It has now been several months since I have returned from my muse-ful experience in Mexico, and it has certainly been interesting to see those three months in retrospect. As I look back in this very blog I found a list of what I was hoping that I would accomplish during my time in Mexico. Here is a link to that post:
http://amuseofmexico.blogspot.com/2012/01/mis-esperazas-y-mis-suenos.html
But, to sum up, my main goals were as follows:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Collect "Pioneer of the Faith" stories
3. Get to know the Mexican culture
4. Build lasting friendships
As I look back I can see that I was able to accomplish, or at least get underway, each of those goals. I still have a lot of work to do in improving my Spanish skills, but I took the dreaded "Oral Proficiency Interview" and scored an "Advanced Low," meaning that I have about the language skills of a returned missionary, and that I can hold a conversation easily with native speakers. I still make mistakes, and have a lot to learn, but I would consider myself conversationally fluent.
I also did collect a lot of great stories! It was a great experience to be able to talk to the members of the LDS church about how they or their families met and joined the church. I still have all these stories, and sharing them will be another goal for another time all together (transcription in a foreign language takes FOR-EV-ER!) but I have started and in fact have another blog where I posted just a few short stories so far. Be warned- they are in Spanish. Here is the link to that blog:
http://historiasudestacairapuato.blogspot.com/
As for the last two goals, I was able to get a lot of experience with Mexican culture, eating the food, learning the idioms (and the double entendres behind them), and just getting a feel for Mexican life. Obviously three months is not nearly enough time to gain an accurate representation of what it means to be a Mexican, especially for a tall, white, gringo with an accent, but I have learned a lot that I didn't know before and done a lot that I never had before, and this experience has given me a lot to think about, especially in that retrospective light. There is a sense that if I don't hold on dearly to these things, small in number though they may be, that they will slip from me like a dream. I do NOT want this to happen. Mexico has become a part of who I am. Because of this, my final project will be an essay about how my experiences in Mexico have shaped who I am, and changed me for the better. More on this later.
As for the final goal, I am glad that I can say that I have made several friends during my stay in Mexico, and that I am still in contact with quite a few of them. Most importantly, I feel, is my host family. I miss them often and I wish I could go back and visit. I'm so glad that I was able to have this experience with them, that they were so kind to share their home, food, and lives with me. We still talk, but I am really looking forward to seeing them again in person.
Well, that's a quick update. More to come later on that effect of this retrospective thought!
Benjamin
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