Final Thoughts

Don't get us wrong, we could adjust if we lived in Mexico, but there are some things we found so different from life here.

Security

Many people expressed concern about our safety. Except when we were crossing the street and taxis were bearing down on us, we felt safe, for several reasons. First, we think the degree of risk people projected was overblown, especially in Mexico City and Puebla. Next, the guide books and state department give tips on how to stay safe and places to avoid, and that was very helpful.

Finally, we were with Omar, who really was our guardian. We could have stepped into a situation out of naiveté on our own, but he was always looking out for where we would be vulnerable and not even aware of it. In addition to being with Omar, the friendliness and helpfulness of the Mexican people in general surely inhibits violent criminal behavior. We were not accosted in any way, even on the crowded subway. On the other hand, as a tourist, you lack trust because you expect people to try to take advantage of you – Omar constantly was checking the bill at restaurants to make sure we were not overcharged. It's annoying, but there is a difference between a little scam and an blatant crime, between easy opportunity and risking a dangerous situation.

The security we saw in public places was a little unnerving at first. It reminded Roger of his time in the Philippines 40 years ago. There is political and social unrest in parts of Mexico, as in many Latin countries, and seeing such a strong armed presence was actually somewhat reassuring. There were private security guards, police, and military everywhere. Unlike the US, these guys were plainly visible, usually armed with automatic weapons – Uzis, shotguns, M-16s – and wearing bulletproof vests. They were posted at government buildings, museums, markets, street corners, police stations, anyplace that might be a target these days. All the stores had security guards, but Sears was the most striking- men in black business suits with earphones, obviously not sales clerks, were in abundance.

The poverty.

The obvious number of poor people everywhere is daunting – beggars, street vendors even in the middle of traffic trying to clean windshields or sell something, homeless people. Even though West Virginia is a poor state and we have seen some of the poverty here in our little affluent part of town, its not in our face in the quantity or on a daily basis like it is there, nor in the extreme we saw on a regular basis.

Some faces and scenes still haunt us. One is the concertina player in a Mexico City marketplace, his wife held out her hat for change, his two pre-school children followed, a rope tied to their wrists to keep them from being separated in the crowd. The tiny, wizened old woman squatting on a corner in Oaxaca who spotted us from twenty yards away, the only Anglos on the street, and holding up her hand for a coin. The little boy crawling across the floor of the subway car, looking for shoes to shine. The young children weaving around the tables of the nice sidewalk café we were eating at, selling gum and trinkets. That's life without a social safety net.

The crazy traffic

At first, the traffic patterns seemed chaotic to us, but there was a sort of order to the flow, we just aren't sure what the rules are. We met some Americans living there who drive in Mexico City, but I'm not sure I could do it. The lanes are uneven and not clearly marked, there are not many stop signs, people blow their horns to signal they are coming through. The number of cars is unbelievable. There are huge speed bumps to slow traffic, which are so high that small cars carrying a load sometimes drag. Still, we did not see an accident the entire three weeks we were there – but it is not likely we could survive in that traffic..

The weak infrastructure

Not being able to drink the tap water requires some adaptations, like rinsing with bottled water after brushing your teeth. The locals avoid tap water as well, leading to a large consumption of plastic bottles. It is something that bothers us on an ecological level. We keep thinking of the floating plastic island in the Pacific, getting bigger and bigger.

People can't flush their toilet paper, so the bathrooms have trash cans with lids-just another nicety we have that was missed, especially at first when the paper had to be retrieved. Ewww.

We are thankful on a whole new level now

The conveniences that we enjoy and take for granted, like a washer and dryer, dishwasher, clean water, etc. are not part of the lives of many Mexicans. We will not forget to pause and give thanks for all we have.

But more importantly, a Friend at Meeting once posed the question soon after we returned – Why am I one of the lucky people in the world? If you believe that we are all equal to God, it seems important to reflect on this, and then do what you can to help others with your resources.