Mexico, the US, and Asia

The other night, we happened to watch a travel documentary on TV. It was filmed in Myanmar / Burma, and Kelly and I both enjoyed noticing similarities and differences from our experiences here in Mexico. For one thing, banana trees didn't seem so exotic to us any more, now that we have quite a few in our own yard. Also, Kelly commented that the Asian people seemed less different from us than they might have if we hadn't been spending a lot of time with Mexicans lately.

The overall poverty appeared to be greater there than in Mexico, but also the roots in traditional culture seemed stronger. The narrator worried about how the modern world would affect the people he was seeing, when change came. Here in Mexico, the modern world is virtually everywhere and usually to a considerable degree.

The next morning, we drove to a nearby town for some errands. Our town of San Juan Cosala is one of the poorer-appearing towns in this Lake Chapala area, but compared to the places we'd seen on television the night before, it seemed spacious and the highway seemed near-empty compared to the much denser populations in Asia.

China and other Asian countries are selling a lot to Mexico. I've blogged about this before... much as the US is dealing with cheap imports putting people out of work, so too is Mexico. I know several small business people who are concerned about this. Even statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe may say "Made in China" on them! The other day, I was looking for clothing at the weekly tianguis or market in the nearby town of Jocotepec. I asked one lady if all her ethnic-looking stuff was made in Mexico. She said it was. I picked up a t-shirt and slacks combination and noticed that it said in English on the tag, "Made in Vietnam." I doubt the vendor was lying to me; more likely, she didn't know.

It's really one world we live in, trite but more fully a part of my own experience after being out of the US more lately. And Mexico is among the more prosperous parts of this world of ours.