The Law of Mediocrity

Hola chicos y chicas.

After two weeks in Mexico, I have managed to shake off all the negative and positive stereotypes people have filled my head with, and begun to look at the country through my own eyes.

The negatives are obvious enough if you ever watch American movies or TV or listen to a lot of music. But no, we haven't met any banditos, people here aren't lazy or trying to rip us off, and things are no more dirty than in Nueva York or Baltimore.

But, I also have to say that all this talk about how polite everyone is and the nice slow pace, and especially the super-well-behaved kids has also, sadly, turned out to be falso. At least in GTO, only the old folks move slow. Everyone is in a big hurry, ready to push you off the narrow sidewalks into oncoming traffic in a heartbeat. Kind of like NYC, but with smaller sidewalks and without crosswalks or traffic signals to give a sense of efficency. In fact, if you think Mexico is slow, it is more likely because things just don't work quite as well as they should, not because folks aren't in a hurry.

And kids here are just like those in the other United States. Some good kids, some rude ones, all is the same.

The longer I am here the more apparent it becomes that people are about the same everywhere. The same mix of friendly, rude, polite, clueless, angry, happy and all the rest. Just with a different accent.

This is something I have always suspected, but as I travel more, I find more evidence. Cultures are different, values are different -- to a certain extent -- but people are people, and that's bueno.