SI MONTHLY NEWS September 2008 SYLE 2008
From SI Exco News
To Mexico from Poland
This Summer I took part in SYLE (Servas Youth Languages Experience) in Mexico. It is a programme for the youth of Servas which gives you the opportunity to spend a month in a different country, getting to know it’s everyday life, culture, history and language ‘from inside’.
I had wanted to go to Latin America for a long time. So I wrote to Pablo Chufeni from Argentina, who accepted my application for SYLE and gave it to Lilly Kerekes from Mexico. Already more than half a year before going, Lilly and I kept exchanging a lot of e-mails. She asked me what my preferences and interests were, so she could create an individual plan of SYLE for me. During my stay Lilly was taking care of the organisation and of myself. Luckily, she was open for any changes. It was very important that the organisers were open for my suggestions about the time of my SYLE so we could agree on the dates that best suited both and did not collide with my other duties.
For a long time I could not believe that, being only eighteen, I was going alone to Mexico, but it really was an unforgettable experience and, thanks to the help and interest of Servas members, not even one unpleasant or dangerous thing did happen to me.
During one month I stayed with eight Servas hosts and one family outside the organisation. I saw a lot in the centre of Mexico and went to the hot beach of Ixtapa. My journey started in Mexico City, then I went to Cuernavaca, Puebla, Tulancingo, Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende and Ixtapa and shorter trips to many different towns and cities. What I liked a lot about my SYLE was that even though there had already been a detailed plan, there was also a lot of space left for my suggestions and changes (which I used a few times).
During my SYLE I had the opportunity to get to know Mexico City, which has more than 22 million inhabitants and where I saw some of Diego Rivera’s works, got on the top of the Torre Latinoamericana, where there is a great view over the city, visited the “town” of the UNAM university and Palacio de Bellas Artes.
During my stay with the family from Cuernavaca, I went to Tepoztlan and climbed the mountain, on top of which there is a pyramid called Tepozteco, which was built by the Tlahuica Indians. We also went to Xochicalco, where we visited the museum, saw many pyramids and pelota fields (pelota is a ball game ritually played by the Indians).
Apart from Puebla, I also saw Cholula – a city founded in the pre-Columbian time, where on the ruins of a pyramid a church was built later. During my stay in Tulancingo I not only saw interesting basaltic rocks but I also went with my host to have a photo session in opuntia fields. In Queretaro I was, among other things, in the Teatro de la Republica, where the Mexican constitution was signed and from there I went to San Miguel de Allende, a city that not even a whole week earlier was recognised as world’s cultural heritage by UNESCO. I also had the opportunity to listen to real mariachis (Mexican musicians) and see an authentic Indian ceremony.
When I was in Ixtapa it was too hot to go sight-seeing, but I got to know the Ixtapa tourist attraction with its numerous beaches (near one of which there was a closed territory for crocodiles) and a town nearby – Zihuatanejo.
On the way back from a wedding, to which I was taken by my hosts, near Cuernavaca, I once again went to Tepoztlan, and during the last few days I saw a little bit more of Mexico City and went to the biggest centre of pre-Columbic America , Teotihuacan.
My hosts and their friends gladly showed me around the most important historical places in Mexico, guided me round museums and monuments but I also got to know a part of their everyday life, traditions and customs (I’ve even been to a Mexican wedding!) and their families and friends. Although most of the Servas families didn’t have children of my age, they made me meet some youngsters and gave me the opportunity to go to some real Latin parties
The food sometimes was a little bit of a problem; although I always told my hosts immediately that I was not used to eating spicy food, there sometimes was nothing to choose that didn’t have chili! Never before had I tried so many new and interesting dishes in such a short time, which resulted in my being so full by the middle of my stay that I only felt like drinking water! It doesn’t mean that I didn’t like Mexican food though; I even have some new favourite dishes now.
The time when I was in Mexico – at the end of June and beginning of July – is a rainy season there but it didn’t really affect my plans, as it was warm anyway and it was usually raining in the evenings only. But thanks to that, places that are usually very dry with a lot of cacti, were greener and more friendly.
At the end of my stay I made a presentation about Poland for students of the tourism faculty at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Turismo in Mexico City. What surprised me was that the students were really interested in Poland, Servas and other organisations I told them about and asked me a lot of questions.
What struck me a lot in Mexico was the openness and spontaneity of the people, their interest and willingness to help. Apart from the time, when I was travelling from one place to another, there was hardly any time when I was alone. Everywhere I felt as if my hosts, their family and friends had already been my friends for years and thanks to their spontaneity I could do and see more! They were very understanding concerning the language – even though with a lot of mistakes and some difficulties (especially at the beginning), we talked in Spanish almost all of the time. So apart from a great adventure, many new friends and some knowledge about Mexico, I also came back with a significant language progress. A proof for that is that after writing a test and having an oral exam in Instituto Cervantes I was qualified to join classes three semesters higher than before going to Mexico. The language benefit was that is to say enormous.
SYLE was a really interesting experience for me, an ideal way to spend my holidays and it made me want to go back to Mexico as soon as possible. I expect the first visit from there already in autumn!
Barbara Wasilewska
Interested in Syle? Like to learn another language in its own country? Learn local cultures at the same time. Contact: Pablo Chufeni email: pablochufeni[at]yahoo.com
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