With all the clamor from the current US administration about the criminals, rapists, drug addicts seeking asylum in the States, it kinda makes you wonder about who exactly the people of Mexico are. Yes, I realize that there are others seeking asylum from other Latin countries, but I want to speak specifically about Mexico.
I have wanted to live in this beautiful country since 1994 when I was a part of a missions trip to Mexico City and Oaxaca. It took me until 2019 to accomplish this, but at present, my home is in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Yes, there are challenges here. Re-learning the language would be the first one. Acclimating to the culture of "manana" is definitely a challenge, as is the way "business" is conducted. For example, as a homeowner, you are responsible to pay your utility bills whether or not you receive a written bill. Given the fact that there is no mail service where I live, this can definitely be an issue. The water bill is hand delivered to each residence and it may be a simple case of stuffing it in the fence, or in the door handle. You may or may not find it where it was left. It may, in fact, show up in the neighbor's yard along the fence line. Nevertheless, no one is going to buy your excuse that you didn't receive it.
There's are a myriad of other examples of challenges that can be addressed, but on the positive (very positive!) side would be the people here. They have to be the most gracious people I have ever encountered!
The first time I encountered this was when buying an oversize armoire at a second hand store. We thought that it would be a simple matter of loading it into the back of our pick up, but in spite of the fact that all the measurements had been taken to ensure it would fit, it didn't! There was a group of men across the street at the local convenience store watching this fiasco. When it became clear there was no way we were going to load that furniture, they came over and offered their truck. Four men hoisted the piece into the open bed of the truck and drove it home for us! No one would accept money for their time, but a couple of cans of beer was plenty.
A couple of days ago my car developed a leak of some sort and the smell of gas was horrific. I got the name of a local repair shop, gave them a call, and the next thing I knew someone drove to my house to check it out. He advised me not to drive it, and that he would bring someone by later that day to take it to his shop. I was okay not having a car for a day (and his loaner car wasn't working), but DID need to stop by the local convenience store to reload the minutes on my phone before I ran out of time/minutes. This sweet man stopped off at the store on his way back to his shop and reloaded my phone.
He also offered to let me use his car the following day for a meeting I had in the case my car wasn't fixed yet.
Today when he brought the car back to me, I drove him back to the shop and we chatted about life in general. His father had wanted him to go to medical school, and had paid his tuition and living expenses. When my (new best) friend decided that wasn't the path he wanted to take, all the benefits were withdrawn. Long story short, he didn't find anything wrong with the car and, in spite of the fact that he'd spent numerous hours trying to diagnose the problem, he charged me nothing.
Now, I ask you: would either of these scenarios have happened in the U.S? I think probably not. All these people were basically strangers to me, yet they helped above and beyond. And we're not supposed to want "these people" in the United States? I think many Americans could take a lesson from the people of Mexico in hospitality, honesty and graciousness. True, not all are that way, however, the ones I have encountered so far have been stellar!
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