First Few Days!

We arrived in Puebla excited and eager on Saturday after a long day of traveling. Abraham, who works in the International Office, was waiting for us with an adorable handwritten sign that said Appalachian BUAP. It took us a long time to go through customs and he had been standing there for about 2 hours by the time we met up with him, but he was so great and patient with us while we got some much needed food and then helped us buy our tickets and board the bus that would take us from Mexico City to Puebla. The super comfortable bus ride included a snack, drink and movie. We watched a Disney movie about Tinkerbell that I was surprised that I understood most of (and it didn’t even have subtitles!) and arrived in Puebla about 8 pm. Then Abraham helped us in a taxi and took us to meet our host mother. We got settled in our apartment and met our very accommodating host, Maria Elena. We spent the weekend exploring the beautiful city and getting our bearings of our area.

2 days ago (on Monday), Abby, a girl that works in the International Office here, took me and Miranda to see the places where we would be doing our respective out-ternships and meet with our supervisors. Taking the bus was an adventure and the busses here are very aptly named “Rapidos.” Abby made sure that I knew which bus to take to get to and from the campus of Benemerita Universitaria Autonoma de Puebla called Cuidad Universitaria from our apartment. She didn’t speak much English, but for me, knowing that I don’t have a fallback plan and that I am forced to speak Spanish helps me to be better at speaking it.  I am noticing that my Spanish is much better off than I was expecting it to be. Even though I left Spain almost a year ago now and have been out of practice for a while, with a few conversations at Appalachian with exchange students here and there, I am very excited by how well I am getting along. The lack of the vosotros and the fact that Mexicans pronounce all parts of the word and don’t drop important syllables, unlike the Spaniards, is probably a major part of that though. Hearing “te has gustado” as opposed to “tayah gustow” is very refreshing.

When we arrived at the office of Social Sciences and found Dr. Calderon’s office, I was very graciously received and he was so excited to have me there to help. I talked with him for a little bit about what I wanted to get out of the internship and what he had done so far and how I could help him. He is a very interesting man and he and I share a lot of the same interests. Much of his project studying labor migration, both legal and illegal, to the United States and Canada has focused on the differences that gender makes on exclusion and vulnerability in the process before, during and after migration. I plan to write my research paper on the differences that men and women face during migration.

On Monday, Dr. Calderon said that he had an event to attend and would not be in the office on Tuesday so I had Tuesday off and would meet him in his office Wednesday morning. He assigned me an article to read and to come in with some thoughts and questions for a discussion on Wednesday. It was very nice to have a break on Tuesday to prepare and to help Miranda get settled and talk with Alvaro in the International Office since we had not quite figured out her situation on Monday. I’m glad that I was able to be there with her for moral support and of course to be a shopping companion while we waited for our afternoon appointment with Alvaro. We wandered to the end of the Zocolo (the main public square downtown) and found a pedestrian shopping street full of clothing, a pair of adorable shoes that I already made up my mind I am returning for, and even a health food store! We had a nice healthy lunch and continued exploring a little more before going to meet with Alvaro. The meeting went well and we were feeling great, so we went to a boxing class at the gym on campus. It was a great workout and we got to practice our Spanish with the instructors and the other women in the class. They, just like everyone else in Puebla, were very curious what 2 blonde-haired blue-eyed girls were doing in Mexico. People are always asking us where we were from, what we were doing here, if we like Puebla and the most common question, how our parents feel about us spending a month in Mexico. We respond that we love it here, and that yes our parents were a little concerned at first, but once they did research on Puebla and the area, they realized that it was a paradise and a sanctuary within the country. They always agree and are glad that we made the trip.

Later that day, we also went to see a movie. We bought our ticket to see Ironman 3, which was only 36 pesos, about 3 US dollars. The whole film was in Spanish but we followed along as best we could. It definitely helps to watch movies and television in Spanish, as I discovered in Spain watching gameshows and Los Simpsons. Miranda and I bought a movie in Spanish (Jamas Besada which is Never Been Kissed) and some magazines in Spanish so that we can practice watching and reading Spanish all the time. On our way back home, we also met Pablo, our next door neighbor who our land lady Maria Elena also rents a room to, who is very nice and we talked with him for a while before retiring to our own apartment to get ready for the next day.

Today (Wednesday), was my first official day. Dr. Calderon and I talked about the article, which he had written and was part of his research, and some of the interesting aspects of it. It got me really excited to get to work and I think I even have an outline ready for my paper! He introduced me to a sociology student at BUAP, Andres, with whom I will be working. Andres was going to teach me how to use the data bases and access the statistics and everything I’ll need, but there was something wrong with the electricity in the building where our office is, (we have our own office!), so we grabbed some lunch instead and Andres said that we would get started tomorrow. So tomorrow will be my first actually official day. We both were done earlier than expected today, so we went to a sweet little restaurant and coffee shop for a quick bite before going to see the Gran Gatsby. This time the movie was in English with Spanish subtitles, which was helpful because I learned some new words (muelle is dock, comodo is comfortable). After the movie, we went out to get some dinner with Pablo. He doesn’t speak very much English, and it was an interesting time and certainly a learning experience. It feels really nice to have Mexican friends and to be fitting in with the locals. They actually want to spend time with us and listen to our perspective on Puebla and Mexico and everything else and we also get to hear his perspective on things. I love comparing cultures with people from other countries; especially locals who know where the best tacos in town are. Thanks Pablo!