Reflection....

So I have been in Mexico for just over a month now and I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on some of the things I have seen/done.

It has been a great experience so far.  I am very happy and thankful for the opportunity.  We have been doing a lot of work but have been able to throw in some fun here and there.  Everyone at Grupo Bimbo has been very helpful and kind.  I have been able to learn a lot about the business as well as the culture here in Mexico.

I have written down a bunch of observations.  I will try to be as PC as possible....

Riding around with the route guys, you quickly learn all the bad Spanish words first (as I am sure it would be the same riding around with our guys).  I will spare you all the bad words but they love calling each other names.  They are always telling me to "say this to that person", or he is a "_____".  I guess it is similar in the US.  When you are good friends with someone, you tend to bust on them and call them names.  It is kind of a sign of endearment.  Also, they say "buey" after EVERYTHING!!  From what I have gathered, it is similar to saying "dude"?  With people you know, it has more of a friendly vibe but it can be used with a negative connotation.  Having an extra word thrown in there that has nothing to do with the context of the sentence has definitely made understanding some things more difficult.  Not to mention it sounds pretty stupid....

Which brings me to my next point.  Not meaning to beat a dead horse, but the language barrier can be pretty frustrating at times.  Information is power and it has been hard to get all the information I want without some grey areas.  What I wouldn't give to just be able to communicate clearly and to be able to bring more to the table.  Not to mention I have definitely been the butt end of more jokes and agreed to more stupid things than I can count.  Sometimes, I am sure I am saying yes to things that I probably shouldn't be.  They always seem to get a good laugh at it so whatever.

All I have to say is holy hair cuts and hair gel!!  I have seen some funky hair cuts down here for sure.  Spiked hair and Mohawks everywhere you look.   Not only that, every guy uses hair gel and  A LOT of it.  I am pretty sure they are keeping all the hair gel companies in business.    

Interesting tid-bit in case you care; I have definitely had to pay to use the bathroom......more than once.  At one gas station, I had to pay $5 pesos just to walk in the bathroom.  What if I only wanted to wash my hands??  At another super market, not only did I have to pay $3 pesos, but they divey out the TP before you go in (which isn't a lot).  Good thing I only had to go num...... never mind.  

Being with route guys all day and driving in a truck, I have noticed that they are great parallel parkers.  I have seen them fit a big truck in a spot I wouldn't even attempt to fit my car.  It is pretty impressive.

Two things I am very surprised I haven't seen more of; car accidents and (sadly) dead dogs.  The traffic in Mexico is crazy to say the least.  There are traffic laws but, from my perspective, they aren't enforced.  People are constantly running red lights (they will run the red light and just beep their horn like "hey, I'm coming through"), cutting other cars off, and driving where I don't think you should be driving.  It seems like "if you can fit, you can drive there".  However, I think I may have only seen one or two car accidents.  It kind of baffles me.  On bad traffic days a 20 minute trip can take over 2 hours.  This happened to us one Friday coming home from work.  Our normally 20 minute drive back to the hotel took us a good 2 hours.  It was insanely frustrating.  Traffic is one of the only things that really grinds my gears.  I will never complain about traffic in Boston again.  This ties in with the dogs.  Everywhere you look there is a stray dog or two.  With how crazy the traffic is, I am surprised they aren't hit more often.

Also tied into the traffic are vendors and performers at the stop lights.  At almost every stop light there are vendors walking by your car trying to sell you something.  I have seen everything from snacks, water and fruit, to globes, giant calculators, and tools.  I can see trying to sell someone a bag of chips or something, but lets me honest, when was the last time you were stopped at a light a thought to yourself, "you know, I could really use another globe in my house"??  The answer to that is most likely never.  But they have to be selling some of them or I am sure they wouldn't be carrying them around in the hot Mexican sun, right??  You also see a lot of street performers at lights.  As soon as the light turns red, they hop out, put on their little performance, and then walk up to your car and ask for money.  Some of them aren't too bad.  I have seen jugglers, guys doing tricks with weapons, and, my favorite, the parent/child duo.  Usually, the kid is dressed up like a clown and has something stuffed in their pants to make it look like they have a large back side.  Then, they stand on the parents shoulders, come out in the middle of traffic, and do a little dance.  It is pretty comical, not going to lie.

The cost of living in Mexico is way cheaper than it is in the States.  For example, a breakfast at a diner might run you $12-15 in the US.  Here, the same breakfast is only about $6.  However, items that are way more expensive are electronics.  For an Android smart phone in the US it will probably run you about $200-250.  Here, that same phone is close to $1,000.  For this reason, not everyone has a fancy cell phone.  It is definitely not like in the US where everyone is constantly on their phone; texting, tweeting, facebooking.  I am just as guilty as anybody else so I am not passing judgement.  Around here, people actually talk to other people.  It's crazy!!  Social media is killing our social lives.  I actually just read about this cool game people play at dinner.  It's called phone stack.  Everyone stacks their phones at the table and the first person to look at their phone has to pay the bill.  I think its a cool idea.  Go talk to a real person!!  But I digress.....

Something I learned very quickly working for Bimbo is that Mexicans LOVE their sweet, sugary snacks.  Cookies and cake definitely are the main drivers of our business.  In almost every Tienda, the first position next to the register is some sort of cake, candy or cookie.  While that is good for us, consuming so much sugar can cause major health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and poor dental health.  I did a little research and Mexico has a very high rate of child obesity and diabetes.  Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in Mexico; about 75,000 deaths per year.  It is estimated that within 10 years, the high rate of diabetes could cripple their Healthcare System.  They are also one of the highest consumers of soft drinks in the world (this I have seen first hand).  It is becoming a serious problem in this country and other developing countries around the world. 

Before I came to Mexico, the first thing everyone said to me was "be careful", "it's dangerous down there".  I refused to buy into the hype.  As with any major city, there are parts that are going to be dangerous.  So far I have felt pretty safe for the most part.  However, there have been a few things that have made me feel slightly uneasy....

First, in our culture class, the teacher told us not to trust the Police and to avoid them at all cost.  He told us that the Police in Mexico are under trained and under paid, therefore they are easily corrupted.  Most of the time, they are just looking for a bribe and will leave you alone. I have heard this from many people down here too.  They say Mexico is a place that, with enough money, you can get away with anything.

Another thing that is a little nerve racking to see are the Police walking around the streets with fully automatic weapons and riot gear.  I mean, you see Police on the streets in the US but never with Uzis or Shotguns.  The first time I saw this I was shocked.  I went to a soccer game last Sunday and I have never seen so many Police in riot gear.  The were lined up all around the stadium.  I know soccer games can get a little crazy but this was a sight to see. 

In our culture class, we also learned that Mexico is a country of contradictions.  The one contradiction I have seen first hand is that everyone is so nice and friendly but no body trusts anybody else.  There is security for everything, even to check product into a store.  You have to get patted down when you walk in and patted down when you walk out.  I was told that as some stores, they check the color of their employees underwear and socks when they come in and when leave so they know they didn't steal anything.  Also, I don't care how fancy you make them look, there are still bars on ALL windows.  I find it kind of sad.

Since I have been here, I have heard about several muggings and was a witness to one.  Before our vendor class one day, one of the guys came in a told us he had just been mugged in the way to work.  Another time, I heard a story of a girl getting mugged on a bus full of people.  No one did anything.  She had to ask the bus driver for money to get on the next bus to get to work.  The one I was a witness to happened in traffic with the Police standing 100 yards away.  We were on our way home from work and heard two pops.  I honestly didn't think anything of it but our driver quickly told us to roll up our windows.  We looked behind us a two guys were robbing a girl in a BMW.  One of the guys let of two shots, and then jacked her for her bag.  We drove up to the corner where the Police were standing and let them know what we saw.  It was kind of scary.

I could probably write a small book on everything I have seen and my thoughts thus far but I will leave some stuff to your imagination.  Overall, being in Mexico has been great.  I knew coming into it that it was going to be a big change.  That's one of the reasons I really wanted to come.  It is interesting to see how another country operates, weather it's in business or socially.  If anyone from Mexico spent time living and working in the US, I am sure they would find a bunch of this things we do weird.  Sometimes you just need to get out of your comfort zone and experience new things.  I obviously miss home but I also still have a lot to experience in Mexico.  I am looking forward to the next 3 and a half months and what they have to offer.       


Things I Miss
 By Ramon Posada:
- Pulling on any street and being able to get a cup of fresh coffee from DD.  They don't drink much coffee down here and when they do it's the instant stuff.  Not a big fan.  I have had a couple of good cups of coffee though.
- Being able to drive myself where I want, when I want.  We have a taxi service that takes us to and from work.  In the AM they are pretty much always on time, although they don't always know how to get to our destination.  However, in the PM they are pretty bad.  We usually call at least an hour before we need to get picked up.  Most of the time they are 30+ mins late.  I have waited up to two hours for them to pick me up before!!!
- Being able to cook my own food.  There is not a full kitchen in the rooms so we have to eat out when we want to eat.  At least I don't have to do dishes......
- My bed.  They bed here is hard as a rock (I use it to iron on).  I have gotten used to it though.
- My shower.  The water pressure in my room is not very good.  Again, you get used to it.  The one thing though, there is no door on the shower??  Instead, there is a drain inside, and outside the shower.  Haven't been able to figure this one out??  Why not just put a door or curtain??
- My co-workers
- My friends
- And most importantly, MY FAMILY!!