Hi, my name is Sarah King and I am studying abroad in Querétaro Mexico. I chose this program because it seems like an excellent opportunity to improve my oral fluency in Spanish and to learn more about Mexican culture. I am studying to be a bilingual elementary school teacher, and I want to know more of the culture and language of my students.

I know that my host culture will be different than what I am used to, but I am really looking forward to it. I have traveled a lot with my family and been exposed to various other cultures, but this is my first time traveling outside of a “first world” country. Since Querétaro is a large industrial city, I think that it will have many amenities that I am used to, but perhaps I will be surprised. I do love to learn new things, but I hate “roughing it,” so I’m really hoping that it won’t get in my way. For some reason I have an association between Querétaro and some of the older European cities in my mind, so I tend to think of the central part as a walking district with graceful buildings and cobble stone streets. I have no idea what it really looks like, but I do hope that it is safe and easy to walk places.

I’m a little bit nervous that I will be overwhelmed when surrounded by Spanish. I do know some Spanish already, but my knowlege is very passive and I tend to freeze/panic when put on the spot. I’m really hoping that I can get over that quickly and start using my Spanish.

Three pictures to illustrate my pre-conceived notions of Querétaro:

Cobble stone streets

Mariachi

Squared-off houses, some colorful too