Megan Leahy (second from left) of Boston College in Oaxaca, Mexico, with (from left) Debby DeWindt, Jennifer Maxson, and Lorena Alvarez.
World class
While most of her fellow Spanish majors chose to study abroad in Spain, Boston College junior Megan Leahy elected to head to Mexico for "a more independent experience." Leahy, who spent the spring semester at La Universidad Iberoamericana's Puebla campus, says her classes at BC prepared her so well that she sometimes was mistaken for a native. But she admits that it's still "hard to fully communicate how I feel or articulate a joke or slang from English to Spanish."
FRESH CHOICE: Puebla is known as the culinary capital of Mexico, and it has definitely lived up to its reputation. Everything is made so fresh; I have fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh fruit every day. The tiny restaurants off the street are my favorite, because that's where I can find the truly authentic tacos and quesadillas. Taco Bell has nothing on the taco stand next to my house. Out on the street my favorite thing is a taco stuffed with a Mexican sausage called chistorra.
NEXT STOP . . . ?: Travel within the country is very cheap. I can go to Mexico City [about 65 miles away] by bus for under $20. The best part is, this country is so geographically and culturally diverse, I don't think I will have time to go to the same place twice!
BRING KISSES: As a female, I have to greet everyone by a kiss on the cheek, every time I arrive or leave. Americans typically do not kiss, so I was not in the habit of doing so. Apparently every time I didn't kiss someone, I came off like a very standoffish American. I have learned my lesson, but now it can take up to 10 minutes to leave anywhere depending on how many people I am with!
LEARNING CURVES: Each class is two hours long, but everyone, even the professor, will show up at least 15 minutes late. The whole academic environment is a bit more laid-back here because of things like that. [And while class assignments are every bit as hard as back home] the work assigned has much less structure. The lack of structure and direction involved makes things more difficult. For example, a professor wanted a presentation on one chapter of a philosophy book from each student in the class. The free-form approach allows the professor to grade on not just the presentation, but the creativity involved, and the public speaking, too.
GLENN YODER
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