Everyday Life in Monterrey

Not all of these posts are going to be reflections on architecture related topics or trying to analyze things. That would become boring. This particular post is to share with you what a nearly-typical day in Monterrey has been for me.

I think the first thing I have to mention is the odd relationship the school has with its students, especially the international students. ITESM is very paternalistic (they use that word themselves) in the sense of personal lives. For example, if you live in a dorm room, you can never have a person of the opposite sex in your room. Ever. The best you can do is be in the common room on their floor, and if you wanted to see the room I suppose you would have to take pictures or rig up a system of mirrors that make a visual link from the common room to the dorm room.

So with the rules the way they are, one would think they would be paternalistic in the sense that they will help you with administrative stuff. Incorrect. Signing up for classes was a hassle for every single person. Registering your student visa is completely on your own, unless you hire a legal firm to help you. Printing in a computer lab is the hardest thing I have had to do in several years. But with all these experiences you learn a lot. I don't know what I've learned, but I feel more comfortable being here knowing that I have been able to do things on my own. Do not get the impression that people are not helpful here; rather, organizations are not helpful. Individuals are extremely helpful. You can stop anyone on the street, sidewalk, in a store, wherever and they are more than happy to help you, even if you sound like a moron in Spanish. Organizations like to confuse you, so that they do not run out of work, so that they always seem busy. And I swear they purposefully hire people that do not know any English in the computer labs just so international students do not go to them for technical help. Not that they have to speak English, but I find it suspicious that it is the only department on campus that does not speak any English. I have so much more respect for international students in the USA, since expecting an American to know your home language is laughable.

One really cool thing about campus is that there is wildlife on it. And I'm talking more than squirrels and rabbits. There are 4 deer, many ducks, and 1 peacock.



There are also many stray cats, and occasionally you get to see a security officer chasing around a stray dog (I believe there are about 2 billion stray dogs in Mexico. I am not exaggerating when I say you can see a stray dog every hour if you are looking for one, no matter where you are). The entire campus is surrounded by a fence, therefore the animals stay inside. Also there is security at every gate, so outsiders are not allowed in. It is a snooty private school.

I do not live on campus, I live with a host family. They are very nice and helpful. There is the mother and father, Martha and Julio, and their two sons, Ober and Alan. Alan set up my cheap-ass cell phone since I couldn't decipher the Spanish electronic voice telling me what to do. Martha took me to Tec the first day to show me around, and she showed me the bus system (more on that later). They all live on the first floor. I, along with 5 other guys, all Mexican, live on the second floor. We each have our own room on the second floor, so that is nice. Also, I get fed 3 times a day, except Sundays. And the arrangement is cheaper than the dorms.

The upstairs, outdoor terrace that leads to my room. The window is not my room, unfortunately

Movement. The bus system. My roommate told me that there are 4 million buses in this city. I think he meant to say 4 thousand (mil is Spanish for thousand, thus the possible mix up). Either way, there are very, very, very many buses in this city. And it is the best and cheapest way to get around (in the day). At night cabs are the way to go, and they are cheap. I haven't paid more than $6, and I've gone somewhat far. In Muncie, it costs $8 no matter where you go. Back to buses. Not only do you get places fairly quickly, but the drivers are bred to be extremely aggressive and always take the right of way. Also, stop signs are for decorations, and the stop signs with blinking LED lights that mean actually stop only serve as prettier, more festive decorations. Nearly every bus has a custom horn. Some are trolley sounds, some are sirens, some are whistles, the rest are various noises. All drivers use their horn, custom or not. And all drivers probably go through 5 clutches a month (the buses are all manual transmission). Another person's perspective on the Monterrey buses can be found here. I haven't gotten on the wrong bus yet, but I have missed my stop once and had to walk beside a major highway with no sidewalk to get to a safe place to call my host family to pick me up.

That brings me to the roads. Monterrey is all sprawl, but they have found a pretty good solution to traffic. Each major road through a city (like McGalliard in Muncie or 86th street in Indy) has the usual 3-4 lanes of traffic per side, but it also has a secondary road running beside it for local traffic and buses. There are constant on-and-off exits, so traffic keeps moving.



There are occasionally mild back-ups on the secondary roads due to buses taking both lanes of traffic at a bus stop or the occasional mandatory red-light.

Nightlife. The first two times I went out it was with other international students: some other Americans, a Canadian, a person from France (Frenchian?), and we met up with other countries at the bars. Theses experiences were what I expected. The places were meant for students and were tourist friendly. Although the bartenders like to bring you surprises, like the 2-liter plastic beer bottle I received complete with a bucket of ice. Then my second weekend I experienced a real Mexican club. I had a lot of reading to do and I was expecting to stay in so that I could meet up with people the next day. It's 12:30 am, I'm getting ready for bed, and one of my roommates says to go out with him and his friends. I remind him of the time, and he states that 1:00 am is the normal hour to go out in Mexico. Not wanting to miss out on what sounded like a good learning experience, I put my contacts back in and jumped in the car. The place was huge. More than half of the guys had on cowboy hats. There were hundreds of people. The music was all live: reggaeton (which I don't particularly like), Norteno, other styles I don't yet know the name of. It was a fun experience. I finally talked my roommate into leaving at just before 5:00 am (the place was open until 10:00 am). One new thing for me was that you have to get a ticket from the bartender before you can leave. I think it is to make sure you paid. This took about 5 minutes for me to understand due to the foreign language and loud music.

I've also done a few days of sight seeing. Photos of those can be found on the right hand side of the page. Last weekend I spent in a very small rural town and then in Real de Catorce, an old mining town. Tonight (Thursday) I am leaving on another trip to Guanajuato (10 hours away, hooray bus rides!) and we will be gone until very early Monday morning (which is Constitution Day, no school!). Some posts on those will be upcoming.