A Different View

"Most of my important lessons about life have come from recognizing how others from a different culture view things. - Edgar H. Shein

This post is inspired by my friend Betsy, who is living for a year with her family in Paris. We are living somewhat parallel lives which is a really nice support to have. She wrote a post titled "Paris told in 10 photos" Here is my version. Thanks, Betsy:

So, here are ten things we have a new view on since arriving in Playa del Carmen, Mexico:

1. A typical food in this region is nopales, or cactus. I have yet to try and prepare any myself but have eaten it in restaurants. It tastes a bit like green pepper. There is a person at the grocery store whose job it is to remove the little sharp thingies on the cactus.

Cleaner of Nopales at work

2. The pick up line at school. Deep breaths. The road where the school sits comes right off the highway and is a narrow road carved out of the jungle. If you pass the school, there are about four housing developments either up and running or in the works, henceforth - A LOT of traffic. Well, add the parents of 200 families coming to drop off or pick up their kids twice a day and you have a BIG MESS!!! There is no parking lot and a teeny tiny little pick up drive way and NO rhyme nor reason to the chaos. Drivers are perfectly comfortable backing out or completely turning around in the middle of the mess. No consideration of anything going on around them.

You can see our super cool GI JOE car that we have named "Camo" trying to navigate this cluster mess.

3. Fresh corn tortillas at the local convenience store. 9 pesos (50 cents) for a nice warm stack of deliciousness.

4. The kiss - this is such a beautiful custom but oh, so hard to get used to. I know that it is common in many countries but it still feels really awkward. When you meet someone for the first time and then anytime you see them after that, you kiss on the cheek. It is a one cheek kiss here in Mexico. This includes teachers, doctors, coaches, etc. I am a hugger and so I understand that greeting someone with physical touch is a great way to connect, it's just taking awhile to become "normal".

5. How we get our drinking/cooking water. Now, to get a new one, there are many options. You can walk to the local convenience store (OXXO is the most common here) and trade it in for a full one. Where we live, we can call the front desk and they will deliver one. Some places, the trucks go up and down the street and you can flag one down. A full replacement costs about 30 pesos ($1.60).

6. Colorful street art. These beautiful expressions are all over Playa del Carmen, on the underpasses, sides of buildings, and walls surrounding properties.

7. Bakery items at the grocery store. When you head to the panadería at the grocery store, your first stop is to get a big, pizza pan looking tray and a pair of tongs. Then you can walk the aisles and pick out your treats. Once you've got what you want, you head up to the small counter where a helper will bag your treats and put a price tag on them.

Picking out some treats from the panadería

8. There are a lot of things that you can pay for at OXXO besides milk, bread, water, etc. We pay our electric bill at OXXO (what?) Let's say there is a parent at school collecting money to buy the teacher a birthday gift. This parent will send you a photo of their credit card. You can go to OXXO and tell the teller the account number. The teller will put money in that parent's account for you. You will be charged 10 pesos (50 cents) for that service.

9. Services. People will offer you services that you didn't ask for and maybe do not want, although sometimes they are helpful. The tricky thing is that you will often receive these services whether you want them or not and then you feel obligated to pay for them.
Helpful services: The people who will bag your groceries at the grocery store. People who will wash your car in the Walmart parking lot while you shop.

I hope you have some change in your pocket.

Armed and ready to change any type of windshield wiper. 

Services that you never knew you wanted (and maybe still don't want): Covering your front window with a sun protector (a flattened cardboard box) while you are in the store. Someone who will change your windshield wipers while you shop - they will ask before they do that. A guy "flagging" you to an open parking spot that you can easily see yourself, etc. Then there are the people offering services while you sit at red lights:  jugglers, acrobats, boys washing windshields, people selling candy, or refrescos (drinks). We have found it necessary to always have change on hand.

10. These tiendas (roadside stores) can be found in random places. This one is right outside of the kids' school. They have so many things: Fresh fruits and vegetables (even large containers of cut up fruit), eggs, milk, fresh tortillas, chips, candy, cold sodas and refrescos, they even have food cooked on site. It is really convenient if you go to pick up the kids from school and need potatoes for dinner.....convenient AND economical. AND the lady is muy amable (so nice).

So, that's a little glimpse into some of the little things that we have slowly figured out. There are so many more we've had the privilege to come across, more that we are in the process of figuring out and, I'm sure, many more we have yet to encounter. We are savoring all of these experiences and realize that when we come across something that is maddening, that it is temporary and we are learning and growing from it.

Blessings to you all from Mexico,
Tricia, Kevin, Solvei, Greta, Odin and Soren