OUMAYAB- The Ohio University Spanish Abroad Program

Growing up in Southern California, stereotypes of Mexico and Mexicans are certainly not all favorable, in fact quite the opposite. Frankly, I’m surprised by the general negative attitude toward Mexicans in California when I return to visit. On the same coin, my best friend growing up was Mexican. One very common, degrading stereotype is that all Mexicans are poor, lazy and corrupt. The book addresses these stereotypes a bit. On top of the United States being much wealthier, Mexican culture promotes spending now rather than saving for later, which may be where Americans get the idea that Mexicans are all poor. As for lazy, this may be in part due to more lax rules regarding time and punctuality. I understand that stereotypes go both ways and that Mexicans do not look too fondly upon Americans either, that we are cold and American women loose. I look forward to the opportunity to help correct or dispel any incorrect thoughts about American culture.

Honestly, at this point in the trip I don’t much know what to expect. I have looked up the town a little online and it looks like a beautiful place to stay, and I hope to make some good friends with the people in the program. My expectations right now center on my Spanish speaking ability. I expect that speaking Spanish all day every day will force me to learn much more quickly than the 4 hours a week that I am confronted with here. I hope to become more fluid with my sentences and expect to be able more aptly pick up on what is being said to me in Spanish. Also, I would like to learn to more quickly and easily conjugate verbs into different tenses, as that is something that I have difficulty with now.