One of the most exciting and interesting holidays in Mexico is Día de los Muertos - Day of the Dead. Ever since I began studying Spanish, I have been fascinated with Día de los Muertos. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a holiday in which people remember their loved ones who have died. They make elaborate altars in their homes, decorated with papel picado, candles, photos, skeleton figurines, calaveras, food, marigolds, and anything else that the deceased was interested in. In some places, the cemeteries are decorated with skeletons, flowers, and candles and people spend the night there celebrating with their families. The people believe that on this day, the souls of their loved ones come back to visit them. Interesting, right? I was so excited to be in Mexico during Día de los Muertos, but here in Torreón, it is not celebrated like in other places in Mexico. Some people will put altars in their homes, and some schools will have a presentation for the kids. The cemeteries are far to dangerous to visit. Essentially, there is nothing in the city that celebrates the holiday.
Halloween, on the other hand, is NOT a holiday that is celebrated in Mexico. However, here in northern Mexico, it is a bigger celebration than Día de los Muertos. There are Halloween parties for children at the malls, several Halloween stores open throughout the city, and costume parties at peoples' houses. The kids even go trick-or-treating, saying "Queremos Halloween! Queremos Halloween!" My students are far more excited about Halloween than Día de los Muertos.
During Día de los Muertos, I am headed for Zacatecas, which is further South than Torreón. I hope I will get to see some of the traditions that I have been learning about for so long!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Keeping in Touch
If you ever decide to move to another country, whether that be for school, fun, or work, you have to think about how you will stay in touch with your friends and family at home. For some people, being away from home can be the biggest challenge of working or studying in a foreign country. I have seen cases of homesickness that have almost sent people back home. In fact, homesickness is such a big deal, it was part of my interview for my job here. They asked me about adjusting to new places, about trying new foods, and about being away from home. Luckily, it isn't a big challenge for me. Being able to talk to people at home can be a good thing or a bad thing in some cases. One of my close friends here has a really hard time talking to her friends because it makes her miss them too much. I have spent enough time away from the US that homesickness isn't an issue for me anymore. I spend too much time thinking about where I want to go next.
Anyways, staying in touch with people is something to think about. The first complication is actually finding a way to talk. Nowadays as long as there is internet, there is a way to call home. Skype is free and reliable. If there isn't internet where you live, chances are there is an internet cafe close by. In the states, there are not as many internet cafes as there are in other countries. Everywhere I have been in Europe had them on every street. In Costa Rica, it was the same. They are cheap and convenient options. Phones are a last resort for me. Some people take their American phones and have an international plan. Not only is that ridiculously expensive, but it is also too easy to sit and talk to your friends at home all the time. If you are going to go to another country for an extended period of time, why not take advantage of the time you have and meet people and make new friends? Don't get me wrong; of course you will want to stay in touch with your friends at home, but they can become a crutch that makes it easy to not make friends in the place where you are. I bought a very inexpensive phone that I can put tiempo aire on as I need it. I use that to talk to my friends here, and I use Facebook and Skype to talk to my friends at home. It is a good balance for me and I know it works for a lot of other people here as well.
The second complication is finding things to talk about. Everyone always wants to know how you are doing and what your experiences are. It can be really frustrating trying to communicate what it is like. The reality is, if they haven't been abroad for a long period of time, they can't understand what it is like. Plus, things that are really exciting for me are not interesting to other people. For example, one of my students raised their hand in class the other day and said, "Miss Jenna, Mario is molesting me!" I almost cried laughing when I told some of my friends about it, but they didn't get it ('Molestar' means 'to bother' in Spanish - mistranslation of a 5 year old). The other thing I cannot stand is when people ask (and they always ask), "How is Mexico?!" That is an impossible question to answer. Most of the time, I just say "good" and thats that. I know that "good" is not a real answer, because there is so much going on and there is so much that I am learning. I am falling in love with all sorts of things, and getting annoyed with other things. I am meeting people, finding out new things about myself, and seeing the world from a different view. How can that possibly be explained to anyone who has not experienced it? It can't. So, if you are going to move to a different country, be prepared for the task of communicating with people at home. It can be a challenge, but you want to share your experiences and you want to keep up with what your friends are doing at home as well. Or, just start a blog :)
Anyways, staying in touch with people is something to think about. The first complication is actually finding a way to talk. Nowadays as long as there is internet, there is a way to call home. Skype is free and reliable. If there isn't internet where you live, chances are there is an internet cafe close by. In the states, there are not as many internet cafes as there are in other countries. Everywhere I have been in Europe had them on every street. In Costa Rica, it was the same. They are cheap and convenient options. Phones are a last resort for me. Some people take their American phones and have an international plan. Not only is that ridiculously expensive, but it is also too easy to sit and talk to your friends at home all the time. If you are going to go to another country for an extended period of time, why not take advantage of the time you have and meet people and make new friends? Don't get me wrong; of course you will want to stay in touch with your friends at home, but they can become a crutch that makes it easy to not make friends in the place where you are. I bought a very inexpensive phone that I can put tiempo aire on as I need it. I use that to talk to my friends here, and I use Facebook and Skype to talk to my friends at home. It is a good balance for me and I know it works for a lot of other people here as well.
The second complication is finding things to talk about. Everyone always wants to know how you are doing and what your experiences are. It can be really frustrating trying to communicate what it is like. The reality is, if they haven't been abroad for a long period of time, they can't understand what it is like. Plus, things that are really exciting for me are not interesting to other people. For example, one of my students raised their hand in class the other day and said, "Miss Jenna, Mario is molesting me!" I almost cried laughing when I told some of my friends about it, but they didn't get it ('Molestar' means 'to bother' in Spanish - mistranslation of a 5 year old). The other thing I cannot stand is when people ask (and they always ask), "How is Mexico?!" That is an impossible question to answer. Most of the time, I just say "good" and thats that. I know that "good" is not a real answer, because there is so much going on and there is so much that I am learning. I am falling in love with all sorts of things, and getting annoyed with other things. I am meeting people, finding out new things about myself, and seeing the world from a different view. How can that possibly be explained to anyone who has not experienced it? It can't. So, if you are going to move to a different country, be prepared for the task of communicating with people at home. It can be a challenge, but you want to share your experiences and you want to keep up with what your friends are doing at home as well. Or, just start a blog :)
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