Despedidas

Hola queridos!

It’s finally starting to hit me that this is really and truly my last week in Mexico. I have friends that will be staying in Mexico for the entire year and when they talk about the classes they’ll be taking or the upcoming parties and outings they’re planning, I realize that I won’t be around for that. It’s very hard to have things come to end, especially when you’ve made good friends and become accustomed to the lifestyle here. My semester here has truly been like a vacation. Schoolwork, up until this point, hasn’t been very stressful so I’ve been able to relax, explore the city and take trips without the burden of homework and tests. The climate has been a dream, considering I’m a born and raised Chicago girl, which has made for many afternoons tanning and being outside. The trips I have taken have been amazing and the friends I have made are fun, truly lovely people that make me laugh and love being Mexico too. The food is incredible (which I think shows haha), my house family has been welcoming and helpful, so many factors that come together to make this a very enjoyable place to be. At times, I have felt guilty about not having a typical semester, which consists of spending hours in the library and very few days of relaxing. But this was a well deserved rest for me, being a senior and having a tough semester of student teaching coming up in the spring.

To those of you going abroad, a few things to keep in mind:

-Work your butt off now to save money. I was lucky to have made enough to come here (and with the dollar being very high, it was to my advantage). Being abroad definitely takes a toll on your piggy bank. Going out more, taking more trips, eating more, shopping, ect are expenses you usually don’t have when you’re in Chicago and only going out once or twice a week and generally being frugal. You will enjoy your stay a lot more if you dont have the money issue hanging over your head. That doesn’t mean you should go nuts because the money does go fast. But find simple ways to save like taking public transit when you can instead of cabs, or shopping at the grocery store instead of eating out all the time.

-Make a list of things you want to accomplish before or during your first week abroad. Having a goal in mind about what you want to see and experience will give your trip purpose. You will have a lot of time to do fun things if your homework load is light (which it probably will be), so make the most of what your destination country has to offer in terms of theatre, concerts, tours, ect.

-Mingle! If your school has an orientation day(s) for international students, mingle with everyone. You don’t know who you are going to become friends with, so its best to get to know as many people as you can, exchanging info so you can have new friends to go out with. Some of the people in the exchange group decided they were only going to hang out with people from their own country, and they cut themselves off from the rest of us, which was sad. The friends I have made are from all over, and that makes for a great mix.

For any of you who are coming to Mexico next semester, please contact me with questions! Or for anyone considering studying abroad to Mexico City, please keep what I have said in mind and feel free to ask any questions you have about this wonderful city. I know there haven’t been too many Loyola students come here, but it is a great option if you are looking to improve your Spanish and are on a tighter budget. Because Loyola is Jesuit, and the Ibero as well, they have an exchange program set up. This means that you do not pay anything extra to studying at the Ibero, you pay what you would for Loyola and all of your grants, scholarships, benefits, whatever transfer over. Housing here is also very reasonable (about $400 a month to live with a family and about the same for an apartment), and I actually saved money on rent. Food is also crazy cheap, so you can definitely survive on about $5000 (including housing).

Again, contact me with any questions! escanlon@luc.edu

Adios amigos, nos vemos en Chicago 🙂