Hello everybody! Sorry I haven't written an entry yet but I am
going to start now and this will be for the months of September to
January. I am living in Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico which wasn't the first
location I was placed. Originally, I was supposed to go to Ecuador, my
first choice, but after some complications I ended up here in Mexico. I
am happy to say that I am extremely grateful for the way things worked
out because I have met some of the best people, gone to beautiful places
and tried amazing food (lots of tacos). When I arrived in Mexico I was
shocked by how little spanish I actually knew even after years of taking
it in school. I became nervous and a little doubtful my first night but
when I went downstairs in the morning to my new family I was instantly
made comfortable and welcomed. I never felt (extremely) homesick after
that. It was very hard to communicate at first with my host mom because
she talks so fast but I learned more everyday and now I can understand
and speak with the people here. There were 3 other exchange students
here, now 2 because one already completed her 10 months, 2 girls from
Brazil and one girl from Germany. A week after I arrived I traveled to
Tijuana with my entire district, about 70 students, which was super fun
because I was able to meet people from all over the world and see a
little more of Mexico.
So far, I have been in 2 schools and
they are both extremely different. My first school was a large public
school which I liked a lot. The people were very friendly with us and
always asked us so many questions. I was used to going to public
schools, I studied in Albany High, but this school was very disorganized
and lacked good quality materials and technology. Despite this fact
almost all the students showed a lot of ambition and tried hard during
the classes to get high grades. After I switched to my current smaller
private school I noticed many immediate differences. The students here
were also very friendly towards us but during class they are much
louder, surprising me. In this school they use more technology and the
administration is stricter.
My city is a very small city
where everyone knows everyone and there is not much to do. I try to find
activities during the day. I go to the gym with friends, to the movies
or out to eat. I figure if I go to the gym I can eat as many tacos as I
want. Some other places I have been (besides Tijuana) are San Carlos,
Ciudad Obregon, Las Bocas, and Alamos. San Carlos is a very beautiful
beach town. It is small but the views and the seafood are amazing. Las
Bocas is another small beach town (much smaller than San Carlos) but it
is fun to go for the day with the family because it is only 40 minutes
away. Ciudad Obregon is a city 40 minutes away that is a bit bigger than
my city so we go just for more things to do. Alamos is a very cool town
about an hour away. It is a popular town because it is a "Magic Town"
and it is super old with awesome traditional Mexican houses, churches
and streets.
I have also lived with 2 families so far and
they are also very different. The first family was not a strict family
but the downside was that the parents worked a lot so I didn't get to
see them so much. I was not looking forward to moving in with my current
family because I knew that the mother was very strict but now I love
living here because I talk with my host parents a lot which is helping
me learn more spanish and they make me feel more a part of the family.
Also she isn't that strict, I realize now. I celebrated Christmas and
New Years with my first family and friends. At this time I almost cried
from missing my family but then I was able to enjoy the moment of being
with these people who I consider my new family. I felt very grateful
during the holiday's for my experience here and for meeting all these
people who care so much about me even if we've only known each other a
short period of time.
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