Earlier this week, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to tienda Soriana for groceries. Our days at the office have been busier now that we have more content for our projects. Melissa and I are also working on the systematization and translation of Proyecto Chimix, and we’re hoping to be able to do a community visit to Yabteclum very soon. We’re also working through our siphon design and aiming to build a low-fidelity prototype.

One highlight was watching the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at El Baúl de las Palabras. The entire movie felt like a fever dream, but we enjoyed it very much.

 

 

The day after the movie, we attended the Cántaro Azul office party and celebrated their 16th anniversary! Each círculo had a booth explaining their work, and some had interactive activities (I joined a game of twister and was indeed twisted). We got to build a Mesita Azul, and they walked us through the process of its installation in households. Everyone was very welcoming, and it felt like a big family gathering. They served tlayudas oaxaqueñas, and needless to say, they were absolutely delicious. We danced so much we woke up sore the next day! Another highlight was that the celebration included a beautiful Mayan ritual to reflect on Cántaro’s journey and reconnect with ourselves as part of nature and life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, we fellows woke up at 3AM to prepare for our trip to Palenque. The drive was roughly 5 hours long, with lots of bumps and curves. However, the scenery was breathtaking, and watching the sunrise from the mountains felt like a dream. We stopped at Cascadas Agua Azul, Cascada Misol-Há, and finally arrived at Palenque (Lakam-Há).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was amazed to learn that only 2% of the Mayan city has been unearthed, with over 1,000 temples still buried under the jungle. I was able to appreciate the architecture, engineering, and mathematics developed by the Mayans in person. A highlight for me was learning that the structures at the very top of their temples were used to read the weather. As the wind passed through the gaps in the stones, the Mayans would use its sound to determine if a storm was coming. The Mayan creativity and ingenuity I saw at Palenque inspired me, and it enriched my passion for creative problem-solving as an engineer. We learned a lot about their lifestyle, their standards of beauty, their rituals, and their history. It was an incredible experience and I hope to visit more ruins in Mexico soon.

 

‘Til the next blog!