Hola! This is my obligatory introductory post. :) I’m Kelsey, and I cannot believe that in less than one week I will be heading off to Puebla, Mexico!!!! It is so surreal. I mean, I’ve been intending on studying abroad during college since high school, and I obviously went through the whole application/ orientation process. But it still hasn’t really sunken in yet.
Things I’m really looking forward to:
Meeting my Mexican family! My host sister contacted me on Facebook a little while back, and she seems really, really sweet! I have host parents, my host sister and her older brother, and even a host dog, a Chihuahua named Benny. I cannot wait to meet them!
Getting good at Spanish. Right now, no soy la mejora when it comes to Spanish conversation, but I’m hoping to majorly improve while down there! And not just because it would make all my future Spanish classes a lot easier (which will be, admittedly, a major perk); it just seems like a super ability to have.
Mexican culture and history. Yeah, I am totally a history nerd, so I’m really looking forward to all the sites we’ll get to visit! And THE FOOD. Ahh. You have no idea how superbly excited I am for authentic Mexican cuisine. I am ecstatic. I totally want to improve my ability to eat spicy food, too; I mean, I can handle a pretty decent spice as of now, but to master the Mexican spiciness? Yeah. It’s a goal.
Things I’m nervous/ maybe should be nervous about:
Homesickness. I mean, it’s only for seven weeks (I’m too much of a baby/ schedule worrier to go abroad for a whole semester), but still. That’s a significant amount of time to be out there. Sort of on your own. In an entirely different country. When you aren’t very great at speaking the language. I’ll miss my family and friends from home so much, which leads right into the next issue...
A social network. There are about 15 of us going on this trip, and from what I can tell from Facebook/ orientations, they all seem like awesome people! I just hope I can a) force myself to not be shy (which is hard to do) and b) force myself to not be too awkward (which is really hard to do, haha). Hopefully mild nerdiness will be endearing and not ostracizing? And I hope I can get to know my Mexican sister fairly well, too; she’s just a year younger than I am, so that would also be great!
It’s funny. When most people hear I’m studying abroad for Spanish, they get really excited, and then they hear that I’m going to Mexico. The smiles on their faces stick but seem a little forced as they say, “Ohhh- Mexico! Nice,” which they then follow up with, “Just be really, really, really careful, okay?” The thing is that I’m not feeling the slightest bit worried about being kidnapped or getting lost or forced to traffic drugs or anything like that (the crazy drivers and nearby volcano are another story, though—ughhhh). I’ve been told multiple times that Puebla is a safe and beautiful place, and I truly trust that. Plus, I figure most of that stuff can happen down the road even here in PA, anyhow, so I’d really like to believe that if none of that has befallen me yet, it won’t be a part of God’s great, master plan for me while I’m studying down there, south of the border.
So, that’s about it for now. I promise my posts won’t usually be this long and obnoxious; it’s just for starters. Hopefully I’ll be able to frequently update about my travels and experiences! It’s going to be an amazing journey for sure, out there in foreign places.
-Kelsey
PS: Of course I would get selected to be a Penn State GeoBlogger right after I decided to go ahead with this one. I’ll probably be updating them both simultaneously/ with VERY similar posts (only this one may be slightly more frequent/ a little more in-depth, since I don’t share this blog with a billion other people). Link to GeoBlog.
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