4 days

I can think of more reasons for why I want to stay in Mexico than ones for coming home. It's going to be a really hard week. My life here has opened up so many more possibilities for my future, and that's why I originally came here, but all I can think about is having to leave my new family and my new town. I've grown so accustomed to speaking spanish with everyone, every day, that I worry I won't remember to speak english when I open my mouth now. I am really going to miss the walks to the centro, the shops with quirky gifts to buy, the gelato shop on 5 de mayo street, the homemade comida every day, the fresh fruit that I've never even heard of before, and so much more. This past weekend we went on a trip to the Sierra Gorda, a gorgeous, lush forest region of the state of Queretaro, and it really made me want to stay here even more. The first day we went on a hike to a waterfall which we were able to swim in, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The hike was almost comparable to forests of Oregon, but full of tropical vegetation and a climate that Oregon can't compare to. The water was cold, but with the humidity it was just perfect, and standing right under a giant waterfall was something I've never done before, and it was memorable to say the least. We stayed in a beautiful hotel in a tiny town called Jalpan, which like all other Mexican towns, had a pretty little centro where fun activities were taking place like always. That particular night was a night for young adolescent aged kids to show off their talent, basically like a town-wide talent show, and some of those kids could sing! I was amazed, and also slightly upset over returning home while I listened to a boy singing a sad song with his acoustic guitar while I sipped hot chocolate at an outside cafe table. The next day we went to a strange phenomenon of a river, it is two rivers, one cold and one very warm, which meet to form one larger river at a fork, and it's very strange to walk from a warm stream to a cold stream within 30 seconds of each other. The part that joins together was also peculiar, standing in one spot I could feel a mixture of the two waters, and every so often it would switch between being more cold and more warm. The water there was a beautiful clear, blue green color which was comparable to Hawaii's oceans. We also spent a good majority of time swimming and playing in the hotel pool, which was memorable. After our silly pool races I think we all really got to know each other and our resident director, Dawn, a whole lot better. This week of school so far has been awfully brutal, essays, tests, presentations and more, but I don't think anything could make me want to leave. If I could have my closest family and friends here I wouldn't need to ever leave. If only it were that simple. But alas, I will be back to the U.S. Saturday night, and back into my old life. I'm sure once I get there I'll be more excited to be home, but right now all I can worry about is the nostalgia I'll feel for my new home once I'm back to my old one.

2 weeks

I can't decide if I'm more excited to go home, or if I'm more sad to leave here. It's been such a crazy 4 weeks, and only 2 to go. It has definitely been busier than I imagined. Between classes from 8:30-2 every day of the week and weekend trips every weekend (except this one, yay!) I haven't had a single moment to process exactly what I've been doing here, and how I've been feeling about it. The first week is now a complete blur of trying to communicate with my family, starting classes that I thought were too advanced for me, stumbling on my words when ordering food in spanish, and running down buses that won't stop for white girls with backpacks. I wish I had written more so that I could go back and read it all, hoping it would come back to my memory. I remember the awe and shock of Mexico City when we first arrived, and the dread of being back on our first weekend trip. It wasn't the city so much that I disliked, it's beautiful and I've never seen such elegant buildings anywhere else. It was the people, 24 million of them to be exact, the smell of rotted trash and sewage that lingers everywhere, the smoggy heat that leads to sticky skin, but no sun because it's hiding behind the pollution. Our weekend trip (8/5-7) was a jumble of pyramids, hotels, museums, murals and restaurants. It was a very go, go, go, no time to stop, no time to think type weekend, and I barely had time to realize I was seeing, in person, some of the art works I had always wanted to see. Our second weekend trip, the one to Guanajuato, was definitely well-remembered. I know with every fiber in my being that I will be back to that town. It was the most gorgeous place I've ever seen, and it had a certain charm about it that was indescribable.
I really wish I could sit in Mexico and just soak up spanish like I could a sun tan. I am feeling a bit of regret over not pushing my spanish-speaking limits as far as I know I could have, but once I'm in the moment, it's a little terrifying to do, especially when I'm far too worried about making mistakes. I know they happen anyway, but it's hard to allow whenever possible. It's far easier to stay silent at times than try  to communicate things I don't know how to communicate. My vow to myself at this point, with two weeks left, is to push myself harder. With speaking spanish, with studying and doing homework, with spending time with my family, with everything I have been trying to do, but not doing to my full capacity. Let's see how things turn out two weeks from now!

Mixed feelings

I haven't written anything new in a while, and there's only one reason for that. THERE ARE ONLY 24 HOURS IN EVERY DAY!! And each day seems more jam packed than the last. I don't know how we're expected to dedicate 4+ hours a day on homework when we're in another country! It's almost impossible to get everything done and also have time to sleep, eat, talk to my family, etc. We have almost 3 whole weeks left here, which is good in the sense that I still have time to try and get to know some mexican people my age, go shopping in the amazing centro, maybe go out for a beer or two?? But my worry is that these next few weeks will come and go and I'll be feeling the same after the program is over as I am now. But on a positive note, I love my family here, I love the city, I love the weekend trips, and I love the food! My family always has great authentic, homemade mexican food for comida, and everywhere else I've eaten has been nothing short of an experience! I am excited to come home and share my experiences with everyone, but at the same time I am very sad to be leaving this great home that I've become part of. My nights at home usually consist of my family and I hanging out watching TV together in my abuela's room, eating ice cream with cookies, and chatting about our day. It's almost too good to be true. I will definitely be coming back to visit as soon as I can. Last weekend we had a trip to Guanajuato, a city that's pretty close to ours, about 2 hours in a bus, and it was the most beautiful place I've ever seen! It was built in a small valley with mountains/hills all around it, so it's impossible for it to grow any bigger, and the entire city is like a historic downtown zone with great shops everywhere, open air markets, and taco stands. If I had to choose, I'd go back there before traveling anywhere else. This weekend we have a free weekend to stay home and do whatever we want (yay!) which will include sleeping and shopping for me. I know there must be millions of other things to say, but I can hear my homework calling me from the other side of my room, so for now that's it! Nos vemos!

Bienvenidos a Queretaro!

I finally arrived in Querétaro on Saturday and I already am in love. The city is very colonial style, and it looks somewhat like a European city. The buildings are all old stone, very elegant, the streets are all cobblestone and almost too small for a normal sized car to drive down. We stayed in a wonderful hostel Saturday night called Casa de San Gallito, gallito means rooster, and there were many rooster references throughout the place. The logo itself is of a rooster head, and they sell merchandise with roosters on them; I have no idea what significance roosters have to this particular hostel but it was kind of different and fun. The hostel had no roof over the main entrance/lobby area, which shows just how beautiful the weather is here. The entire building reminded me of a movie I saw that was filmed in Greece. It was all white stone with giant archways and open windows. If it wasn’t so expensive per night I would make an excuse just to stay there again! But yesterday was the big day! I FINALLY got to meet mi familia! My señora is very, very friendly; her name is Ana Luisa. She immediately greeted me with un beso, a kiss, on the cheek and a big hug. My señor, Miguel, is also very friendly; he is an accountant and also very funny.  My guess is they are in their early 60s. La abuelita, my host grandma, lives in the house as well, and she is 93 years old! She is very cute and I love talking to her. I also noticed during la comida today that she ate more than anyone else! They also have a dog, Noli, but she doesn’t like me yet. She’s some kind of small Scotty looking dog with a handlebar mustache and kind of long hair. After la comida yesterday, the biggest meal of the day served at 3pm, I went to a meeting with the program directors and all of the other students to go over our schedules and class times. I’ll be taking Mexican Civilization, Advanced Writing, and Mexican Literature, and will be at school from 8:30-2pm Monday through Friday. I’d say that’s a pretty darn good schedule! After the meeting I went to my host parents’ son’s house, where there were tons of people waiting to meet me, and it was quite overwhelming. I’m pretty sure all of the men named their son’s Miguel because my host parents’ son was named Miguel, his son is named Miguel, and I think I heard another Miguel as well, but I lost count. There were brothers of my host parents’ son, their wives and kids, and I think a couple of cousins with their wives and kids as well. I met about 15 or more people total, and all with besos on the cheek. So far I think Queretaro is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. The weather is great, mid 80s usually, with bright blue skies and no pollution, thanks to the 6000ft altitude, and almost everything I need is within a 30 minute walk, which is perfect because I get to see and take pictures of all the buildings along the way. Today I had my first day of school and so far I like my classes. It’s hard to concentrate on school though when my mind feels like I should be on vacation! It’s too pretty here to take anything seriously, in my opinion. But I think that’s also true of most people here. After school and after comida my family is always telling me, descansa hija, go take a nap! And of course they don’t have to tell me twice. Napping is very common here, which I love because it has always been my favorite part of the day. And speaking of sleep…it’s 11pm now and I have class at 8:30 tomorrow morning! Ay! Nos vemos!

Mexico City by Day

After seeing the city at night when we arrived, we were extremely shocked to see how dramatically different it is during the day! We began our first real day in Mexico City by visiting the Cathedral, which is one of the most elegant, beautiful and massive buildings I've ever seen. It really taught me how important Catholicism is to most Mexicans, and I could feel all of their positive religious energy flowing within the building. It was captivating, and I longed to feel what they were feeling when they looked up at the statues of their santos, or paintings of Santa Maria. After the Cathedral we saw a giant market, almost similar to the Eugene Saturday Market, only ten times the size, and with so many different kinds of items for sale that it's almost impossible to focus on any one of them. A lot of what we saw everywhere was so overwhelming, and the market was definitely one of them. We went into the Palacio Postal, which is the main post office of Mexico City, and it was incredible. I've never seen such an elaborate post office. My mom, a mail carrier for the USPS would be amazed. We also saw the Museo de Diego Rivera, and received a lengthy and comical explanation of one of Deigo's most famous murals from a local man who was apparently quite knowledgable in Diego Rivera's life. It was definitely a momentous event from our short stay in the city. We witnessed our first sudden rain storm, and that rain puts Oregon rain to shame! Within minutes we went from leisurely walking through the cobblestone streets in the sunshine to a giant ominous black cloud covering every part of the sky, and huge, stinging rain drops pelting us as we ran for cover at our hostel. It was a sight to see thousands of pedestrians running through the streets, vendors yanking out plastic sheets to cover their merchandise, people selling garbage bags from under cover to the unlucky ones who didn't have jackets (us, of course). We spent the rest of the afternoon eating pan dulces in our room and waiting for the arrival of our other friends who were meeting us that night. We all spent the evening chatting on bunk beds in one of the hostel rooms, and it felt just like grade school again. Today we were lucky enough to be escorted by a friend of a friend who lives in Mexico City. He showed us a very nice, upper class restaurant to eat at for lunch, and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, shortly after we had to catch our bus to Queretaro, so we didn't get much more of a tour of the city. The bus ride was 3 hours, and it felt so long... I was just so anxious to see the city that I'll be staying in for the next 6 weeks! Finally, we made it and had a great dinner with our resident director of the program, Dawn, and some other group members who will be joining us this summer. Tomorrow I finally get to meet my host family! I've been waiting for this for so long, and I can't wait! I'm sure there's plenty more to add, but for now, buenas noches!

First day of Mexico

Before leaving for my 6-week study abroad trip in Queretaro, Mexico, many people warned me about culture shock when returning home. They said that most times, the shock of returning home is much worse than initial arrival into the new country. I honestly have no idea what they were talking about. Nothing could have prepared me for getting off that airplane into a jumble of customs, baggage claim, everything being in Spanish and so many people walking like packed sardines, let alone the shock of being on my own, in a country so unlike what I’m used to. I felt like I should have dedicated an entire 2 weeks JUST to prepare myself for everything that I was about to experience, but how is possible to prepare for the unknown? If I could have seen myself from everyone else’s eyes I can only imagine how wide eyed and frightened I must have looked. Not only did I feel out of place amongst nothing but local Mexicans, I felt like I must have been the least prepared traveler they’ve ever seen. I packed an entire suitcase full, one that was almost bigger than me, and almost as heavy, and could not lift it anywhere I went. I also dressed for sun, which did not find its way to Mexico City that day apparently, and looked just about as lovely as a drown rat in a sun dress would have by the time I arrived at my hostel. It was memorable, to say the least. The hostel that Acacia, our friend/study abroad group member and I stayed at was called Hostal Moneda, recommended to me by a friend, Emily, who had stayed there in the past. It was a great place for a first hostel experience, in my opinion, and not due to luxury, but because it was grungy, smelly, and real. The bathroom sink leaked onto our feet, the bathroom floor was constantly wet, the beds had no fitted sheets, and mine had no pillow, and yet, it was humorous and realistic, not disappointing or frustrating. Immediately upon arriving at our hostel we did the one thing we were constantly advised against, ate tacos from a stand just a minute and a half walk from our hostel and were only 10 pesos, which is less than 1 US dollar. After our 10pm taco dinner we did a bit of exploring around the centro, but surprisingly the night scene closes up quite early and we didn’t find much else to do, so instead we settled for a good night’s sleep.

Letter from my new family!

I received a letter from my family in Queretaro that I'll be living with. My señora's name is Ana Luisa, and her husband is Miguel. They live in a big house with a huge garden in the back where they have BBQs on Sundays. Mmm...I like it already. La abuelita is 94 years old, and apparently very talkative! I can't wait to spend the warm afternoons getting to know her in our cozy garden :) And best of all, Acacia's family is right down the street and our señoras are friends! Of all the exciting things to come while I'm in Mexico, the one thing I'm most looking forward to is living with a family and getting to know their lifestyle and traditions. Family is already a huge thing in my life, and I'm so looking forward to becoming part of another family! One and a half months to go!