Oh be still my heart, my life is being blessed and full of culture, authentic food (including beans, the musical fruit), new friends, life lessons and my heart continues to grow and expand in so many ways.
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I arrived in Queretaro on June 30th. I was greeted by one of my best friends and her significant other. I was bringing her two suitcases of her clothes from the United States, since she recently moved here, only to find they were left behind by the airlines. As we planned to have them delivered, I ate my first sandwich at the airport and had a quick catch up. Then she helped me get a taxi and on my way to meet my host family and housemate.
I was greeted by friendly faces and invited to get tacos at a local restaurant. We had our welcome dinner, and I got to take a shower, finish some paperwork due by midnight and get to sleep for an early morning: 7a.m. wake up, 8:30a.m. Spanish class, followed by 10a.m. Journalism class. Then our 15min coffee break turned into a 45minute lunch.
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Lisa (my housemate) and I walked to go get our SIM cards for our phones, then took an Uber home. On the dashboard was a yellow duck. We were so tired since we walked a couple miles that day, so we took a rest before dinner. We had tamales for dinner with rice, cactus, soup, a drink called Champarata, an apple soda, and some fresh figs & a fruit like an apricot, only smaller. I learned you must wash your fruit, or you can get sick.
We were given our first interview assignment today. I think mine is complete after interviewing Gabby, the lady at the cellular phone place today while getting SIM cards for our phones. We also were presented with an opportunity to meet the former president of Mexico next week. I look forward to seeing more beautiful architecture, and all the many experiences here this month. Also, it rained off and on today. I was surprised to hear of how much rain they have here. Up until last week It didn’t become a reality that the rain would be as frequent in July.
By Nicole Fox, Diverse Duck Ambassador
Interviewing and Story Development in Mexico, Summer 2024