Xhunantunich was our first stop on Day 4! This is a site of Mayan ruins in the Cayo region of Belize. What little we know about the Mayan people has lasted despite attempts to wipe away their history. We know that at one point over 500 books were intentionally burned by the Spanish. I can only imagine the answers that these books would have revealed. With that in mind, I have also thought that the future should not have any questions about our time here on Earth, as our minute by minute life details will all be neatly told on Snapchat stories...
These towering temples stand hundreds of feet high and amaze the viewer considering the Mayans did not use any metal, beasts of burden, or wheels to create them. On the eastern side of the structure, where the sun rises, we saw a images representing the importance of many gods in the Mayan culture. These images show the god of rain, as well as a u-shaped symbol representing the moon. These images also show the goddess Ischel. While they had many gods, there is only evidence of one goddess. The small feature with four limbs was meant to hold up the four corners of the world. Carbon dating has been used to determine when these ancient giants were built and it places them around 800AD. They also believe that all went wrong with the civilization at its height, around 1,000 - 1,200AD. I told my students that if I had a time machine and I could travel back to two places, I would interview people from these tribes and ask so many questions. (In case you are curious, the other person I would interview would be Harriet Tubman. As an elementary student I was and still am extremely fascinated with her bravery and heroism.) In the comments, I would love to hear who you would travel back in time to talk to!
In the area of the ruins we also were able to see a pok-ta-pok court. This was an ancient game played by the Mayans and it is also known as the national game of Belize. The game is played with a 5-8lb. rubber ball and the players may not use their hands or feet, but may use any other body parts to move it. The objective is to get the ball (representing the sun) into the vertical hoop (representing the Milky Way) on the side walls. At the end of the game, one of the people would be sacrificed to the gods. I say one of the players because there is a large amount of debate over whether or not it was the winner or the loser that was sacrificed. Some theorists say that it was the winner because you would always want to give your best to the gods. Others theorize that it was the loser because they lost and they would need to keep their stronger men on Earth. Which theory do you believe? Feel free to comment below!
Our last stop amongst the ruins was at a tomb. Based on DNA testing of a tooth found within the tomb, the tomb was the resting home of a Mayan queen. She was 20-30 years old and was found with shells, weapons, a jade necklace and obsidian. These items show that they prepared the dead for an afterlife and they also show proof of trade, as the jade was not native to that area. The Mayans believe in 13 levels of life and 9 layers of the underworld, also known as xhibalba. These beliefs are represented in the picture below.
After our visit to Xhunantunich, we went to the Chaa Creek Natural History Museum and Butterfly Farm. The butterfly farm was originally started for conservation and to research the Blue Morpho butterfly from Belize. Now this center is used for educational and research purposes only because the butterfly is no longer in danger. We had a chance to learn about the lifecycle of the butterfly, see the stages from pupae and eggs to the large nbutterfly. The students were also able to be inside the butterfly garden and have the butterflies land on them. The learned the difference between the male and female and also studied various types of butterflies. You can see the difference in the butterflies below. The male has one ring of white circles and the female has two. If we watched carefully, we were also able to witness the butterflies laying eggs on leaves and eating fruit! We also learned that the female butterflies lay 8-10 eggs per day and can lay up to 150 eggs in their lifetime. Another fun fact is that, depending on what stage of life the butterfly is in, they are poisonous because of what they are eating! The kids were very fascinated with the information shared and the ability to be surrounded by butterflies! đŸ¦‹
We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and tried sour sop (a juice made with guayaba), before we headed to a local school. On our way from the ruins we also were able to stop at a few local artisan booths for some souvenirs.
I always look forward to my students visiting a school in all of the countries that I travel to and this school visit in Belize was wonderful! We visited an elementary school for children from pre-kindergarten to 6th grade and we were welcomed by the 5th and 6th grade teacher. She introduced the principal of the school and her students had prepared a performance for us! They first sang their national anthem to us and then we learned that they had a group of students that had just won an award at the local festival for a dance they created and performed! They proceeded to show us their dance! đŸ’ƒ After the performance, all of the students had a chance to mingle and meet one another. Some kids went to the soccer field for a game, other students took tours of the classrooms, and others just sat in the courtyard and talked. The students asked questions about what life is like for students in Belize and the kids from the school returned questions as well! While many of my students were fascinated by lack of air conditioning, the kindness of the kids, their ability to speak many languages, and their interests in sports, my students were asked about the cafeteria at our school, what snow is like and what we do with it. Kids also talked about pets, school uniforms/dress codes, and their favorite animals, books and types of music. Snow is fascinating because it is not part of their weather and the cafeteria is interesting because students in many other countries go home for lunch to eat with their families. The age and cultural differences were there, but in reality we just had a bunch of kids having fun and learning together! Many of my students will tell you that this school visit was their favorite part of the trip. Learning is life.
These are two of my new friends Rosemary and Charlise.
Fun Quotes from Day 4:
⁃ Mrs. Potter, I’ve been to Guatemala now. We are up so high on these ruins that I am breathing in the Guatemalan air.
⁃ Stop standing so close to the edge.
⁃ Are those bees?
⁃ Are those more stairs?
⁃ I have sweat more today than I did all last year combined.
⁃ Do I need money for this?
⁃ Is there an ATM at the ruins?
⁃ Mrs. Potter, they do not have air condition in their classrooms and they have uniforms.
⁃ The kids were so nice, cute and fun!
⁃ They were great at soccer! ⚽️ I am so worn out!
⁃ I think it is so cool that some of the kids know three languages! It makes me want to learn more! I wish we could have stayed here all day!
⁃ The Belize national anthem is really long!
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