The arrival to the house of my host family was one was certainly anxious for. I had never stayed with another family other than my mother and my girlfriend, but thankfully I was blessed with a kind family that was quick to take me under their wing. I was impressed by their house. It seemed very nicely designed with plenty of rooms to fill the needs of everyone; it was two floors and has a sort of living room upstairs, and the downstairs seems to serve as the place for “Comida”, the time for eating since it has the kitchen and a dining room as well. The rooms were upstairs and I had everything I needed in order to get settled in. Like with many other places in Mexico, my host family places much emphasis on family and the protection of the Virgin of Guadelupe. The family is reasonably close, though it seems like they do not mind doing things independently in their spare time. It is not that different from my house, actually. Nevertheless, I find my family one I can rely on when I need something in times of stress.

Upon arriving to the university, things begun to start rolling. I noticed that the classes were a lot like the ones back at Western: we had our plan and we had assignments in class. What was different was the class size. In one class, there was only two people: myself and another girl. In the other, there was five. It was such a different experience to have so few students in a class and honestly, I enjoyed this change. I felt like it was a little bit easier to be outspoken and to feel a connection with the professor in regards to the assignments. Even with the smaller class sizes in Western, it is not that common for me to be very outspoken. I feel like it is still too soon to say for sure, but I feel like I might be able to discover new learning styles that I have never had the chance to be exposed to before. I will have to wait and see if I can perform adequately.

After finishing class, I had the opportunity to explore the campus a bit with a fellow abroad student, and we discovered some interesting sites along the way. The university in Queretaro has many places that carry a sort of significance that seems to reflect the ideals of the school and possibly Mexico itself. There was the museum made over a hundred years ago. The statue of Juarez, I believe it was Benito Juarez the lawyer who was well known for the modernization of the country and  other contributions for the country’s over betterment. Mexico treats its history with plenty of respect. I know the U.S has its own famous landmarks, but Mexico has really helped me to be more aware of sites like these. I feel like I might learn more if I talk to others about it. Only time will tell how much more cultural knowledge I will obtain, in addition to bettering my Spanish.