The school on the island of Pacanda

Wednesday we visited the school on the island of Pacanda. There are seven islands in the lake near Patzcuaro. We took a flat bottomed boat to the island, as the lake is only two meters deep! The children were all dressed in traditional Purepecha clothing and shared their culture and language with this traveling band of teachers.

Long before the Spanish arrived in Mexico, there were many different languages and indigenous people. Today there are only three native languages, and in this region the families speak Purepecha. It sounds Native American not Spanish. Because the people do not want to lose this ancient language, they are now teaching both Spanish and Purepecha. They consider the schools to be bilingual!

I had one of the students read with me the book we made. They are very shy but did their best to communicate with the English speaking guests. We made caterpillar pencils, stamped folders and played with some toys brought by the teachers.

We were entertained by all the students when they danced and sang in the common area near their classrooms. The native dress was colorful and very beautiful.

After the entertainment, we were served a native meal. Lunch is the big meal of the day in this country. The women, or PTO as our instructor calls them, made tortillas, rice, beans, and fish. Yes, I looked down at my plate and something stared back at me! I broke off the tail and pulled back the skin... and it wasn't too bad! Oh yes, they do not use silverware of any kind, so we used the tortillas as our silverware! The women also made corn tamales that were wrapped in the leaf of the corn plant and boiled or steamed in a pot. All the cooking was done over open fires and the women would reach in and grab the tamales with their hands. OUCH! it looked very hot!

We made our way from the island to another island called Janitzio. It was all uphill to the monument on the top. Although my legs were crying, I made it to the top. (I need a trainer for the next trip, EJ??) I WILL get to the top of the pyramids if I have to crawl....but that is Friday.

On the island of Janitzio there were many shops and the people were so wonderful. A local merchant kept GIVING me things because I came back to buy more souvenirs. They are dependent on the tourists to provide them with an income.