Small steps into the big world

Days in Mexico: 12

This week I have been trying to get into the new routine of waking up at 5.20am to go to school. The jet lag isn’t helping but hopefully soon I will be able to get through the day without needing a siesta when I get home from school. School is slowly getting easier but I still have no idea what is going on most of the time. I found a copy of my science text book from year 10 on my computer and it covers some of the work we are doing in physics and biology at the moment so I will be able to have a vague idea of what is going on in class. It’s a strange sensation sitting in class and not being able to understand a word that is being said. It sounds like the people around me are speaking gibberish except I am the only one not able to understand it.

I have started to pick up some words in conversations that sound similar to their English translation and try to form a sentence around them to guess what is being said. I also watch how people react to what is being said and their expression as they talk to gain an understanding about what they are talking about. To help learn the language quicker I have made up some flash cards that have a word in English on one side and the Spanish translation on the other.

On Wednesday night I went to my first Rotary meeting at my host club, Costa de Oro. There were 10 other exchange students there, most of them were from Brazil. Normally only 1 or 2 exchange students at a time are hosted by a club. I’m not sure how members there are at the Rotary club but the number of members that attended were matched by the number of exchange students present.

I really like it in Boca del Rio because it is so different from Perth. There are palm trees along the beach and there are coloured buildings everywhere. It’s a nice change and at 6.30am when we are driving to school, it helps brighten my day.