| Samantha 的个人资料Postcards from Mexico照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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2月25日 Random Acts of KindnessOne of my favourite newspaper articles is a weekly collection of stories called Random Acts of Kindess, published by the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/ActsKindness/article/124892). In a world that likes to deliver us the worst, most sensationalized reports, this page always warms my heart.
Hundreds of people read this blog a week, but I hear very few of your own stories. I am wondering, what random acts of kindness have you found in Mexico? Or in any country for that matter? Please post under comments.
One of my most memorable was when I was volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and a single mother who was pulling everything together for her family, made my group and I a simple but delicious lunch to show her appreciation for the help. I've always wondered how the house came along in the end. Corazon, I'm twenty-sevenLast week, the guys of the IHOM told me that the Peruvian was going to celebrate his birthday on Friday, and that I should invite my friends and join the first official party of the house. They're young, but I really like the guys, so I said sure, and invited about ten of my friends.
The party started early, which was a little weird, but I chilled and waited for my friends before joining the group. It was light, the air was delicious, and our front yard was full of South Americans dancing in in ways that would make me look like an elephant. Two guys came to talk to me in particular, and after about half an hour of talking to a Peruvian, he asked me to marry him. Smiling sweetly, I asked him how old he was.
"Nineteen!" he proclaimed.
"Corazon, I'm twenty-seven".
Not to be disuaded, he said that I could get European citizenship with the deal, as he's also Italian. That sweetened the offer a bit, but alas, I decided to stay single.
It didn't take long until these beautiful dancing foreigners were swaying around, then falling down, and then drooling on the couches and the floor. My friends and I looked at each other and shrugged, kids. I don't think any of us realized how much we've grown up until the moment that we saw a party end at two in the morning due to over-drinking.
I have to give the guys credit though, the next day the house and yard were spotless.
Today I realized that it would be inevitable to do some work. I was bothered by this because I work so hard during the week, and then I had an idea. I got into my bikini, made a pina coloda, got out a beach blanket, and set up my paradise on the concrete roof/patio. This conservative neighbourhood is not Acapulco, and had someone seen me they probably would have been mortified. However, I feel like I got a mini-vacation while completing some boring paper work. I haven't missed the snow once. 2月20日 RussianThe idea of identity and how we make judgements about others is something that I think about a lot. I find it weird that people will come up to me and suggest where they think I'm from, but I find myself staring at foreigners too, wondering the same thing.
With the simple addition of highlights to my hair last October, my whole identity changed. On a weekly basis, I hear,
"Are you from Switzerland? No? I was sure you were..."
"You must be German! Swedish? Um, Finish?"
"Your Canadian? Really? I thought maybe Swedish... definately European..."
I think some of this change in perception also comes with my accent. I pronounce my r's without the usual Anglo problems, in fact, I seem to be over pronouncing them- so much that my friends in Acapulco called me the Russian!
I laughed off the nicname until this morning, when my pilates instructor asked me where I was from. When I said Canada she stared at me, almost disapointed...
"Oh, I thought you were from Russia".
2月14日 Sunshine and UmbrellasThe sun is bursting from the cloudless sky, and I'm going about my business in a tank top and jean skirt.
As I look outside my window, I see that others are taking advantage of the gorgeous weather as well. There is a student stepping around a stray dog, and a shriveled old woman walking arm in arm with her neighbour. The old woman, with a long gray braid and printed clothing that doesn't match, is also holding an umbrella. This isn't the first time I've seen someone on a flawless day using an umbrella, you could almost say that it's common.
In a country where social class is related to colour, some people like to avoid the sun all together, lest they be mistaken for a labourer. Others take it to a more extreme level, by buying one of the "skin lighteners" advertised on the billboards and in the supermarket.
I, on the other hand, am embarrassed to be the most chicken white person at the beach, and apply sunless tanner to my legs when I wear a skirt. I think that darker skin is beautiful, especially since I always seem to burn and then turn into Casper again. For many caucasian Canadians, darkening your skin is a sign of health and even status, if it shows that you went on vacation.
The whole situation strikes me as a little sad, and it just goes to show that we usually want what we don't have.
2月9日 The Same City is Different EverytimeEager to start my quest to live every weekend to the fullest, I was bursting at the seams to escape to Acapulco with the girls last weekend. It was Nuri's birthday, and they were already there, waiting for me. The plans were vague, but they were to include the main ingredients of every beach trip: SPF 45 sunblock, playa, clubs, palomas, and maybe a cute boy or two.
I won't rehash the same old "I had the time of my life" stories, those have become a bit cliche on my part.
What I noticed is that I've been to this city four times and generally to the same places, but the way that people treat me has been pretty different, depending on who I've gone with.
Going with all Canadian girls was ok, people gave us quite a bit of attention and treated us as foreign tourists. I felt a bit strange about that at first, but we were fresh to the country and eager to relax, especially me and my recovery from food poisoning.
Being there with Mexican couples was completely different, because we were staying in an apartment and hanging out with each other- nobody even tried to talk to me in English, let alone target me as a "tourist". Actually, being with your close guy and girl friends means that everybody else will pretty much ignore you, which makes it like a "normal" vacation.
Going with my family was fascinating, because people saw a group that they could sell everything under the sun to, bargaining whenever possible. It was a sport to barter the prices in English, then astound the vendor by switching into Spanish, telling them I live in Mexico, and that I would like the Mexican price please. That works quickly by the way.
Being wtih a group of single Mexican girls was sort of like getting a combination of all of the above- people treated me as the foreign tourist, or as Mexican, or tried to sell me things specifically (hey lady, I have good price) or offer time shares. The strangest part was having people come up to me in the disco to ask where I was from... like I accidently found nationals to hang out with during my holidays.
So that's the life of somebody who has a latin soul in a foreign body, visiting touristlandia. Its doing the same old thing in a thousand different ways.
Visit Before you SpeakThe article below was on the front page of the Toronto Star online. This topic has appeared frequently in the press, full of speculations by people who don't actually live here. Yes, there has been escalating violence in the country, but this is almost strictly between rival drug cartels. You have to take precautions and stay out of bad areas, but that's the same for any big city. The same foreign newspapers that warn people to stay away from Mexico feature daily local stories about shootings, hit and runs, drug busts, and fraud... I'm surprised Mexicans would want to go to Toronto!
This is not to play down the tragedy of these situations, but the coverage is getting a bit hysterical and frustrating to read from this end. I was in Acapulco the day of the most recent shootings, and would return anytime. I live in Mexico City, and haven't cowered in my house for a second.
Liberals urge Mexico warning
Feb 08, 2007 11:47 AM Ottawa Bureau OTTAWA – A Liberal MP called today for an emergency debate on the escalating violence in Mexico and its direct threat to Canadians. "I believe it is important that Canadians are aware of what is happening to them when they travel to Mexico," Jim Karygiannis (Scarborough-Agincourt) told a news conference. Despite the fact four Canadians met violent deaths in Mexico in the past year and others have been wounded in shootouts, the Conservative government has not issued a advisory against travel there by Canadian tourists. "The minister of state (for foreign affairs) stated that no advisory will be issued as Canadians are not targeted, and I am wondering if Canadians have to have a big bullseyes at that top of their forehead ... in order for us to issue an advisory," Karygiannis said. "We need to make sure that Canadians are protected," he added, particularly in the weeks leading up to school winter breaks and university reading weeks. Party house leaders are meeting Tuesday to discuss the need for an emergency debate. In a related matter, Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff (Thunder Bay-Rainy River) called on the federal government to pressure Mexico to officially drop two Thunder Bay women as suspects in the unsolved slayings of a Woodbridge, Ont. couple. Domenic and Nancy Ianiero were killed almost a year ago in their hotel room on the Mayan Riviera. "The Canadian government has not taken up this case with the vigour and determination that it requires," he said. 2月1日 One Step Closer to KnowingLast week I made an incredibly hard decision, one that I avoided telling people until I had whispered it a thousand times to myself. I decided that I will stay in Canada after I finish my contract this May.
Mexico is my country, I'm so proud that I can say that. It was good to question my place here as a foreigner, but I realized that when I'm with my friends, co-workers, and Mexican family, we don't really think of me as a foreigner, we're just together, being. I immersed myself as much as possible into everything the country had to offer... and then it became natural. Bump into me and I'll say "ay" instead of "oh". Ask me what my favourite food is and I'll say pozole without missing a beat. Ask me what I'm thinking, and sometimes I like the Spanish words that come to my head better than the English ones. Put me in a line of people waiting for something inane and bureaucratic, and I'll patiently daydream. This country had profoundly changed me, and I don't know how to say thank you. I can't live like I did before.
So why would I leave it? It came down to a couple of reasons. First, I've been able to live quite comfortably here, but it's almost impossible to save for the other things that I aspire to do. Professionally and financially, it's like being stuck in a permanent limbo, I couldn't see a place to rise at this point in my life. Staying in Mexico would mean only staying in Mexico, and I dream of traveling to places like Egypt, Madagascar, Peru...
Secondly of course, is my family. I think they might actually be worth visiting regularly in -20 degree weather, but that's a maybe ;)
I've started to tell some of my friends here, and they're happy for me- they had been asking since I arrived why I would stay. But Mexico is so warm, embracing, beautiful, fun.
Sometimes I catch the look on someone's face, or I bounce around the inside of a speeding micro bus, and I think... wow, I'm leaving this behind. But I can't live here with tears in my eyes, it's not my style. If anything, I'm going to start going into warp speed, visiting as many little cities as I can, and dancing at as many parties as possible (nothing new there). My postcards will be fuller than ever. I'll kick off this new phase by going to Acapulco with the girls tomorrow.
There is a U2 song that I've been humming all week, it seemed appropriate for my situation. One Step Closer... one step closer to knowing. |
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