I think that a large portion of this study abroad program is shaped by the excursions that we take as a class, and the excursions we are advised to take on our own. Those have been crucial in my journey of understanding Merida culture. Of the excursions that we had, the ones I will highlight in the reflection will be the Hacienda, Chichen Itza, Izamal, and Yaxunah. Starting with the best, Yaxunah was probably my favorite excursion of the trip. Even beyond the nostalgia I experienced being in the village, I was fascinated by how welcoming the people were. Along with that, it was a great opportunity to spend time with the students from Valladolid (even though it would have been nice to eat with them). Their willingness to share their customs and way of life gave me hope that more people could visit in the future to learn about village culture. Unfortunately, having more people has the risk of possible gentrification, as seen in Cannibal Tours. I feel like the movie depicted an unfortunate reality of how tourism can negatively impact a location, and further disrespect the people that have lived their lives there for years. Even the talk of a possible Airbnb in Yaxunah is concerning to me, as it really takes away from authenticity.
Chichen Itza and Izamal were very fascinating to visit. However, I thought it was interesting how we “caught” these tourist attractions. There was a picture in the Museum for commemorating Korean immigration where people could be seen climbing Chichen Itza, the way we climbed Kinich Kakmo. Now, it is extremely illegal to climb Chichen Itza, rightfully so. But it begs the question of whether the same could be enforced in the future for Kinich Kakmo? Do I think that these ruins should be treated with respect from people? Yes absolutely. I just don’t understand why this respect is established only after it gains popularity, especially from foreigners in my opinion. In the article written by Jesper Nielsen, he talks about how powerful the ruins were, claiming that they “towered over” other buildings. I thought this was interesting of him to point out, since it signified how big these ruins were spatially, yet their worth is determined by tourism.
Lastly, my least favorite excursion was probably the hacienda. The cenote was very enjoyable, but visiting the hacienda itself felt wrong. The hacienda reserved parts of history that led to the loss of an immense amount of Mayan culture, and it felt wrong to partake in a tour that didn’t really go into much detail about that, but rather the way the wealthy lived. I think that the horrible events that transpired in haciendas are downplayed and should be acknowledged more that the machinery or the wealthy rooms. The tour guide was oddly cheerful, which added to the weird feeling. In the article titled “The Presence in the Past”, it mentions how people thought Disney was using slavery as a tourist attraction. It reminded me of how the hacienda was catered to us, tourists, and the homes of the wealthy and the abominable working conditions were turned into a tourist attraction for us.
Overall, I think that every excursion we took, enjoyable or not, opened an eye about our place as tourists and “explorers”. I’ve realized that learning to be a mindful tourist is very important when visiting new places and should be common knowledge for everyone.
