People enjoy their community and talk to their neighbours. People greet you on the street. Even people who drive by you on the street will say "hola" out the car window. I also love the parks in Mexico - they are so well done. They have skateboard areas, children's playground, boardwalks, food stalls, water features, statues and public art, BBQ areas and tables and palapas for people to use, and outdoor exercise equipment. All this is free to use, and people come out - especially after work in the evenings and on Sundays, and really use the parks. They bring chairs and boom boxes and coolers of food, and spend hours in the parks. I love to walk the malecon and see all the hundreds of people - mostly families eating and playing together.
Another thing I adore is the great service you get everywhere. Whenever I go purchase a service or product, I feel like I am important, appreciated, and valued. I never get attitude from people like I might back home. People are patient and kind. Today we went to a Dentist because Stephane was having a toothache. We walked into a nearby dental office (without an appointment) and Stephane said, “I have a toothache and wondered if there was a time I could come in and see the Doctor this week?” “Just take a seat,” she said.
10 minutes later – ahead of the other two guests in the office – Steph was in the chair with the Dentist looking at his tooth. A minute or so after that, the Dentist handed Stephane a small raspberry seed that was stuck between his teeth. Sheepishly, Stephane thanked the Dentist and went to the desk to pay. “No," the senora said, "there is no charge.”
Seriously? A Dentist that is not just about money and that values care over commerce? What a concept to invest in future business by not being greedy? Wow. I love Mexico.
That said, one of the things I hate about Mexico - is the people's propensity to set off loud bombs in the middle of the night.
Hammer bombs are used by young men to celebrate – whenever there is an excuse to do so - a birthday party, wedding, or religious festival. They are basically homemade explosives taped onto the end of a sledgehammer which is then hammered down onto a piece of metal. This can throw the man doing the hammering feet into the air, and every year dozens and dozens of people are injured by flying shrapnel. Fun, eh?
I have written before about the loudness of Mexico: the crickets, the chachalacas, the music, the stray dogs, the competing boom boxes, the karaoke, and the bombs. Add to this list now, thunder. I have never been to Mexico in the rainy season before. I always thought I liked thunder, but when it wakes you up every night, it is less appealing. Indeed, the noise is at times overwhelming. Utila was such an auditory respite from Mexico. Only the sound of the waves…(and maybe the sound of Stephanes earlobe flapping against the fan he had his face pushed up against most nights).
Speaking of waves, the woman who owns the house we are staying in has a white noise machine she encouraged us to use. It has a wave setting. We turn it on loud when we go to bed and it effectively blocks out the sound of the crickets, the birds, the dogs, the rain, and the music. We have been sleeping pretty well with it on. Unfortunately nothing can block the sound of the bombs and the thunder. They are just too earth shattering.
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