Student leaves American culture behind in annual trip to native Mexico

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Exponent) - Once a Purdue student and his family cross the border into Mexico, everything changes.

Lime green, orange and yellow shops line the streets of border cities. Vendors are selling cheap tequila, tacos and tchochkes for tourists to remember their trip across the border.

The smells are especially overwhelming: the warm scent of corn from the tortillerías making fresh tortillas, the scent of trash and sewage, the smoke and grease of a variety of meats cooking and stewing.

You can read the rest of this story at the Purdue Exponent website .