Life in Queretaro

WARNING: this entry will be a bit long, so you may want to prepare yourself for boredom or plan breaks at several intervals.

Since arriving in Querétaro six days ago, much has happened.  I have not had much time to process and decompress until today.  My mind has been a sponge, absorbing massive amounts of information in a short time.  It is difficult to describe what I’m experiencing, but I’ll attempt to do so with this entry. 

Querétaro is a growing city.  Most of the people I’ve met are not from here but have been here for many years.  The vast majority is from Mexico City, but others are from Sonora and other boarder states and towns.

This city is a conglomeration of old and new.  Old churches fill the skyline downtown; new malls are scattered around the periphery of downtown.  Small homes and stores intermingle along streets; larger businesses and condominiums push the city’s boundaries.  Compared to other places in Mexico, this city is very clean and safe.  The police officers, for the most part, are not looking for bribes, streets and buildings are swept/mopped/power-washed regularly.  Markets are clean and mostly organized.  Streets are narrow and sidewalks even more so—to walk two abreast on a sidewalk is a very cozy feat.  Traffic signals and speed limits are merely suggestions—the drivers are extremely aggressive, even compared to Californian drivers, so it is best to stay on the sidewalks.  Shops and houses intermingle, leaving me to wonder which is which often. 

People are friendly and helpful, so much so that even if they don’t know where something is they’ll think about it and give you an answer.  Lesson learned: if they don’t answer right away, it’s probably best to ask another person.  Also, it is very important to great every person at school individually, and if you're close to them, give them a hug and airkiss next to their face.  This is a hugging, touching culture.  It is going to be a switch from my American mindset of "touching a student, however harmless, may end in being fired", vs. making students feel loved and accepted here by hugging and tussling hair.

Transportation is fairly inexpensive.  The busses cost $6.50 pesos (about $0.50 US), but are a bit confusing to figure out at first.  There are bus stops, but you can flag them down where ever and get off where ever.  Once I master the bus routes, I’ll take them whenever possible.  Taxis charge for the zone only, so if I want to take a taxi from my apartment down town, it costs about $40-45 pesos (about $4 US).  So far I’ve never been offered the “gringo price”—if you ever have to pay $100 pesos for a ride around town, you know you’ve been taken.

American women are believed to be “easy” here.  Thanks to MTV and Hollywood movies, we are sluts.  Also dating an international person is considered a status symbol, so altogether I’m quite popular here with my blond hair and blue eyes…

Nightlife reigns supreme.  Bars and clubs flourish.  Age limits seem to be flexible, especially if students have fake IDs.  It’s common for our students to be at popular places, yet one more reason for me not to go there.  This current group of International teachers (ages 22-27) seems particularly interested in exploring the nightlife.  I think that’s great, but I am not a late-night person and never have been.  The other teachers probably think I’m a hermit, but that’s ok.  I’m hoping to befriend some National (Mexican) teachers at school and learn things to do in the afternoon/evening.  But at night, since I’m very near a university, I put my earbuds in and listen to piano music to help me sleep.
It’s difficult and sometimes frustrating to be surrounded by a language I barely know.  Already I’ve used more Spanish than I thought I knew, so that’s encouraging.  I hope that with the start of Spanish classes I’ll become more fluent quickly.  Until then I’ll keep practicing my limited knowledge and smile when others laugh at me.

Links to pics on FB:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150340032086419.398586.596911418&l=586ed32962&type=1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150336725486419.397708.596911418&l=678a608158&type=1