I spent 4 months in Irapuato, Mexico living with a host family. I have a deep appreciation for Mexican culture and its wonderful people.

Here are some things I learned:

1. Some half decent Spanish. I can hold a conversation and get around, which honestly I’ll take.

2. Familia is everything. Every weekend was a full gathering of any relative that could make it.

3. Catcalling makes you feel really horrible.

I experienced something I never had before: catcalling. While this was a rather shocking phenomenon to me (thank goodness), I felt inspired to further research and understand catcalling in Mexico. I gained unique insight into the complex cultural dynamics that lead to the cat calling culture in public situations during my time there. I paired these firsthand experiences with extensive research over the course of a semester. This resulted in a cultural issue brief where I analyzed cat calling as a contributing factor to social repression of women in Mexico.