I can’t believe this is really happening– I’m going to Mexico to study Spanish! It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to be fluent, and after years of high school and two semesters in college, I knew total immersion would be the only way to get there. Studying abroad had always been a wistful idea of mine too, but I held back for a few reasons: I would have had to take non-Spanish classes, live in a dorm, and an entire semester was too long to spend away from my dog.
The idea hatched over Christmas during our vacation to Mexico. We were eating lunch in Akumal with my dad’s friend Arturo and his son Gerado, and I mentioned my desire to learn Spanish. They both immediately said “Merida, go to Merida”. They then told me about the historic capital city of the Yucatan, just a few hours drive north of Cancun. There sat a cultural, ancient, and beautiful city which I had never heard of but wanted to go to immediately. (Read about Merida on Wikipedia.)
Vacation ended and I came home to a dreary December with only one thought in mind: going to back to Merida immediately. I got on the Google and did my research. I found The Institute of Modern Spanish in Merida and it was exactly what I was looking for: total cultural immersion. I’ll get to live with a host family, attend school in the mornings and then spend the rest of the day on extracurricular activities and excursions with other students. There are weekend trips to Mayan ruins I’ve never seen, and the beach city of Progreso is just a 10 minute bus ride away. Class sizes are small, I can start whenever I want and stay for as long as I want– it’s perfect.
I just booked my flight for February 7th and began registering for classes. I’m so excited to be doing this; the idea seems surreal to me right now. In a few short weeks I’ll be sitting in class, in Mexico. I miss being in class, I truly do, and now I get to go back and learn something I really want to learn. I am so thankful to have my parents’ enthusiastic support, and although I’ll really miss my boyfriend, he is excited for me to chase this dream.
So it looks like I will be flying south for the winter! Unlike the big, fat, flightless birds that live in my backyard. I woke up today to sheets of ice and sleet all over Austin; frigid cold air thick with cedar. My least favorite time of year– made much more tolerable by the warm tropical thoughts of Mexico looming on my horizon.
I’m a little anxious but mostly excited. There are a lot of unknowns- I’ve never been to the city or school, haven’t met the teachers, and don’t know the host family I will be staying with yet. But there’s a lot I do know: I love the weather, love the food, love being in class, and look forward to the opportunity to slow down a bit. One of my goals is to learn to take a siesta– my neurotic brain hasn’t taken a nap since I was probably 4 years old. I also want to regularly blog about my experiences there: learning a new language and culture is going to be both challenging and rewarding. I’m certainly embarking on quite the adventure. I can’t wait.