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.