The Kindness of Mexicans (Starting a series on Pros and Cons of Living in Mexico)

I'm working on an ebook about living in Mexico and think I will post some of my thoughts here. Your comments are welcome. There are many wonderful things about life in Mexico, and also some things that can be difficult for foreigners.

One of the most wonderful things about being in Mexico is the kindness of Mexicans. Kelly and I were talking about this at dinner last night, and he said, "It's really striking -- the gentle, kind friendless, often mixed with some curiosity." We talked about how open the faces of many teenagers are.

"The man at the propane place is a great example," Kelly added. "Before he said a word about propane, he wanted to know if we had heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Asia. I told him we had, and he spoke of his concern for the people there in such a caring way."

"Yeah, it's like they often live more in their hearts than we Northern cultures," I said. "Of course, that's a gross generalization, but I still think there is something to it. There's plenty of kindness north of the border too, but I bask in it here more."

We thought of some of the kindnesses we had received in the past week or so.

• At the border, we'd gotten in the wrong line, and a Mexican man had explained the order of things to us very carefully.


• When I had been trying to withdraw some cash from an ATM card at a bank, the woman in line in front of me had stayed to show me what to do.


• When I had been browsing in an outdoor bookstall in a plaza in Ciudad Valles, Kelly had said to the bookseller that it was a pretty region. The man made a list for Kelly of some of the main tourist attractions and spoke very clearly so Kelly could follow his Spanish.


• I had asked a woman selling food in the marketplace (mercado) a question, and the way she spoke to me was so kindly that I glowed as I walked away.


• The man who runs El Bañito, where we are staying, had given us rides into town, offered to pick up things in town for us, patiently made sense of our bad Spanish, and much more.

I don't think this list really captures what I am trying to describe, as it's the easy, loving manner in which these things are done that is what makes living in Mexico so special for foreigners.