Oaxacan hosts!

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Shelsy Zarate

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hola <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> Pomona College <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Merida, Mexico <i>Program provider:</i> IFSA-Butler <i>Major/minor:</i> Science, Technology, and Society — Biology + Social Studies Concentration Latin American Studies — Literature and Cultural Studies Concentration <i>Demographics:</i> Hispanic/Latinx, First-Generation College Student, Zapotec (Indigenous of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico) <i>Future career aspirations:</i> My future career goals are to prolong and improve the quality of life of minority communities, most specifically that of indigenous migrant individuals, by organizing efforts to address the root causes of community and individual health disparities both inside and out of the clinical environment. As the oldest daughter of indigenous immigrants, and their medical document translator for as long as I can remember, I aim to work as a first-hand bridge to restructure education, pharma-patient relationships, and healthcare hazards, such as access to quality-food and the diabetes/high-blood pressure epidemic, that continue causing disproportionately higher death rates in our communities, as the COVID-19 pandemic so cruelly proved. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> 1. Volunteer at a local organization in Mรฉrida! 2. Take "Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatรกn," a class where students examine the public and private healthcare systems in Mexico and the use of mainstream and traditional approaches to public health in both urban and rural settings. 3. Build amazing relationships with my host family, community, classmates, and other students from abroad.

This week, the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) held their annual symposium here in Mรฉrida, Yucatรกn. A couple of IFSA administrators, educators, and staff spent a few days in the city to learn about the abroad experience in Mรฉrida and have meetings, conferences, and seminars. On the second day they were here, they were split into groups to have lunch at one of five host homes. My host home hosted one of the groups and over lunch, we discussed my personal experience in Mรฉrida, advice I would give to prospective students, and my relationship with my host family. The star of the show, however, was the food my host mom made for the event!

IFSA provided host mothers with a suggested menu of the meal and dishes they should make for the event: a variety of tamales (vegetarian and non-vegetarian), beans, rice, fried zucchini and aguas frescas! For a whole week, my host mom gathered her ingredients, prepared her dishes, and sought advice from other host mothers (even though she has been hosting for over ten years)! She made TEN different kinds of tamales (including Oaxacan mole tamales, Mexico City green tamales, Yucatecan pib, etc.) and had pots upon pots of food on her stove. I noticed she looked exhausted and slightly overwhelmed so I asked her why she had to make so many dishes. At first, she told me that she was stressed because IFSA had required vegetarian options for the guests and that some of her tamales werenโ€™t the same without the meat. Then, she paused, and said, โ€œWe Oaxaqueรฑos are like this, I know you understand.โ€

I sat down and realized she was right. The culture in Oaxaca, and something that my father has constantly instilled in me since I can remember, is that when hosting a celebration or reunion, having just enough food is having too little food. In other words, being a good host means making more food than you need for your guests so that you can make sure they are given a full plate of food and so they can also take some home after the event. One should also be ready to gift guests with a food/drink item when they arrive, whether that be mezcal, a Coke, or even cold water. This is expected of guests in happy events, like annual celebrations, sad ones, like funerals, and even random visits. In some Oaxacan communities, it can even be seen as disrespectful to not offer a guest a drink, food, or any other edible item that you value. It is not enough to do the bare minimum as a host โ€” you want to provide your guests with the best time possible!

Some might find this practice to be daunting or exaggerated, but it is actually something that makes hosts and guests feel valued. I believe IFSA continues choosing my host mother as a host for not just students, but many IFSA events, because of her amazing hosting skills, which she further developed when she moved to Oaxaca. She stands out for her detail-orientedness and meticulousness when preparing for events and has made me realize that these are skills that are usually transferred to other aspects of life, like school/work ethics. I have reflected on how I have acquired these skills through being raised with Oaxacan values, and I hope to one day be as great of a host as her!