In this article, we proudly want to introduce you to Guillermo, the first Mexican student of Asia Exchange.
This life-loving and charming young man from Latin America truly brings some Mexican spirit to the international campus of Udayana University in Bali. Guillermo lives in Mexico City, one of the biggest cities of the world. The life in this busy metropolis, with its approximately 16 million inhabitants, is completely different to the mostly laid-back Bali life. Whereas most of the students are stressed out by the heavy traffic in Bali, it´s no problem for Guillermo at all as the traffic in Mexico City is way worse.
That´s not the only difference between his life in Mexico and his current life in Southeast Asia.“The daily routines are not even comparable to the ones back home”, said the Business Management student, who usually works from 8am – 4pm in the financial service sector, before driving through busy Mexico City to study at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) from 6pm – 10pm.
As he is the first Mexican to study with Asia Exchange, it was a bit challenging in the first place to convince the responsible persons at his home university to support his wish to study in Southeast Asia. Persistence and the informative, well-organized website from Asia Exchange helped him a lot to make his dream come true to study in Indonesia, he mentioned with a big smile.
What do you like about studying and living in Bali?
“I really like the international atmosphere of the studies, I live in a nice villa with people from all over the world and although we have different backgrounds, nationalities and cultures, we have so much in common. It´s amazing how close friends we became during this short period of time. Another undeniable advantage of living in Bali is the variety of affordable outdoor activities you can do here. During the last 2 months, we already did a lot of cool stuff like white water rafting, volcano hiking, surfing, we visited lakes, waterfalls, other islands and we even travelled to other countries. After the lectures at university, we often got to one of the beautiful beaches to hang out or catch some waves with our surfing boards. The life here is a big adventure and there are so many things to explore.”
Another thing Guillermo likes about his exchange semester in Southeast Asia is the fact that he is a real eye-catcher over here, at the other side of the world.
“When people hear that I´m from Mexico, they get really excited about me and my life. Obviously they don´t get to know Latin people that often. Of course, I enjoy it to get so much attention and it´s so nice to see how open-minded and interested the people (locals as well as foreigners) are in me. It seems like I am kind of exotic here in Bali, which is a really good experience.”
Which is your favourite course at the university?
“So far the lecture I like the most is Indonesian language, because it is completely different of anything I´ve ever learned. It is a completely new experience for me to learn a new language in the country it is spoken. It is both, challenging yet satisfying speaking the local language with locals. The rest of my lectures (international entrepreneurship, international business, global marketing and environmental management) are very interesting as well, because they offer me a different perspective of how I have seen such subjects back home.”
What will you tell your friends back home? Would you encourage them to study with AE in Bali?
“Definitely! I can totally recommend my friends and fellow students to go to Southeast Asia for a semester abroad. It´s just such a good experience to make and besides the interesting lectures there is so much cool stuff to do. I like the diversity of the culture and due to the international atmosphere at the campus, my English improved a lot. When I´m going back to Mexico I would love to share my experiences with my fellow students, I even consider to be an ambassador for Asia Exchange, because I think nobody should miss out this unique chance to study in this beautiful destination.”
We will definitely keep in touch with Guillermo and we are happy to have this spirited guy among us! “Muchas gracias” for being our first, but most certainly not the last Mexican student in Southeast Asia! 😉
