I envisioned being a student doing a study abroad in a developing country as a non-traditional student who doesn’t speak fluent Spanish and living with a host family who provides three meals a day and does my laundry and cooking to be different. I have loved learning with my classmates, the academic classes for journalism and the excursions our professor has provided us with are opportunities of a lifetime. We were on the front page of the local newspaper. We interviewed with Vincente Fox (the former president of Mexico), took a cooking class, a dance class and a papel making class.
I have been able to fully experience the culture including getting sick after the first day of class. Having that challenge has brought me a much greater appreciation for my home and I realized no matter what age I am, when I am sick, I want the comforts of home and my mom. Through the challenge of spending three of the four weeks sick, I learned that I can still fulfill my studies and participate while being the sickest I can remember being in my life. The lens that I see things with has been altered and at the same time given me an opportunity to see how I might be able to make a change by helping others in the future.
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I have noticed others who were having challenges and offered to support them. I strongly encourage anyone thinking about living with a host family to make sure you share a common fluent language. Also, study what kinds of foods are being served authentically in the homes you plan to live in to make sure you can live on those kinds of foods for the duration of the stay.
By Nicole Fox, Diverse Duck Ambassador
Interviewing and Story Development in Mexico, Summer 2024