Apparently feeling way under-prepared is pretty standard for students about to study abroad. I feel that, no doubt about it. But for now the excitement outweighs the panic and the nerves, like a benevolent sedative. Hope to keep that going for a while!
I'll start with a little intro to get you warmed up to me: I'm Ben Youngblood, a Junior International Business and Accounting major at USC. I want to be an Immigration Lawyer eventually though, if that shines any light on my decision to study abroad at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara.
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| Here's where I'll be spending most of my class time. |
Since this is a pre-departure post, I figured I would write about some of my expectations for the coming semester. Maybe I'll revisit this post towards the end, and reflect on all of my profound changes in perspective about our southern neighbor. But that will come later.
First off, everyone I've talked to from the university seems extremely friendly! That's something I'm really looking forward to: Mexican hospitality.
Obviously the food is gonna be good, no doubt in my mind.
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| Lemme talk tacos. |
I'm taking five of my six classes in Spanish, so I expect to be very confused for the first couple weeks.
I expect to make more international student friends than Mexican friends. I've heard from other students who've studied abroad that it can actually be very difficult to make friends with the local people. But I'm gonna try!
Apparently Guadalajara is a very gay city, so I'm interested to see how that culture fits in with the Roman Catholicism that dominates most of the country.
I imagine I'll have many more opportunities to travel in Mexico than I might in Europe because of the lower costs, so I hope to see a lot of the country.
Thanks for reading my blog. I hope to keep you entertained, and maybe inspire some of your own future travels to Mexico.
-Ben
