Anne-Marie Hébert

Travelling is a growing experience

Anne-Marie is 19 years old and wants to study international law next fall. She works part-time for Desjardins General Insurance and she loves travelling in her free time, especially to other countries, where she can experience different cultures. Last summer, she worked as a babysitter in Mexico and took some time to explore the country. Meet a girl who's ready to see the world.

Anne-Marie Hébert, what made you want to go work abroad?
I love planning trips! It gives me a chance to get out of my daily routine and to see the world. Last year, I decided to leave Quebec for the summer. Where, when, how? I had no clue! But I was sure I wanted to leave. Adolescence isn't always an easy time and I needed some space to think and to be alone.

Where did you go?
At first, I wanted to visit the Greek islands and sleep in youth hostels. But I had never travelled alone and my parents were pretty worried. I reassured them by letting them participate in my planning. My plans were not yet set when I left for Cuba to do some dance performances with my troupe.

How did you end up finding your job in Mexico?
When I came back from Cuba, everything fell into place. While I was gone, my mother had spoken to one of her friends whose husband works in Puebla, in the northern part of Mexico, for Développement international Desjardins. My mom's friend suggested that I go work for her husband's Mexican secretary. My duties would be to clean the house, to baby-sit her daughter and to help with daily tasks, all with the help of the muchacha (the woman who usually helped her). I accepted her offer immediately and 2 weeks later, I was sitting on a plane for Mexico.

What did you do during a typical day?
I would wake up around 7 a.m. and take care of the baby while her mother got ready to go to work. Once she had left, the muchacha and I would eat breakfast and then we would usually go grocery shopping. Then, we would come back to cook, wash clothes (by hand) and clean the apartment. In the evenings, we would go for walks, visit people or I would go to bed early, tired from a busy day.

How did it go?
Mexico is very different from Canada. When I arrived at the tiny apartment I would be living in, I experienced a big culture shock. Washing clothes by hand, taking a shower with buckets of water—everything was different! I found it particularly hard to adapt to meal times. The people I was living with only ate twice a day: one meal in the morning and another huge meal at 3 p.m. My stomach never really got used to the eating schedule; I was always hungry at night.

What did you do next?
After a few weeks, since I was still having troubles adapting, I decided to leave my job and explore the rest of Mexico. One of my friends was visiting there too, but further south, in Merida. She was staying with a wealthy family and they invited me to visit them. After having thanked the people I was staying with, I travelled to Mexico City by bus and then took a plane to Merida.

How did the rest of your trip go?
Life in Merida was completely different from my time in Puebla. In Puebla, I had to shower with buckets of water. In Merida, my shower was in a private bathroom connecting to my bedroom. During the 2 and a half weeks I stayed there, we went boating, visited the city and did all sorts of other activities.

What did you learn from your experience?
The 2 different parts of my trips showed me the reality of Mexico. Mexicans are trying to become more global and open to the world. At the same time, they want to keep their traditional values. I also learned a lot about myself during the trip. I realized how lucky I am to live in Canada. I also learned to help my parents more.

Did you find it hard at times?
Since this was my first trip on my own, I found it very hard at times. I had to get used to another culture and other lifestyles. I spent a lot of money on long-distance phone calls to my family!

What did you learn about yourself?
I knew I was resourceful, but I didn't know how much! I think I was pretty brave to have left everything for a month and a half. I also realized how much I've been spoiled by life, that I live in a country like ours. Also, in my personal life, I had some decisions to make. My trip gave me time to think and things are much clearer now. And I'm not talking about my improved Spanish!

Tell me a bit about the cultural differences you noticed during your stay.
In Puebla, people weren't used to seeing tourists and they looked at me strangely. I also noticed that Mexicans are very focused on family. In Merida, what surprised me was that there was no common room in the house where I stayed. I don't know if it's because the family I was staying with was very rich, but everyone spent the day in their own bedroom with the door shut. They woke up very late and went to bed very late too. What also surprised me is that many Mexicans don't like the sun and don't go swimming much!

Do you want to go travelling again?
Of course! My thirst for travelling is hardly quenched! I've just returned from a cruise in the Caribbean and I want to travel to Europe in the fall, especially to Paris. In the long-term, I'd like to visit Asia and the south of Europe. If I am accepted in the law program at Université Laval, I'd love to go study abroad for a few semesters. By specializing in international law, I want to be able to travel and to learn about laws in different countries. Seriously, I couldn't do without travelling!