Tinum- staying with a Mayan family

This past weekend, our group stayed in a rural village about two hours outside of Merida called Tinum. We didn't know what the conditions would be like or what we were getting ourselves into, and I was, quite frankly, terrified. Seriously- once we were within twenty minutes of the village, I was freaking out. Apparently it was noticeable because my friends were laughing at my terrified expression. What if there was no running water? What if everything was dirty and smelly and GROSS? Since I was 12 years old, I don't think I have gone 24 hours without showering. I honestly can't think of a single instance. And I've never been camping. This was going to be a  disaster.


Okay, like everything else, it obviously wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. All of the families have running water (thank God). After being led to our host family's house, my friend Kaitlan and I entered a clean, tiled room with a refrigerator, a TV, a stereo, shelves with decorations and lots of statues and pictures of saints, Jesus and Mary. Not bad. We were then being welcomed (and air-kissed, like always) by a short, smiling Mayan woman, Doña Ofelia. The entry area became our room for the weekend which was fine by us because it was definitely the nicest part of the house.

From the entry area, you would descend a few stairs into a kitchen/dining room with a cement floor and walls made of screen. The bathroom was in a small room in this area. There was a shower but we actually ended up not using it because the bathroom was just a little bit too...."rustic" I suppose. Looking out the screen into the back yard, they had so many caged birds- chickens, turkeys, and...then I saw it- a peacock!! Being the culturally competent person I am, "Peacock" by Katy Perry immediately started playing in my head. When we asked why they have a peacock, the answer was extremely confusing, so we really don't know, but it was pretty cool. I would have taken pictures, but I wasn't sure if they would find that rude and I didn't want to scare the animals or anything.
The family was really nice. There was the mother, Doña Ofelia, and her husband (in their 60s) and their daughter (I don't know the names). The Señor currently works as a construction worker. He used to be a farmer but it didn't pay enough. However, he still has a "milpa" (cornfield) and the family grows a lot of their own food. The daughter was in her upper 20s but had an "infection in her throat" (as her parents called it) and isn't able to talk so she stays with her parents.They had 3 other older children who went to the technology college in Merida and now live in Merida and Cancun. (Clearly, they really aren't as cut off from the rest of the world as we thought.) They all spoke Mayan (in addition to Spanish) and the parents spoke it to each other constantly, as it's their first language. They only had one cat but dogs passed through the house on a regular basis. We have seen quite a few dogs living on the streets here, mostly in the smaller towns but some in certain parts of Merida too. Oh, and the food was amazing. Tortas, vegetable soups, rice, always tortillas, yyyuuummm. 

My friend Kaitlan and I with our host family in front of their house.












We slept in hammocks for the weekend which was a little bit difficult. Hammocks are comfortable for sitting around in, but for sleeping all night....no, not my favorite. 

My friend Kaitlan and I in our hammocks!