hole in the ground, which enhances the flavor (the chicken is wrapped in banana leaves so it doesn’t become dirty).

After lunch, I toured around the village and learned about traditional Maya beliefs regarding death, reincarnation, and medicine. We then returned to Carrillo, picking up tropical juices along the way home. Thank you x-Linda for inviting me to your family’s home!Today, I deviated from the schedule a little bit, and had Mayan class in the evening, instead of the morning as usual. Instead, I visited the Sijil Noh Ha lagoon. While there, I kayaked, snorkled, swam, and climbed a tower to catch an incredible view of the Yucatan jungle and the still water below me. What I found really interesting was the presence of an immensely deep hole, or cenote, right in the middle of the 6 or 7 foot deep lagoon. No monsters down there, however, to my disappointment.

After visiting the lagoon I returned to Maya class to learn more grammar, specifically rules regarding negation and adverbs of place and time, and also how tonal changes affect the meaning of a sentence. Fascinating stuff.It’s been a great trip so far and I honestly cannot believe how fast these last few weeks have flown by. Until then!

It’s been a great trip so far and I honestly cannot believe how fast these last few weeks have flown by. Until then!

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.