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 Travel & Outdoors | March 2007 
Things Mexico Taught Me
 Nick
I have just returned from 5 amazing weeks in Mexico and want to get some thoughts out while they are still fresh on my mind. Here is a listing of what sticks out:
• Mexico is one of the most beautiful countries on the face of the planet. Having lived in almost every biome this planet has to offer, I can say that Mexico has awesome desert scapes, gorgeous mountains - both lush and dry, and amazing greenery. You can totally see God’s hand in the creation of this country.
• Mexicans are incredibly friendly and hospitable. During some of our adventures we went into remote villages and within minutes had a place to stay and hot food to eat. Would we as americans bring strange foreigners into our homes for a night of food and shelter? However, these people weren’t even Christians... we have much to learn here.
• Ancestral worship is alive and well even in the Americas. It is not just something that Asian cultures have to worry about. People are sacrificing animals to feed thier dead ancestors in America’s own backyard.
• Mexicans are incredibly friendly and hospitable. I know... already mentioned, but repeated for emphasis.
• Bartering is by far preferable to me than posted prices. Posted prices should be a starting point for negotiations.
• It says alot when a 24 yr old white american gives up his seat to a 60 something mexican man. This gives you a good platform to talk the guy and have people respect you. The reason you do is so you can stand for 6 hours on a hot, stuffy, mountain bus as it is bobbing and weaving through ridiculous steeps and turns.
• The “price” (payment for services) to get an immigration checkpoint official to let your friend go free when she can’t find her visa is $27 USD, or $270 pesos.
• Mexico really doesn’t need many more long term workers, as least among non-indian people groups. The Mexican evangelical church is alive and well. Though not without issue (what church isn’t), they are reaching out and working to finish the task. I learned that there are efforts for evangelical Mexican nationals to take the gospel to the relatively unreached indian peole groups of the south. This is very cool.
• The best way to kill/sacrifice a chicken is to hold a machete vertically, with the sharp point in the ground. A second person, preferably a grandma with no shoes will grab the chicken with the feet in one hand and then head in the other, and then lined up at the neck move the body up and down. A few swipes and the head should come off easy. Then throw the body about 10 feet away so it can flop around and bleed out. Repeat as necessary.
• Eating what is set before you really does pave the way for relationship. Suck it up and eat/drink the ___________ (classified).
• Time vs Event oriented cultures are very different. Anyone seriously considering long term overseas living needs to be ready for this. A good rule of thumb is any time a national in an event oriented culture gives you a length of time, multiply that number by 1.8 to get the actual value you are looking for. No, seriously.
• One other thing I learned: The best way to make a normal food item taste better is to cook it on high heat with 4 cups of oil and then use fresh tortillas for silverware. No, seriously! |
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