As Gringas in Mexico, my friends and I have joked about writing a book. This book would share real experiences, real situations, and real advice that you can't get from the Lonely Planet! I was thinking about this today and what kind of chapters might exist in this book.
Ch. 1 Why?...Why Not?
This chapter would be dedicated to answering all of the why questions that surface in the first year abroad. Why does the bus sometimes come for in a row and then not for 20 minutes? Why
Ch. 2 The Weirdest Thing Outside Your Door
This chapter is pretty self explanitory. Each participant would recount the strangest things they've seen on the street in front of their house. My experiences would include tigers and monkeys in a truck selling tickets to the circus and a boxing ring blocking the intersection.
Ch. 3 Say What?
This would be for all of those special little comments that are made by people who think they're being nice or knowledgable but you really want to sock them in the face. Examples would be, "Te ves más llenita" meaning "Wow, you got fat." Another would be upon inquiring why grown children live at home into their forties, getting the response "Es que las familias norteamericanas no son unidas, por eso no entiendes." This means, "US families don't care about eachother, that's why they don't live at home."
Ch. 4 Doing What Will Make Me Sick?
Illnesses in Mexico are just as intriguing as the culture. There are so many things one must learn in order to survive. Walking around with no shoes makes you sick. Getting mad after eating avocado makes you sick. Wind blowing on your back makes you sick. The list goes on and on...
These are just my preliminary ideas, but you get the picture. I think that we could really make some money and take over the culture, travel sections at Barnes and Nobles across the country!
i'll co-author and i already know a professional editor who owes me lots of favors. i think it would be fun :) not joking, ps
ReplyDeleteWow, I can totally relate to the "getting sick" chapter. Between studying abroad in Morelia and Guanajuato and Juan Carlos's family here, boy have I heard a lot of weird things. Did you know salt and saliva in your belly button is supposed to cure a urinary tract infection? And have you ever heard of giving children "el mal ojo" if you look at them and want to touch them but you don't you can make them sick and the only cure is to have a pair of twins crack an egg by the child's head...my mom think it's all nuts, but whatever works I guess?
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