Hacienda Yaxcopoil and Community Conversations

On Monday, students traveled to Hacienda Yaxcopoil to learn about the production of henequén, which is used to make products such as ropes, bags, and other crafts. Although henequén was once known as green gold for the wealth it brought to the owners of haciendas such as Yaxcopoil, students also learned about how that wealth was not shared with the workers who made its production possible and about the systems used to force those workers into debt. Today, the Yaxcopoil serves as a museum for us to learn from the mistakes of the past and to understand how to move forward in the future. 

On Tuesday, students participated in a conversation exchange with students from the area. They chatted in Spanish about their interests, schools, and extracurricular activities and compared their culture to the Yucatecan culture. 

While they were there, they also participated in an English activity with the local students, who take English at their school.