mas y menos
I love Mexico. Mostly. There are things that make me never want to leave, and there are things that make me yearn for the familiarity and ease of home. This is just a running list of the pluses (mas) and the minuses (menos), which I’ll update whenever I come across a new one. Obviously some people might see the pluses as minuses or vice versa, so keep in mind that this is just one woman’s interpretation of life in Mexico, in no particular order.
Mas
- Bus drivers often have decent stereo systems set up in their coaches, which is usually blasting some form of local music. It makes me feel like I’m having an “authentic” experience.
- Police patrols drive around with blue and red flashing lights almost all of the time. At first it’s confusing and may even induce panic, but then you learn to appreciate the fact that they’re rolling down your street several times a day (at least in my neighborhood).
- Fresh juice stands are everywhere, and most carry a large variety of fruits and add-ins like oatmeal and alfalfa for endless combinations of juices and aguas frescas (strained juice blended with lots of water and white sugar - very popular).
- Policemen (as opposed to civilian men) don’t ogle women. This makes me feel safe somehow. There also seems to be a high proportion of female cops.
- Taxis are plentiful and cheap, although the green VW bugs are said to be dangerous.
- It costs about 20 cents to ride the extensive subway system, which is fairly clean and reliable, if a bit crowded. The icons for each stop are really well designed, and fun to look at while riding along or trying to avoid the guy selling the burned cds he’s blasting from the covert stereo in his backpack (at $1 each, is actually not a bad deal).
- The guacamole at most taco stands and restaurants is more like a runnier, spicier version of the stuff I’m used to, but it’s still pure deliciousness.
- Amaranth is a popular grain, for good light-and-crunchy reason.
- There’s a “guy” for everything: the tamale guys, the knife-sharpening guys on their bicycles, the pan dulce guys (see below), the natural gas guys, the water bottle guys, the guys to buy all your old furniture, even the trash guys, almost all of which announce their presence by rolling down your street either yelling, ringing bells, or blasting their spiel through a bullhorn. An important lesson I’ve learned is that you’ve got to grab these guys while they’re there, because you never know when they’re coming back. I prefer this system to the Walmart model (again, see below), even though sometimes it can take weeks to figure out where to buy random stuff like bath mats or black electrical tape.
- Wireless internet is more prevalent than I would have thought. Most people I know have it in their homes, and many cafes in my neighborhood broadcast signals.
Menos
- Tap water is not suitable for drinking, especially outside the capital; I’m starting to realize the connections first-hand between poor water sanitation and a heavy reliance on plastic water containers - leaching toxic chemicals into the drinking water before they end up in the landfill to leach more.
- You usually can’t throw toilet paper in the toilet; the general rule seems to be: if there is a trash can next to the toilet, use it. As with the above example, I’m starting to see the connections between poor plumbing infrastructure and a heavy reliance on plastic grocery bags (used often in these little trash cans as well as for regular trash), complete with their own toxic chemicals and environmental nightmares. I imagine both of these things might be prevalent in many developing parts of the world, not just in Mexico. I also imagine these will be hurdles to overcome in the hopefully inevitable push to ban or reduce the use of plastic bags and bottles worldwide (call me a dreamer).
- Practically all consumer electronics and appliances are around 15-25% more expensive than in the States.
- Walmart seems to be one of the more expensive places to shop here, which makes me despise them even more and hate myself for even buying cat food at their upscale offshoot, Superama (I’ll post later on the “Walmartization” of Mexico).
- On a lighter note, I don’t much care for the Mexican dulces, or sweets. I think it’s the sugar.
- The mail takes forever, if it arrives at all, and the few shipping options out there can be quite costly. I ended up paying $250 to ship a $250 camera down here, after 2 months and multiple shipping costs (New Jersey to Fort Worth to a shipping service in Florida to Mexico), Skype calls to the shippers and credit card company, and sky-high import duties.
- The piercing whistle of the the rolling churro carts releasing steam is unbearable, as is the cartoonish honking of the bicycle horn from the pan dulce, or sweet breads, guy.
- The bureaucracy of any government or large company service is extensive. I’ve spent many hours in such lines, usually with little satisfactory result.