Group 2

This section is reserved for each student to reflect on the trip to Chiapas, Mexico.  Each student should provide a signed portion of the journal.

Majoring in biomedical engineering at UC, my schedule is always 18-credit-hours full of math and science courses.   At the end of my third year of college, I was finally able choose a class just for me.  As many of you have probably guessed, this is the course I chose, and I am confident that I could not have picked a better class.  The course and the trip to Chiapas, Mexico was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Throughout the ten week quarter, we learned all about the Ancient Mayan Civilization through independent group research and exciting presentations from Mayan experts.  At the end of the course, each group presented their fascinating work, and two weeks later it was off to Mexico!   Touring the Mayan ruins and experiencing the current Mayan culture was unbelievable and completely indescribable with words.  I'll conclude with my favorite part of the trip: visiting Pakal the Great's tomb.  A magnificent site few people are able to experience...thank goodness we had 300 pesos!  

Danielle Everman

 

I was fortunate to see a presentation by Ed Barnhart of the Maya Exploration Center at the College of Applied Science about a year before this course was offered.  I immediately knew this was an opportunity I did not want to miss, and it proved to be even better than anticipated!  I am an Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology major, and I found the innovations the Maya were able to accomplish with basic technology truly amazing.  I would get lost driving to school if I didn't have Google Maps and GPS on my phone, but these guys were able to map the movements of the sun and planets using sticks and buildings of stone!   The thought that went into the geometry of the buildings, and the intricate calendar system are impressive even by today's standards. 

The trip to Mexico was a great reward after completing a quarter of research.  The itinerary for the trip was well planned, and well executed.  We were exposed to a wide variety of topics related to Maya math, astronomy, and culture.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, and he provided insights and opened up opportunities that would not have been possible otherwise.  The knowledge that was gained visiting the sites, and listening to lectures from a Maya expert were only a small piece of the overall experience.  Some of the best parts of a trip like this are the experiences that are not planned.  The live music each night at Palenque, the fire dancers, and the food are all cultural experiences that will not be forgotten.  I also really enjoyed the jungle walks, the sounds of the howler monkeys, and the remarkable persistence of the little leaf-cutter ants that blaze their own trails through the woods rain or shine, day or night!  I do want a rematch against the Palenque softball team though! 

This is one of the last classes I needed to take to complete my undergraduate degrees at the University of Cincinnati.  The best advice I can give any college student is to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.  Classes like this one are an opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team, to challenge yourself to present information in innovative ways, to experience new cultures, and to collect memories that will last a life time.  Thanks to everyone who was responsible for organizing this class, to my classmates, and to Alonzo Mendez of the Maya Exploration Center.  I truly enjoyed the experience!

Josh Hays

A few weeks before this class became available, I attended a presentation on the Mayans and their architecture, presented by a graduate student. I was amazed with what I saw, and decided that I’d want to visit the ruins one day… little did I know the day would come so soon! I heard about the class through my Honors 101 course and immediately signed up. The class was so great. I really enjoyed researching things that truly interested me, and going to Mexico was such an amazing opportunity. My favorite part about the class was our final presentations. Everyone’s ended up so different and interesting. It made me that much more excited for the final trip! I loved every second of Mexico (excluding the mosquito bites). Seeing the ancient ruins was an once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am so thankful that I got to visit multiple sites. I also loved experiencing the modern Mexican culture, improving my small Spanish vocabulary, and of course the food! Getting to know my classmates and professors was one of the best parts of this whole experience, and I’m so thankful that everyone made this trip so great and memorable -Nia Marinucci

 

Many people wait their entire life to experience other cultures. We were all fortunate to have been forced into a new way of living for the week we spent in Mexico. It was by far the best experience I have had abroad. From Mayan Sites to waterfalls we saw the best mexico has to offer. The preparation for our final project made us all research our subtopics and relate them all as a group. Since the trip i have stayed in contact with several classmates and am excited for the next honors course I can indulge in. My favorite part was being with a group of people who made little complaints and made the best of every second we had together. - Anthony Ruch

This section is reserved for pictures and videos of the capstone trip to Chiapas, Mexico

 I can't figure out how to add more than one image?! If anyone figures it out, please add more pictures.  I thought I would add my favorite one!

Danielle Everman

I have not been able to find out how to add another picture in a  That is one drawback to LiveText.  Josh was able to imbed multiple videos.  Maybe there is a way to combine these two concepts.  I'm wondering if we post the pictures on Photobucket and then attach a link to it.  It looks like you can embed multiple items if you know html.  I'll ask Josh if he used html to embed those video or he did something else.  Maybe he can post his instructions right here. .   .... Paul

 

Yes, we can embed the pictures that are on Photobucket.  YouTube and Photobucket are nice enough to provide the HTML code necessary to embed objects in other places.  Here's how to do it:

    1. There is an HTML Code caption under each image that is uploaded to Photobucket.  Copy the HTML Code for the image you want in Photobucket

        for the temple of the sun image below it looks like this: <a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn35/MayanClass/Josh/?action=view&current=DSC01695.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn35/MayanClass/Josh/DSC01695.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> 

      2. Come back to LiveText, click edit on whatever section you want the image in, and toggle to source mode

        the source button is located on the far right of the toolbar.  This switches the view to HTML

    3. Paste the HTML Code in the location you want the image to appear

 

 Palenque - Temple of the Inscriptions (we were able to go inside to view Pakal's Tomb in this structure! only around 150 people a year get to do this...pretty cool):

 Palenque - The Palace:

 Palenque - Temple of the Sun (we were able to view the summer solstice event in this structure!):

 Palenque - Temple of the Cross:

 Palenque - Temple of the Foliated Cross (and George):

 Palenque - The Aqueducts::

 Bonampak - MEC Guide Alonzo Mendez Discussing a Stela::