Mayan writing at Palenque

Mayan writing at Palenque, originally uploaded by scrappymoduinne.

I chose this picture as I have been fascinated since I was a small child with the different ways in which human beings communicate with each other. I used to spend hours looking at Egyptian hieroglyphics, trying to imagine what messages could be discovered, if I only knew how to interpret them. From hieroglyphics I moved on to books and by the age of three I learned to read. I think I learned so quickly because words seemed easy after hieroglyphics and I hated having to wait for an adult to read to me. When I moved to Mexico and came across Mayan writing it brought back so many memories from my childhood. Next I moved to Oaxaca and discovered that a lot of the people I met spoke an indigenous language, but did not know how to write it. Writing in their own language has never been necessary for them, as they can write in Spanish or a foreign language such as English, if they need to.
My name is Clare Marie Roche, I am from Liverpool, England and I have been living in Oaxaca, Mexico for the last eighteen years. I am a widow and I have two daughters and a granddaughter, all of whom speak Spanish as their first language. I have been working at a small, private university for the last fourteen years. I am looking forward to working with all of you.