My time in Merida will forever remain with me as I continue with my education and well into my adult life. The people I have met on this trip and the experiences we all shared exposed me to so many different perspectives on the world, especially tourism. This was the first time I have traveled outside the country since my family arrived to the U.S. so it was definitely a bit of a culture shock. It was so interesting seeing all the similarities and differences between Merida and America. I felt myself constantly comparing different traditions, mannerisms, and language (aka slang). These comparisons will definitely continue post study-abroad as I spend the rest of my summer in both Lancaster, PA and Egypt. Everything we learned about being a “proper” tourist will stay in the forefront of my mind as I visit my home country. Even though I was born there and majority of my family lives there, I can’t help but feel like I will still embody the persona of a tourist. On the bright side of that feeling, this trip has made my eyes more trained to see the different kinds of tourists there are which I will hopefully be able to spot as my family and I travel all over the country from rural to urban to costal areas.
The main thing that stood out to me about myself when we first got to Merida was how scared I was about the language barrier. Growing up I was forced to see how people reacted to my parents not knowing English so I brought that same fear with me to Mexico. I was pleasantly surprised to see how kind all the residents here were about us not knowing Spanish, and how willing they were to teach us rather than sneer. Going to Yaxunah forced to me to try and speak Spanish to my host family and I genuinely surprised myself with how much Spanish I could speak and understand. This whole experience definitely taught me to step outside my comfort zone which is something I struggle with a lot. I am the type of person who doesn’t try something new because I am scared I won’t be good at it. This is how I felt with speaking Spanish. I knew it was going to be very imperfect and broken so it kept me from trying until I had no other choice. As corny as it sounds, this experience has showed me that even though I am be scared to do something it’s always better to try than let the fear win (expect anything to do with heights…I won’t be doing that), and even if I fail at least I can laugh about it later with my friends.
