My time here in Mexico has come to an end and I really do not want to leave. I have gained so many friends, built so many amazing relationships, and learned some Spanish along the way. Everyone had become my family in such a short amount of time. We talk to each other as if we had known each other for centuries. It is awesome!
When my counterpart comes to Phoenix, I really can’t wait to share all of the experiences that Bethany has in store for us (and they are pretty awesome). And really, what I am most excited about is being able to share these different kinds of experiences with my sister (literal tears are falling right now). Being able to share a once in a lifetime opportunity like this program with someone is something I will always remember. Also, I am really excited to introduce Rebeca to my friends and family. She has a lot in common with my friends and I just know that my family will love her and her personality. And when she comes to Phoenix, I expect that she will find the lovely (cue eye roll) weather just like the weather in Hermosillo. When chosen to go to Hermosillo, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The only things in my mind were learning Spanish, the same weather, and if people actually eat tortillas with almost everything (it is true!). I quickly cleared my mind of the bad things to expect so that I could make room for the wonderful and totally awesome things that I would experience while in Hermosillo. And that helped me open my mind to everything (except spicy food, because I tried a little bit in the beginning of my trip and I almost died). My time abroad exceeded all expectations.
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Sit around the campfire y’all, cause I am going to tell you a story (or two) about my best and worst day here.
My best day here would have to be my very first day, even though there were a lot to choose from. This was the day that I really connected with my counterpart, the rest of the Hermosillo cohort, and their counterparts. Before this adventure, I never really connected with Evan and Rebecca. We talked and all, but we never really connected. Going through the airport and customs (a very scary place) together, I felt as if we actually bonded. The part where I really connected with Rebeca was when I was unpacking and she was helping me. We were both sitting on the floor taking things out of my suitcase and we were talking. Talking about the most random things that had ever happened to us, past crushes, and favorite trips. That night, there was a Welcoming Party, complete with tacos and more food. After eating some amazing tacos, we all went upstairs and played some card games (Uno, Go Fish, etc.). We spent that time teaching some games to each other and our counterparts taught us this amazing game called Papelitos (Little Papers). The game is top-secret, but maybe I will make a few exceptions on who to teach it to when I come back home. Overall, I believe I enjoyed myself the most that day, even though it was a pretty simple day. My worst day here was also during the first week and it was during a get-together. A lot of Rebeca’s and Renata’s friends had gone over to another friend’s house to just hang out. Rebecca and I introduced ourselves to all of their friends and talked to a few of them. Most of them knew basic English, so that wasn’t hard. But as it got later, I felt kind of awkward. It was hard to follow the conversations because they were taking fast and in a language that I didn’t fully understand, even though I could pick out a few words. Even though that was all that happened, I kind of felt like I didn’t belong, as if I was intruding on some friend reunion. I felt kind of bad because all of their friends are super nice. And well, that is really all I have to say about my awkward worst day. Recently I played a version of the ‘Newlywed Game’ with my counterpart (Fast Friends as Bethany likes to call it), and I learned that we had more in common than what was expected! First, we established that we both loved Harry Potter when we started texting a few weeks before my arrival in Hermosillo, so that was no surprise. Next, we established that we liked a lot of the same music (American music, that is): Little Mix, old Miley Cyrus, and Coldplay. Rebeca and I love to watch any and all Disney movies, because why not? We both DETEST any type of horror movie, which I am extremely thankful for. One question was “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?”. Both of our answers were the same, we would not want to know what the future would be like, instead we would like to know what everyone around us thought about us. The last thing that came up in our discussion was the fact that we both value the truth in friendships, no matter what.
Rebeca’s family is pretty awesome. They are incredibly nice and hospitable. We mostly talk in Spanish, with me having to ask Rebeca a few times “What is happening?”. I find it incredibly easy to follow along, even though my Spanish is not the best. They all speak pretty good English, except Rebeca’s younger brother Pablo, he is still a little shy. I know I have mentioned this before, but the food that they have here is amazing! Rebeca’s mom is an awesome cook, and so is Rebeca. And every Wednesday, we go over to her grandma’s house to have dinner with all of her family, and they are all amazing! Her aunts and uncles always are asking me questions about Phoenix and what I like to do, and I also like to ask them questions about life in Hermosillo (and also while working on my Spanish). Though I have to say, Rebeca’s grandma is my favorite (don’t tell Rebeca I said that), she is so sweet and is always asking me if I like the food or if Rebeca is being nice to me. I am having such a great time here. Like everywhere in the world, Hermosillo has its own customs that define it. One of the most prominent customs is the way that people greet one another, by kissing the right cheek. You do not actually kiss the person’s cheek, rather you just touch your cheek to the other person’s cheek and make the kissing noise (sounds rather odd when I actually put it down in writing XD). Also, I have noticed that lunch and dinner are usually at later times. For my family here in Hermosillo, we typically have lunch around 2:00pm to 2:30pm. Rebeca’s dad comes home from work around that time so we all sit down at the table and have a nice and delicious lunch. As for dinner, it is around 10:00pm to 11:00pm, depending on whether Rebeca and I are going to eat out with our friends or if we are going to eat at home. When we eat out, we eat a lot of amazing tacos and frijoles. The last thing I noticed is that everyone is very serious about piñatas. Rebeca and I went to her friend’s 18th birthday party, which included a piñata based off of a character from the TV show Paw Patrol. When it came time for everyone to have a crack at the piñata, everyone lined up faster than I could blink. The birthday girl went first and then everyone could have a turn until it broke. The person who was up got spun a total of 10 times before being allowed to hit at the piñata 3 times. If you hit it more than 3 times, everyone called you out on it. Also if you broke the hitting stick, as two people did, everyone chanted (as you will see in the video). S o far it has been an amazing experience and I can’t wait to share more with you! When I first arrived, not much seemed too different, except for the fact that customs is actually a thing. The first thing that I thought is that everyone is so friendly! I have been told this by many people (and my counterpart even telling me that herself) that this was true. Everyone who gathered to meet us at the airport greeted us and hugged us as if we have been apart of their family for years. It was pretty cool! We arrived at Rebeca’s house and I was immediately introduced to the rest of her family. Her older sister and father came home to join us for lunch around two o’clock. They asked me questions about what I was interested in and about my life back in Phoenix. They were pretty happy when I said that I could understand and speak some Spanish.
Within the first day I was there, I had already met a lot of Rebeca’s friends. Some of them just dropped by the house to say hi and Rebeca drove me to see a few of her friends. All of her friends were super nice! They understood that I didn’t understand most of what they were saying, and yet they still tried to include me in the conversation. Later, we met up with Rebecca, Evan, and their counterparts Renata and Gaston for some authentic Mexican tacos. And I have to say that I may or may not be bringing some back with me. They were so different from the ones that we have in the United States and so amazingly good! Our counterparts pointed out which ones were the best, the ones that we absolutely had to try. And that night, we had a welcoming party (more tacos!) at Renata’s house. I got to meet some more people and learn some crazy new games that our counterparts loved to play. All in all, it was a pretty awesome first day. During my short time here, there have been many festivals in the many squares (and that means food trucks!). One of the most delicious foods I got to taste was helotes. And here is the recipe.
Ingredients 4 ears of corn (husks removed) 2 tablespoons of corn oil 1/2 cup of mayonnaise 1 lime White cheese Steps Preheat a grill pan Rub corn with oil and place on the grill pan, turning corn so all sides are charred, about 6 to 10 minutes Remove corn from grill and brush with mayonnaise Take the mayonnaise-covered corn and roll it in white cheese Serve with lime quarters to squeeze over corn Hello everyone! And welcome to my blog, where I am going to be documenting my experiences in Hermosillo!
My name is Corinne and I am going to tell you a few quick facts about me.
It’s the morning of my flight and I really could not be more excited! I started to talk to my host sister about 2 weeks ago and she is really easy to talk to. Going into this whole experience, I was pretty nervous. I was nervous because I was not sure how I would be able to handle being in a completely new environment, surrounded by completely new people. (And nervous about forgetting something.) I slowly came to realize that I will be surrounded by amazing and trustworthy people, even though I may not know them well. I am really looking forward to getting to know my host family and all of my host sister’s friends. My host sister, Rebeca, introduced me to some of her friends during the period of time in which we were talking before my arrival in Hermosillo. And I have to say that I just can not wait to meet all of them! The only thing that I am weary of is the obvious language barrier. I know some Spanish, enough to hold and start a conversation, but not nearly enough to properly understand everything that is being said by the people around me. I believe that it will be easier when I arrive to practice my Spanish, because I will be with someone who I know is willing to help me! And that is another thing that I am excited for, the chance to practice my Spanish! I’ve always wanted to get better and there is really no other better way to do that than to immerse yourself in the language! I am looking forward to this experience, and I can’t wait to share it! |