Exams and my first world wonder; Chichén Itza

After already 2 months of university the time of exams has come and luckily already gone! I had my first one of Sustainable Tourism on Monday and oh my god. It was so difficult! Mostly the way that the questions were made was so unclear. I don’t know how many times the teacher drew and explained the way she wanted an answer but it just did not make any sense to me, and to the other exchange students and also Mexicans. We had to study a lot for this exam and it was quite frustrating because I had put a lot of effort in some parts and she only ended up including 2% of all the study material. Furthermore I was surprised by the amount of talking during the exam! There was not one moment of silence because there were so many questions and everything was being handled out loud for everyone to hear. Also questions that had nothing to do with school or the exam were asked haha oh well. Then on Thursday I had to exams of Marketing and German. German was easy peasy and I think I did quite alright at Marketing as well. Something else that I found interesting was that the teacher of Marketing gave us the exact questions in class that he was going to give in the exam. So like, we all knew what the exam was going to be. Not complaining though. On Saturday, yes Saturday, I had my last exam for scuba diving! Of course everybody arrived 40 minutes late. Even on an exam. Anyway we ended up discussing the most important parts and that was it! Not even a real exam. But it’s good because we all know the most important rules etc. So I will soon receive my scuba diving pass yay! We are also trying to join another class to go scuba diving here in Cancun ass there is an underwater museum near Isla Mujeres! So all the stress is relieved finally! It has also been raining a lot the past week but the sun is shining again. I guess this is autumn? Saturday night I went to a house farewell party of a Mexican friend who is leaving to France today! It was 26 degrees (!!!!!) and it was quite cold…. I even wore long sleeves for the first time! Later that night one of the guys was wearing a hoodie and saying that it was freezing outside hahahaha. I think I am also getting more used to the weather, I don’t have to put the aircon on the whole time and can normally wear my school uniform without sweating like a pig.

Friday we did an excursion to Chichen-Itza with some of the Exchange students! They’re from, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. We had to wake up at 05.30AM to meet at Plaza las Americas (a shopping centre nearby a.k.a. my second home) at 7AM where a really funny Mexican guy was waiting for us. In a van we were taken into the Hotel Zone where we got our ‘VIP’ bracelets at some Mexican restaurant. We had some food and when all the other visitors arrived we went into a big bus where everybody was instantly asleep. Only to be woken up by the awful cold breeze that reminded me of my school class room. Cancun has a serious air conditioning problem ahah. It is SO COLD. I don’t get it, how can these people be so chill when it feels like a Dutch winter??? I looked around and only us foreigners were covered in our towels and sweaters haha! After an hour the tour guide woke us up to tell us some very interesting facts about the Maya culture as we were going to visit one. He told us about the Mayan medicine which was so cool! By pressing several points on your hand you could release cramps and reduce headaches and back pains. It really helped me to get rid of my slight headache! Also he said that if you would wave your index finger fast in front of your forehead for 20 seconds mosquitos wouldn’t bite you. I only forgot the exact words how to explain why but it seriously worked! In the Maya village we were greeted by Maya’s. Some looked like warriors with the body paint and some women were wearing traditional clothing. It was in the middle of nowhere and there were a lot of beautiful arts and crafts to see. We then had lunch all together were some Mexican dances were performed. Also a very impressive one where they would dance with an open bottle of water on their heads. I continued eating and when I looked back they had a whole tray of glasses and bottles on their heads! Crazy! After that we could visit some of the Mayan houses where they grew their own food and were making tortillas. Also the women were making hammocks by hand which takes up to 1 month to finish! Incredible. It had rained a lot on the way but it was clearing up. We went back in the bus on our way to a cenote called Hubiku. It was also a tequila tasting spot but we decided to swim first! We walked down 94 steps and I could not believe what I was seeing. This amazing huge cenote with clear blue water, all natural! I don’t know how to explain it. It was 46 metres deep and very cold. Once in I felt like I was being sucked down so we were all having a hard time staying on the surface. With the snorkel I looked down and it was one big black hole, quite scary as I had no idea what was there. There were some funny black fish; they were cute while they stayed away from me. The cenote (sink hole) was shaped like a cave but had an opening at the top where the rain could come through which created a mini waterfall in the middle of the cenote. After that we went to taste some tequila! Too many flavours like; coconut, kiwi, mango, passion fruit, peanut (literally tasted like snickers) and the natural one. To show us that it was made from natural and pure alcohol he put some tequila in our hands. We had to rub our hands against each other until they were dry. As it was natural it did not stick at all and when you smelled your hands it did not even smell like alcohol! We went back into the bus where a Maya woman let us try a natural alcoholic drink made from honey, mint and anise. The whole bus did a shot together haha. Then we all received a bottle of that drink with our own picture one it that we took at the entrance of the cenote! So cooooool but of course it wasn’t free. Then after an hour we final arrived at Chichen-Itza with a clear blue sky. Before we went off the bus the tour guide told us it was 36 degrees with a 98% humidity. Oh my god. We went in with a tour guide who told us very interesting facts about all the monuments and temples in the park. As it is not only Chichen Itza there. We were so lucky as there was a cool breeze, the weather was perfect. I was so amazed by all the thought and structure that was put into the making of Chichen Itza. Everything made sense with the knowledge we know now, well I did not even know half of what he told us. But how in the world did the Maya’s come up with this? Amazingly clever people. Twice per year the sun has a position which gives 3 sides of the temple shadow and one sun and on the other day 3 days of sun and 1 side shadow. This also creates the shadow of a snake going up or down the temple. The snake represents one of the Gods the Maya’s had. There are so many more things like this to tell but you would have to go there yourself. Also we had the chance to take photos with the temple without anybody else! Which is quite impossible with so many visitors everyday but as we came quite late in the day (15.00/16.00) and the park closes at 5pm (I think) it was like a private tour haha. We also visited other parts but when we wanted to go to the cenote where they used to do human sacrifice it was already closing 

I’m so happy I have seen my first world wonder, I have 6 more to go! It was such an amazing experience and the tour was really good as well as we same more than only the temple. On the way back we also stopped in a small village to have some ice cream. It reminded me a lot of a place in Mexico City as it was more Mexican. A lot of colourful buildings with a park in the middle with the traditional ‘love seats’. Couples used to sit in them (two chairs next to each other but facing each other) as that was the closest they were allowed to be. The parents would then sit on the long bench next to them to keep an eye on them. On the way back it was already dark. The air conditioning apparently broke down but I did not mind as it was the first time I could sleep without freezing. But it was such a big deal we had to change busses where I spend the last half an hour freezing again. We then all had some food at Plaza las Americas and then went home.