Author Archives: amm5230

Home, Sweet Home

Well, I have been home for about a week now and it is crazy how hard it was to re-adjust to life in the US. I thought it was going to be easy coming back and picking back up right where I left off–buuuut, no. It was hard to adjust to my real family’s eating schedule. When my dad would sit down for lunch at 11:30am and ask me if I wanted to join him, I was no where near hungry because we never ate lunch until 4pm in Mexico. It was extremely hot here in Lancaster, PA when I got home as well. And it wasn’t just hot, it was humid as well and we have no air conditioning–so that was fairly similar to Mexico. It was tiring but cool to see everyone and everyone wanted to know all about my experiences and see all my pictures. I could not help telling them all how it was such a great experience and about everything that I learned. Because traveling abroad and studying in Mexico was a chance of a lifetime for me and something I am so glad that I took advantage of. I met so many new people and had the opportunity to see how another culture lives and breathes and functions outside the US. It was amazing and I miss my host family so much and the other students that I met there and the relaxing life that the people of Guanajuato led.


Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Manana-Hasta Luego

Ahhh!! I cannot believe that our time has come to an end in Guanajuato!! Tomorrow we leave bright and early!! Tonight we went to the school for a little going away party. There was salsa dancing lessons which were surprisingly really fun! We learned the basics and now I feel a little more comfortable with it. Last nigh we went to our favorite Bar-Why Not-it is a place where lots of students go to hang out and everyone signs the wall–sooo we left our mark! It was funny because the waiter there is sooo nice and good to us so we left him a secret message on the wall. It is just so weird to think about how today was my last day in Mexico. I do not know where the time has gone. We were talking to our host mom today about the things we liked the most and the least about Guanajuato. One thing that I still have a hard time about are the children who beg for money or try to sell chicle or are just so precious and have to sleep in the doorways of stores and restaurants because they have nowhere else to go.  I met a nina a week or two ago named Gabby, I think I wrote about her before–she asked me for ice cream and I bought her a chocolate ice cream cone…well recently this week I have seen her everywhere in the streets and I have watched her come into bars at night and ask for a glass of cold water and take it back to her group of other children—I have seen her go from bar to bar doing this at night in order to get something cool to drink. I had the opportunity to talk to her a few more times, but seeing her just breaks my heart. I have a really big suitcase and I really just want to put her in it and take her home with me. She is so precious and I am definitely going to remember her for the rest of my life and will continue to pray for her and thing about her.


Location: La Botellita, Guanajuto, Mexico

Counting Down the Days left in Guanajuato

So there is only 3 days left in Guanajuato!! Time has just flown right by!! I cannot believe it is almost time to leave.  It is going to be weird going back to the US and starting to work and get back to real life.  It will be nice to be able to eat my mom’s home cooking, but I will miss all the tortillas and beans and fresh fruit in Mexico. The fruit and veggies at home are just not the same.  I am going to have to somehow survive on them though.  I feel like these last couple days are going to be crazy!! We have 2 more days of classes filled with projects and exams and then we are going to try and cram in all the last minute things that we want to do! We still have a lot of museums and places to go to! Sooo, I hope that we can all enjoy our last few days and get the most out of our remaining days!


Location: Temezcuitate, Guanajuato, Mexico

Es Junio!!

Sooo, June has come in Guanajuato!! I cannot believe that it is soon time to leave! Time has just flown right by!! It is funny, about the past two weeks we have all been on a hunt for Guanajuato’s best and cheapest carrot cake—we found it like the first week and go back to the pasteleria every day to ask if they have pastel de zanahorria today and every day they say that they will have it tomorrow and when we come back tomorrow they never have it!! It is funny because we were talking with out new “brother” mike about the meaning of manana in Mexico—when they say manana (tomorrow) they really mean–mehhh someday….sooo needless to say when they started recognizing our faces from the number of times we came in questioning them about their carrot cake–they learned to start directing us towards the double chocolate cake. Sooo, we have since tried the double chocolate cake and learned that it is good, but not as good as our first taste of the delicious carrot cake….so the hunt is still on!!


Location: Pasteleria, Guanajuato, Mexico

Oh, they had wheels!!

So today we went and climbed and hiked up the pyramids of Teotihuacan. There are the pyramids of the moon and the sun. The pyramid of the sun is bigger than the moon, but the moon is much steeper.  It was really interesting exploring the ruins of Teotihuacan after we had learned all about its history. It is incredible because the people of Teotihuacan did not have access to the wheel or animals to help them in building the pyramids.  They did everything through human labor, which makes the pyramids that much more fascinating! We have a joke that the people of Teotihuacan did actually have the wheel and cement trucks and horses, but just destroyed them all when the Spanish came and conquered Mexico so that the Spanish would not have access to them but the people of Teotihuacan then realized how bad of an idea this was because the Spanish then used the indigenous people as slaves and for human labor. Hah, but this is just our funny pretend theory. It was interesting how at the base of all the pyramids and the surrounding area-was littered with venders trying to sell you everything under the sun! Everything from Obsidion to animal whistles. It was a little intimidating because they were so persitant that you buy their merchandise. My favorite was when they would yell in English to us “Almost free”. It was such an amazing opportunity though to experience such an essential part of past history.


Location: Teotihuacan, Mexico City, Mexico

Feliz Cumpleanos a mi!

So I spent my birthday en la ciudad de Mexico!! We had about a 5 1/2 hour bus ride from Guanajuato to Mexico City…and let me tell you what, that was one bumpy bus ride!! Whenever I went to the bathroom-it felt like the bus was going to topple over! Once we got to Mexico City and got settled in our hotel, we ate some dinner in the hotel and I was surprised by a jello/yogurt cake and a singing of feliz cumpleanos for my 21st birthday. It was so sweet of everyone! We then went out and celebrated and did a little dancing. It was a good time, but it was different not being with my family for my birthday. It was definitely a once in a life time experience! How many people can say that they spent their 21st birthday in Mexico City? Well, besides the 22 million people who already live in Mexico City!? That is another thing, the pollution in Mexico City is ridiculous. We learned that street venders used to sell pure oxygen for pedestrians because the smog and pollution was so bad. I find that crazy!! There are also sooooo many people in Mexico City and the crime rate is much higher than in Guanajuato. We did everything in groups and were not allowed to go out alone at night. This was obviously for our protection. It was definitely an experience to visit such a large city and interact with the people there.


Location: Gillow Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico

Amigos que durarán toda la vida

Throughout these past 2 1/2 weeks I have really gotten to know 6 other Penn State chicas.  They are all so different and wonderful in their individual ways.  They have been great study buddies, co-adventurers, and always up for trying new food and places.  We have made La Botellita-a restaurant in el Jardin de Guanajuato-a frequent stop for spending some quality time together en la noche.  The workers at La Botellita are always so excited to see us when we come in. They know as we walk past and are always ready for us.  They have helped us when our Spanish is shaky and we are having a hard time communicating and they have even given us deals specifically for us. We know most of the waiters by name and the Host recognizes us when we walk in the door.

Apart from food, I have also experienced the haggling and bartaring scene.  I was talking with a man in el Jardin one night and was admiring a blanket/rug that he was trying to sell passerbys and I went up and asked him how much he was selling it for.  He told me a ridiculous price of 450 pesos and we haggled all the way down to 200 pesos.  I was unsure if I still wanted to buy it and he finally convinced my by saying that he wasn’t going to be back tomorrow and tonight was my only chance. He had also gone into great detail saying he had woven it himself and it had taken him countless hours to do so.  So, needless to say, I bought my blanket/rug feeling very proud of myself for saving roughly $25 until I passed by el Jardin the following day and saw him selling the exact same one to other foreigners.  Buuuut I am excited to take home my purchase and give it as a gift to my dad. I guess I just looked like a guliable American.


Location: el Jardin-Guanajuato, Mexico

Los ninos en la Calle.

Yesterday we were in an ice cream shop, una heladeria, when a little girl with dirty clothes and a smudged face walked up to the group of Penn State students I was with and asked one of them to buy her ice cream.  I began to talk to la nina and learned that her name is Gaby and she is 7 years old.  Gaby does not have a house and when I asked her about her parents she did not respond.  I asked Gaby what her favorite flavor of ice cream was and she said chocolate so I bought her a chocolate ice cream.  Children like Gaby just break my heart.  I feel so helpless when I see them because there is not a whole lot that I can physically do for them besides buy them ice cream or I bought a different little boy fruit one time after arguing with him that I was not going to buy him a toy.  But, the fact is, is that there are thousands and possibly millions of children without a home or without parents to care for them that rely on begging for food in order to survive. I am sure that they see that I am an American and think, “oh, I am sure she will give me something” and come up to me and I am also sure that some of them do have families and their families send them out to the streets to ask people if they want to buy gum in order to bring some money home.  I know that that pouty face with dirt all over it is sometimes an act to make me feel for them, but there are also others who are honestly homeless and know nothing else. I just wish there was something more that I could do for them. I have been praying for them and will continue to pray for them because that is really all that I can do at this point in time.  It has just been crazy what my eyes have been opened to thus far on this trip and how I have been pushed out of my comfort zone and seen things that I would not have seen within the safe vecinity of Pennsylvania.


Location: Heladeria-Guanajuato, Mexico

Quieres chile con tu fruta?

So, I have failed to begin blogging until now.  We have been in Guanajuato for almost two weeks now and it is beautiful! There are 12 psu students and our 2 professors.  We were originally each placed with a separate family, but situations arose and changes had to be made, so now another student lives en mi casa tambien. Hace mucho sol aqui!! It is soooo hot during the day!! And we are hardly ever outside because of this reason, so I feel like I have not gotten too much of a sun tan yet but my mom here-Marta-says that the sun is very bad for your skin and advises us not to lay out.  The family that I was placed with is so wonderful. It is Marta, the mom, and her son Jorge-12- and daughter Alejandra-23. Marta is so funny and very easy to get along with and is very understanding of our lack of Espanol perfection.  She says that she is our cultures professor because during our lunch time meals (which are not until 3:30pm!) and at night we have life discussions and Coralie (the other psu student) and I ask her every question under the sun about life in Mexico.  She is very open about telling us about her life and what the lives of other Mexican familes are like. I thought prior to coming to Mexico that I was going to be fine with all the hot food because I thought that I liked things–BUUUT they eat chile with everything…I bought pina (pineapple) and they asked me if I wanted Chile powder on top. The same thing happened when I bought corn on the cob at a roadside stand–No, I do not want Chile on my sweet fruit, they are opposite tastes. So, that has been very interesting to see the different spicy things that they eat—some things are good, others are–just different.


Location: Temezcuitate Calle-Guanajuato, Mexico

T-minus 18 Days!

We leave in 18 days! I am so excited! I cannot wait to get to know my host family and see how a normal day runs for them.  I am sure it will take awhile getting used to taking siestas seeing as I do not ever take naps or spend time just resting. My host family has a mom and a dad, a fourteen, thirteen and three year old. I am also excited to get to know the other students who are also traveling to Guanajuato through Penn State-whether they be from the Altoona campus or UP.  We have all done some research on Guanajuato, Mexico and have learned a little bit about what to expect of the cultural differences between PA and there.  I am also excited to start our classes and practice my spanish with other psu students as well as practice it with native spanish speakers.  I am taking two Spanish classse while in Mexico to finish my minor.  I am also eager to trade in these frio days in state college for the sweltering sun of Mexico. We will see after I am drenched in sweat from a 5 minute leisurely walk how much I really like the sun though.  I better pack some spf 500 because I know I am going to burnn. So, I hope that you will come with me as I experience life in Mexico and follow me on my journeys! I know that I am going to miss many of you, so your comments and words of encouragement will be much appreciated! 


Location: Boucke builidng University Park, PA