It is hard to put into words the whirlwind that has been the last 2 ½ weeks of my life. From the moment I stepped off the plane to when I woke up this morning, my time spent here has been an absolute adventure.
Everyone talks about their study abroad experience as some unexplainable but unforgettable time in their lives. I am beginning to understand why. There is no greater way to get to know people than to live with them in another country where you are figuring out the unknown together.
The first thing I figured out here is that bus windows apparently shatter when a tire pops. Sarah and I were on our way from the Cancun airport to Mérida when this little incident occurred. It actually led to us meeting someone who was knew about the Centre in Mérida program. I think he saw on our faces that we were a little bit confused about what was going on and tried to clear up the situation. He is just one of the many people here that have been more than willing to help us.
When I was trying to mentally prepare for this trip to Mexico, I thought that even though I knew some Spanish the language barrier would restrict me from communicating with the people and getting to learn about the culture. What I have learned during my time here so far is the exact opposite. During our first week, people in the streets helped us to find restaurants, ATMs, and led us in the right direction if we happened to forget where we were. There was even one man, named Raphael, who owned a business near the cathedral in the Centro who gave us a mini personalized tour of the building. He would first speak in Spanish and then ask us if we understood in English to help us practice the language that surrounds us everyday. I have learned that the best way to improve your Spanish is to understand that you might have to put yourself out there and sound silly in order to practice, because eventually you will get better.
I was actually surprised to find out this morning that our host mom Gloria already thinks that Sarah and I are improving in our Spanish. We typically have the best conversations during meals because it is when both José Luis and Gloria are home and have time to spend together relaxing. These conversations have ranged from simple things like asking if we want to eat our lunch at home or pack a sandwich the next day to future career plans or the daily school schedule of kids from the local areas. I never thought that I would be able to actually hold meaningful conversations outside of talking about my family or other elementary things with easy vocabulary.
Despite the fact that I say my Spanish has improved, I also am constantly making mistakes. Tonight I asked Gloria who her grandson Patricio’s friend was in the pool today at the house. It turns out what I actually asked Gloria was “who was the man at your house today in the pool with Patricio?” She was slightly concerned at first and then realized that when I said man I really meant boy, and that I had forgotten that this mystery 8 year-old was actually another one of her grandsons. Suffice to say, we also spend a lot of time laughing during our conversations at meals.
I also noticed today that Sarah and I are starting to refer to Gloria’s house as our home. Even though we have only lived here for about a week and a half it feels like just that. We live in a very residential neighborhood called Los Jardínes de Mérida in the north of the city. It is difficult to put into words how lucky and grateful we are to be living in this house with this family. Gloria and José Luis have welcomed us into their family just as they have with other host students for the past 8 years or so. They have 3 daughters but all of them live outside of the house. The best part about the daughters is that they have kids that come over to the house all the time. I think one of the reasons they come is because of the pool, which has been a constant source of entertainment for all of us. Sarah and I finally located some rafts (after learning that it took us so long to find them because we were referring to the rafts as “fishing line”. We finally went back to the basics and asked in Spanish for something that we could use in the pool so that we didn’t have to swim all the time. I guess it got the point across because we finally found some!), that the kids love to play with. They have also taught us some games in the pool.
We have found that it can be either easier or more difficult to communicate with the grandkids. Saraita is a five year-old who speaks very slowly and clearly because she has a pretty calm demeanor but likes to tell us jokes and play tricks on us all the time. Patricio, 8, and Alexa, 4 are a different story. When they play these color or animal games with us in the pool they get so excited and speak so quickly that we cannot understand them so we just start smiling a lot.
I absolutely love the schedule of classes here. I only have class on Mondays and Wednesdays, and while they are long days I am glad to get a break from my typical science classes at Centre. Sarah and I have found two cafes to study in so far. One near the school and the other being a large Starbucks with air conditioning that is a bit farther of a distance away but completely worth the bus ride. We have just made plans with everyone for a fall break in Cozumel, so I am sure everyone will have more stories to come!
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