"Just living the dream in Mexico"

They say that living one DAY in México is equivalent to a MONTH of Spanish classes in the U.S... I definitely believe this is true....

My School
Universidad Internacional- The Center for Linguistic and Multicultural Studies
http://www.spanishschool.uninter.edu.mx/
This is a picture of the main courtyard in the middle of campus. The campus has 4 albercas (pools) and 12 edificios (buildings). I have classes Monday-Friday from 8am-2pm. My first week consisted of 3 classes everyday... all taught in Spanish. Gramática (grammer), Conferencia (conversation) and Español (Spanish). There are only 4 people in my classes... two of which are from NC State :) It's quite difficult to learn a language in that language. I pretty much have to pick out words I know, piece them together in my head, translate, and be able to figure out what they are saying... I can't wait to be able to think in Spanish without needing to translate the words to English in my head. Sometimes I just add an "o" to an English word and hope it translates right. Many times it does!

I also have 2 wonderful teachers- Gabriela and Jonathan- who spend individual time with us and challenge us with speaking only Spanish. Pictured below are my good friends- Sara and Marc- from NC State, my professor-Jonathan, and classmate- Diego- from Pennsylvania.
Here is the Facebook link for the photo album of my orientation at school last Saturday. In the photos you'll see my friends from NC State.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21007&id=128106260534967&ref=mf

My Family- Papa José, Mama Elsa, Pamela and Daniela
My host father José is a retired banker. He takes me to school every morning at 7:30am and picks me up at 2pm, spends his days at home and some nights out with his friends. My host mother absolutely loves working as a secretary at the local orphanage. She prepares dinner after work at 4:30, and cleans the house every Saturday. This is a photo of my family opening their presents from United States that I brought with me. My mother and sisters now love Vera Bradley!
The hardest thing to get accustomed to is the eating schedule. I still can't figure it out. Most Mexican families eat their biggest meal at 2pm and a light dinner around 9pm. My family eats their big meal at 4:30 and they just don't eat again if they aren't hungry...of course I'm hungry again by 7! I don't think they know that I can eat more than what they feed me. I knew the Mexican food would be something to certainly get used to eating every day .. even as much as having quesadillas for breakfast!

I knew it was inevitable when I became sick this past Tuesday, had so much stomach pain I went to the infirmary on the second day of school! I was feeling much better in 24 hours. My goal is to build my immune system so much, I'll be able to drink the water in 7 weeks! (haha)

My house- Paseo de la Cañada #34
I live in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Cuernavaca. The house is 3 stories tall and has a back porch overlooking the gorgeous swimming pool and garden.

My bedroom used to be my 16 year old sister's room. It has 2 beds, a built-in armoire, and of course 2 posters of Zac Efron on the wall...haha. My private balcony has a beautiful view of the rest of the neighborhood and the new condominiums on the hill.

My University hosted a "summer party" at the local bar called "Alive" where all the proceeds went to an orphanage. We raised 10,000 pesos (~$830 USD) that night and had a wonderful time! "Alive" was very much an Americanized bar... playing all 80's and 90's music and lots of Gringos dancing.

Some days, I am invited to my friends host family's home for lunch. I enjoy meeting new people and practicing Spanish with their local families. A few nights out of the week, I head downtown (el Zocalo), enjoy the live music and dancing in the square and experience the local customs, and even going to see a movie in English at the theater with Spanish subtitles. Young children roam the sidewalks and come into a restaurant and walk up to the table selling handmade crafts. You get accustomed to saying "No, gracias" until you see a child so precious you just want to buy something from them. This is when I bought my first bracelet for 40 pesos!
The experience so far has been wonderful. All the people here make my experience what it is. After one week, I can say I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else!

Arrival in Cuernavaca!

I have arrived safely in the beautiful city of Cuernavaca! When I landed in Mexico City, I realized how much I depend on language to understand everything around me. Already, being completely alone in a foreign country taught me a lot about myself.

I saw a few people from my flight wearing NC State t-shirts. I went up to them and asked if they could help me get to customs. They told me they were with a big group going to Cuernavaca to study at Universidad Internacional. What a small world! I was quite relieved to have met them until I saw the man holding a sign that said "Allison Byrd"- Private Pick-Up. The driver spoke no English except for one word- HEAVY... and he certainly used it when he was carrying my 3 suitcases. haha

On our 1.5 hour drive to Cuernavaca, I think I used every Spanish word I knew... which I could only put together a few sentences and phrases. We sat most of the time in silence. We drove through the gates of my neighborhood and I laughed to myself when I recognized everything from Google Earth. When my driver couldn't find my home, I could have helped him out and told him its right around the corner on the right, but I decided to let him find it himself. haha What an incredible feeling being in the place I've seen so many pictures of... it is so real now.

My host father, Jose, welcomed me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek. He immediately took my bags, showed me around the house saying "this is your home, this is your bedroom, here is your swimming pool, and this is your kitchen". I was amazed at how the interior was so beautiful.

My host sister, Daniela is 16 and very pretty. She is still in high school and spends most of her time in her sister's room. I sat with Jose on the back porch and ate watermelon until my host mother, Elsa and my host sister, Pamela came home from work. She prepared dinner which consisted of chicken, pasta, lettuce and tomatoes, and bread. After dinner, I met Adolfo and and his mother, Maria who had traveled from Mexico City to see me. Since I've known them since last July from the Mexico City mission trip, it was nice to see a familiar face. We took a trip to downtown Cuernavaca where I bought a Mexican cell phone, went to Oxxo to add more minutes, and back home where they met Mama Elsa. Pamela is 26 and has a boyfriend, Alejandro, from Mexico City who has been here all weekend.

The first night in Mexico was not an enjoyable experience, I got very little sleep because my body isn't used to a house with no air conditioning. I slept with the sliding glass door to my balcony open but woke up many times from it being so muggy or the birds chirping outside. I told myself I would buy a fan if it meant I had to walk to Walmart. Needless to say, I wasn't the only American buying a fan that day.

My host father drove me to Universidad Internacional for orientation at 10am on Saturday. I was one of 2 people who were "Indépendante". The rest were from a NC State study abroad program. We took a placement test, had a personal interview for our placement in our classes, and took a tour around campus. Most of the buildings are centered around a gorgeous courtyard with pools and gardens. Adolfo and Maria picked me up from school once I called my host father and told him what I was doing. Lunch in Mexico that day was amazing.... I had SUBWAY! Ordering in Spanish was a whole different story when I needed to convert in my head that a 6 inch sub is 15 cm in Mexico.

After lunch, I had a mini tour with my school en el Centro where we visited the Cathedral of Cuernavaca and its many chapels, Cortes Palace- home of the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes (now the Museum of Diego Rivera artwork), the Head Government Building (City Hall), the home and Art Museum of Robert Brady (U.S. painter), Morelos and Juarez Gardens which makes up the "Zocalo" or the center square.

Today is Sunday, where I spent most of the day unpacking, eating a long breakfast with my family, studying by the pool and writing. Mama Elsa has cleaned the house, done laundry and ironed for the week. Tomorrow is my first day of classes starting at 8am. I am so excited because I know with every passing day I will know more Spanish than I did the day before! I am learning new things literally every minute I'm awake!