So yesterday was an interesting day.  Those of us staying at the hotel congregated in the lobby eating breakfast and waiting for our bus.  Little did I know that I would be completely thrown out to fend myself (well with two colleagues) by the last half of the day.

Upon arriving to the main Mexico City campus of Technologique de Monterrey, we were introduced to all the organizers, coordinators and advisors that we would be in contact with for the duration of our stay.  Once our group of 10 dispersed into the four winds, I was ecstatic to start our journey in Santa Fe.  Maria Teresa (or Marie T) was very knowledgeable about the area that we would be working in and we learned about the everything from society and history in the short amount of time that we were in the van.  I was shocked and amazed at the amount of colour in the buildings and the fact that so many well-off families could live among poor families.

Once we arrived to the Santa Fe campus, I was blown away by how amazing the whole campus seemed, everything from the design to the size to the amazing view from the top floor.  After the tour, we went to where we would be staying…  In stark contrast to the school, it was the dingiest place that I have ever been in (and likely ever will be in).  This made me laugh a little inside, because this was similar to the whole idea of having a wealthy area amongst poor areas.

My roommates and I decided to make the best of the situation and planned out what we could do with what we were given.  We caught an Uber cab to the nearest Walmart, and bought various things that we thought we’d need for the apartment.  Between the three of us, we managed enough broken Spanish to get us home… We realized how comfortable we were in a large group of 8 people, and relying on the 1 or 2 people that were able to get by with their Spanish.  It will be interesting to see how this will play out once we are in the school setting observing and assisting.