Welcome to Puebla!
Yes, this is ALMOST the same as my Geoblog post just abouts. But it's not EXACTLY the same, and I’m too lazy right now to care! I will update this post soon with lots of pretty pictures, though, I promise!
Wow. So, my first weekend+ has come and gone in Puebla, and I feel like I’ve been here forever! Thursday’s travels went smoothly, but to get from Bethlehem to Puebla seemed to take AGES. At this point, I don’t even know where to begin, so I’m just going to roll with a quick overview of a few of the most notable/ my favorite things so far.
The buildings/ the city itself. Yeah. I’m a bit of a history nerd, so, while I don’t know too much about the history of Puebla yet (and my Spanish and memory capacity aren’t too grand either), I absolutely LOVE the buildings. The old, the new, the colors, the styles. This city reminds me aesthetically of Spain, but it has a whole different feel to it. It’s got a distinct atmostphere; laid-back but with some spunk. This is not the palm-lined, beachy Mexico of the movies or tourist trade; it’s not the violent, gritty Mexico that the news so loves. It’s just a real place with real personality, and I love a city with a good personality.
My family/ house. I feel so spoiled here. I’ve got my own room, a bathroom to myself, and there’s Wi-Fi! I’ve gotten to spend a LOT of time with them, and this weekend they took me to see a lot of the sights of Puebla! My family’s a bit conservative and very tight-knit, which has been good because I really feel like I’m getting the full Mexican family experience. They’ve been so welcoming!
My Mom is so doting and caring; she’s constantly trying to feed me delicious food, which can be a catch-22 because the more I eat, the fuller I feel, and therefore the less I can eat. My Dad is very funny. He’s always trying to sneak English into the conversation (even though he’s not supposed to) so he can practice, too, and he’s intent on educating me on Mexican history, which I’ve been quite enjoying. My brother and sister, Paco and Cuca, are both great—they’re both very witty, but also both very friendly and patient. Oh- and Benny the Chihuahua? Absolutely adorable!
I also love the fact that I am terrible at conversing in Spanish, but it’s okay! Most of the time I just sit and listen to my family as they talk to one another, and I feel like I have a general idea of what’s going on. But then, of course, they’ll ask me something, and I’ll sit there like a complete idiot, trying to stammer out something- anything- that makes sense. I have the vocabulary of a four-year-old right now. There is about a 90% any sentence out of my mouth will contain one of the following phrases/words: “Me gusta,” “… es muy bonito,” “gracias,” “um…” (And I’ve been called out for that), and/ or “Sí! *awkward smile*”.
Most of the time, I listen rather than try to say anything, which is probably bad, but I enjoy just listening. There’s a small market store, Los Wuachos, right down the road that we visit every night, and the awesome two guys who work there have called me out on THAT already, but my Mom told them that I’m just a bit quiet. Which is true. Mostly. I think. Don’t get me wrong. I feel like things are starting to register a lot more quickly even after just 4 days. I’m sure it will improve, but I wish it would improve faster. It is my goal to be able to go to Los Wuachos and talk confidently about anything by the end of these six weeks!
Today, we had Orientation at La Universidad Iberoamericana de Puebla, too; it’s a lovely campus! A LOT smaller than Penn State, but it has plenty of lovely places to relax or study and lots to offer. I’ll be sure to take some photos and talk about it more soon; even though we had homework tonight, classes officially start tomorrow. I keep forgetting that I actually have to do work, but I’m sure with my lineup of classes, it will be interesting to keep up with!
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