Ever since Corinne Riedel started her Arts degree, she knew she wanted to go abroad. She had decided to go on the summer program to Mexico to get her final credits in Spanish, at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.
However, as she got further into the summer and closer to her departure for Mexico, Corinne began to feel reluctant. She just didn't feel much like going, at least not as much as she did when she had planned the exchange earlier in the year. As a mature student, Corinne was anxious she'd be stuck with students younger and much less mature than her, or that she would stick out like a sore thumb.
Corinne had a lot of hesitations, but at the same time, she really wanted to have an opportunity to challenge herself. Going to a different country and immersing herself in its language and culture seemed the perfect opportunity to do so.
Corinne simply wanted to go to Mexico to get her foreign language credits, and she ended up getting something valuable from Mexico that she didn't anticipate-a meaningful relationship with her host grandmother. When asked about her highlight during her time in Mexico, she doesn't even hesitate: she immediately says it's Carmen.
Corinne describes her host grandmother as a tiny, 77-year-old Mexican woman, whose limited stature can barely contain all the love she has to offer. Carmen, according to Corinne, is a "firecracker"-that she was full of energy and enthusiasm. Corinne describes how on her first day at the school, Carmen was walking with her to the campus. "I couldn't keep up with her!" She laughs, "She is that fast!"
Corinne recalls that Carmen would move around the kitchen so quick "she was like a hummingbird flying back and forth", all the while talking enthusiastically about how much she loved to cook.
Carmen embraced Corinne and the other students into her home and made them feel as though they were family. She would try to keep tabs on their comings and goings, and that if they were leaving, that they wouldn't do so on an empty stomach- just like any grandmother would!
"Making sure she kept us fed was so important to her," Corinne recalls with a smile.
Most importantly, Corinne appreciates Carmen for all the long conversations they'd have. "I had a lot of conversations in her kitchen with her," Corinne recalls. "About anything - from family matters to being single. Or even healthcare in Mexico, the government, conversations about being a woman. She was so open." Corinne felt she could talk with Carmen about serious subjects, but that she could just as easily go to Carmen for some laughs too.
This relationship was fulfilling for Corinne, and not just because she needed a friend in a different country. Corinne's grandparents had passed while she was still young, and she had felt that she had missed out on their guidance as she entered adulthood.
"I realized that my relationship with her gave me what I was missing. The fact that I got to experience that with Carmen means a lot to me."
Corinne became close not only with Carmen but the entire family. Carmen's granddaughter "stuck herself" to Corinne. The granddaughter embraced Corinne right away, which made Corinne feel right at home. Corinne says that this friendship made the transition to living in Mexico easier, the little girl didn't speak any English, but conversations with a child made for excellent Spanish practice.
By spending time in Mexico, and taking a Spanish course there, she developed an excellent grasp on the language. Even her host family noticed! Corinne recalls that on one of her last days in Mexico, she was in the kitchen with Carmen and her daughter. "I remember them turning to me and saying 'your Spanish is so much better! 'It was so reaffirming."
Corinne describes this interaction, in particular, really illustrated to her that they cared about her progress and growth. "I couldn't have asked for a better home to be in. It was the highlight of my trip- Carmen, and being able to stay with her family."