Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Adamma and Drayfus in Queretaro, Mexico!


Queretaro 

Hola from México! It’s Adamma Chidomere and Drayfus, or ¨Dray¨ for short, here to give you the scoop on life in the wonderful city of Querétaro, México. 

Drayfus and his favorite food Chilaquiles



The food here in México is very yummy and delicious! Even the native Mexicans sat that the food here is very rich. Many of the meals I´ve eaten have included vegetables (which I hardly ate at home) and they taste very fresh. This is probably the reason I have no problem eating them here and anticipate the meals that my host mom prepares with tomatoes and avocados. I have to address the sheer amount of frijoles (beans) I have eaten since I arrived. So many beans! Beans and tortillas are a new addition to my diet that I never thought I would enjoy eating as often as I have. I´ve learned in my culture class that tortillas are very important and are considered food from the gods. My host mom prepares a variety of Mexican food for my housemate and I including tortas, gorditas and sope. The food is an aspect of their culture that I am definitely going to miss.


Tortas, gorditas, and sope at our orientation

My favorite place to visit, so far, is Centro which is the name for the downtown area. It has many fountains, statues, beautiful buildings, breath-taking churches and restaurants. There is an alley full of vendors lined up selling handmade jewelry, clothing and other awesome crafts. 

In Centro!
 
A church in downtown Queretaro

The warmth and friendliness I´ve felt from the Mexicans is very genuine and makes me feel better on those days that I feel homesick. Smiling goes a long way here which is great for a person like me who loves to smile : ) ! Passing people on the way to school or people in the stores and shopping malls offer smiles or say ¨hola¨ or ¨buenos días/tardes/noches¨.

The day we arrived to Querétaro, my host home invited my housemate and I to the house of her friend to celebrate the holiday El Día de Reyes or Three Kings Day on January 6th. This was Dray and I’s first time eating Rosca de Reyes (King´s Cake) and tasted great! It was sweet and the glazed fruits on top makes it even better. This holiday, sadly, only happens once a year because it´s celebrated during Christmas time. I had to console Drayfus for 3 days after we learned this because he loves rosca. The traditions that go with this holiday are very interesting because the cake is baked in the shape of a circle and hidden inside are tiny baby Jesus´ which represent how Jesus´ location and birth had to remain a secret. If you are ¨lucky¨ enough to cut a piece with a baby figurine of Jesus, you had to prepare tamales on February 2nd. Dray and I got to try tamales for the first time at the event ¨Día de la Candelaria¨ hosted by my school Tecnológico de Monterrey or simply Tec like everyone calls it. Another thing I have learned is that what we international students consider spicy is very different than what Mexicans consider spicy.  

Rosca de Reyes

Lastly, the schooling system here is similar to UNCG but has its differences. At the Tec, we call exams parciales and two weeks are designated for the entire university to take them. They began the second week of February and they happen twice a semester. Another difference is that my Spanish class happens 4 days a week, excluding Wednesdays, and classes start 5 minutes later than scheduled and end 5 minutes earlier than scheduled.


Soy Queretaro

Dray and I are enjoying our time in México so far and hope that it continues to get better!
¡Nos vemos, adios!

Adamma Chidomere
Tecnologico de Monterrey
Queretaro, Mexico

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