It’s always hard to remember where I left off. Our days are so full and I’ve spent any free time that I have talking to everyone who I’m living with or exploring the city. I’m surprised how comfortable I feel here. I thought it would be much harder to come to such a different place with a new language and customs and so many people I’ve never met, but I feel surprisingly calm… exhausted, yes, but very relaxed.
So, I left off with salsa lessons. I have never been a big dancer, especially the dancing that most people my age do in the states (which really isn’t dancing). I don’t have much rhythm and am always pretty shy about it. I’m trying hard to keep trying new things though. I haven’t really been giving myself any options about doing something that pushes me a little bit and it’s working out well. The teacher of the salsa class was a woman from the Spanish class where we will be taking classes. She taught the class mostly in Spanish, but it was ok because I understood almost everything she said. It was a lot of fun despite being a little crowded and reallllly hot in the living room we were in. I danced with a girl named Katie (there’s only two guys in the whole program and one of them chose not to take the class). It was so much fun, lots of spinning and swinging around and around. I was wearing a very swirly skirt and it just made me feel like I was a little girl again.
After the dance class we had dinner. A bunch of the girls from my program and our RA/TA, Chris, sat outside and some really great conversations about all sorts of things. It’s fun to be with new people because there are so many new stories to tell and hear.
After dinner we watched a documentary about immigration from Latin America to the US called “Wetbacks”. Mostly it followed people from Nicaragua trying to get all the way up to the United States, which means crossing three borders where they could potentially be sent back home or suffer other things much worst. It really made me think about the whole immigration issue from a personal sense, rather than the politics behind it which is what everyone is always thinking about at home. None of the people that were immigrating were going because they wanted to be American so bad or because they were greedy or anything like that. They really just had no choice. There was a man talking about how dangerous it was and how many people die or are killed along the way, but at the end he said he would rather die trying and have a chance than die of starvation because he had no money and there were no jobs available. It was so sad and made me so mad to hear these Texan cowboys who patrol the border for fun talk about how all the Latin American immigrants are terrorist, when in fact they were just trying to get here to eat and are usually the most law abiding of anyone because they can get deported so easily. And they just want to build a wall? Putting more money into keeping them out instead of helping their economies or just stopping taking advantage of their economic system would stop the whole chain instead of just making it worst and worst. Another thing that really surprised me is how hard it was to cross through Mexico. Many of the police and immigration officers make minimum wage, which is not nearly enough to live on. Give someone who can’t afford to live on their wages a gun and authority and what do you think is going to happen? There is a ton of corruption and violent crimes perpetrated by the police! Sorry, just a little rant…
We were talking in orientation about what to do if you feel unsafe in a situation. They said the police is probably not the best resource, but that people around will almost always be willing to help you out. I have not had too much interaction with people around here yet, but every single time I have they have gone out of their way to help us. On our scavenger hunt, everyone we asked for directions was happy to give them to us and one woman even kept guiding us in the wrong direction, walking with us until she had to go her own way. Also today we were trying to cross a fairly busy street and a man stopped the traffic for us, made sure we were all the way across and then finished crossing himself. The TA/RAs told us about how the community really looks out for each other since the police is not as reliable and so far I have found that to be true. It is so comforting to see people smiling, greeting and looking out for each other like everyone should. It’s so different than in the U.S, and I think part of what makes me feel like this home, at least for a little bit.
So that’s my anti-American rant… On with my day.
After the movie a bunch of people were already all dressed up to go out dancing. I had been brave enough salsa dancing and wasn’t exactly ready to try it out on my own. I was also really tired and dirty and sweaty from the long day. I passed on that, but then Rose, a really sweet girl from Chapel Hill, who was also hear last semester, invited Betsy and I to go out for a much more mellow, low key night with the TA/RA of the social work program, Hillary. The four of us walked downtown to a gay bar, not sure of the name, to meet one of her friends. It was a really interesting scene. Everyone here goes out much later because the bars pretty much don’t close until the sun comes up. we were told we didn’t really need IDs so didn’t bring them since we weren’t bringing purses but then we got there they asked for IDs. It was the first time that I could have been IDed and I missed it! They finally let us in after we told them how old we were and that we were in college. It wasn’t every crowded when we first got there, but then it got really crowded all of the sudden. Especially when the drag queen came out and started singing. I ordered my first drink… Corona, like a typical northerner in Mexico. It felt strange, but was fun. We talked for a while there about all different things before heading home.
This morning we woke up and it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. I ate breakfast and talked to some other girls for an hour and a half. Then we set out for a little exploration of the city. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from our house and fine to do during the day or at night with a bunch of people. We just walked around a lot and went in a bunch of different stores. They have everything, especially a lot of shoe stores for some reason. Today was especially busy in town because it is Sunday. The weekends fill the city with tourists and vacationers from Mexico City. A lot of wealthy people from Mexico city have weekend homes here amidst a lot of poverty. We also stopped at some of the tourist sites along the way, but didn’t spend much time there because we will be going on tours of many of them soon.
On the way home we walked by Jardín Borda, which is this beautiful garden on the edge of the city. On Sundays admission is free (usually only 15 pesos, which is about 1.50) so it was very crowded, but still gorgeous. There were lots of families going for little walks after going to church or having lunch and kids running around playing. It felt like a dream, there were fountains and flowers everywhere tucked in these secluded spots by tropical greenery. The smell and the air was wonderful. We walked around for a bit, but then decided to head back to the house for lunch.
There is a little boy named Kevin who also lives in the house. I’m not exactly sure how old he is, somewhere between 6 and 9 probably. He is deaf, which was funny because nobody told us that for a while and everyone was trying to talk to him and assuming their Spanish was terrible. He is the cutest little kid and quite a character. He certainly finds ways to communicate and make himself heard despite being deaf. He is always sliding around the floors, running around making funny faces and pointing for us to play with him. Katie showed him her camera and he was enamored, taking pictures of everything from us to dirt and the view. He is quite the little photographer, lining things up and getting in crazy positions for the best shots. He enjoyed taking our portraits very much and lined us up for a group shot, telling us to put our hands up in the peace sign. The picture of the house from the last post has him taking a picture in it.
I’m about ready for a siesta, more later…
So, I left off with salsa lessons. I have never been a big dancer, especially the dancing that most people my age do in the states (which really isn’t dancing). I don’t have much rhythm and am always pretty shy about it. I’m trying hard to keep trying new things though. I haven’t really been giving myself any options about doing something that pushes me a little bit and it’s working out well. The teacher of the salsa class was a woman from the Spanish class where we will be taking classes. She taught the class mostly in Spanish, but it was ok because I understood almost everything she said. It was a lot of fun despite being a little crowded and reallllly hot in the living room we were in. I danced with a girl named Katie (there’s only two guys in the whole program and one of them chose not to take the class). It was so much fun, lots of spinning and swinging around and around. I was wearing a very swirly skirt and it just made me feel like I was a little girl again.
After the dance class we had dinner. A bunch of the girls from my program and our RA/TA, Chris, sat outside and some really great conversations about all sorts of things. It’s fun to be with new people because there are so many new stories to tell and hear.
After dinner we watched a documentary about immigration from Latin America to the US called “Wetbacks”. Mostly it followed people from Nicaragua trying to get all the way up to the United States, which means crossing three borders where they could potentially be sent back home or suffer other things much worst. It really made me think about the whole immigration issue from a personal sense, rather than the politics behind it which is what everyone is always thinking about at home. None of the people that were immigrating were going because they wanted to be American so bad or because they were greedy or anything like that. They really just had no choice. There was a man talking about how dangerous it was and how many people die or are killed along the way, but at the end he said he would rather die trying and have a chance than die of starvation because he had no money and there were no jobs available. It was so sad and made me so mad to hear these Texan cowboys who patrol the border for fun talk about how all the Latin American immigrants are terrorist, when in fact they were just trying to get here to eat and are usually the most law abiding of anyone because they can get deported so easily. And they just want to build a wall? Putting more money into keeping them out instead of helping their economies or just stopping taking advantage of their economic system would stop the whole chain instead of just making it worst and worst. Another thing that really surprised me is how hard it was to cross through Mexico. Many of the police and immigration officers make minimum wage, which is not nearly enough to live on. Give someone who can’t afford to live on their wages a gun and authority and what do you think is going to happen? There is a ton of corruption and violent crimes perpetrated by the police! Sorry, just a little rant…
We were talking in orientation about what to do if you feel unsafe in a situation. They said the police is probably not the best resource, but that people around will almost always be willing to help you out. I have not had too much interaction with people around here yet, but every single time I have they have gone out of their way to help us. On our scavenger hunt, everyone we asked for directions was happy to give them to us and one woman even kept guiding us in the wrong direction, walking with us until she had to go her own way. Also today we were trying to cross a fairly busy street and a man stopped the traffic for us, made sure we were all the way across and then finished crossing himself. The TA/RAs told us about how the community really looks out for each other since the police is not as reliable and so far I have found that to be true. It is so comforting to see people smiling, greeting and looking out for each other like everyone should. It’s so different than in the U.S, and I think part of what makes me feel like this home, at least for a little bit.
So that’s my anti-American rant… On with my day.
After the movie a bunch of people were already all dressed up to go out dancing. I had been brave enough salsa dancing and wasn’t exactly ready to try it out on my own. I was also really tired and dirty and sweaty from the long day. I passed on that, but then Rose, a really sweet girl from Chapel Hill, who was also hear last semester, invited Betsy and I to go out for a much more mellow, low key night with the TA/RA of the social work program, Hillary. The four of us walked downtown to a gay bar, not sure of the name, to meet one of her friends. It was a really interesting scene. Everyone here goes out much later because the bars pretty much don’t close until the sun comes up. we were told we didn’t really need IDs so didn’t bring them since we weren’t bringing purses but then we got there they asked for IDs. It was the first time that I could have been IDed and I missed it! They finally let us in after we told them how old we were and that we were in college. It wasn’t every crowded when we first got there, but then it got really crowded all of the sudden. Especially when the drag queen came out and started singing. I ordered my first drink… Corona, like a typical northerner in Mexico. It felt strange, but was fun. We talked for a while there about all different things before heading home.
This morning we woke up and it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. I ate breakfast and talked to some other girls for an hour and a half. Then we set out for a little exploration of the city. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from our house and fine to do during the day or at night with a bunch of people. We just walked around a lot and went in a bunch of different stores. They have everything, especially a lot of shoe stores for some reason. Today was especially busy in town because it is Sunday. The weekends fill the city with tourists and vacationers from Mexico City. A lot of wealthy people from Mexico city have weekend homes here amidst a lot of poverty. We also stopped at some of the tourist sites along the way, but didn’t spend much time there because we will be going on tours of many of them soon.
On the way home we walked by Jardín Borda, which is this beautiful garden on the edge of the city. On Sundays admission is free (usually only 15 pesos, which is about 1.50) so it was very crowded, but still gorgeous. There were lots of families going for little walks after going to church or having lunch and kids running around playing. It felt like a dream, there were fountains and flowers everywhere tucked in these secluded spots by tropical greenery. The smell and the air was wonderful. We walked around for a bit, but then decided to head back to the house for lunch.There is a little boy named Kevin who also lives in the house. I’m not exactly sure how old he is, somewhere between 6 and 9 probably. He is deaf, which was funny because nobody told us that for a while and everyone was trying to talk to him and assuming their Spanish was terrible. He is the cutest little kid and quite a character. He certainly finds ways to communicate and make himself heard despite being deaf. He is always sliding around the floors, running around making funny faces and pointing for us to play with him. Katie showed him her camera and he was enamored, taking pictures of everything from us to dirt and the view. He is quite the little photographer, lining things up and getting in crazy positions for the best shots. He enjoyed taking our portraits very much and lined us up for a group shot, telling us to put our hands up in the peace sign. The picture of the house from the last post has him taking a picture in it.
I’m about ready for a siesta, more later…
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