By Jasmeen
3 things you want to try to do this summer:
Change my eating habits
The movie cliche of the Americans going abroad and sitting in “the spot” for its serendipity, feeling and feeling excited to know a secret spot, is exactly how I have found myself at aesthetically pleasing coffee or sandwich shops that have somewhat kept me in my familiar eating habits. I intend to start researching eateries that service traditional foods, instead of walking to what’s closer and convenient.
Attend a Gualegetza related event:
Gualegetza celebrations are at the end of July in Oaxaca City. Many street parades happen throughout the months, so I have to seek the fun, since festival tickets have been sold out for months.
Learn new Spanish words:
I grew up speaking Spanish. I have visited Mexico before and returned home with words native to my mom’s hometown. Living in a new city this summer, I noted that there are certain types of services not offered in my mom’s hometown, which means there are different words I can incorporate to improve my Spanish. Interacting with locals is the only way I hear what is native and unknown to me. I can use my professional career in the future to promote fairness and inclusion skills. Culturally, I can engage more people in conversation if I can speak their language with native words. This is a personal and professional goal, because I have less and less all-Spanish conversations, which makes me replace English when I cannot find the right word.
Two skills I would like to work on
Community building:
I volunteered for the local government in high school, and learned about city provided resources for children, students, adults, etc. As I’m not in class, I’ll have to make the first move to build community outside of my internship. If I want to look back on routine, fond experiences this week or next week, I have to create my own positive experience by going to places alone (with safety in mind) to enjoy the “city life” and develop my own relationship with it.
Adaptability:
I have habits that precede my from the United States, which are hard to know if you’re doing wrong if you do not have someone telling you what to do. I have found my business owners like to chat you up about your day and get you to know you indirectly through the small conversations you have. Adapting to the local culture, I found myself using the informal Spanish, which is often used in my inner circles with friends and family in the United States. In Mexico, it is seen as disrespectful (although it was not my intention). I have adopted an observe first policy because I am ethically Mexican, but did not grow up in Mexico to have first-hand experience its native social culture.
1 quote that describes my experience
My initial time in Oaxaca can be summarized by the quote by Erol Ozan.
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost”.
I originally read this quote in a graduation card I got from a friend after graduating high school. Trying new things helps you grow and reaffirms my desire for a job with frequent travel, as the world is too vast to only call some places home. It emphasizes my love for global experiences and open-mindedness at FSU, celebrating the beauty of other cultures at cultural events and FSU specific traditions.
Here is a coffee shop I enjoy swinging by, because I can see the Oaxacan pastries mixed with familiar American brands.
HSF House Blogs 