This week in Queretaro felt super fast. On the last day in the Queretaro, it felt like only a couple of days ago, we were visiting Teotihuacan and arriving at the Residences. Teotihuacan was a particular highlight as we learnt a lot about Aztec culture and even did some Aztec dancing too at the restaurant we went to after visiting the site. I was very thankful to be visiting in winter, though, as for about three hours, we were out in the hot sun with not really much shade, which would be brutal in the summer.
Later that night, we also arrived at the Residences on the Queretaro campus. It was really nice, and we were told we were one of the first people staying at these Residences as it was newly built. Some particular highlights of this week on campus were that they had a beach volleyball court that got great use from us. They also had a theatre where we watched this Mexican film called Nosotros los Nobles (We are the Nobles) that was really funny, and I really enjoyed it, and of course, the close proximity to campus was great. It also had some great food spots on campus and in the nearby streets, which is definitely where all my money went.
Another great thing we got to do this week was that we had an International Food Night. We got to try food from all our fellow exchange students’ countries, and the food was delicious! Our program coordinators Lore and Dani, who are from Queretaro, also brought some tamales to try. I wanted to make some Filipino food or Chinese food, although we only saw Korean and Japanese food at the supermarket. But we had such an assortment of food anyways, so it was okay
The companies we visited this week were La Corona and Rancho Santa Marina. At La Corona, we learnt a lot about the company and interestingly learnt that they do not really advertise their products and rely on word-of-mouth to market the business. We got to see how their shortening product got packaged, and the process was quite satisfying. We didn’t get to see the soaps or detergents, though, as they didn’t do the production of that at this factory. At Rancho Santa Marina, where they run a circular economy where the animals all live long lives, and all the food they serve at the restaurant is sourced from the ranch. They also allowed us to taste some wine and cheeses made on the ranch.
We also got to do some sightseeing this week in the city centre and San Miguel Allende. They were both really beautiful, and honestly, I probably can’t describe them as well as I can show them, so I will just attach some photos.
Finally, we ended the week with a pool party with burgers prepared by some really friendly Mexican students and then headed on the bus to the next city, León!