In my first advising conference of college, the woman speaking harped about studying abroad and traveling. I’ll never forget her distinctly saying: “Unless you go somewhere, do something that makes you entirely uncomfortable in a place you’ve never been, you’ve wasted the best four years of your life.”
It’s been a week since I’ve been back in the states and everyone’s favorite question is, “How was Mexico?!” It’s bittersweet to answer this honestly. In reality, my trip was not at all what I was looking for this Spring Break. Yes, I left the country. Yes, I ate great food and spoke Spanish. Yes, I was brave and ventured out by myself for the first time. But honestly, it was pretty difficult being bombarded with my friends’ photos from the beach and cruises in the Caribbean to enjoy my week in Mexico. What I seemed to have forgotten before I left was that not everyone has Spring Break. Every life doesn’t stop moving because I’m out of school for the week. So when I arrived for the week, I expected to spend every waking moment out and about and experiencing all kinds of new things. Really, no one could take time off work nor could they show me much that I hadn’t already seen on my last trip. Sure, we visited the center in Anda Lucia and climbed up to El Mirador Obispado. Sure, we ate tons of delicious tacos and spent a night in a club in San Pedro. During the days, however, I sat in my room, napped, and watched Netflix. I was told not to go out by myself during the day, to lock the door of my room at night when I slept. I realized exactly how different life is for my friends in Monterrey. They ride multiple buses to work each day, share one car in a family, pay to park in any business’ parking lot, keep their doors locked at all times. It’s a reality that I never really faced until I spent so much time alone, until I was looked at truly as an out-of-place foreigner. In a book I recently read for class, a young Chicana girl was asked about the differences between Mexico and her Texas home in the United States. She explained that “everything’s straight” here in the US — and she’s right. Until you go somewhere that truly challenges what you’ve always known, you’ll never really appreciate what you have in the place you call home. So, in some sense, I guess I did get something out of this trip — even though it wasn’t the tan skin and wild adventures I envisioned. I have never appreciated more the ability to walk by myself in the street, to drive my own car, to blend in when I want to.
With love from the University of Kentucky,
Sarah Alexandra
