My program in Oaxaca, Mexico was a real eye-opener. I didn’t realize how big the planet was until I went on this program. My passion for traveling has gone up, and I plan on doing more study abroad programs here at MSU visiting different parts of the world.

I’ve been to Mexico before, but I’ve never seen beauty until I went to Oaxaca. Seeing the bright colors such as yellow, orange, and blue all over the city made the program memorable. Seeing the various types of food in Oaxaca and being able to try them all, really made the program more tasteful. I got the chance to try a local dish only in Oaxaca called “Tlayuda '', it’s a giant corn tortilla with beans spread on top of it, lettuce, Oaxaca cheese, and with a meat of your choosing. It was delicious!

Being able to also see the rich culture that the ingenious people have in Oaxaca, from parades to festive dances. It’s very different from the U.S. and I didn’t mind it.

Seeing Monte Alban up and being able to climb it was surreal. Seeing El Tule (The biggest/fattest tree trunk in the world) was shocking! I didn’t realize how huge it was going to be, let alone me being near it and having to take a picture from far away just to capture it on my phone.

I loved seeing all the historic parts of Oaxaca and it made the program better than I could have imagined.

Besides seeing the historic landmarks of Oaxaca, my favorite part was helping the local community. Seeing the joyful looks from the residents when they saw what we accomplished in a week, was worth the hard work we put in to transform the local park. It felt good to help the local community, and it inspired me to help in my local community whenever I have the free time to do so.

Overall, I’m very thankful and glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the program and I can’t wait until I have another opportunity to study abroad again!

Name: Joaquin Tavares
Status: Freshman
Major: Finance
Hometown: Montague, Michigan
Program: International Engagement in Mexico - Oaxaca