Orientation in MX City

Since the last time that I wrote, a lot has happened! The biggest news is that I’m no longer homeless in Querétaro. A week ago, I moved into the house where I’ll be renting a room for the next year. I haven’t had a chance to enjoy it yet because I was gone all last week at the Fulbright Orientation in Mexico City. Even though I haven’t spent much time at home yet, I’m really happy with the arrangement. I have two housemates who are also students, which is nice because we have similar lifestyles. They are from Chiapas in the South of Mexico, so they can give me recommendations for traveling. Our house reminds me of Eugene, with Mexican touches of course. The front gate opens onto a tiled patio with beautiful bushes and climbing plants that we don’t even have to water J Every Sunday night, neighborhood women set up taco, atole, and helote stands on the sidewalk across the street. Last week, I introduced myself to the taco ladies and the owner of the corner store. Every neighborhood has at least one corner store selling junk food, maybe fresh produce, lunch meat, and usually fresh sweet breads. Grabbing last minute groceries is easy, but I don’t understand how all these tiny stores stay in business. I promise that I’ll soon post some photos of the house and neighborhood . . . the house is a mess right now.

Most of the photos I’m posting now are from the Fulbright Orientation. In total, there are eighty students receiving funding to study and research in Mexico, more than any other year. The Fulbright staff treated all of us amazingly. I felt like I didn’t deserve the recognition because my project isn’t altruistic, but I nonetheless appreciated the chance to get to know the larger community of students in Mexico. One of the best aspects of the orientation was the opportunity to talk to other people about their projects and exchange contact information. I especially enjoyed getting professional, academic, and life advice from older participants. We range in age from twenty-one to eighty. Marty, the eighty-year-old woman, is a print-making artist who has already lived all over the world prior to coming to Mexico. I loved talking to her about her experiences and will definitely visit her in Veracruz. I also plan to go back to Mexico City and sit in on classes with another literature student. How often do you live in another place and have a built in network of travel contacts?!

From the photos, you can probably see that the experience in el Distrito Federal wasn’t the typical, hostel-style trip that I usually take. I felt quite spoiled but definitely enjoyed the hotel’s water pressure and comfy bed (an uncomfortable bed is my only complaint about my house here). When we weren’t listening to conferences on Mexican history and politics and Fulbright administration, we were eating really amazing meals. My favorite activity, however, was having dinner with two other students in the home of a past Mexican Fulbright participant and his wife. They treated us so graciously. After the formal presentations and lectures, it was refreshing to be in a host family situation again and to just chat casually.

Unfortunately, I came back from el D.F. sick, so I suppose I need to slow down a bit and make sure I’m sleeping enough. Back to homework and regular life this week!