Saturday, July 3, 2010
I dunno if you people know, but I'm in Boston, MA now. I'm here with the family. Not all of them, but Mom, Dad, and Kelly and Rich's family. It's been a really busy week and I haven't written for a while because I've been running around Boston! The girls are here because they are performing in the 4th of July parade here. They also did a parade today in the city of Gloucester.
What I Got Out of Mexico
Wow, where do I start? I’ve learned so much on my study abroad. Merida, Mexico is a beautiful place and far exceeded my expectations of it. Aside from the fun I had and the friends I made, I also discovered some things about myself that I did not know before my 2 months in Mexico. For example, I never knew I could sweat so much. I could actually avoiding going pee because of the amount that I sweated. I imagined sweating would be a hassle, but it’s much better than having to use the bathroom, really. I also discovered that I could walk around town with sweat dripping down my face and not even be ashamed of it! Quite a feat in my opinion.
Another discovery I made while in Mexico is that just because something is tacky in the United States—like a house painted purple—does not mean that it’s tacky in Mexico.
I went to Mexico with the expectation that I would discover differences in culture, lifestyle, and opinion. I did leave Mexico with my knowledge of these differences, but I also left with something else: my discovery of the similarities between culture, lifestyle, and opinion. I think it all started when I saw the Star Wars store. I saw it and thought to myself, “Wow, there are lots of Mexican Star Wars fans too!” Later I saw a “Cruz Roja” (Red Cross in English). Again, I thought to myself, “Wow, Mexicans have the Red Cross too!” Okay, I know it sounds silly to a cultured person, but it’s really not so unrealistic. I grew up in Southern California, close to people of all sorts of cultures, and I’ve never considered myself an “uncultured” person. But still these discoveries seemed quite exciting to me.
As the study abroad went on, I continued to noticed similarities and differences, but to this day I am still convinced that each individual is different. I know that cultures have their differences, but there are so many cultures… and cultures within cultures. I don’t like the idea of putting a whole group of very different individuals into one big lump and saying that they all act one way.
Okay, I admit that it feels good to be part of a culture. And there are, of course, notable differences between certain groups of people. And I am proud of many of the differences that my culture has from other cultures. But just as notable as those differences are the similarities.
I have a confession: there really aren’t too many similarities in the language differences. I know some English and Spanish words sound the same, but I found that if I wanted to understand anything that was going on, I needed to listen hard and carefully. Even with the hard and careful plan, I still didn’t understand everything I wanted and needed to understand. But I don’t feel any regrets. The point of this study abroad for me was not to understand everything. The point was to understand better that before; and that I did. So in my opinion I have succeeded. It feels good. Although my confidence is still not complete, I can’t lie and say that it’s not better—because it is. My ability to speak is better, I’m sure, but even more exciting is my confidence in speaking Spanish. I can’t think of what contributed to this change of confidence. I think it was probably just because I had to use Spanish, whether I wanted to or not, and so I learned that I can just do my best and hope for the best.
Another discovery I made while in Mexico is that just because something is tacky in the United States—like a house painted purple—does not mean that it’s tacky in Mexico.
I went to Mexico with the expectation that I would discover differences in culture, lifestyle, and opinion. I did leave Mexico with my knowledge of these differences, but I also left with something else: my discovery of the similarities between culture, lifestyle, and opinion. I think it all started when I saw the Star Wars store. I saw it and thought to myself, “Wow, there are lots of Mexican Star Wars fans too!” Later I saw a “Cruz Roja” (Red Cross in English). Again, I thought to myself, “Wow, Mexicans have the Red Cross too!” Okay, I know it sounds silly to a cultured person, but it’s really not so unrealistic. I grew up in Southern California, close to people of all sorts of cultures, and I’ve never considered myself an “uncultured” person. But still these discoveries seemed quite exciting to me.
As the study abroad went on, I continued to noticed similarities and differences, but to this day I am still convinced that each individual is different. I know that cultures have their differences, but there are so many cultures… and cultures within cultures. I don’t like the idea of putting a whole group of very different individuals into one big lump and saying that they all act one way.
Okay, I admit that it feels good to be part of a culture. And there are, of course, notable differences between certain groups of people. And I am proud of many of the differences that my culture has from other cultures. But just as notable as those differences are the similarities.
I have a confession: there really aren’t too many similarities in the language differences. I know some English and Spanish words sound the same, but I found that if I wanted to understand anything that was going on, I needed to listen hard and carefully. Even with the hard and careful plan, I still didn’t understand everything I wanted and needed to understand. But I don’t feel any regrets. The point of this study abroad for me was not to understand everything. The point was to understand better that before; and that I did. So in my opinion I have succeeded. It feels good. Although my confidence is still not complete, I can’t lie and say that it’s not better—because it is. My ability to speak is better, I’m sure, but even more exciting is my confidence in speaking Spanish. I can’t think of what contributed to this change of confidence. I think it was probably just because I had to use Spanish, whether I wanted to or not, and so I learned that I can just do my best and hope for the best.
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