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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| In Centro! |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
