Aj in tzagat

Today has been pretty good so far! At school during the morning gymnastics lessons I do for the kids I havent been feeling well and so I was super out of breath and the kids were making fun of me cuz I couldnt keep up with them. But after that we made the bunnies (conejos) I brought and for the most part I was pretty impressed by them, but there were a few that were definitely ridiculous. I wish I had brought my camera cuz we had some pretty messed up bunnies goin on in my class...like eyes all upside down, feet instead of noses, some just gave up completely and glued things wherever they wanted, but hey, at least they were occupied for a bit. Later on I brought out the awesome playdoh I made and the teacher was pretty excited to have some more for the kids. The kids kept bringing me the playdoh and asking me to make chuchitos (puppies) and munecas (dolls) for them. Only problem is that I definitely cant sculpt so we had some dilapidated puppies running around our classroom.

At lunch we were all sitting, eating, as happy as can be when Virginia suddenly said..."Do you know what you ate last week??". Never a good sentence to hear. Well come to find out we all ate cow tongue last week....and I know exactly which dish she was talking about cuz the meat was super fatty and slimy. gross. some warning would be nice, but Virginia thought it was pretty funny.

After lunch we finally got to go drop off our laundry!! yay! I really hope it doesnt get stolen. And then we had a lesson on the Mayan calendar. Mario was the name of the man giving the lesson and he explained to us the cycles of the Mayan calendar and the way of Mayan life. He explained to us how Mayans feel a deep connection with everyone and everything in the universe and for that reason they are very respectful of our Earth. He told a story of how when he was little his grandfather worked with wood and for this reason he needed to go out to the forest and cut trees. Well one day he went with his grandfather and before he cut down the tree he told Mario that they needed to ask forgiveness because they were killing a living being and disrupting our universe. I thought this was a very interesting way of thinking especially when we come from a culture in the US where it is rare to have any respect for nature. They have a saying in Mayan culture that relates to our golden rule that is Wachalal or in English-"I am you and you are me." This is a way of saying that we are all part of the greater universe and so whatever we do to harm one another harms us as well. My favorite saying was "Aj in tzagat" which means "Sin usted no estoy completo" or "without you I am not complete". This saying was not just relating to another person though but that without the trees, the wind, fire...etc. no person is complete.

Mario also told us what our birthday meant according to the Mayan calendar. My birthday is I'x which is the sign of mother earth. This sign is related closely to women, mountains, strength, vigor, vitality and feminine energy. People who are born on my birthday have a destiny of Iq' which means wind. These people are strong, vigorous, intelligent, daring, patient (no) and make good decisions. On the downside they can be easily angered, proud, vain, and can give in easily to the 7 shames (sins) -- which I sure hope is not me. On this date you should offer forgiveness by mother nature for crimes committed against her. Mario also told us of a story of the "evil eye" which is thought to be an evil spirit that descends upon children. You can clear this spirit from the child by passing an egg or a duck over them. He told us of how one time he thought his son was effected by the evil eye and so his aunt passed a baby duck over the child and the son was bette within a half hour, and an hour later the duck was dead. Virginia also told us of how she passed an egg over her granddaughter who she believed to be effected and she was immediately better and when Virginia cracked the egg open after this, the egg was rotted. So the lesson was very interesting and also Mario said the world isnt going to end....so just calm down people.

Now we're just hanging our before dinner so I'll update later!