1 post tagged “mexican”

a few tips on assimilating yourself South of the Border...

1) Use as many diminuitives and nicknames for people as possible without actually using their name. Examples: guerr@ for light skinned, gring@ for American, morenit@ for someone dark, gordit@ (or gordis) for someone heavy, flaquit@ (or flaquis) for a skinny person, etc. In the case of loved ones use names like: amor, corazon, mi vida.

2) Work all week long, even Sundays if you have to. Work from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

3) Go to a party every weekend. Celebrate everything. Invite huge, extended family.

4) Use different Spanish and tones according to who you are with. (If you are me, be prepared to not understand half of the slang and hip Spanish.)

5) Use public transportation, fitting as many people into a small space at one time. Always be prepared for traffic.

6) Shop at the market; fresh fruits and vegetables, paper goods, juicers, fabrics, chicken, chicharrón, meat, deli, whatever you need, just a few blocks away from home.

7) Wrap your baby in a hundred blankets and cover them up like it was 4 degrees F. outside.

8) Carry your children or strap them to your back in a wrap. Strollers are far and few between.

9) Use a tortilla like a napkin as well as the main utensil at a meal. Eat food sold at little stand. Eat meat. Lots of meat.

10) Drink fresh made juices and smoothies from whole fruits and veggies. (my favorites have been carrot with orange juice or the "verde" which has various vegetables, pineapple, and grapefruit juice.)

11) Know about natural medecine and homeopathic herbal remedies. Grow herbs for tea and plants like aloe to use.

12) Always be late. If something starts at 6, show up around 6:45-7:15. Except church. Be at church on time. Mas o menos.

13) Live with your parents until you are married. And have babies young. (This isn't for everyone. But it's a "modern" thing to move out for college or work.)

14) Cook food over a fire.

15) Drink a lot of Coke and other sodas, as well as "waters" which are more like juice - pulp from fruit mixed up with water and sugar.

16) Laugh a lot and joke about everything.

17) Be superstitious rather than scientific. Believer rather than sceptic.

18) Never walk around the house with you shoes off. You will catch a cold!

19) When you're sick go to a 24 hour clinic, be served by underpaid doctors. Pick up drugs without a prescription including injectable penicilin.

20) Be in close with your family and circle of friends. Care for each other and share in burdens, joy, and everything in between. Say "Te quiero."