Expanding My Comfort Circle

Although this is not a video blog (sorry Ashton), I'm going to try to be consistent about writing about this year in Mexico.

It's been a week and one day since I came to Guanajuato. It's been a long week but it's also flown by. Guanajuato is almost in the exact center of Mexico and is surrounded by mountains. The centro (downtown) is in the lowest part of the city and all the residential areas are built up the mountain. I'm living with a Mexican family and two other exchange students (Laura from Argentina and Lisa from Germany) and it is definitely a hike to get from the centro back up to the house. I'm going to be in great shape by the end of the year! Guanajuato is beautiful with lots of old architecture and it's a perfect mix of urban city and mountains (my two favorite types of places)!

This past week has been filled with days spent in the centro shopping, going to cafes, and trying to get together the endless amount of paperwork needed for registering for classes and applying for my student visa. There have also been two events hosted by the anfitriones (the equivalent of the I Fellows). Tuesday night after orientation we all went to a bar and then to a club. The bar had a terrace on the roof from which you could see Teatro Juarez and the mountains. The club was a techno club that was very similar to those in the United States (at least half of the songs were in English). Yesterday morning we climbed to the Bufa which is a nearby mountain from which you can see the entirety of the city of Guanajuato. It was a really nice hike although very different from those in North Carolina because there weren't any big trees or plants to cover the trail. Last night Lisa and I met some other exchange students at a bar and then we went salsa dancing!!! (It made me think of Greensboro and Artistika.)

A side note: The anfitriones really make me laugh because I compare them to what I did last year as an I Fellow. It's very different being on the other side of international orientation but I'm enjoying being an observer. For example, yesterday we were supposed to meet downtown at 8am to start hiking. I was on time (which most Mexicans are not) and eventually one of the anfitriones showed up. We waited for a while for other people to arrive and then walked to where we were going to take the bus to the beginning of the hike. Only two or three anfitriones were on time, some showed up late, and some didn't come at all. (I laughed to myself about it because it appeared to be like the I Fellow trip to the State Fair when Nicole and I had to drag people out of their beds early on a Saturday morning!!)

Overall I've really enjoyed being here so far but it's been so much harder than I ever dreamed it would be. In the United States I can navigate through what needs to get done, I can express myself more fluently, and I always have things to do or people I can hang out with. In Mexico I'm lucky if I understand everything the first time and there's been a lot of down time which makes me miss home and camp and Greensboro even more. I also haven't been talking as much because I'm still trying to speak some semblance of correct Spanish and, since I'm a people person, the disconnect between me and others has been really hard and lonely. Thank goodness for Laura and Lisa who are really patient with me as I try to contribute to our conversations. I HATE the feeling of not being in control and being able to be independent and do things by myself, but it's definitely expanding my comfort circle. I think that God's going to teach me a lot this year about reliance on Him and valuing relationships with my family and friends.

Classes start tomorrow so it's going to be a whole another adventure this next week!