My Address

Here is the address in case anyone wants to send something. Keep in mind that the mail here is painfully slow. It will take about 3 weeks for me to get anything.

Tal Meirson
9B Sur #4933
Prados Agua Azul
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico 72430

Some News

I interviewed today with T-Systems (T-Mobile in the US) for an internship. They are going to have me work with the legal department doing contract law and translating contracts from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. The people mostly speak English but since my goal is to learn Spanish they are going to help me with that. They also told me that they will teach me about other Mexican business law since the US and Mexico are constantly drawing up agreements and doing business. They also work with Argentina and Germany. Dad, I talked to Danielle and she is going to be working with me one day a week for 5 hours so we will be splitting the transportation.

Today me, Kate, Nishi, Nicole, and Danielle went to Al Centro, which is Puebla's center city. The weather was beautiful. I was wearing a tank top and capri pants and was still hot. We mostly walked around and had some delicious chocolate covered strawberries! I finally learned how to take the public bus here which is only 4 pesos ($.40). However, to school I take the bus they have for the students. Well that's it for now. My classes are going well. I have two art classes and a Spanish grammar class plus the internship so I will be busy. I hope everything at home is well.

Update!

So classes are not going too well right now because I'm having a hard time understanding. However, I will be starting an intensive Spanish course soon so I'm not going to let it discourage me because it is only the first week. The weather continues to be beautiful. I played soccer with Nicole, Nishi, and Kate today for about an hour. I can't wait to go to a professional soccer game one of these days. So I realized that all the students in Puebla are extremely wealthy. The tuition to go to school here is $7000 a semester. Everyone wears the nicest clothes and drives really nice cars. I honestly was not expecting that. But Im doing better with my Spanish and Im looking forward to starting my intensive courses. I miss everyone a lot. Stay warm! If you ever get sick of the cold you can always come visit me!!!

More Pictures of Puebla!!!

Pictures of the Aztec Ruins

The Aztec Ruins at Teotihuacan

Today I went to see the Aztec Ruins at Teotihuacan. We climbed up the pyramid of the Sun, which is one of the biggest pyramids in the world, along with Egypt. We also climbed up the pyramid of the moon, which is not as big. I'm posting the pictures below.

My Family and the Mexican Cultures

SO I wanted to talk more about my host family since I know a little more now. My mom is very nice. She spends a lot of time helping me practice my Spanish and is making sure I am getting adjusted well. We have a live in maid five days a week named Lupe. She lives in one of the rooms and cleans and cooks everyday. I always make my bed in the morning and when I get home the bed is re-made. She also does my laundry and everytime I walk into my room my clothes are folded on my bed. I probably should not get too used to this haha. The host dad is a mechanical engineer and owns the family business. For this reason, the mom does not have to work. They have three sons. The youngest is 21 and lives at home. He goes to my University and majors in Economics and Finance but he will be studying abroad in Chile in March so right now he is not going to school. His English is very good so he helps me out a lot. But I hardly ever see him because he is always with his girlfriend. One of the sons is an engineer in San Diego so I probably won't get to meet him. He is married and has one child. The other son is an engineer also and is married with 3 children all of whom I've met. The daughter is married and has 2 children. I've met all the grandchildren except the one in San Diego last Sunday when we had lunch at the daughter's house. Every Sunday the family gets together for lunch so I will probably get to know them more.

Right now, I think Im experiencing what they call "culture shock." Other students have said that it's taken them a month to adjust. My mom has been very helpful as well as the International advisor at the University. The eating patterns here are much different than in the US. For breakfast I usually have cereal and fruit before class. Then, everyone including the dad comes home for lunch around 3. The lunch usually consists of what we would eat for dinner. Then everyone goes back to work or school. Dinner is really small and is around 8 or 9. It's similar to Spain's siesta if anyone is familiar with that. I'm really trying to improve on my Spanish by reading magazines that the family put in my room for me and watching TV in Spanish. I already can tell a difference in my vocabulary so I'm curious to see myself in four months. I get to see Kate almost everyday at the University and I visit her in the dorms.

The security at the University is very high. Every student must show a school ID to pass through the gates. To get into the dorms, someone who lives there must sign you in and you have to leave your ID with them until you leave. The students here are generally very nice and I notcied that pretty much everyone can speak a good amount of English. The teachers try not to speak to us in English so we can learn more Spanish. The University has buses only for its students. A ticket is the equivalent to $.60 each way. The bus comes every hour and picks me up at the corner and drops me off directly across the street from the house. Well that's it for now. Let me know if you want to know about anything else by leaving a comment.

Pictures of the University

The University

So the first week of classes and over and it was pretty stressful. This semester so far I will be taking two Spanish classes for International Students. One at an intermediate level and one at an advanced level. I am also in a class called Modelos Artisticos Classicos, which is a class basically on culture and how it relates to art. The teacher is very nice and speaks slow enough for me to understand most of what he says. That class is with other Mexican students. The classes here are very small, only about 15 students in each class so we get more attention from the teacher, unlike at Penn State where some classes consist of 200 people. I need to pick one other class to take but we get two weeks to visit classes and decide which ones we want so next week I will be picking my 4th class. I also signed up for a salsa, cumbia, and tango class so I'm really excited for that. I went last night and LOVED it. I am also signing up for a Pilates class to take in between my classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. The food here so far has been delicious. I love my homestay family. I sit for atleast an hour each day with the mom and speak in Spanish so I can practice. I took pictures of the UNiversity today so I'm posted them above. I miss everyone a lot and I hope some of you can come visit me soon. The weather is BEAUTIFUL! It's funny because today the students were wearing jackets and boots like we would wear at Penn State in the snow but it was like so warm to me.

Pictures of my House

I'm here!

Well we finally arrived in Puebla yesterday. The flight was not bad at all and taking the bus from Mexico City to Puebla was easy. It was only a 2 hour ride but the bus was really nice. It had Tv's and they give you a drink and a snack when you first get on. We stayed in a hotel last night when we got here that was really cheap and in a very good location. Today, we got cell phones (I will put the number up later) but it can be expensive to call the US so try to use the internet as much as possible.

Right now, I am in my family's house in Puebla. The mom is so nice. I have my own room that connects to another room where nobody lives. The house is really big. There are about 7 bedrooms but only 3 of them are being used right now. I think the other rooms are guest rooms for her other sons and grandchildren when they come to visit. We had a chance to walk around a little today and the weather was absolutely beautiful!! This is such a college town. There are students everywhere at all hours of the day. The city does remind me of a mix between Mexico and Spain. It's very modern and not at all the stereotypical Mexico that everyone thinks of. I am being very careful and conscious when I walk on the street. We haven't gotten stared at as much as I thought, probably because international students are here all the time to study at the universities. Well that's it for now. I miss everyone so much!!

PS for whoever has not done so already, get a gmail account and download google talk if you want to talk because it's really expensive to talk. My e-mail is tum138@gmail.com . It's completely free, you just need a microphone to be able to talk!

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi Everyone. This is where I will be periodically writing about my adventures abroad!! Keep checking back to see if there are any new posts!! You can comment on my posts as well so please do so I can keep in touch with everyone!! I will miss you!!!