Stereotypes 

I think that my own stereotypes about Merida and Mexico are influenced by my previous experience abroad. I assume that Mexicans are generally going to eat a lot of rice and beans while they eat a spicy lunch, the biggest meal of the day, with the family during the siesta around noon. Life will be more layed back in Mexico, children with less parental supervision, teenagers out until six in the morning, drunk driving pactically legal. I believe that most Mexicans will be surprised I speak a little Spanish, and have genuine interest in me thereafter. Most likely they will be willing to talk about everything and anything, including things we consider taboo in the U.S. Of course there will be some more dangers in Mexico. Whether it is people trying to trick me or assault me, there will be some desperately poor people who want my money. In a country such as Mexico, it is bound to happen, especially to a gringo. Music and dance will be everywhere, and nobody in our program will be able to hold a candle to even the worst Mexican dancers. The indigenous people will most likely be in the lowest class, and their culture is probably fading more and more everyday. I'm sure there are many other stereotypes that I have, but these are what come to mind first.

The stereotype that was definitely broken for me was that Mexico is extremely dangerous. Although there are dangerous parts of Mexico, Merida is not one of them. I felt comfortable and safe here, just as I do in Athens or in my home town. People were rarely looking to take advantage of me, they were more curious about me and willing to help. I also assumed that Mexico's whole infrastructure would be less organized, and that there police forces would be more corrupt. I was wrong. Merida was a clean, well maintained city with regulations that I didn't expect. In the one time I was pulled over, I was amazed at how much the police acted just like American police do.
 

Expectations

The main thing I expect to get out of our trip to Merida is the acquistion of Spanish. I think that three months of being immersed in the language is really going to improve my Spanish, and I expect to be semi-fluent by the end. Besides the language, I expect to learn a lot from both my classes and the experience of living abroad. Everytime I live abroad I find myself to be a little more hardened to life. Seeing extreme poverty up close makes it impossible to deny some of the saddest aspects of life. In Merida I believe that that poverty will be entwined with the wealth, with a huge economic gap between the two. Relating to the people of the lower class is going to be important, because not only am I wealthy in my own right, I will be living with the upper class of Merida at the same time. In my previous experience, that lower class sometimes has more to offer than any other, and getting to know people in it can be some of the most profound experiences of a study abroad.  I also expect to make a lot of new friends whether they are part of our program, part of my host family, or some Mexicans I get the chance to know. I also expect to eat a ton of great food, listen to great music, learn to dance a little, and get a tan.

I had a lot of high expectations about this trip, and many of them were met. I made a ton of friends, saw some places like none I've ever seen, ate new food and drank no drink. It;s been great. While my Spanish did improve some, I wish I did more to take advantage of the opportunity to learn it while immersed in Mexico. I thought that I'd be able to break away from the group and really go off on my own. I realized how difficult that is when you arrive in a new place and don't really speak the language. It was always easier to hang out with my fellow gringos, so that is what I gravitated to. It's to bad though, I would have liked to improve my Spanish more and make more Mexican friends. The trip would have been harder in this way, but probably more rewarding.