Job Discussion Forums

[corporatehuman]

I have to admit Samantha you are much more vigilant than the immigration office!

Anyway I generally think friendship, something I think as of simple (in a way, as in meet person like, hang out with person, be friends) can be made very complicated. I'm an affable person but there were times I couldn't figure out who was my friend and who wasn't. Once I had stayed in Chiapas for long enough I just stopped trusting people and my friendships. However, I still have friends there, I think.

Some Simple Things Made Complicated:

1. Meeting up with people at a specific time. I took this as a lesson well-learned that Westerners take time too seriously. But it's really frustrating when teaching a class.

2. Buying food. Nothing more simple than scanning the grocery slip thing, nothing more complicated than engaging in a five minute PRICE WAR BRAWL. However I love bartering.

3. One time I had a plastic container for water I took a store. But the man there did not sell my type of water (it was too late to go to other store) but had other water. But he suggested instead of taking his can of water instead we open it and I pour it in my can of water. That made sense so I did it and I tried not to spill the water. A guy next to me did the same thing. That moment pretty much summed up all of Mexico up for me.

4. Driving. People speed as fast as they can to red lights. However this is REALLY fun to do if you are driving, but watching dogs die and reading about people dying, it should be simplified.

5. Getting a library card in Tuxtla. First I had to have a fiador, that was my boss. She was busy so I had to wait outside her office. Then I was waiting so long I just had to go in. She signed it so I took it back. The anal library man was on duty and pointed out my boss hadn't signed something else, so I had to wait a day for the cool librarian to be there. Cool librarian then says I need a photo so I walk to photo shop and have a photo taken. I return with photo and fiador signature, unfortunately anal guy is there and I need proof of residence. An electricity bill. Well I have none of that so I say that and he says no, so I wait next day for cool librarian. He says cool (because he is cool librarian.) Just when I think I'm done and can check out some books then of course I have to be processed. 3 days cool librarian says.

And one week later I am reading. And for all these reasons I love / hate Mexico but as we all know those are the same thing.

Chris

[Samantha]

corporatehuman wrote:

[cangringo]

Yes you did try to help Samantha but perhaps next time you should take a look at your tone. Even on the board and in emails it come across quite clearly how you feel about people who don't do everything by the book in Mexico, regardless of the fact that Mexicans themselves don't much of the time.

We weren't in a pickle btw, we made a mistake with our application for our work visas and confused the guy at immigration... oh heavens how could that happen and we would have been better off just reapplying for our tourist visa and working illegally. Yes I said it. Instead of immigration telling us that they didn't know what we wanted exactly and could we clarify - they just told us to leave. Oh and we weren't deported, we were asked nicely to leave, which we did and then came back over here in Baja and we have found it much friendlier and easier over here believe it or not.

However, that has nothing to do with my feelings about the culture and the problems within it. I see that some are sensitive about it so I will refrain from discussing it here - don't want to get banned or anything.

Last point and I will post in this thread no longer...I said they should be shamed into it...meaning that I go out to the beach and bring my plastic bags and pick up all the litter and I pick up that puppy that is wandering around barely 8 weeks old and take it to the vet. That is what I mean by shaming. Please point out where I said that I stand on a soapbox and preach to the people.

Sorry again to interrupt your happy little world, as I said, I'll stay out of this thread and I'll remember that this isn't a place for venting as it might make people actually take a look at reality. I didn't say I hated Mexico, I said I had some problems with it's culture - of course that's true of any other culture as well but this is the Mexico board. I also never said that Canada was perfect, I have issues with the culture and govt there.

[Phil_K]

Cangringo - let me just echo your thoughts.

If we choose to live, work and pay our taxes here we have exactly the same right as Mexicans to criticize the country, even if we aren't allow to vote. This isn't an extended vacation, this is our life. Maybe we are putting more into the country than many Mexicans!

[Guy Courchesne]

Would you then accept that the Mexicans have exactly the same right to criticize the foreigners, en masse, or by nationality, living in this country, from whatever point of view they take?

[corporatehuman]

Everyone has the right to criticize! I think of criticism as generally a good thing, unless people are whining. Whining being a lower, selfish, egomaniac obsessed form of criticising.

While I don't pick up puppies or trash I agree both are problems and can be saddening. But I don't expect other people to see them as problems; and that makes everything easier for me.

Chris

[Phil_K]

[Guy Courchesne]

[GueroPaz]

[TheLongWayHome]

[GueroPaz]

[TheLongWayHome]

[geaaronson]

How about that when you move you have to show Banamex a utility bill to prove your new place of residence. Not at all like in the states when all you had to do was write your change of address on a slip of paper or return the bill with a change of address request. Here they want those utility bills everywhere.

[MO39]

![/quote]

This does bring up an interesting point on the difference between, say, the US and Mexico. Many Mexicans, legal and illegal, in the US feel free to go out into the streets to make political demands, but foreigners doing so here are just as likely, if not more so, to be deported given laws that forbid foreign political activism in Mexico.[/quote]

Perhaps the US laws have changed in recent years, but I've always thought that there were laws prohibiting foreigners living in the US(there legally or not) from getting involved in political activitity, especially demonstrations.

[Guy Courchesne]

The examples that came to mind for me were the May 1st, 2006 immigration demonstrations around the US attended by mostly Latinos, legal and illegal alike. Were the demonstrations illegal?