As the summer is ending, many incoming college freshmen are either beginning to hate themselves for procrastinating to pack their belongings or have already left for their new home. However, I, along with my fellow Mexican American students, am realizing that there are a few things that I’m not ready to let go of. There are some aspects of a Mexican household that just can’t be replicated and it’s hard to believe we’ll have to survive for months without it. After speaking with a few other students who are going to feel the struggle this year with me, I came up with 11 things that will be missed a lot when we start the college journey.
1.The Celebrations
If your family is Catholic (which a lot of Mexican families are), you can relate to the struggle of waking up in the middle of the night to go to church for El Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. But the loads of food help you make it through the night. Pretty much every holiday/celebration involves crazy amounts of food.
2. The Vendors
When you’re freezing your butt off in the winter, one of the most beautiful sights is seeing the vendors in the street. The warm churros, elotes and champurrados will always make you feel better.
3. Corner Stores
I probably go to a corner store twice a day. It only takes a few minutes of walking to get there and they sell so many Mexican/Latino products you just can’t find at Shoprite or Walmart.
4. Having People That Understand the Culture and Jokes That Come With It
There are just some jokes only we (sometimes other latinos) can relate to or understand. How many of you grew up watching El Chavo del Ocho, La Rosa de Guadalupe and Sabado Gigante?
5. The Hardcore Soccer Hype
Pretty much every Mexican father tries to get their kids into soccer. It’s crazy when the World Cup is going on. Everyone buys their Mexican soccer shirts and has parties to watch Mexico's matches.
6. Mexican Candy
I’m about to stock up on Pelon Pelo Rico candy to take with me.
7. Speaking Spanish at Anytime With Your Family
Sometimes I just have certain words that just can’t be translated to English. There are times when I can only fully express my emotions with Spanish. I’m still going to speak it, but now not so many are going to understand me.
8. Authentic Food
Nothing beats Mexican food made by Mexicans. I begged my mom to make posole for my last day because I have no idea how I’ll live without it for so long.
9. The Music
My family blasts Spanish music every single day. From my brother’s corridos to my dad’s favorite artist Joan Sebastian to my mom’s more modern music from Maná, there are so many different flavors of Mexican music filling our house.
10. Crazy Gatherings with the Extended Family
We like to make any excuse to meet up with family. Some of us make it a weekly thing and others just try when we can. It can get wild sometimes because beer is a staple for a lot of my family members.
11. Eating together as a family
I think many of us can say this is what they’ll miss the most, no matter how crazy and annoying we see our family as, because we do love spending time with them. This summer, I didn’t get to see much of my family because of insane work schedules. However, whenever we ate together is when we could catch up on our lives. It was when we joked, told stories, and were just a family.
While I’m excited to explore the new world of college, there will always be a part of me that misses my home. But I know I’ll be back soon.
