Experiences in Mexico As
I pen down some of the experiences / observations I have had, please do
consider this as a thought specific to me and is not intended to hurt
or change any perception.
As I speak sitting in Monterrey, the
financial capital of Mexico, I realize that there is so much similarity
to India. Initially when I came here, around 11 months back, it was
indeed a very different feeling altogether compared to now. We were
around 7 Indians together in a foreign land having to cope up with the
language, food, people and a very basic setup of our workplace. The
standard of the city, the posh vehicles plying around, the beautiful
crowd and different taste and delicacies…all fascinated us to the core.
We did have some tough time initially starting from finding a place to
rent to figuring out the directions to a specific place to deciding upon
what food we can eat… oh, it was a time that will stay embedded in our
memories, with all the trial and errors..it was indeed an experience
many might yearn to have. At this juncture, it will be inappropriate if I
do not mention the help we got from our Mexican colleagues and friends.
They were very kind and very easy to get along with. Increasingly, with
time, I developed great friendships with many and a great rapport to
begin with.
Mexico, a place imbibed with stories of past
civilizations of Aztecs, Mayans, etc., modest and humble people and a
very lively party crowd. Having been and seen the pyramids of the Sun
and the Moon Gods at the outskirts of Mexico City and the remains of the
past civilizations, all bring back patches of the majestic past
cultures that existed in this part of the world. Just a quick brief
glance, it is said that the Aztecs had come upon this land on the
indication of some divine message which had asked them to look upon a
piece of land where they would see an eagle fighting with a snake and
water surrounding that island. This is where they found this unusual
combination and this symbol has stayed on since then till the extent
that it is now their national symbol.
Here in Mexico, the society is
patriarchal and the value that they attribute to their parents and
senior folks is adorable. They have a niche of living life to the
fullest and have a very warm and open minded culture. Any new person
coming from any part of the world would need very less time in getting
acquainted with the people and the style of living.
Yes, the culture
being completely different from our Asian mindset, it might come as a
culture shock for few, but soon you would love the place and the people.
It was indeed a bit of a culture shock for us no less than my fellow
Mexican friends. They were indeed surprised and curious to understand
our way of living and our style of thinking. I still remember how some
of my friends were surprised that there are people who do not take any
kind of meat or eggs…i.e. vegetarians:). We did have had to put together
numerous explanations of various Indian culture and habits. The meeting
of westernized and Asian culture was one of the most interesting
outcomes we have had.
I have been lucky enough in having to know
the Mexican lifestyle and the country from close proximity. Have visited
pretty many places in here….and have been a part to quite a few
celebrations.
Spanish is the official and the primary language that
is spoken all around. It really makes your life much easier if you know
Spanish, nevertheless, in quick time one can get the hang of it… as I
did to some extent
.
English is also widely being spoken but to some extent limited to
official or academic premises. My Mexican fiends were surprised when we
told them that in India we have more than 30 completely different
recognized languages and hundreds of dialects. Add to it the multiple
religious beliefs that is followed in India. It was indeed difficult for
them to comprehend how so many different religious beliefs, languages
and style of daily life could co-exist.
Christianity being the
primary religion, there are majestic churches all around. With the
architecture in here being inherited from their Spanish conquerors, many
other cultures or stages of civilization can be seen here. One of the
very famous churches is the “Church of St. Guadalupe” in Mexico City.
Its interiors are majestic and also the entire setup depicting the
progress of Christianity through the ages. It is said and as we saw, the
“Original image of Virgin Mary on the Original Cloak of Juan Diego” was
installed over there. This image is in the newer church, beside the
original church. On our trip to Mexico City, we came across many such
majestic churches. A few were also in Zocalo, Mexico City , the biggest
and the most important square in the capital town.
Apart from
Cathedrals, many other old impressive buildings were all around the
capital city. With modernization taking over, many of these buildings
were being converted to government buildings. Staying on with the same
topic of architectural wonders, Guanajuato, a place very true to the
heart of traditional Mexican, not only the architecture but also the
variety of people living over there. On a close bound area, we saw
beautiful buildings built years ago. They build up such a picturesque
setup and a give a satisfying feeling of having achieved something:).
Walking down some of the alleys of Guanajuato, it felt as though we were
walking down the alleys of the Vatican City in Rome. Moreover, the city
of Guanajuato was so aptly interconnected by Tunnels, which you would
not know when and where you reach without getting confused. Had to keep a
local with us or else we would have been roaming in the tunnels only:).
Food habits, one of the most important ingredients of a stay, is very different from our masala specific taste buds
.
The taste buds need a bit of an alteration in here. The food in general
is very different from our Indian variety with less of oil content and
spices. Non-vegetarians have a lot to choose from in here. You can
actually find varieties of delicious preparations from different
varieties of meat. Cabrito (meat from young goat) is one of the
specialties. Apart from that there are so many dishes. Some being
Tamalipus, pollo mole(pronounced as poyo molaa) – chicken in sauce,
chicaron, carnes, yamon…etc…etc.. Most of the food we have in here is
with tacos. Tacos can be compared to the Indian version of
Roti/chapatti, only that its of a little lesser circumference. We have
dishes like tacos con pollo(tacos with chicken), tacos con yamon y
queso(tacos with turkey and cheese) …etc..etc. A bit larger tacos is
called Gorditto. On one of my trips to the sea facing state of San Luis
Potosi and Tampico, we had a taste of varieties of underwater animals.
Starting from octopus, crabs , king shrimps and many tasty varieties of
fishes
. A Bengali having his plate full of varieties of fish, chicken and sweets…what else would one want
. Moreover, we have many a outlet in here for readymade food chains , Subway, McDonalds, KFC just to name a few.
Football
is the muse of the nation. They are crazy about this game. I had been
to one of the local league matches, that although turned out to be the
inauguration of that league. The atmosphere was exhilarating and
literally mind blowing. The cheering and the interest that they pour
into the game makes the entire experience awesome fun. Adding to it,
the elixir of excitement and enthusiasm, its infectious.
. Some of the matches draw in so much of an interest that its impossible to get on to other things.
I
have been taking on some awesome adventure trips in and around
Monterrey. We had gone trekking, hiking, mountain rappelling,
adventurous swimming, night hiking on one of the largest and biggest
Canyon, the Matacanes. Doing bungee jumping from heights in excess of
200 feet, the tallest bungee in Mexico, at Cola de Caballo …it was an
experience worth having. There is no dearth to fun in here as there are
numerous activities one can get involved in. In one of my trips to the
south of the country, Guadalajara, we had an opportunity to visit the
birth place of tequila, The Tequila Country.
Nevertheless, let me
bring this to an end adding that it’s a nice place to be in and to have a
new different experience altogether
This was just a small excerpt accounting some of my experiences. Hope this was’nt very boring.
.... more to come
