So, i have an adventure to tell you about!
Oh boy, where to begin. So, yesterday one of my room mates and I decided to go downtown to el centro to do some shopping. It's really easy to take the bus there...it costs $8.50 pesos, which is about $0.80, and you just take Route 1 the whole way. EASY! So, we left for downtown around 2:45, and shopped for a couple hours. A very relaxing, easy going trip. We decided to leave around 5:30. So, we decide the best way to go back, is to take the same bus route, seems most logical right?! So we hopped on bus Route 1 again, happy and somewhat successful from our shopping trip (I bought a sweater).
So my room mate and I are sitting on the bus, and before we know it, we have been on there for about 30 minutes, and we have no idea where we are. At this point it was pretty funny. So, we go up to the bus driver, and in Spanish ask him if this bus goes to the Tec, just to make sure. He says yes, it does. Ok, so before we know it, we start getting into this middle of nowhere town, and the bus pulls into the bus station and the bus driver gets out. My room mate and I just kind of look at each other, and start to wonder a little bit what's going on, but not really worried at all. So a different bus driver comes on, pulls the bus around the loop so it can now easily pull out of the parking lot, gets off and the other bus driver gets on. At this point, a few other buses are starting to pull in, and we see another Route 1 bus that instead of saying "central" like ours, says "directo." This seems promising! So we get off our first bus and ask the bus driver if this one gets to the Tec faster than the other one. He says it does, so we get on.
After about 5-10 more minutes we leave, and we are thinking, we will be back to the Tec in no time! WRONG! After about 20-30 minutes more, we have no idea where we are, and ask the bus driver again, if this bus goes to the Tec, but this time we specify, the Tec of MONTERREY! He says yes it does, we will be there in about 25-30 minutes, after tracing the route out with his finger in the air. So my room mate and I have another good laugh about our situation, and we continue to drive into only God knows where.
A little time passes, and suddenly we start to recognize where we are...right back where we started, EL CENTRO! So we are pretty close to campus right now, easy. Well, we pass through the downtown area, and start heading towards the mountain, which is the part of town that is poorer. We drove through a really poor neighborhood, that looked like it could be dangerous for two American girls to get off. So we stayed on. :D Finally, after driving through this neighborhood the bus driver calls us up to the front seats and tells us we will be there soon. 5 minutes later, to our relief, we see the campus buildings! We get off, promptly start to laugh, and catch a taxi home.
By the time we got home, it was almost 7:30! We ended up spending about 2 hours on the bus. It was quite an adventure. When we told our host mom about it, and where we all went, she started laughing, and when we told her what neighborhood we went through, her eyes got really big, because it is quite far away from us. We also figured out that we left Monterrey, and drove through another city. WHAT AN ADVENTURE! It was actually quite interesting, but the only thing I didn't like was not knowing for sure if this bus went to the Tec. But it did, and everything turned out just fine. :D
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
I can see the end..
The first week of classes is drawing to a close, and not a minute too soon. Not that I don't like my classes or professors, it's just a lot to take in in one week, and I am already ready for a break.
So, I got the whole Latin American Literature class fiasco dealt with, and I went to the class today. It is another class with all Mexicans, except little me in the middle. It is going to be a lot of work, but those are probably the classes that are going to improve my Spanish the most. I think it will be ok. The professor was really nice about my not being at the first class.
What else has happened since I last posted...last night we went to a movie with a friend of my room mate's who is from Mexico. One day when she was trying to get a taxi home, this guy and his friend offered her a ride home, and we went to the movie with him. It was a Mexican movie, so all in Spanish, lots of slang that I didn't know, so it was 2 hours of a lot of confusion, and glancing back and forth at my room mate, seeing if she felt the same as I did. I got the general concept of the movie, but there was a lot that I didn't understand. For example, there were at least a few times when everyone in the theatre was laughing, and my room mate and I just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. We want to go see the same movie in 2 months and see if we understand a lot more. Hopefully, yes!
What else is going on....I am just feeling really mentally exhausted after this week. I just want to sleep. I feel like I am acting differently here...not really myself, but with some people I still am. I think I just get really intimidated in this different environment. At the same time, I really love it here. There is nothing in my head that is telling me I want to go home. I really just think it is going to take a lot to get used to. Once I am more comfortable speaking Spanish in my classes, I can open up and make more friends. Right now I just need to adjust to my new surroundings. And that's ok with me. :D
So, I got the whole Latin American Literature class fiasco dealt with, and I went to the class today. It is another class with all Mexicans, except little me in the middle. It is going to be a lot of work, but those are probably the classes that are going to improve my Spanish the most. I think it will be ok. The professor was really nice about my not being at the first class.
What else has happened since I last posted...last night we went to a movie with a friend of my room mate's who is from Mexico. One day when she was trying to get a taxi home, this guy and his friend offered her a ride home, and we went to the movie with him. It was a Mexican movie, so all in Spanish, lots of slang that I didn't know, so it was 2 hours of a lot of confusion, and glancing back and forth at my room mate, seeing if she felt the same as I did. I got the general concept of the movie, but there was a lot that I didn't understand. For example, there were at least a few times when everyone in the theatre was laughing, and my room mate and I just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. We want to go see the same movie in 2 months and see if we understand a lot more. Hopefully, yes!
What else is going on....I am just feeling really mentally exhausted after this week. I just want to sleep. I feel like I am acting differently here...not really myself, but with some people I still am. I think I just get really intimidated in this different environment. At the same time, I really love it here. There is nothing in my head that is telling me I want to go home. I really just think it is going to take a lot to get used to. Once I am more comfortable speaking Spanish in my classes, I can open up and make more friends. Right now I just need to adjust to my new surroundings. And that's ok with me. :D
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Classes..
So, my first two days of classes are done..FINALLY! They aren't as hard as I thought they would be, but at the same time, they are overwhelming. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have History of Latin American Art, so this was my frist class in Monterrey. When I arrived to class, I was the only American/International student in the class. It was really intimidating! But, it seems like it will be a good class.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Social and Cultural History of Latinamerica, Latinamerican Literature, and Spanish Grammer...so in other words, Tuesday (today) and Thursday are my eventful days..but today was more eventful than I hope most will be: first of all, I had to wake up at 7:00. That is enough to ruin anyone's day. So, my first class went well, it is with a really young teacher who seems to be pretty cool, and I have it with quite a few friends. I then had a break, and I passed the hour and a half on campus with some friends. At my next class, Latin American Literature, I went to the room assigned on my schedule, sat through the 1.5 hour class, and then realized that the syllabus the professor gave us said Mexican Literature. So, after class (and after listening to 1.5 hours of lecture in Spanish AND taking 3 pages of notes) I went to ask him about it. He told me, "no, you aren't supposed to be here. This class is completely different than what you have on your schedule." So I had to go to a certain building and a certain room to figure things out, which I eventually did. I emailed my professor, and hopefully he will let me join the class on Thursday without an absence.
After classes were done I was exhausted, but met up with my room mate to go find the post office, which we found 25 minutes too late, and then trekked the 30 minutes back home, where I stuffed my face with delicious food, and took another warmish shower, and laid in bed. :D Now I am here at Starbucks, again, catching up on emails and facebook and whatnot.
Other than these daily normal happenings, nothing is new. I have realized that I have now been here for exactly a week, which is really weird. It is definitely not a vacation anymore. And, I already want it to be the weekend....this week is just CRAWLING by.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Social and Cultural History of Latinamerica, Latinamerican Literature, and Spanish Grammer...so in other words, Tuesday (today) and Thursday are my eventful days..but today was more eventful than I hope most will be: first of all, I had to wake up at 7:00. That is enough to ruin anyone's day. So, my first class went well, it is with a really young teacher who seems to be pretty cool, and I have it with quite a few friends. I then had a break, and I passed the hour and a half on campus with some friends. At my next class, Latin American Literature, I went to the room assigned on my schedule, sat through the 1.5 hour class, and then realized that the syllabus the professor gave us said Mexican Literature. So, after class (and after listening to 1.5 hours of lecture in Spanish AND taking 3 pages of notes) I went to ask him about it. He told me, "no, you aren't supposed to be here. This class is completely different than what you have on your schedule." So I had to go to a certain building and a certain room to figure things out, which I eventually did. I emailed my professor, and hopefully he will let me join the class on Thursday without an absence.
After classes were done I was exhausted, but met up with my room mate to go find the post office, which we found 25 minutes too late, and then trekked the 30 minutes back home, where I stuffed my face with delicious food, and took another warmish shower, and laid in bed. :D Now I am here at Starbucks, again, catching up on emails and facebook and whatnot.
Other than these daily normal happenings, nothing is new. I have realized that I have now been here for exactly a week, which is really weird. It is definitely not a vacation anymore. And, I already want it to be the weekend....this week is just CRAWLING by.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Monterrey so far!
Well, my first official entry! I decided to start this blog to keep friends and family updated while I am in Monterrey Mexico for my semester abroad, so that is just what I am doing!
So far, I have been here since January 6, so that is a little less than a week. It doesn't seem like it has been that long! Our week has been so busy that it has just flown by. We have had meetings and orientation, but that's the boring stuff! I will try to summarize as best I can what I have experienced this past week:
First of all, the beauty of Monterrey is absolutely breathtaking. The mountains are everywhere you look. They are covered in trees or bushes, and at the base are many houses. It's almost as if these houses are the poorest and most rundown, but at the same time, they have the best spot to live in the city! At one of our orientation meetings they mentioned different trips the international students can go on, and one of them is to climb the mountain. As soon as I got here, I kept thinking, "I want to climb the mountain!" And now I probably can!
We also went to el centro, or the downtown area. Basically it is a few streets of a lot of shopping. The stores are relatively cheap, with relatively decent quality clothes. And almost every other store is a zapateria, or shoe store. It's heaven for a girl! We also explored the barrio antiguo, or the old neighborhood, which is cobblestone streets lined with old buildings. Later in the night we went back for a club. It is completely different at night..a completely changed atmosphere. In el centro the plaza has many statues and fountains which I think are worth visiting. It seems like a nice place to walk during the warmer months. I know there must be more to the city, because I have read about the museums and other attractions, so next time we go we will have to find them.
Other than the usual exploring, nothing really interesting has happened yet. I have been meeting quite a few international students at the orientation meetings, and they are really nice people. I think tomorrow when we start classes I will be able to start meeting some Mexican students, which is what I really want to do. It is fun hanging out with the international students, and I really like my room mates, but I want to speak more Spanish. We speak almost completely in Spanish with Sylvia, our host mom, but with a lot of the students we speak English.
I think for now, I have summarized my so far brief stay. I am sure as this next week finishes, I will have a lot to say about classes and other things I have experienced, but for now, SO LONG!
So far, I have been here since January 6, so that is a little less than a week. It doesn't seem like it has been that long! Our week has been so busy that it has just flown by. We have had meetings and orientation, but that's the boring stuff! I will try to summarize as best I can what I have experienced this past week:
First of all, the beauty of Monterrey is absolutely breathtaking. The mountains are everywhere you look. They are covered in trees or bushes, and at the base are many houses. It's almost as if these houses are the poorest and most rundown, but at the same time, they have the best spot to live in the city! At one of our orientation meetings they mentioned different trips the international students can go on, and one of them is to climb the mountain. As soon as I got here, I kept thinking, "I want to climb the mountain!" And now I probably can!
We also went to el centro, or the downtown area. Basically it is a few streets of a lot of shopping. The stores are relatively cheap, with relatively decent quality clothes. And almost every other store is a zapateria, or shoe store. It's heaven for a girl! We also explored the barrio antiguo, or the old neighborhood, which is cobblestone streets lined with old buildings. Later in the night we went back for a club. It is completely different at night..a completely changed atmosphere. In el centro the plaza has many statues and fountains which I think are worth visiting. It seems like a nice place to walk during the warmer months. I know there must be more to the city, because I have read about the museums and other attractions, so next time we go we will have to find them.
Other than the usual exploring, nothing really interesting has happened yet. I have been meeting quite a few international students at the orientation meetings, and they are really nice people. I think tomorrow when we start classes I will be able to start meeting some Mexican students, which is what I really want to do. It is fun hanging out with the international students, and I really like my room mates, but I want to speak more Spanish. We speak almost completely in Spanish with Sylvia, our host mom, but with a lot of the students we speak English.
I think for now, I have summarized my so far brief stay. I am sure as this next week finishes, I will have a lot to say about classes and other things I have experienced, but for now, SO LONG!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
