Before moving to Mexico, I was eager to see what awaited me on my new adventure! I couldn’t wait to eat all of the food, meet my new students and experience all life had to offer me in this new place. Of course, I was also a little anxious. I was nervous about my Spanish-speaking abilities and I worried about making new friends. I’m not the most outgoing person in the world, so sometimes it is hard for me to open up to people who I’ve just met. Luckily, I was welcomed by my coworkers and neighbors, and soon I felt right at home at my job and in my new neighborhood.
My neighborhood here has everything I need, and it’s all within a convenient walking distance. There’s a grocery store, an ATM, a panadería (bakery), a lavandería (laundromat) and a TelCel (cell phone company) store where I can pay my phone bill each month. As far as the location goes, I really lucked out!
Making friends has been a bit more of a challenge. Even though my neighborhood is great, it’s far away from the city center, where all of the other English Teaching Assistants in my program live. We still get together every couple weeks, and I’ve also made some friends at work. I’ve found that one of the best ways to break the ice between people of different backgrounds is to share traditions with them.
