I have now been in Mexico for almost one week, and I still am observing the culture as if it was the first day. We arrived in Acapulco on Thursday, March 27 after quite an adventure through the Mexico City airport. We quickly learned that Acapulco is first a Mexican vacation destination and second has an intense riptide. Once we conquered the taxi and eating on our first night there, we were ready to take on Acapulco, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how little they catered to Americans. I am able to use so much Spanish, and I love being in Mexico. Throughout our time in Acapulco, we enjoyed watching the Mexican families interact and observed the differences between American and Mexican families.
After yet another adventure in travel, we arrived at the home of Maria Elena Baeza. We immediately loved our host mother, who is reminiscent of a grandmother. She has taken every measure to ensure our safety and knowledge of Guadalajara, all the way from taking us to Wal-mart and the Plaza Patria (like a mall) to riding with us on a trip to school. She has even told us what hour to set our alarms for, and ensures that we are out the door for school no later than 7:15, so we don´t miss the ¨camion¨.
Today was the first day of school in Guadalajara, and the school is wonderful. Everyone is so friendly, and the school itself is beautiful. There are gardens, soccer fields, a pool, everything you can imagine within the walls of the school. The resources that these students have is amazing as well. Soon, they hope to have every classroom equipped with a projector and screen. My teacher, who is also ¨Miss Sarah¨ is very helpful and it is nice to see a young face in the crowd. She is very patient with me and with my lack of knowledge about the elementary age student (I'm a Spanish major.) and I think that it will be a successful placement.