EXPECTATIONS

Overall I am thrilled about traveling to Mexico for the winter and hopefully returning to the states with a better grasp of the spanish language.  My expectations for the trip are numerous... I assume that there will be periods of time where I am quite homesick but I realize that this is simply an aspect of living abroad.  I hope that I will fully challenge myself to speak as much spanish as I can because one of my main reasons for participating in this program is to come home speaking spanish.  I expect that I will make some truly wonderful friends and learn a lot about myself through this experience.  Because I am a cultural anthropology major and anxious about putting my studies to use, I really want to engage with locals in a deeper way.  Throughout this fall quarter I have been focusing heavily on mexican literature and social issues within mexico and at the borders.  I hope that these readings will assist me in having meaningful conversations with local people about their local issues. 

 STEREOTYPES

The stereotypes that I have for our trip to mexico focus primarily on the heavy influence of religion within this culture and also the idea of machismo.  I grew up in an extremely non-religious family (although very spiritual) thus I feel that it might seem very strange for some people to understand that my family raised me without converstions about Jesus or God.  That being said, I am extremely excited to engage in converstions with people about their religion.  I respect all religions and realize that the foundations of them all are quite similiar.  Another stereotype I have about Mexico is the distinct gender roles and how I will be treated because of them. 

           Nosotros llegamos a Loltun a las 9 de la mañana y el día era muy bonito. Loltun fue fundada por Edward Thompson. A la entrada de la cueva había una cara de guerrero. Además, a la base de la cueva había una cabeza de Olmac de Tabasco. En este lugar hay dos cuartos que se llaman sala de Loltun y la sala del gran cañón. Además en la cueva había un cuadro de las manos negras. También en la cueva hay noltúns donde el agua esta sosegado.