The two weeks spent in Mexico was the most fun I’ve had in long time.  I went to Mexico to get to know more of my family and about the Mexican culture.  Excitement flowed through my body, anxious to arrive.  I was so ready for the trip ahead and to see the full beauty of Mexico in my own eyes.
 

Daily life in Mexico is really different from ours.  Every necessity was always a walking distance away no matter where you lived.  Tiny grocery stores and restaurants were on mostly every block throughout the town.  Stray dogs roam the street in Mexico.  People were on the streets either working or socializing with friends and family.  I see more people on the streets in Mexico than Amery, which kind I of find this unusual. 

Public transportations were mostly used because not many people could afford their own car due to the bad economy they lived in.  If they had their own personal vehicle it would be old or repaired, seeing a brand new car or truck is really rare.  It’s more likely to get stolen because of the huge amount of money the parts cost.  Roads in Mexico were absolutely horrific, almost about every street had at least one pothole except in the cities.  When driving you have to be cautious of the road and about the people around you.  Many people drive incredibly fast on the roads unless police are on patrol.  One thing I found unusual is vendors will be let on the bus to offer people snacks or drinks at any time the bus stops.

Living space seems to be very crowded in my opinion. Mostly every house in Mexico is made mostly out of concrete.  Building a house out of wood is very expensive because it’s not widely available.  Families live within the same house hold and share many things.  Rooms are either shared with sibling or close relatives.  Relatives sometimes live in the same house hold or live a walking distance away from your house.  Neighbors live only 5 to 10 feet away, sometimes only a wall separates your home between theirs.  Everybody knows each other in their town, so information gets around really quickly about events that happen in the world.

Mexico is a beautiful country but needs fixing.  The economy they belong to is horrible, many people have to work countless hours to earn money.  There aren’t many jobs available.  If jobs are open, they are mostly temporary because many company’s/ business owners’ just don’t have the money to keep paying their workers.  Injures have a major impact on workers because they need the money to keep supporting their family. Without money, families struggle to keep ahold of what they have for food.  Money is not something taken for granted.  Spending every cent to keep the family striving and healthy. In rare situations they don’t pay their worker for 2 months or more.  I’m thankful that my family doesn’t have to live that way, to keep worrying of what’s ahead of them. 

The food is phenomenal.  Meats are fresh from the butcher shop and vegetables are directly grown from a farm.  The meat in my opinion was the best because of how they were freshly restocked each day.  The flavor they gave was unbelievable and I can’t really explain in great detail how they tasted.  Tortilla were made fresh daily and you could tell the difference between factory and handmade tortillas.  The color seemed more lively in handmade instead of factory made.  Handmade gave more flavor then the tasteless factory made tortillas.  Everything involving food that is sold on the streets are mostly freshly made every day.

Mexico is a country that you should visit.  There are so many places that you can visit to experience the Mexican culture.  Only if you could explore the country without having to worry about violence.  Which has given Mexico a bad reputation over the years.  It’s really hard to fix a country when people are corrupting it. 

Many adults and children leave Mexico in order to set a better future for themselves or their family.  Crossing tough and hot terrain, only surviving on little food and water to get across the border.  Battling the heat from the sun and the cold nights in the desert.  Sometimes people pay cartels to get them across the border.  Trusting these cartels is very dangerous because at any time they could kill you.  Taking all the money you invested to get across the border.  If the economy is never fixed, then people will never stop crossing the border to the U.S
Coming back from Mexico gave me the weirdest feeling.  It was like I never left and that I was living in a dream of some sort.  Trying to remember what I have done before I left for the airport.  Picturing the house that my grandparents and relatives lived in, the house my dad was building for my two brothers and I but was never finished.  Remembering the taste/smell of the chorizo and steak from the restaurant’s we went to.  The trip to Mexico will be something treasured in my memory, also worth telling my children once I’m older.