Where are you from? __We live in Merida, but my students are from all over Mexico, a few have lived in other countries. I am from Virginia (US).___________________________________
How old are you? My students are in the 9th grade, so most are about 14 years old. The school has preschool ages up to 9th grade.
What language or languages do you speak? One student speaks French, we speak Spanish and English (the school is bilingual) and SOME people speak Mayan. As far as I know, none of my students speak Maya, but it is common in Merida.
What language or languages do you write in? Just Spanish and English
Describe your schooling. IMA is a private, bilingual school in the city. The students have half the day in Spanish and the other part in English (same classes, different language).
What kind of clothing do you wear? Our students wear uniforms. I will try to send a picture. It is usually hot here, but we are in the cooler part of the year now. For me, it`s usually hot.....I used to be in the snow in Virginia.
Describe your climate. hot and wet or hot and dry....sometimes it can get cool
Describe your town, city, or village. Merida is the capital city of Yucatan. Seye, where I live, is a Mayan village. From what I have observed (as a foreigner), the city is filthy, but it is called the "white city". People are not very well educated and there is a lot of poverty, especially in the villages. Alcohol abuse is also a problem. There are many pretty culturally significant things to see in Merida. The ruins are close by. You can visit cenotes as well. Again, I will email pictures!
Do you have supermarkets? We have Sam's and Wal-Mart...
Do you have fast food chains? I have seen KFC, Burger King and McDonald's
How do you get around? bus/walk....people use bikes, motorcycles, tricitaxis, cars, etc.
What kind of food do you eat? I eat a lot of sandwiches! Common foods here are salbutes, tamales, panuchos, tres leches cake (wonderful!), piib, puchero, etc. Food is spicy (for me, at least). Chile peppers, onions, etc. add flavor.
Do you have colleges where you are from? There are several colleges in Merida.
Would you like to share cool words with us? mak a chi (Maya for be quiet), pek (dog), mis (cat), koolen (sit down)
What do homes look like by you? Most are made of rock and concrete. No wood is normally used. Houses have to resist hurricanes, so that is why so much concrete is used.
How do you get to school? I use the bus to get from the village to the city, then I take a city bus from downtown to the school.
Any additional information. We will email pictures!
