Aquí viene el sol…

Ah, my first full week in Querétaro…and what a long week it was.
Let me tell you a little story about my first day of class. I was told to be to la UAQ early on Monday so I could go to a certain window to ask where mis clases would be. Unfortunately, you can’t really control what time you get somewhere when you’re relying on public transportation, and the bus didn’t pick me up until around the time I was hoping to be at la UAQ. I arrived at the window about 2 minutos before 9:00, when class started, but the window was closed, so I went inside the building. The lady at the desk told me to check la lista that was posted. The list, however, only says basic language classes. So, I went back to this desk and waited in line to ask again, and she told me to go to the window (which now was open). When I got to the window the lady told me that I had to walk around the buildings and look at the signs on the each classroom door to see which classes were going to be in that room. There are four buildings in my department; this was going to take a few extra minutes. The buildings are just long rectangles with the classroom doors on the outside, so it could have been a lot worse, but still, the lack of organización was a little frustrating and overwhelming on the first day. I finally arrived at mi clase 15 minutes late and the class hadn’t started yet. In fact each class started 15-30 minutes late, as los profesores aren’t necessarily worried about being on time. One of my professors, after being 15 minutes late herself, discussed the importance of arriving on time to class.
Las clases are a lot different than those in the US. The professor doesn’t hand out the syllabus, you have to find the student who has a copy and copy it from them. They syllabus has a list of books/readings, but the professor tells you that some of them you can get as copies and some of them you have to buy, without telling you in advance which will be which. Also, the books that you have to buy you can’t buy at la UAQ, you have to go to el centro to find them. It’s all a little overwhelming as a foreigner.
Besides the lack of organization, classes have been going well. I was taking four classes because with the three classes I needed, I was one crédito short. One was a LOT of reading though, so I dropped that class. I am currently talking with professors at Hope, and I believe that I will be earning the one missing credit by creating a spanish blog. Also, I don’t have classes on Friday. Es perfecto. La UAQ works a little differently in the sense that only certain classes are offered each semester, and each year of students pretty much take all of their classes together. This would make it a lot easier to get to know people if I wasn’t taking a class from each year. The students are really nice though, as are the professors.
The view from the main buildings at la UAQ

Life in a bigger city is different. Public transportation is new to me. It costs $6.50 pesos, which is about 50 cents, to ride the bus. Once I get my ID card, it will be less than 30 cents. (Even taxis only cost $30-$45 pesos ($2.30-$3.40), so when split between 3 people, it’s quite a deal). I walk 2 ½ blocks to catch the bus in the morning. La UAQ isn’t too far from my house, it takes around 15-20 minutes to get there by bus. From the bus stop, I walk around 10 minutes to my department. To get home, I walk the 10 minutes from my department to the stop, ride about 15 minutes, and then walk 5 or so blocks back. Today I walked home, which was probably a 40 minutes walk. My second day of school I got on to a very crowded bus and had to stand at the very front of the aisle. I thought to myself, “wow, this bus is full.” Just then, 5 more people got on. Traffic here is a little loco. Drivers pause at stop signs and then head out into the street, even though the cars on that street don’t have stop signs. Busses pull out into spaces I would never dream of trying to get into in my tiny car at home. The drivers aren’t afraid to get as close as possible to other vehicles. One day the bus I was in got so close to another bus that it hit its mirror.
La temperatura warmed up this week, which has been lovely, except for the resulting sunburn on my face Saturday. It’s still in the 40’s at night, but I only have to wear one pair of sweatpants in order to sleep. =) It’s been in the lower 70’s during the day. This is the point in the US where I break out the dresses and skirts. Here, people are wearing boots, hats, sweaters, and coats. I will admit that it’s a little chilly in the classrooms first thing in the morning, but a big coat no es necesario. The other thing that amazes me is the number of girls wearing high heels. I guess it might be different if some of them drive to school, but it would be impossible to wear high heels with the amount of walking I do.
A few times at la UAQ, and even walking down the street, people have asked me for directions…it makes me laugh, because I’m sure that I don’t really look like I know where I’m going.
Tuesday after class mi padre picked me up so we could go to the post office. Then we went to pick up his mom, and we drove to a part of the town I hadn’t seen before. The view was fantastico! Every time we go somewhere mi padre tries to help orient me by telling me the names of streets and pointing out landmarks. Tuesday night I went to el centro with two other students from Michigan and we walked around and took pictures of all of the pretty, historic sites. The majority of my week was spent reading for the class that I ended up dropping.
A fountain in el centro

The tower of the church of San Fransisco

The bicentennial of Mexico's Independence is this year

Saturday we returned to el centro and played touristas for the day. We took a tour of the city (and returned to the place with the fantastic view) and I got some great fotos. When I returned to mi casa, my “aunt,” “uncle,” and “cousin” were here, and we played a game of cards. I don’t know what it was called, but I believe it was some form of rummy. Even though I didn’t know how to play, I won the first two rounds. That night two of the exchange students from Pennsylvania and I went out to an “antro” (club). Luckily I showered late Saturday night when I got home because all of Sunday we didn’t have water…that was something I hadn’t experienced in a while.
Another bicentennial reminder - Querétaro is called the cradle of Mexican Independence

In one of the plazas

The view of the aqueducts

Panorama - click to see a bigger version

This weekend, as I was discussing my plans for next weekend with mis padres, they told me that we’re moving next weekend (they rent the house that we’re in, and someone bought it so they have to move). That kinda came out of nowhere. We’re only moving one street over which is bueno because a lot of the other exchange students live near by, and I also wont have to learn new bus routes. I realized that I’ve become attached to this house in the short time I’ve been here. I have a lovely balcony and I feel at home in my room. Mi madre says that the new house is pretty similar to the one we’re in now, but I guess we’ll see soon enough.
Food – We have eggs every morning for breakfast, and they put some things in their eggs that I would never have considered (chicken, green beans, tomatoes and onions, Frito-like things). This week I also had dulce de leche…which was amazing. Mi madre made a chocolate cake this weekend, so I had a piece of that…it isn’t made with flour, so it was kind of like a fudgy type cake with white and regular chocolate shavings on top. It was so delicioso.
Mis padres are wonderful, mi madre is a wonderful cook and she is one of the nicest people I have ever encountered, and mi padre likes to joke around a lot. That’s one of the reasons he reminds me of my own dad. Mis padres still complain that I don’t eat enough, which is funny because I think I’ve only been hungry once or twice since I’ve gotten here because we eat so much.
Here’s the web address to the pictures I have taken so far for those of you who don’t have facebook: Queretaro
I apologize for the long entry again, hopefully from now on they will be shorter!