Mexico: The beginning!

Hola!

So, this is it...the start of my blog. A little late, I know...but come on, I´m a busy lady and it´s hard to find good internet cafes. Wireless, on the other hand, is readily available. Which leads me to think I should have perhaps brought a little netbook.....hmmm lessons learned, part one.

So I´m in Mexico. Have been for a full week now.  And it´s been interesting, to say the least.

Upon arriving I definitely experienced all the regular culture shock/disorientation/confusion/uncomfortability that comes when you first arrive in a developing country. The chaos, disorganization, poverty, pollution, it can all be so overwhelming. Everything is so different, you don´t know how to get around, where to buy anything, and you can´t even ask anyone because they don´t speak your language (and you don´t speak theirs properly). I had forgotten about that, forgotten how it felt. I think I also built up this image of myself as ´Ms. Seasoned Traveler´ and believed myself to be immune to those feelings. Nope. I was wrong. My first full day in Mexico, on the bus into town, I had a paranoid conversation running in my head, convinced that everyone was staring at me (which, truthfully, they probably were), wanted to steal from me and that I was going to get mugged at any moment. Luckily, I was just going temporarily insane and nothing bad at all happened to me.

Fortunately for me, I arrived in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta to be precise) to a wonderful couchsurfing host, Paty, which made the transition that much easier. I couldn´t have asked for a better host and more importantly, friend while I was there. She picked me up from the airport and gave me tons of resources for finding my way around the city. Even better, however, was the fact that she introduced me to a bunch of other couchsurfers in Vallarta. These guys kept me so busy and made me feel (almost) at home in the city. I was only planning on staying a day or two in PV, but ended up staying four because I felt so welcome there. We did a day trip to a small beach town, and then spent another day hiking along the coast from one beach to the next. (I managed to accomplish this in sandals and a sundress - they had told me we were going sailing, and the plan changed but the gringa was never informed).

Ironically, it was from this group of Mexicans that I learned something about my own culture. While eating some delicious tostadas after our hike, one of them made an offhanded comment about Canadians being horrible tippers. I hadn´t even begun to absorb the news when one by one, they all chipped in with a personal anecdote of their own about awful Canadian tipping. (I should add that as they live in PV, most work in the service/tourism industry in some way). The best I heard was from Steve, who charters yachts, ¨Canadians always spend our tip money on extra beer.¨ While I was embarrassed and a bit surprised, all I could was give a bit extra at the end of our meal. Another lesson learned.

So it appears this trip isn´t only about learning about other countries. I´m also learning how others perceive my country and people. Which can be just as, or maybe more, valuable.