A small excerpt..........Mexico experiences....
<Originally Created> Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:38:50 AM
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
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
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