Last month (maybe it was longer?), I posted an entry requesting questions regarding mi vida en Chiapas. Though I was at first disappointed by the paucity of responses, a few questions did end up trickling in via e-mail and IM, and here they are, complete with answers. Maybe they'll inspire the rest of you slackers to ask a question? :)
1. This barrage of questions came from Megan via email in September. Thanks, Megs!
What have you been eating?
Mexican food! That would seem obvious... chicken in mole sauce, LOTS of tacos and quesadillas, the occasional burrito, snacks like cheese and juchi (sounds like hoochie) chicken, and occasionally Subway or Dominos when I need a break. And, too much ice cream, as Helados Irma is RIGHT across the street from my complex, and there's a Baskin Robbins at the mall. I can't get enough of their Bumble Buzz ice cream.
Do they have Taco Bell there? 
There is no Taco Bell, but down the street, there is Taco Inn ( see picture ). It's overpriced and chain-y, so for the same food I'd rather go to a little hole in the wall.
How's your apartment? Big? Small? Air-conditioned?
My apartment is medium-sized and NOT air-conditioned, but I have a fan. Come visit!
Do you have a kitchen?
No, I have a barbeque pit in the living room. Megs! Come on...
Did we pack the right stuff?
For those of you needing background info, Megan is a trooper and came over my last night at home before leaving for Mexico, helping me triage or pent-age as the case was, what I wanted to bring to Mexico. We packed the most important things and then the less important things until there was no more room. GREAT system, will use it in the future. We basically packed all the right stuff, and I've rarely needed anything I didn't bring. Thanks again Meg!
Where did you put the pretty rug you bought at Target?
The pretty rug, which cost I think 3 or 4 USD on clearance at Targé, is in front of my bed. Does not go with the Mexican fiesta theme, but who looks at the floor anyhow?
Have you decorated your room yet?
When I was first asked this question, no, but now, yes. Mexican fiesta curtains and hang-y things, pinatas, a flag...it's amusing.
Do you have internet at home yet?
Again, at the time of the question, no, but now, yes. Slow as all get-out, but we're cheap.
Is it hot there?
August-October it was in the 90s F (mid- to high-30s C?), now it's in the 60s and 70s which feels chilly after months of hot hot heat... In February/March it'll start heating up again, with the hottest weather in April/May/June.
Do you have a TV there? If so, what channels do you get? Any in English?
I have a TV, and I get about 60 channels in Spanish, English with subtitles in Spanish, and one or two just in English. I would watch more TV just in Spanish, but dubbing annoys the crap out of me, and the original shows in Spanish are mostly soap operas which make the ones in the states look good. Yes, they're that bad. If you get Telemundo in the states you already know what I mean.
Is Chiapas what you expected? Richer? Poorer? Cleaner? Dirtier?
I was expecting it to be more wild, and I suppose at first it was, but I'm used to things now. The wild combi rides of death don't phase me, and I can (almost) navigate the litter-strewn uneven sidewalks with ease. It's about as dirty as I had thought, which isn't too bad but not clean either. There is a lot more wealth than I had pictured, as people usually stereotype southern Mexico to be quite poor. It still is, but there are also, say, the families that attend the American School and who shop at Galerias Boulevard.
And my dad wants to know: "Does she have a new Spanish boyfriend yet?"
Well that question was asked when I still had a French one, but the answer is still: not really. Dating is strange here, I'll leave it at that and you can inquire within if you need to know more.
2. These questions are from Sara in Boston:
Is it weird having a water truck?
Yeah at first knowing the tap water must NOT go into your mouth even in cooked food or boiled form was weird, but now it's second nature to hear the water truck and the man yelling "AGUA!" and run out onto the balcony/porch thing to wave him down. The only thing that gets annoying is we are only around when the truck comes on Saturdays, so if we run out on Monday...it sucks.
What's the biggest difference in your daily life? Is it different or the same as when you lived in France?
Mexico and France are exactly the same. Except not really at all. I can't walk to work anymore... or to the beach. The biggest difference in my life, since I love to eat, is probably the absence of baguette (sigh) and the presence of its substitute, tortillas with EVERYTHING. The tortillas have grown on me, but I'd like my baguette back, thankyouverymuch. Aside from the obvious, like speaking Spanish instead of French, Mexicans are a little more friendly to strangers, but they stare a lot more and I blend in a lot less. Also, the class obsession gets on my nerves, and things were less like that in France.
3. Emmie asked me some really superficial questions, I wish she would have challenged me a little more... Can you tell she's got a lot of International Relations courses under her belt?
How do people feel about nafta?
Truthfully, I don't know if the average person here thinks about that on a day to day basis, and I know I don't... sorry to poop out on that one.
Does everyone want to migrate to the us or do they want mexico's economy to improve?
INteresting question! No, everyone does not want to move to the states, but most really poor people have this pipe dream that it is the cure-all. Richer people have told me that poor people from the countryside want to move to the states because they are lazy and don't want to work in fields 16 hours a day, and I bite my tongue to resist asking them if they'd like to work in fields 16 hours a day... The politicians here are corrupt (where are they not, but it's easier for me to see as an outsider) and all of them promise to help the poor and to change Mexico and "construir un Mexico fuerte", but they'll probably just try to do that... manana. On a side note, I was really shocked when I heard Mexican people refer to those who cross the border as "mojados", or "wet people"... To me that's quite derrogatory, so either they're talking badly about their fellow citizens who cross, or it doesn't have that connotation here. Have yet to figure out which.
How do they feel about the current immigration reform proposals in congress?
The proposed "wall" and immigration reform have been on CNN en espanol, but I haven't heard a lot of people talking about it. See above about those who cross.
4. Amy, who's currently in Hong Kong:
What are some things you will miss about Mexico when you return to God's country?
* tortillas
* Mariachi, especially when impromptu
* being whistled at (just kidding-- but really, the people who play soccer on the field in my neighborhood have been doing so for at least the six months I've been here, they see me almost every day, wouldn't the fun of cat-calling the foreign girl wear off??)
* cheap cost of living and travel!
* friends I've made
* my cute (yet noisy) little ninos!
5. From Oliver, deux questions:
From your experience and living in both societies, do you think americans have more preconceived ideas and discriminate more against mexicans on US soil, or do mexicans towards americans on Mexican land?
I would have to say the former. I don't feel much discrimination here, except for the cat-calls and stares b/c I'm like E.T. in Tuxtla, but American culture is revered here and clothes, etc. that look American or come from the states are quite overpriced. Most people here want to be like people from the states and Europe, and that blends into color issues that go back to colonization when the white Europeans held all of the power. They pretty much still do. So, I see more discrimination here between lighter and darker Mexicans (those with more European roots and those with more indigenous roots) than toward Americans. To me, there's definitely more discrimination against Mexicans in the states, but it depends on where you go. In my mind those who resent Mexican immigrants resent those who don't try to learn English or to assimilate at all into American culture. Not a clear cut issue, for sure.
Also, do you get hit on by locals and how suave are they really?
This cracked me up. YES, and, not very. They think they are (like the French! So sorry). We (the American/Canadian women) get heckled daily, and the techniques are about as smooth as sandpaper. Women still usually hold "traditional" roles here (i.e. do most of the domestic work and child-raising), and from what I see, most men here couldn't handle a relationship like women in the states expect them... could be totally wrong, though. And, one of my colleagues, who recently moved, is American and married to a guy from Oaxaca who is very nice, polite, and doesn't whistle at passing females...and understands that my friend will not be cooking every meal for the rest of his life. :)
6. From Marc:
Is the mexican food down there substantially different from the (good, supposedly authentic) mexican food you've had in the States?
I have not had the privilege of living in an area of the states (like California, for example) where authentic Mexican food is easy to find... I imagine Guapo's in D.C. doesn't count? Their food is great but it's not like the food here. Plus, here there are a lot of regional dishes. So, in my mind the food here is quite different than Mexican food I've had in the states, but you can bet I'll be looking for good Mexican food when I return!
That's all for now, but if any of this has sparked a question, ask away!
"My friend has an organic papaya ranch. It's just outside Palenque. Want to go there?"
life to go to an organic papaya ranch!
So, the plan was to get to Ocosingo (Zapatista hotbed, yessss!) Friday night, stay over, and do the other three hours Saturday morning. Of course, "morning" meant after 11am on Mexican time, and we weren't there till mid-afternoon. Anyhow, I got a great shot of a Zapatista town schoolhouse, and my friends (who aren't pansy gringos!) said, "If they kidnap you, we're out of here, we don't know you."
was quite taken in by the jungle! It sort of seemed like something out of a movie... not quite rainforest, but the same bright greens and lush appearance without the 200 foot high giant trees. After we ate, I sat and watched my friends put down a bottle of Jack Daniels (I hate the stuff) without them even getting drunk (how is this possible?) and then we went to eat again. This was my second weekend on a ranch, and I've come to the conclusion that this is what one does at a ranch: eat, drink, and sit around to one's heart's content. There is an incredible restaurant in the jungle area near the ruins where one can also rent cabanas in the jungle for an adventurous stay. We ate at this Italian-Mexican jungle restaurant for three meals over the weekend, and everything from the pizza to the tacos was good.
The next day, Sunday, we got up and went to the ruins at Palenque. They were quite cool, but I was more interested in the surrounding jungle, part of which we walked through to arrive at the ruins. I'm a hydrophile (is that a word?), so the little streams and waterfalls really got my attention. Also, while standing on some of the ruins (Mayan pyramids, more or less) toward the jungle, I was told to listen, and sure enough, howler monkeys could be heard out in the jungle. I had heard of these, and I pictured them howling, sort of an "OOOOOOOO" type of thing... they should be renamed GROWLER monkeys, because that noise is one of the freakiest things I've heard outside of monster movies! It would make for a GREAT Halloween CD. I'd go back just to hear that freaky growling again! 
