Guanajuato, Mexico - Mexico Is Not America

In my first book, THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT LIVING IN MEXICO, I mentioned in almost every chapter that MEXICO IS NOT AMERICA. I actually got mostly verbal threats (alcohol fueled no doubt) and one physical threat as a result of my effort.

Yet, it would seem that the message that Mexico is not America has fallen on deaf ears. I found this quote in a Yahoo Mexico Forum:

I must confess how surprised I am to learn that the absence of expats in a town can be seen as a positive feature. my understanding is that Mexico is attractive to gringos not because but also because it isn t all that different from their homecountry (Wallmarts and anglospeakers to be found).

Do not miss what this person is saying: The basis for which this person is saying, "...but also because it isn't all that different from their homecountry (sic)..." is the existence of Wal-Marts in Mexico.

Just imagine, Mexico is just another state of America by virtue of the existence of Wal-Marts.

Well, it must be America itself since you will find Sam's, Home Depot, almost every America fast food hamburger joint, Pizza Hut, Domino's, and much, much more.

It is amazing, stunning, incredible, but I am afraid true. American Gringos who move here or think of moving here (even tourists according to my Mexican tour guide pals) really do think in their heart of hearts that Mexico is not all that different from America, and it is those Gringos who end up moving to Mexico.

I ran across a statistic the other day but now cannot find it. It was a study of American Gringos who move to Mexico and how quickly the make a retreat back to the States. I cannot recall the percentage but it seemed that it was either in the sixty-percentile or in the seventies of Gringos who leave after their first year of "expatriation". (I will look for the study and report back to you.)

How these Internationally Challenged Gringos make it here as a tourist, not to mention expatriatism, escapes me. But, they do. And when they come they are expecting it to be just like America and great is the fall thereof.

The disappointment the Gringo experiences is almost unbearable.

I have to confess I was in a perpetual honeymoon with Guanajuato until the day my wife was attacked on the streets, in broad daylight, and it was sexual in nature.

It was when I realized Mexico was just a place.

The country is not intrinsically evil. It is just a country in which both good things and bad things can happen. There is lot Mexico does right and there is a lot Mexico could afford to fix or reject as not working and dump it.

But, be assured of this, MEXICO IS NOT AMERICA. in any sense of the word.

###

ROCKET SPANISH

Click On This to Reach The ROCKET SPANISH Website!

Learn Spanish Like A ROCKET With Rocket Spanish!...
Who Else Wants to Learn to Speak Spanish Confidently and Naturally In Less Than 8 Weeks??...AND take all the frustration, difficulty and headache out of YOUR practice time with this EXPLOSIVE interactive 'learn Spanish' package!

###