UPAEP courtyard
After class, the university threw us a welcome celebration. Like any good party, we had lots of food and lots of dancing. We had tacos, and could choose from ground beef, chicken, potato, and pork. They also served us mole, which is a traditional dish native to Puebla. Like I said in my last post, I want to try everything I can, so I went ahead and put some on my plate. It was so good, and when I told my host mom about how much I liked it, she told me we could go to a restaurant this weekend to go eat some more. Some students from the university came and performed ballet folklorico for us and everyone loved it! They performed dances and wore costumes that reflect the traditional culture of different states of Mexico. It was so fun and everyone loved it! We also had a piñata, and then we had a dance workshop and learned how to dance cumbia. It was a lot of fun and I ended up dancing for about thirty minutes. I got the hang of it after a while!
Ballet Folklorico: these dresses are from Jalisco
We were all tired after this and our host families picked us up not long after our welcome party ended. I came home and talked with my host mom for a little while before we ate a light dinner. In Mexico, their big meal is lunch, which they eat around two or three. Dinner is more of a light meal, and they’ll have some tea, and a quesadilla, some fruit or veggies, or other things that aren’t too filling. Anyways I’m getting more comfortable with speaking Spanish all the time. Even with the other students, we try to speak to each other in Spanish as much as possible. My host mom is so patient and encouraging and is giving me more confidence with my speaking.
In the evening, a group of us went to a sports bar to go and watch Game 7 between Golden State and Houston. What we didn’t know is that Mexico was also playing a game against Wales, so every TV in every bar was showing that instead. I’m pretty sure we were the only ones who cared about the NBA game in the whole city! Eventually we found another sports bar to go to, and we all had dinner together. I ended up meeting some students from Wisconsin who are also in the health care program, and we hung out while watching the game. I’m all about branching out and getting out of my comfort zone on this trip. For dinner, I had a buffalo quesadilla, and its reassuring that quesadillas are just as popular here as they are in the US! After the game was over, we left and took an Uber back home. I was actually able to talk to our driver most of the way home, and I surprised myself with how easy it was to understand and also speak. My goal for myself is by the end of the program, I want to not have to think as much every time I want to form a sentence. With as much Spanish I’m speaking with friends, my host family, and around Puebla, I’m sure I’ll be able to do this.
my dinner - shoutout to my new friend from wisconsin for turning on her phone flashlight to get this lighting
That about wraps up a jam-packed Day 1! It’s been a long but very fun day, and I have another early morning. Tomorrow I learn how to use the bus system to get to class, so I will take any and all prayers for that! Thanks for reading!
Hasta Luego,
Lili
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My name is Lili and I am from Dallas, Texas! I’m an honors junior Nursing student and also minoring in Spanish. This summer, I’ll be studying in Puebla, Mexico in a service-learning health professions program. I’ll be living with a host family, taking Spanish classes for health professions, and also shadowing a doctor in one of the local hospitals. I’ll be writing about my experiences in the hospital, around Puebla, and on the different excursions my group is taking. I hope you follow along!
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Nursing major Lili Barrientos is spending the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning in Puebla.
Read more from Lili at https://lettersfromlili.wordpress.com/blog/.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
