it is great to be back in Mexico after spending two years living in stanford. i just can't explain what it is but definitely there is something special about living in your own country. as everything in life, sometimes going back to our local places had involved leaving behind some benefits of the good life in sunny palo alto: the weather might not be as good, the public services might not be as effective, the food might not be as healthy and "political correctness" might be just a dream. however, even though sometimes i miss some of those things, i just can't help being psyched about being here...let me explain why.
first, there is no struggle with the language. finally i have stopped nodding while i am clueless what is people talking about and at last i can communicate properly with the customer service people by phone without having to spell my whole speech.
second, it is possible to find great food after nine pm without having to use the "jack in the box" drive thru. are people in palo alto never hungry after that time? furthermore, whatever mexican food you have tried there is no really authentic mexican food in palo alto unless you stop by a dirty place in east p.a. taco bell is a joke. it does not really sell tacos, but some kind of junk fast food that I guess a dude in iowa thought was mexican.
third, nightclubs...that's my favorite part. i can finally order a good chivas without having to pay ten for a glass the size of a tequila shot. i can keep on partying beyond two am without a big dude chasing me to take my unfinished drink away from me. and even though salsa dancing is not a competitive advantage anymore, at least I know the lyrics of more songs so can impress more ladies with that.
forth, family: i love to have my parents close by. even though I still need to fly
an hour in order to get to my favorite part of the world, i just can't stop enjoying the taste of my mom's food, my friends from childhood, the fact that everything has been taken care of, and being spoiled again.
i guess that for some people going back home has meant much more than that:
driving in the opposite side, december meaning summer, or the possibility of a two hour mandatory siesta break. Isn't that cool as well?
don't missunderstand me. i really enjoyed living in the u.s of a, i still have plenty of friends up there, and hope to keep on visiting them as often as possible and of course i'd love time to go back and live everything i lived with you guys there all over again. however, is great to realize that paying five dollars for a five oz. odawalla orange juice is ridiculous when you can get a liter of fresh juice for a buck fifty. by the way, i don't even drink orange juice, and the price of a coke is the same here.
anyway, it is eleven thirty in the morning in mexico city, i haven't worked yet and i still need to pass the word spellcheck through this document at least twice.
viva chiapas
