Noni tree & México in general

As my final post on this trip to Mexico I wanted to share some thoughts on my experience. Just now on the flight back from Villahermosa to Houston I experienced it again- the best thing about Mexico is its people. I have only met extremely nice and helpful people who made me feel at home and at no point unsafe so I really think Mexico is a fabulous place to visit and am already planning my next trip. It's got to be said that I was extremely fortunate with having great friends (and making new ones) who live in Mexico and showed me their country from its best side. I am very impressed by the vastness of the country and the broad range of things to do and to see. When I mentioned Mexico in New York people mostly assumed that I was going to the beach which is probably the most common vacation destination for Americans but actually just going to the beach is almost a sin in this culturally rich and very heterogeneous country. And it has to be said that despite great efforts (and very long hours driving), I only got to see a small part of its treasures. For instance there are not only many more Mayan ruins all over the country but also remains of the Aztec culture that would be well worth seeing.

One thing I noticed speaking to Mexicans is that they seem very torn between being proud of their country and skeptical of politics and their government in particular - it's interesting for me because in some ways the two go together for me. However, given their history, they are vet wary of a corrupt and authoritarian rule and I really saw that the only people they trust are their close friends and family. In fact some told me that they see their government only as puppets and in order to raise attention to this fact, a couple of people put a cat on the electoral ballot for the mayor in Veracruz (I need to follow up on this story but it seems like the cat got quite a few votes). Sounds funny but it's actually a little sad and illustrates the profound distrust in politicians in Mexico.

Another cultural thing that I found striking was the importance of food (and rightly so, their food is delicious) and the siesta. While I didn't see too much of corporate life, everyone I met seemed to work in the oil & gas industry and they told me that it is common to take a 2 hour lunch break, usually from 2-4pm people either go home to eat or find a restaurant. Something the US could learn from - a healthy break to boost energy. However, this also means that they often stay longer than the close of business at 7.30...

While all Mexicans I met were extremely friendly (except for one that called me rude American just because I didn't hear that he asked me a question), I did get a sense that there are some almost xenophobic undercurrents in their society too. Where many Mexicans have come to work to the US and often face discrimination, many Central Americans come to Mexico to work and are often considered 'second class'. In fact I heard that even Mexicans with a darker skin color are looked down upon by some of their fairer counterparts. Crazy when you think about Europeans striving to get a tan, frequenting solariums etc.

In general I felt like this country is very much emerging though- there are vast differences between poor and wealthy people and there are lots of social issues to be addressed (such as the inclusion of the large indigenous population), but it seems to be on the right track and I even heard some commercials for 'el partido verde', the Green Party as environmental considerations are becoming more important. Mexico is the second largest Latin American economy and a fascinating place to live and visit - I'll be back.