Last Blog in Mexico

It is now June.

Last year at this time, I was graduating high school. I was talking to my future first host family frequently, trying to pack my whole life into 2 suitcases, and completely in the dark about what awaited me upon arrival to Mexico.

Nothing is ever as it appears, and exchange is no different. It has been a crazy year.

I am going home July 1^st. This month will be one of the craziest 30 days I have ever spent. When I left Wisconsin, I was saying goodbye but it was more like, "see you later". For many of the people I met this year, goodbye is just that. 

My year in review:

I traveled to new places. My favorites: Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas, and Acapulco. I would definitely recommend that anyone passing through Mexico visit those cities. Of course, Veracruz is where I have spent most of my time, and I have to say I got pretty lucky. It’s hot, but I am always within like 2 miles of the ocean. The people are friendly. Another plus is it’s pretty!

I have learned that the world is a really small place. I went to Mexico, a Croatian went to my house, and a Mexican boy went to her house. An exchange student from my district in the US went to Turkey, and met my second host brother and another boy from my district in Mexico. I have friends in Finland, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Hungary, Australia, France, and pretty much every corner of the globe. 

I have learned how to live with many different kinds of people with different ways of life. In the end, though, I am really happy that I was born into my family. As an exchange student we learn that “it’s not wrong, it’s just different”, and that is the truth. You cannot look at another culture and criticize anything because your own culture provides a basis for all of your beliefs. It is hard to tell how deep the way someone was raised truly affects them, and there are times that after ten months in another country I come across differences I never could have anticipated. You learn to love your own country and culture more than you could have ever imagined because it is what you are made of. You realize that everyone is flawed, every country, every way of life. But they also are all perfect in their own ways.

I am excited to go home and to work for my own money. I’m sure my mom and dad are laughing as I write this, but I miss working and productivity SO much. I miss my independence, being able to go to the movies without asking my parents for money, being able to drive myself where I need to go. This year I had to learn to depend on people again, and to be honest I hate it!! I hate having to always ask someone to take me to the plaza, or to have to rely on the awful unreliable bus that passes my house only when it feels like it. Because of all the independence I have been given throughout my life in the US, I did not learn independence as an exchange student, but rather dependence. However, I have also had moments that force me completely out of my comfort zone, for example the first day I took the bus alone in Mexico and I was not left with instructions on how to actually get where I needed to go.

I have 3 weeks and 2 days left here, and I plan to have a nice time. It will be filled with goodbyes, see you laters, and lots of hugs. I am going to enjoy myself and take home some wonderful memories of Mexico. I will never forget the incredible people I met this year and several will be lifelong friends of mine. I lived through some hard times in Veracruz and I had some difficult months personally.

I hope I managed to undo some of the stereotypes plaguing people from the USA. Rotary exchange students are ambassadors, whether they like it or not. We do care about our families and spend time with them, even if it involves crossing the country and working extra to be able to. We are hard workers. The USA is not like all the movies we produce. (Thank goodness!) Always remember that your actions reflect on your family, your town, your country.

Travel is an insatiable need. Once you leave your own country, or even just your city, curiosity builds and it becomes impossible to stay away. The world is a really big place and there is a lot to see. Simply put: wanderlust never goes away! I’ll be traveling to new places for a long time.

This will probably be my last blog post before I go home on July 1^st. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this blog throughout the year! I really appreciate it. To everyone who supported me during my adventure (mom), I owe you big time! The people who hold a special place in my heart are those who never gave up on me, who knew I would be up to whatever challenges faced me, who sent encouraging notes and kind words. If you only knew how much that meant to me throughout the year…

Anyone reading this blog does NOT fall into the following category, but just for good measure: to those who thought going on exchange was a stupid idea, or that putting off a year of college would only leave me behind, or that I shouldn’t have gone to Mexico, they were wrong. Many says their exchange year was “the best year of their life”. Mine was not the best year of my life. (I have a lot of years left in my life, after all!) I did learn a lot about myself, became pretty much fluent in Spanish (something I wouldn’t have done in the USA), and had some good moments. It was not easy, it was not a 10 and a half month vacation. I went to an awesome country and lived a lot in a year. If they still think it wasn’t worth it, good. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but no one will take away everything I did to get here and come home a better person.