Guadalajara reimagined

Mikayla Maciah sitting by the sea in Mexico

The Angel of Independence, Mexico City

Guadalajara Zoo

Cruise port in Puerto Vallarta

Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Puerto Vallarta

Guadalajara bursts at the seams with breathtaking architecture, art and history. It has all the conveniences of a big city with the sense of community of a small town. Bustling plazas and a very active social life, the vibrant city in western Mexico offers a stark contrast to the quieter life of Edmonton.

Mikayla Maciah, a political science major, was excited to be able to refine her Spanish in Guadalajara for five months. She wasn’t at all unfamiliar with Mexico. With family there, she had visited many times and had even been to Guadalajara before. Despite having a support system while she was there, Mikayla was still quite nervous about her exchange. She was set to take her classes in Spanish at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, which was an intimidating first.
 

While she was already fluent in Spanish, taking academic classes in the language was a completely different realm. She had to brush up on her vocabulary while adjusting to living in a new country. Her concerns turned out to be unwarranted, as she was able to keep up with her courses and build meaningful connections with both professors and peers in smaller classes. 

Her familiarity with the city was that of her nine-year-old self — she only had hazy memories of spending time with family. Now, she experienced what it was like to actually live there as an adult. 

“It was actually easier to develop relationships, friends. I got to live how everyone there actually lives and do the activities that they do. I went places with them and we actually hung out.”

Mikayla also had to transition from driving to using public transport everyday. Aside from familiarizing herself with bus routes, she also had to get used to the amount of people on the bus.

“I had to take the bus and that was actually quite a shock because lots of people take the bus there or walk. The bus driver just lets people keep getting on and on. At one point I had to sit on basically almost the dashboard of the bus because it was so full.”

Much like the buses, the streets were never empty. Squares remained as bustling as ever during the evenings, as people bonded over food and music in the warmth of the sunset. 
 

“They have a really integrated, very social culture. Every night after I was finished with school, we'd go for walks to the square and there were just tons of people doing different things — street performers, music and it was just so lively all the time.” 
 

What Mikayla describes as her most interesting experience was when she visited the pyramids near Mexico City. Witnessing the architectural marvel of an ancient civilization was awe inspiring. As she explored more of the city, going to an anthropology museum and soaking in the sights, a true appreciation for Mexico’s history dawned within her. 
 

For all her advantages with the language and with family nearby, Mikayla was still full of nerves when she first left Edmonton for Guadalajara. Whatever discomfort she felt in the first week of arriving was well worth the growth that came out of it.  
 

“I think in general it made me realize that I'm actually capable of a lot more than I thought and I actually can do challenging things. Now that I've come back, I find myself setting my goals a lot higher and doing a lot of the things that I said I would do before, but hadn't actually tried.” 

Mikayla wasn’t fully assured of her own abilities until she actually got to put them to use while on exchange. However much you read about personal growth and the renewed sense of confidence that comes from studying abroad, you won’t be entirely convinced of it until you experience it for yourself.