Gabrielle was pretty worn out, as she usually was at the end of the year, but this had to be her favourite class trip, so she could muster some energy for it. She had sent out a message to all her third year students the day before their class that read as follows:
Now as the students shuffled into the classroom, Gabrielle, dressed in shorts, a tshirt, and sneakers, gave her third year class an excited, albeit a little tired grin. "Good to see you all got my message," she nodded, seeing the students dressed for the occasion. Her sphynx portkey was sitting on her desk, ready to go. She also had a bag full of bottled water and sunscreen to hand out to all the students. "Rather than just having you sit around and revise, we're going to go on a little expedition. To the Yucatán Peninsula!" She couldn't hide the enthusiasm in her voice. The Mayan ruins were fascinating, but it was just genuinely a part of the world she loved. It helped that it was close to her home, so it was a climate she was very used to. She was mostly just disappointed that they only had a few hours to explore - it was something that if possible, she would've liked to have the students spend a good couple of days there, taking their time to both explore the ruins and to enjoy a beautiful part of the world. Alas, it was not to be.
"It'll be a bit of a whirlwind trip, I'm afraid. With a fair bit of quick travel. We'll start at Calakmul, one of the largest cities of the classical Mayan period ever found, where we won't have too many people bothering us as it's deep in the jungles. Would like to show you all Tikal, too, but I'm afraid we won't have time. And you're not old enough to go to Cancún." Gabrielle joked, raising an eyebrow. It was a great beach, but didn't quite have the historical links they were specifically looking for. Plus, she didn't like the idea of trying to convince the school that she was taking the students to a nightclub destination for History of Magic.
"We'll get to look at the Chichén Itzá, and then we'll go in to the town of Valladolid, where we can go eat some Mayan dishes, have a look at some cenotes and go swimming if you want - before eating, that is." Gabrielle knew she was wasting valuable time giving them the itinerary, but she wanted the students to have a good idea of what to expect. "History is more than just ruins and political manoeuvring. Day to day life - what dishes people ate, what people did for fun - I think that's just as, if not more, important to know about. Unfortunately, I don't write the exams." Gabrielle shrugged, gesturing for everyone to come forward. "Enough babbling out of me. Let's go!" She got everyone to touch the portkey, and once she was sure they were ready, they were transported to Mexico. It was a pretty long day, and she could sense their attention waning as they went through the ruins. At least ending the trip not with more ruins, but with visiting a town, checking out the tourist spots and sharing some local cuisine that had its own long history, well, Gabrielle was pretty happy with that for her students. Certainly beat staying in the classroom and studying, even if everyone was pretty exhausted by the end of it. Herself included.
Homework
RP the lesson. There are plenty of travel guides online if you want to add some more details and be creative! Have some fun with it and thanks for participating in History of Magic this semester!
Dear Historians, we'll be going on a field trip tomorrow in class. Please wear muggle clothing that you can freely move around in with comfortable shoes for walking. Feel free to bring cameras. You might even want to bring swimwear - and let me know if you have any dietary requirements. I look forward to seeing you all there!
Now as the students shuffled into the classroom, Gabrielle, dressed in shorts, a tshirt, and sneakers, gave her third year class an excited, albeit a little tired grin. "Good to see you all got my message," she nodded, seeing the students dressed for the occasion. Her sphynx portkey was sitting on her desk, ready to go. She also had a bag full of bottled water and sunscreen to hand out to all the students. "Rather than just having you sit around and revise, we're going to go on a little expedition. To the Yucatán Peninsula!" She couldn't hide the enthusiasm in her voice. The Mayan ruins were fascinating, but it was just genuinely a part of the world she loved. It helped that it was close to her home, so it was a climate she was very used to. She was mostly just disappointed that they only had a few hours to explore - it was something that if possible, she would've liked to have the students spend a good couple of days there, taking their time to both explore the ruins and to enjoy a beautiful part of the world. Alas, it was not to be.
"It'll be a bit of a whirlwind trip, I'm afraid. With a fair bit of quick travel. We'll start at Calakmul, one of the largest cities of the classical Mayan period ever found, where we won't have too many people bothering us as it's deep in the jungles. Would like to show you all Tikal, too, but I'm afraid we won't have time. And you're not old enough to go to Cancún." Gabrielle joked, raising an eyebrow. It was a great beach, but didn't quite have the historical links they were specifically looking for. Plus, she didn't like the idea of trying to convince the school that she was taking the students to a nightclub destination for History of Magic.
"We'll get to look at the Chichén Itzá, and then we'll go in to the town of Valladolid, where we can go eat some Mayan dishes, have a look at some cenotes and go swimming if you want - before eating, that is." Gabrielle knew she was wasting valuable time giving them the itinerary, but she wanted the students to have a good idea of what to expect. "History is more than just ruins and political manoeuvring. Day to day life - what dishes people ate, what people did for fun - I think that's just as, if not more, important to know about. Unfortunately, I don't write the exams." Gabrielle shrugged, gesturing for everyone to come forward. "Enough babbling out of me. Let's go!" She got everyone to touch the portkey, and once she was sure they were ready, they were transported to Mexico. It was a pretty long day, and she could sense their attention waning as they went through the ruins. At least ending the trip not with more ruins, but with visiting a town, checking out the tourist spots and sharing some local cuisine that had its own long history, well, Gabrielle was pretty happy with that for her students. Certainly beat staying in the classroom and studying, even if everyone was pretty exhausted by the end of it. Herself included.
Homework
RP the lesson. There are plenty of travel guides online if you want to add some more details and be creative! Have some fun with it and thanks for participating in History of Magic this semester!
