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Index » Travel & Vacation » Special Attractions

Drop the Stereotypes, Narrow the Gap

Author: Triana Elan

Im now almost two years in Mexico. Time goes by fast! I now have some English students, and they are so much fun, so eager to learn.One thing that gives me great delight is how stubborn cultural mores cling. I know a lot of Mexican people in industry, many of them working for American companies. Now picture this. For eight hours, these people are American. Sending/producing something tomorrow? literally means tomorrow. Having a 5:00 deadline means it will be finished no later than 5:00. These folks adapt to American time standards very well.Well, five oclock rolls around and then these fine people are back to their home customs, where tomorrow? simply means not today? and a 5:30 arrival time means maybe youll see them by 9:00, if at all. Lest you think me racist for writing this, know that Ive mentioned this observation to my students, who think its very funny and true and suggested maybe I tell my American friends about this.Mexicans have a lot to be proud of. I find it very sad that there is such a divide between these folks and Americans, and even between Mexican Americans and Mexican natives. Ive heard that many Mexicans who move to the U.S. pretend they dont understand their native Spanish anymore and have had direct experience that many Mexican Americans get angry if asked if they are Mexican. Conversely, native Mexicans cant stand the Mexican American troublemakers, who are usually first-or second-generation Mexican Americans.I have witnessed Mexican Americans visiting Baja California, not knowing any Spanish, and being scorned by the natives. Much of this problem has been handed down from the parents of the Mexican Americans, who refused to speak Spanish in the home, so that their children would have a better chance of making it in the U.S., since so many Americans are adamant that any foreigner learns English. I guess what many dont realize is that being at least bilingual, if not tri- or multilingual is a valuable asset in business, politics, medicine, and education. Hello, we live in a GLOBAL SOCIETY!This culture and language of Mexico is very rich and quirky, difficult for the First World mind to wrap itself around, but not impossible. Different states of Mexico have different dialects, just as we do in the United States. And there is a gulf of difference between Mexican Spanish and the Spanish of Spain, just as there is between American English and the English of England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, not to mention Afrikaners.How can I do anything but love my new people? Here, being the only Gringa in my road, I go to the little grocer or the vet or the taco stand and there are the big smiles, the embraces and Hola, Triana! Como esta usted' And it's not because I have money, I don't. It is because I buy their food or services, talk to them as best I can, remember them at Christmas and get to know them. I am loyal to them. Loyalty is a major commodity in Mexico.I really wonder about those who have touted the Indigo Children and the Rainbow Warriors, The Golden Race and the Harmonic Convergence and the Christian ethic that we are all Gods children. And if there is such resentment against these people who have not bombed us or harmed us in any way, why do we bother to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? The Mexicans dont celebrate that day, since it was simply a battle throwing out French troops and September 16 is the Big Day here; this is the real Mexican Independence Day, when Mexico gained independence from Spain. But despite this blaring fact, American restaurants and schools pull out all the stops for Cinco de Mayo, a piddly little day of note in the minds of native Mexicans.Living here has changed many perspectives for me. These people are extraordinary in many ways and I wish nothing but the best for most of them. Ive seen them in happiness and tragedy, in drunken stupors and at weddings and horse shows and graduations. Ive seen birth and death and the way they handle it. The basics. We have a lot to learn from these people if wed just listen. We threw our values away in favor of efficiency, technology and instant gratification. They havent, and it doesnt look like they are going to, either. They are able to integrate it.Triana Elan is a professional freelance writer. She has one newspaper column in the local San Juan Islands, WA newspapers and maintains a blog about living in Mexico with her three horses. She has been a research writer, ebook author/editor and book/media reviewer in her thirty year long passion with writing and learning.

Author Bio:
Triana Elan is an expert in this field. Triana has written several articles in the past on this topic.

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