Exchange Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Program Name: Sharing Languages

             
Internship Duration: 6 weeks

 

 

A typical day on your internship:

 

It’s 2pm and we’re ravenous, and we immediately head for our favourite taco stand near the campus, joined by some of our students and some local AIESECers. Someone suggests an interesting market where we can find cool handmade souvenirs, so we traverse there as a group using the subway, the locals leading the way. The streets are vibrant with shops and stalls and we enjoy the sights and sounds while our local friends explain things to us. We bargain for a few pieces before we’re hungry again. We fill our stomachs at a cheap local eatery with home-style meals and decide it’s time to go home. Another long commute later, we drag ourselves to our beds and finish preparing for the next day’s lessons before drifting off to sleep.

 

 

 

What did you enjoy most about your exchange?

 

The thing I enjoyed most was meeting all of the wonderful people on my journey. Not only did I become friends with the local AIESECers that received us, I also became friends with our students, many of which were around my age. Mexican people are so friendly and warm that even with cultural differences I became acquainted with them very quickly. It was wonderful to not only be able to help them improve their language skills as a teacher but also to have fun with them, share my own cultures, and have them show us their country the way only a local can. In fact, many of our students improved their English skills even more just by hanging out with us outside of class.

Besides that I also met many other interns in different programs from other parts of the world such as Brazil, Russia and Costa Rica. We all had such different backgrounds but we were united by a love of cultural diversity and the energy of young people.

 

 

 

What was the most shocking/curious/fun fact you learned on your exchange?
 

- Burritos are not that Mexican, as they’re actually a fusion of Northern Mexican cuisine and Texan cuisine.
- Mexico City was built on a lake so it is sinking. Many old buildings are crooked or cracking.
- Mexican people have two last names, and many of them have a middle name too, so having 4 names is very common.
- Family is very important in Mexican culture so many young people live with their parents until after they graduate or even later.
- The fact that I could relate to and make friends with people all the way on the other side of the world.
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Any words of advice for future exchange participants?

 

My advice to future exchange participants is to let down your guard, be positive and be proactive. There will be times when there’re problems but everyone, including the local AIESECers, are student volunteers, so you must take up the initiative to keep going. At the same time, remember to be open and have fun to make the most of your experience in a limited time, and you’ll be guaranteed the journey of a lifetime.