Cecy Rico, from Digital Design, was awarded a scholarship for a semester stay in Brazil. Here is her experience:
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
Yes, but I did not know what they consisted of.
Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
It never crossed my mind the idea that in some semester of my career I could live an exchange.
Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, never.
What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
The cultural investment that is gained by living and learning about the way of life in a different country, in addition to growing my professional resume when I return to Mexico.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
Because within my career there were things here in which I want to develop and that called my attention, besides the language motivated me to learn it living here and the culture of the country, it was something very interesting, there were people I knew from the uni who had already made the exchange to this country and they had told me of very good things of their own experience.
How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
Fear and excitement at the same time, it was something very interesting to begin to realize the differences and similarities that exist within Mexico and Brazil. I know that although they are similar countries in some ways, I found a wide culture gap where everything I saw for the first time seemed surprising.
How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Wonderful, I think we received a lot of attention from mobility and that somehow is a support when you need someone to turn to, I know now that I can count not only with mobility, but with teachers who in the same way have been able to teach me very interesting things and students and staff in general that make my experience something unique. For 6 months it was my home of studies which I will always carry in my heart and in my knowledge for the rest of my life.
What will you miss most about Mexico?
Tacos and hot sauce.
What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
I really do not know where to start, I think the first thing is to have come to live completely independently, having that freedom that comes with travel, is a challenge but at the same time is still something totally interesting and full of learning, another thing that marked my stay here was definitely the school, as I think it has been one of the best choices of my life, come and learn what you can learn in another country, I am absolutely sure that this was an investment in my professional development and my vision within it; To meet people, students like me, foreigners who come with the same aspirations, doubts and motivations with which I arrived here, to understand that we live many things in common, whether they are French, Japanese, German, American, Mexican or Brazilian. In the end I think that is also the true essence of traveling because you don't just come to a school, you come to live an experience that will open your senses to the fullest and that will test you in all aspects of your life.
And the hardest part?
The most difficult thing from my point of view has been the fact of having total control of my person, the fact that I need to be the one who prepares food, who gets up alone for school, who works, who knows how to manage money, who delivers everything in time and form within the faculty, who has to pick up a house, do laundry and many other things that I am sure there are many students who are accustomed to having all that done at home. The most difficult and at the same time the most important challenge has been to become a more responsible person and that brings with it an enormous personal growth. I got sick several times while I was here and I think it was one of the worst things I had to experience being away from home.
What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
As a person I have the absolute certainty that it made me grow in a thousand ways, I know that the person who came at the beginning is not the same person who will return because you do not just come to a school, you come to live a complete experience and to absorb a different knowledge that could only be provided in Mexico, making trips like this is to make investments that will bring rewards to your future life, in all aspects of your life.
Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Definitely