Llorene

I definitely would have to say that Mexico is very rich in history. But as rich as its history is, there are still so much problems regarding the economic status of the people as a whole.

It's really funny I first thought how similar Guadalajara is to cities in North America. And, at first glance, it is very similar. However, I am learning the great differences.

Por ejemplo, one of the main reasons as to why I felt like this city is so similar to Toronto is because, unlike India, where you can see the poverty and the economic gap everywhere, here in Guadalajara, the poor and the rich don't really interact. Entonces, on the surface, everything seems similar to Toronto, but this is because I am not exposed to the different pueblas similar to where the 70% of the population of this country lives.

The American influence is greatly seen all around the city. From the Hollywood movie ads to the big companies that are scattered throughout the city. As well, Wal Mart is very big here. A clear indication that the company is very much taking advantage of the NAFTA agreement.

Interesting fact too-- Super Gigante, the Mexican equivalent to Wal-Mart is very much trying hard to keep afloat. However, it definitely cannot compete with Wal-Mart's lower prices. I guess we'll see where the big Mexican businesses will head towards as we see more of the American influence.

One thing, though, that I love very much about this city, and I know for sure that I will miss, is the relaxing atmosphere. Some friends and I went downtown this weekend, and it's just an incredible sight to see so many people in the plazas, just strolling about and enjoying the nice sunny weather. One can really see that the Mexican lifestyle and culture is definitely still not lost.

Other observations of Guadalajara:

- Dinner is also very late. I'm kind of glad that I had that training in India :)

- It's cool to see that when getting on the bus, even though the guys were probably in the line first, they will let the women get on first before they get on. Caballeros indeed!

- Fruit here is sooo cheap. I am quite enjoying the fresh fruit available everywhere. And I'm even loving it the Mexican way-- with salt, lime and chili. (Actually they put salt, lime and chili on everything!)

- Tortilla is eaten with almost everything. Loving the food here for sure, but I do miss Indian food!

Here are more pictures of Guadalajara.




(Left) This picture is of the AIESEC LC here in Guadalajara. Ahora, it's a small LC, but we are going into recruitment soon. As well, there are some people missing on this day.

(Below) A picture with AIESEC trainees and AIESEC Guadalajara Alumni at the corn festival... notice how wet we got. But it was definitely still a very fun excursion.

(Right) Sunday morning we went on a class trip to the Regional museum in el Centro. This is the inside of the Museum. Truly beautiful. This was a typical garden back then. Most of the houses then were inward focused, meaning that most houses would have a courtyard in their houses and really lavish interiors. Notice the Spanish influence as well as an Arabic one.

So as promised, I am putting up more pictures of GDL.

This weekend was very interesting. I finally got a chance to meet most of the LC members of AIESEC Guadalajara-- very nice people indeed.

After the meeting on Saturday, I was invited to go out with some AIESEC Alumni and trainees to go to a 'Feria de Maiz'-- it was essentially a Corn Exposition. Very interesting indeed. I had so much food with corn-- tamales, corn tortillas, elote, pan dulce de maiz.... so many yummy things! I have to say that one of my favorites was the corn cupcake. Why? Let me set the scene...

We took the bus to a little puebla just outside of Guadalajara, to a little colonia. Once we got there, it started pouring-- like I'm talking torrential rain, not like the drizzle that we usually get in Toronto. And so... we all huddled underneath a little tarp, going from tienda to tienda tasting the different foods. We came across a little stand that sold baked goods, and I decided to try the cupcake. What a little taste of heaven-- I have to say.... it was freshly baked, which meant it was still warm and it was just oh so good... especially after getting wet and cold from the rain. Corn Festival... yum! 2 thumbs up!

(Right) Canadians and Mexicans! From L-R: Carla, Michael, me, Nan, Ali, Fehrlette. Carla and Fehrlette being the Mexicanas of course. This pic was taken during a little get together en nuestra casa about 1.5 weeks ago.


(Left) Guillermo (Memo for short) and I in front of the Basilica de Virgen de Zapopan. Zapopan is a suburb of Guadalajara... truly beautiful. There is definitely a great colonial feel when walking through the municipal buildings, plazas and small restaurants there. I felt like I was back in Rome!

So this is how it went-
I arrived from Delhi, India on July 23rd;
got my acceptance letter, got a letter from the bank, saw my friends, saw family, went to the consulate, and packed very last minute;
then flew and landed in Mexico on July 31st.

It's now August 10th and I can finally say that I feel a little bit more settled.

(left) Taken in the Central Plaza right in the heart of downtown Guadalajara. The city certainly has its charms. You can definitely sense that Guadalajarans love their city, adorning it with a lot of fountains, plazas and monuments all around-- all well tended and taken care of.

I'm currently living with a host mom and two other students. One- Sonya, is from Dallas, Texas, USA and the other one, Carla, is originally from Sonora, Mexico but studies in SanDiego, California. I definitely love the vibe of the house. I do feel at home as my house "sisters" are really cool to talk to and we seem to get along well.

Tec de Monterrey

Our campus is awesome. It's definitely a lot smaller than York, it feels a little bit more like high school than it does University... because it's a lot smaller, there is definitely that community feeling and unlike York, it is not impossible to run into people that you know.

Anyway, here are some pics of my first few weeks here in Guadalajara, Mexico.

(left) Here's a pic that I took while walking through our campus... I promise to show off more of the campus, because it's tended so well and it's very nice I must say.


(right) Here's the famous Cathedral of Guadalajara, located in the Centro of the city. The city itself is very clean and has very good infrastructure. Honestly, I didn't imagine Mexico to be like this. But I guess perhaps, it could also be that it's because Guadalajara is a huge city. (Pop'n of 5 million.)

I definitely promise to put up more pictures, however, it seems as though this computer is not letting me do so right now... so I'll leave you all with these three pictures.

¡Hasta Luego!

Yay! Finally it´s up and available for everyone to see. Big thanks to John Kelly (woohoo!) who put it up on Google Video for me. It does take a while for it to upload on the computer, but I think it´s well worth the wait. This essentially encapsulates Angela´s and my experience in India. The music at the background, as well, definitely reminds me of all that we have been through in India. If this doesn´t work, click here. Or you can even go to Google Video and look up ´CEED´ or ´Llorene Agmata´ and my video should pop up! (like magic! thanks so much John!) So enjoy! Also-- guys I love getting feedback regarding this video, so please do give a lot of feedback. I want to know which parts you loved, thought could be improved upon etc. One more thing-- just to let everyone know, I edited the video and made it seem fast paced, and so it seems as though some of the speech at the end cuts out... It actually IS meant to be that way, because most of the important points are in the middle of the speech anyway. Enjoy!