Thoughts and Observations

One thing that I think we as Americans underestimate is the wealth of México, or at least the viability of living there. One thing that has repeatedly astounded me is the stratification of society here. For example, I would drive every morning on a dirt road that made me feel carsick every morning in order to get to my brand new, still under construction private school, this one:

I don't go there anymore, but yes, I did look exactly lke that. Another example, though I don't ahve pictures right now to prove it, is my current school. It's really nice, an outdoor type campus and everything, but it's surrounded on all sides by fences and barbed wire, with some (what look like) government housing hih rises right next to it. I was walking around afterschool one day in the neighborhood and noticed that o one side of the school there is a huge shopping plaza, but on the other side, where the high rises are, there was a dead dog in the street. This is not a new concept, and is definitely prevalent in Buffalo, but it's doubly shocking to see it in a different setting.

   Regardless of the negative aspects of such stratification, however, the universities here are a lot better and more viable than many of us believe. A lot of Mexican students go to the US to study, but it seems to me that the main reason is to learn English, because the universities here are awesome. One example is Universidad de las Américas de Puebla, or UDLAP. The campus is gorgeous, and the curriculum, from what i understand, is up to any standard. Very interesting and eye-opening. I would definitely love to study here.