Nineteen UCSC students, 7 from Environmental Studies, went to Cancun on a very different "spring break" this past March.
While they flew into the well-known playground on the Mexican Riviera they did not head for the beach, but made an about-face and headed out into the countryside to a small town, Tzucacab. What they found was a thriving Mayan culture throughout the Yucatan peninsula, where many locals speak Maya first, and Spanish as a second language.
Our students lived in the homes of local families while working on a school garden project for the third year in a row. The "Alternative Spring-Breakers" also participated in studying Yucatecan home gardens and the architectural history of the Mayan house.
Most students come away from this trip with an increased awareness of other cultures and ways of living daily life and seeing the world that are quite different than their own. You can read more from the Diario de la Yucatan (in Spanish).
