Zuni

On November 17, we went to Zuni, New Mexico. Zuni is known for its artists. They make pottery, paintings, fetishes (tiny statues). We stopped at a trading post in Zuni that had all of these along with jewelry and Navajo pottery.

Zunis have a unique societal structure. They live all together in pueblo buildings. Sometimes as many as 5 immediate families will live in the same complex. Community is very important to the Zunis. When we talked to a teacher at the Zuni mission school, she said that when she visited students' houses for parent-teacher conferences, sometimes she didn't know if she was talking to the child's parent or another family member.

We toured the Zuni mission school. It was a K-8th school and a church. They're preparing to add a huge addition to the school. The part we toured that was finished was beautiful. The teachers who gave us the tour said the students really enjoyed the new building.

We also went  to see the old Spanish mission. Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside but outside was a cemetery. The cemetery was overgrown with weeds. Even though the weeds were a bit out of control, you could tell people cared because there were flowers placed on the graves.

I'm glad we visited Zuni because we could see a community that still maintains its cultural roots and shares it with others. In a couple weeks, we're going back to Zuni to see Shaliko, their biggest religious festival of the year.

This past weekend, on Friday we went the Bisti’ wilderness area and then to a Navajo rug auction. Then on Saturday we went to various places to shop and then horseback-riding at Canyon De Chelly. Phew. For Bisti’ we parked in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and headed down a pretty flat area with rock formations around it. Nothing was especially interesting at first and we weren’t really sure what to expect. But before long we came to an area full of rock formations called hoodoos which look like a lean tall rock with a flat rock balancing on top of it. It honestly looked like we were on another planet. It’s amazing that there are places on this earth that you can’t even imagine; every single time I think I’ve kind of got the gist of what the world around me looks like I’m proven very wrong. Our teacher, Mr. De Young showed us places where millions of years old petrified wood was with the trunk still intact. We talked about how the trees fell in the same direction and so there was some type of event that made them fall down at the same time. Probably Aliens. He also showed us where dinosaur bones were sticking out of the ground.  I guess I always assumed that all the dinosaur bones that people found were dug up, but here the bones were right in front of me relatively undisturbed for millions of years. We found remnants of clams from when there was once water in the area as well as pieces of turtle shells. In just a few hours there was so much history to take in. We took some time to just relax and enjoy the silence, the blue sky, and the beautiful rocks all around us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we went to the rug auction for a couple of hours. The Navajo rugs were absolutely beautiful. They had all kinds of intricate patterns or even pictures of animals or people. Even a relatively small rug could take a couple of months to make, yet would only go for about a hundred dollars at the auction. That means that they are getting only a few cents per hour of work. Some rugs wouldn’t even sell. It was sad seeing such beautiful art not being recognized, especially since Navajo weaving is a dying art form. I think in our culture we’ve gotten so used to things being mass produced and cheap that we don’t realize when something is actually worth paying more money for. It’s definitely something I need to be more conscious of as I get souvenirs when I travel.

I guess that’s all I have to say for now. We did other awesome things over the weekend but I've save those stories for when we come back. Everything is great here and we will be beyond sad to leave in a few short weeks.

Majestic Grand Canyon squirrel

What I learned this week

https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/10coalition-queer-people-color-lead10

The link above really ties together a lot of aspects we've been learning from a lot of our classes. From cultural lenses, to acceptance between different social barriers. This article truly is a goldmine, and my friend Alex co-founded this coalition. Trust me my friends, if we could all be this bold and outspoken for social justice, the world would be a much brighter, and safer place.

Just some of the goofballs on my floor, these five girls are some of my closest friends here so far. One of the girls, Laura, was on my wilderness trip to Colorado this summer. I would love for y'all to meet them when you get back! I hope that you guys can grow closer to God as you embark upon your journeys in God's beautiful outdoors!

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping the best contact up with you guys. I miss you guys so much!! It looks like you guys are having the most amazing time in Rehoboth. I just wanted to post some pictures so that you guys could be connected to the life back at Calvin. The first picture is of a group of my friends and I at art prize in downtown Grand Rapids. It was a really cool experience that i deffinitly recommend you guys to go to another year when your back on campus. The second picture is of most of the people in Heyns Hall, but not everyone. We went on a dorm retreat for a weekend. It was really fun to get to know everyone better and really connect with people. I hope that when you guys get back, I can introduce you guys to my new friends and help you get back into the swing of things. Love you guys.

I don't think I can say I'm a vegetarian anymore.

Last week, we participated in something I never thought I'd have to do. Kill a sheep. Then skin, clean, and eat it. Definitely a new experience. Here's some pictures:

One of the students from the Navajo class killed her.

Multiple people helped to skin her.

All in all, it was not as horrible as I'd thought it be. But then again, I just watched. I didn't participate at all. It was very respectfully done. When everyone had had their fill, someone brought the leftover meat to a soup kitchen.

This last weekend we went to Mesa Verde. It was amazing to see the craftsmanship that was build so long ago.