
Contrary to the cold environment in Paso Robles, senior Noemi Basurto Lopez spent her winter in San Quintin, Baja California, México, just 20 minutes away from the nearest coastlines. Her decision has no convolution, leaving only a simple reasoning:
“My family hadn’t gone to spend the Holidays together, with my family members for 2 years, and we wanted to reunite with them.”
With a population of about 1,500 students, many Bearcats chose to travel domestically or abroad to visit family members for the holidays. During these 16 days, Basurto celebrated Christmas and New Year’s Eve with her relatives. She noted that one cultural difference she recalls is celebrating Christmas on the 24th, Christmas Eve, whereas in the United States they’re two different holidays celebrated on different days. In addition to this, her family, during New Year’s performed many traditions, such as eating 12 grapes under the table. This tradition has its origins in Spain. It is said that one consumes 12 grapes for each of the upcoming months and makes a wish while the clock strikes midnight.
While on vacation, Basurto witnessed many changes in her hometown. She explains how the groundwork is being set for an expansion for the city below:
“I got to see much development in infrastructure and how much the city is being urbanized for good,” Basurto said.
Towards the end of her break, Basurto found herself missing the sights in Mexico as her flights landed on U.S. soil. She picked up her busy schedule as a senior right after arriving in California, without the freedom to sleep in whenever she chose to. In addition to this, other activities like whale watching and swimming are things she hadn’t been able to do as often when coming back home. She had also missed the short walks on the beaches of México. Where one could look up and see the horizon revealing the colorful sunsets. While reminiscing about her break, it brought peace and tranquility upon her. Alongside this, Basurto talked about the tamales and loads of seafood she consumed. One very common authentic dish were the fish tacos. Consisting of either corn or flour tortillas with toppings like onions, cilantro, or other greens. The main ingredient is fish that’s been grilled or fried. These changes of environment, activities, and even food are just some of the different changes many Bearcats sought out during winter break.