Things to know

It has been a week since I have been here and there are a few things I wish I would have known before coming here:
1. Bring warm clothes! It was been nice during the day. Usually in the upper 50s and lower 60s but at night it can get as low as 35 degrees. Yeah, I know that sounds wonderful especially to those who have 0 degree weather and snow, but when you are expecting 70s and 80s it is cold. Also, my house has no heat or air conditioning and it is very open. So when it is 35 degrees outside, it is 35 degrees in my house. They say it should only be colder for another month. Looks like I need to go shopping for some warmer clothes.
2. The bathrooms here are completely different. After I got off the bus in Queretaro I went to use the restroom. There was a gate on it and a coin machine. You had to pay to use the bathroom!!! Sure, it was only like .40-.30 cents but still. I refused to pay. Then I went to the mall the other day and you had to pay for toilet paper! Thanks to Grandma Pat I had some pocket tissues! Another thing with toilet paper, you don’t flush it down. You just throw it away. So yes, very interesting.
3. The way people drive is crazy. There are very few stop signs and traffic lights so people drive very fast and switch lanes without looking. There are a lot of speed bumps, so you will be going fast and then they will slam on their breaks for the speed bumps. I guess they are an alternative to stop signs. If you are a pedestrian Watch Out! The fly around turns and will not stop for you. Much different from CMU where pedestrians have the right away and we just walk in front of cars.
4. You don’t always know what you are eating. Usually for lunch my host mom makes me rice, beans, meat, vegetables, and tortillas. The first day she made me chicken. The last few days we have had meat as well but I was unsure what it was. It didn’t taste like chicken, beef or pork. It tasted somewhat familiar so I ate it. As I got to thinking, I am pretty sure I have been eating sheep. I refuse to ask though because I don’t want to know.
5. When you meet people they kiss you. I had my internship interview today (it was not like a normal interview. The director of International Students, Carla, went with me and just set up times I could work at the law firm. It turned out the lawyer was her husband. I will intern there Mondays and Thursdays helping them improve their marketing strategies). Anyways, as I met people at the office they all shook my hand and leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. I was definitely not prepared for that. Especially when the first person was an old man!
6. A mall is not like a mall in the US. I went to the mall this weekend with my friends Tish and Jasper. (There are international students as well. Tish is from North Carolina and Jasper is from Columbus, OH and goes to college at Allegany). The mall was packed with people. The stores are smaller so it was very hard to look around. All the sizes are different and I was unsure what to try on. There was only one department store and it was crowed as well. I went to try on a pair of jeans and waited in line for over 10 mins and only one person before had gotten a dressing room. I ended up just getting out of line. The only similar thing at the mall was the food court. There were many different food options including traditional Mexican food, Chinese food, pizza and more.
7. Cut your own Rosca. Rosca is sweet traditional Mexican dessert bread served on January 6th every year. I believe it is the day of the 3 Kings. Rosca is shaped in an oval and has many different toppings. There are small plastic babies inside the Rosca to represent the children that were killed. If you cut a piece and get a baby you must buy your family food. Well at the orientation with your family I tried to be polite and cut a piece for myself and my host mom. Well I cut her piece and there was a baby!! We laughed but a lady looked and me and said somewhat mean, “That’s why you cut your own Rosca.” Well we had Rosca at my house as well and sure enough, I got the baby!
8. Frogs are good luck. There are vendors everywhere, even in the super markets. They all had tons on miniature figurines of frogs. Apparently they are supposed to bring you good luck. I bought one right away after hearing that!
9. Some streets are cobblestone. The neighborhood I live in has cobblestone streets. Therefore when we drive it shakes the whole car. Also when I walked to the bus stop today I tripped about 10-20 times in my heels. They take some getting used to but hopefully I will get the hang of it!
10. They don’t eat chocolate. Well there was chocolate topping on some of the Rosca. They have hot chocolate, but it isn’t the same. It is very different and tastes way less sweet. I bought chips ahoy cookies out the vending machine the other day because I needed a chocolate fix. I even had a dream last night about chocolate cookies!! I know I am a chocoholic!
11. You will never go hungry! Every time I come downstairs or come home she asks if I want something to eat. I usually respond with a no thanks. She asks me again 5 minutes later, persuades me to eat something, or just makes something and gives it to me. For example tonight I came home from shopping and she asked if I would like something to eat. I said yes please but only something small. She gave me this dessert she made which is like lemon pie (it's hard to explain) coffee. It was a good amount and then she asked if I wanted more. I said no thanks and she made me a quesadilla. Then she asked if I would like another and I said no thank you I am full and she laughed and said no and put another on my plate. I am going to weigh 500 pounds after this trip. Thank goodness I am taking a spinning class!
12. The dog next store barks at everything. There is a German Sheppard that lives next door to us. He really enjoys barking at all hours of the night and early morning. He has woken me up a few times and I am a heavy sleeper which means he must be really loud. I glare at him every time I pass the house but I don’t think he gets it.
Well that is my advice so far. I am sure there are other things I still haven’t learned yet, but I am getting there. My Spanish is getting a little better. I can better understand what people are telling me but it still takes me a while to respond and I don’t respond right very often.
One last thing, I joined AMI today (Amigos Mexicanos e Internacionales) Mexican and International Student Friends. For less than $20 (200 pesos) I get to take a trip at the end of January, have a picnic and sporting even in February, and in March there is a café internacional. Café internacional is where all the students from different countries set up a booth for their country. You serve traditional food from your country, play music, and teach dances and customs. I was elected as president of the USA booth! We are debating on what to serve it’s between hotdogs and mac n cheese or a turkey dinner. We plan on teaching the Solider Boy, Electric Slide, and Cupid Shuffle. If anyone has suggestions please let me know.