After a few hours on a plane and a few hours waiting for luggage, we finally made to México City. We took a cab from the airport to our houses. It was raining pretty hard, but the colors of the buildings and cars penetrated the wet windows of the taxi and the view seemed like everything I imagined about the city. It took about thirty minutes to get to our home stays. The traffic seemed like any other city, but of course to hear from any native of any city, it is the worst in Mexico City. We were greeted by our host mother’s son and when we were guided up the stairs to the apartment we were greeted by what seemed like a large group of people. One of which was the host mother. She spoke slowly for us and was surprised to hear us speak Spanish. The host mother owns her own restaurant and it seemed as if she had a long day, but was trying very hard to be energetic and cater to our needs. She prepared a sandwich for us that consisted of ham, ketchup, mayonnaise, cheese, and mustard. I was surprised by the abundance of condiments the sandwich contained, but being that I was starving to death, I was not going to ask questions. In the past three days our group has been whisked about the campus with tours, speakers, and a great meal. We still haven’t gone downtown to see the famous zócalo and museums, but I think we will do that tomorrow with our free day. Last night, the inevitable happened, I got sick. We ate at a restaurant for lunch and I decided to be adventurous and eat a salad, bad idea. I vowed not to let my sore stomach get in the way and will be attending all of the events today. We are going to observe a pre-school classroom. It will be interesting to see how the teachers interact with such small students. Mexican teachers are known to show their students that they care by giving hugs and kisses, something that is prohibited in the United States. I would like to see if this type of affection has an impact on the attitudes of the little niños. I will let you know how it goes.
Saludos Desde México!
Becky
