Mi Cumpleanos!

Yesterday, Saturday, was my 20th birthday. I had maybe the best birthday yet! First, my host mom, Lecha, gave me an adorable stuffed animal puppy. I named him Diego because that is my favorite Mexican name. I don't know how much I mentioned before, but Lecha is going to be 80 this year. To this day she still works; she is an accountant and her office is connected to the house. I then went out to lunch with some of my friends here, and the men singing and playing instruments for entertainment sang me a traditional birthday song. 

Later in the afternoon we went to a futbol game, it was Los Gallos (Queretaro's team) against Los Tigres. This was such a fun experience! Our tickets were only $20 and we could get practically as close to the field as we wanted. If there are more games in the future I am going to try and go. I don't think I will be able to go to another game in the United States because I was so spoiled in Mexico! In the end, it was a tie game, 0-0; but that is much better than losing.

El Estadio Corregidora

Mis amigas!

Right next to where los Gallos were practicing

How cute! Kodak moment.

La policia

I don't think I ever wrote about how much attention we get for being white. I feel like a celebrity because everyone stares so much. People also make a lot of comments as we walk by, but normally they are just harmless comments. I don't think you could understand really unless you were here, but the picture below does a pretty good job of portraying what I mean. My housemate Sarah took this picture while we were at the game.

Yesterday was also the 15^th birthday of my host mom’s grandson. She invited me to come to the party, and I was glad I could go after the game because it was a good experience to see more of the Mexican family and culture. What a great experience I had! We went there around 8 and returned after midnight; Mexico time is very different from the United States. Dinner is eaten anywhere between 8 and 10, and is much lighter than our dinners. It is tradition that whoever’s birthday it is says the prayer. So, the birthday boy said a prayer in Spanish and I said one in English. Also, the priest from the church came to the celebration.

Everyone was very nice to me, and I especially had fun talking with her grandchildren, who were 15 (birthday boy), 18, 20, and 22. All of them knew a little English, especially the older ones, so I spoke to them in a mixture of English and Spanish because they liked to practice English with a native speaker.

In Mexican culture you always greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. Because I am used to my own culture, I am so surprised that no one gives one another hugs even if they haven’t seen one another for a long time. It is though birthday tradition to give a hug, so I received many kisses on the cheek as well as hugs.

When it was time for cake, two of the boys played their guitars and sang the same birthday song I heard earlier at the restaurant. We then got to cut the cake because it is tradition that whoever’s birthday it is makes the first cut. The family was so nice to include me in all of these birthday traditions even though it was not my party.

As you probably know, when girls turn fifteen in Mexican culture there is a huge celebration, this is called their Quinceanera. For boys their fifteenth birthday is no more special than any other. In order to make the celebration more like a girls Quinceanera one of the grandsons joked around and played Waltz music, so we ended the night with a little dancing. 

Some of the family and grandchildren I met are leaving for Europe today, for a religious pilgrimage in Spain and some vacation. Religion is very important to all of the people here. Even though they are all Catholic, everyone I have talked to says that Christianity and Catholicism is really quite the same. It was also interesting because the family is diverse in skin color. Some of the family looks almost as white as me, while the others have darker skin. Everyone in my host mom’s family seems to be very well off financially.

Overall, my birthday was filled with fun and great experiences. This post is so long because I have so much to say about what I am learning and experiencing! I hope that I can spend more time with my host mom’s family, I adore them! I also hope to go to another Gallos game!

La ciudad

Today I walked around what seemed like the whole city! My feet hurt a lot. The day began with orientation at OLE; we had a two hour Spanish class about getting around in the city. I then returned home for la comida, which is at 2:30. Normally I will have my TESL class in the morning, return home for la comida, and then return to school for Spanish classes in the afternoon. Today when we went back to OLE we were given a tour around the city. 

Finally, we were given a "mexican pal" who could show us around the city and practice Spanish with. My Spanish friend was very helpful, but his Spanish was very difficult to understand! I'm not sure why, maybe he speaks a different dialect, or maybe he just talks too fast! I wanted to buy a soccer jersey for Queretaro's team, Los Gallos. I didn't buy one today because they didn't have my size, but I will try a different store tomorrow. After walking everywhere and seeing so many neat buildings, resturants, and streets, we finally arrived at los arcos. Look at the pictures of los arcos below, the view was very beautiful!

Queretaro.

I am having an excellent time in Queretaro! I arrived on Monday, but slept through most of the day. I am living with Lecha and her daughter, Laticia. Lecha is going to be 80 this year, and has 6 daughters and one son. I have met several of the daughters and some of their children already, people are always dropping in during meal times. She is so sweet and cute, and I am already learning a lot of Spanish from her.

Yesterday I walked to my school, OLE, which is just a 20 minute walk from my house. The people at OLE are so kind! When I am walking in that area I always stop in to say hi. At OLE I met up with two girls I traveled with and we went to a few bookstores and walked around. The city is so beautiful! Last night my housemate arrived, Sarah; she is in the same program as me. It is fun to have her around the house.

"A different language is a different vision on life"  -  OLE, mi escuela

Today after breakfast Sarah and I went out to walk around the town and set up our phones. We spent maybe an hour getting our telephones set up, and I did very good communicating in Spanish. The guy helping us told me my Spanish was very good! It only cost me $5 for a SIM card, and $5 for minutes. The sales clerks invited us to a fiesta at the store on Saturday, I will try to go because I need to practice my Spanish and make friends! On our way back we walked on the street next to ours, which is filled with much more shops and restaurants. There are so many things right near our house to do and see.

La comida is in 15 minutes, which is my main meal of the day. An interesting cultural thing is that you have to eat everything that is put on your plate. If you waste food and don't finish your plate that is considered rude. Also, when you meet new people you greet them with a kiss on the cheek.

Tonight my roommate and some of our other friends might go to el cine (the movies). On Wednesday nights movie tickets are half off, so I think it is only $3 or $4 dollars. We have to take a taxi there but taxis are very cheap too!

An exciting last night...

Last night for my final night in the States my family and Grandma JoAnne went out to dinner. I wanted to go somewhere interesting, so we decided on a Moroccan restaurant downtown Seattle, Marrakesh. This was quite an experience. For part of our meal we were entertained by a bellydancer. We also ate most of the food with our hands, but they would wash them for us after each meal.

Then, on our way home my parents and I got in a car accident. Luckily my dad was driving, but we were in my Kia! :( It wasn't our fault, thankfully. And no one was hurt too bad; the man driving his car had cut his elbow. I can't believe the timing though, I guess it just added to our interesting night.

Pobrecita Kia :(

I am currently at the San Francisco airport. It is 5:13 here and our flight departs at 11:45. Luckily myself and the girl I am traveling with have a lot of homework to do before we get to Mexico, so we won't be bored. After arriving in Mexico City we will take a nice charter bus into Queretaro, about a three hour bus ride. Then I will take a taxi to my host families home where I will be living for the rest of the summer. Wish me luck!