Student name: Ms. Alma Rosa Gómez Palacios
Nationality:Mexican
Time in Global Exchange Center: 17wees from 1 Aug. 2011
Can you tell us about your education background and what hobbies do you have?
I study Biomedical Engineering in México and I’m also studying a dual degree in Management in the U.S., I enjoy playing sports, specially soccer and swimming.
Could you tell us more about your home city and something about the life of your generation, so that our teachers and staff in Global Exchange center can have better understanding of Mexicans? (such as popular figures , popular movies and books among youths, )
I was born in Puebla, a colonial city near Mexico City full of history and tradition. Mexico has a very interesting mixture of cultures, we have our own Mexican culture, which shares many aspects with the Latin culture, but we also have some international influence in music, movies and books.
Can you give us some comments on comparing culturally between Mexico and China?
Food is in both China and Mexico, is a very important part of the culture; it’s not only for nutritional purposes, but also a way to socialize with family, friends and business partners. In both countries is easy to find street food, spacy food and fried food.
However the etiquette and flavors vary, Mexican flavors are strong: sweet things tend to be very sweet (for international standards) and salty things tend to be quite salty. We think of eating as a pleasure more than a necessity; we eat a lot of fruits, natural juices and natural flavor water. I would say we don’t pay too much attention in whether something is healthy or not, but more about the taste.
A very big cultural difference between Mexico and China is the way of greeting and showing affection to our families and friends. While in China physical contact is seldom, in Mexico we hug and kiss our relatives and friends in every greeting and almost every chance.
I think there are many little differences that make each country unique, however it’s also very easy to see that deep inside we all have dreams, we all have fears, we all want to love and be loved; and that is at the end what bring us together and from where we should build up our future.
Tell us more about your internship in Shanghai and what you gained from this experience.
I worked for three months at an International trade company in Shanghai. The biggest challenges I had were the Language barriers (since all of my co-workers were Chinese) and the cultural differences. I cope with this with some books about Business culture and etiquette, which helped me understand better the culture and the traditions and as well got me very involved and passionate about it.
From this experience gain some professional and interpersonal skills, I also got to understand better the Chinese working culture and the way their economy works; but mostly I met amazing people who now I have the honor to call my friends.
