What does Mexico have to do with Sri Lanka?
As most of you know, Bill and I, as part our CUSO/Sri Lanka experience, spent 50 days in exico. Perhaps we should explain why we spent so long in Mexico. Anticipating a February departure date, and lucky enough to secure a 2 year tenant for our home, we were all set for our Sri Lankan adventure. Our belongings, lock, stock and barrel were securely stowed at Los Rios Storage. We celebrated this feat, only to learn, that lo and behold, we were not leaving for Sril Lanka in February, but July! We were floored, to say the least, but rallied. By the next day we had gotten our heads around the fact that we were homeless and had to look for options for ourselves. We decided not to blow off the tenant, but instead, fly to Mexico to "kill time" and because we no longer had a roof over our head.
So, what I really wanted to tell you about was that in Mexico, I had a foretaste of what it might be like for me in Sri Lanka. We had been in Mexico City for five days and had become familiar with our little 8 block section of town around the main plaza situated near our hotel. We had found a favourite spot for hot chocolate, found a breakfast joint and frequented the restaurants recommended by our Lonley Planet Guide in the area. We were becoming familiar with the area, as one might if you were to move there and live there, each day exploring further and further; each day broadening your horizon.
However, during that time, we had had no meaningful contact with any persons, either Mexican, European, American or fellow Canadian. Deep in the heart of Mexico City, the population was very homogenously Mexican and the tourists were also largely Mexican people. There were surprizingly few Gringos; they were virtually non-existant. Naturally, the Mexicans spoke Spanish and with the tourist population being largely Spanish speaking people, the locals had no need for the English language. This was so different from resort and tourista beach cities where you didn't really need to communicate in Spanish because the Spanish speakers took the onus to learn English. What seems more logical is English speakers taking the onus to learn Spanish before they travel to a Spanish speaking country, don't you think? Man, we do continue our ethnocentricity, do we not?
In any event, we were unable to communicate in Spanish in any real manner that allows for relationshiop building and the Mexicans were even more limited in their ability to communicate with us. By the time we reached Mexico City and spent time there we had spent about 4 weeks in Mexico. Isolation and lonliness began to sit upon us. While posters advertising events were plastered over the Plaza, we could not read them. We longed to attend a cultural event, a rock concert or listen to interesting speaker with a different view point. We longed for an event to fill our evening. Evenings became routinized with dinner, walking the streets and maybe finding some music in a bar somewhere later in the evening. At the nightclubs, people were disinterested, tolerated us at best, and despite our attempts at Salsa Dancing, we never really felt like we belonged in those clubs. (We may have been ignored due to our bastardization of the their classic dance, the Salsa).
We could not find a cinema and even if we had found one, it would have been in Spanish. We had watched many Spanish videos on the Mexican Greyhound and it is less than satisfying to understand the odd word here and there (although, we did find we often got the jist of the story). Museums did not translate into English the descriptions of the displays. So yes, we got to see bones and jewlery and pots and pans, we didn't really get to understand the historical context of these items. Interestingly, you begin to feel a bit put out that they have not accomodated us, the English. Ethnocentricity rears it's ugly head again.
I had run out of reading material (having not brought my Kindle with me - dumb) and could not find an English book store or English book anywhere. Bill was totally deprived of an English newspaper. Occassionally throughout Mexico, he could pick up a copy of The News, an English paper, but Mexico City was devoid of this tabloid.
We became more and more isolated and lonely and realized that this might be our experience in Sri Lanka. At home, when we are feeling lonely, bored or sad, why, we merely pick up the phone and make a date with a family member or a friend, plan a dinner, go to a movie, take a drive, go out into the garden, have a run, play cards or go to a meeting. Many of these options will not be available to us in Sri Lanka for many reasons but particularly, language barrier, lack of contact with others and perhaps most importantly, because it takes time to establish relationships with others, even in the same culture. How long will it take in a completely different culture?
So, what I really wanted to tell you about was that in Mexico, I had a foretaste of what it might be like for me in Sri Lanka. We had been in Mexico City for five days and had become familiar with our little 8 block section of town around the main plaza situated near our hotel. We had found a favourite spot for hot chocolate, found a breakfast joint and frequented the restaurants recommended by our Lonley Planet Guide in the area. We were becoming familiar with the area, as one might if you were to move there and live there, each day exploring further and further; each day broadening your horizon.
However, during that time, we had had no meaningful contact with any persons, either Mexican, European, American or fellow Canadian. Deep in the heart of Mexico City, the population was very homogenously Mexican and the tourists were also largely Mexican people. There were surprizingly few Gringos; they were virtually non-existant. Naturally, the Mexicans spoke Spanish and with the tourist population being largely Spanish speaking people, the locals had no need for the English language. This was so different from resort and tourista beach cities where you didn't really need to communicate in Spanish because the Spanish speakers took the onus to learn English. What seems more logical is English speakers taking the onus to learn Spanish before they travel to a Spanish speaking country, don't you think? Man, we do continue our ethnocentricity, do we not?
In any event, we were unable to communicate in Spanish in any real manner that allows for relationshiop building and the Mexicans were even more limited in their ability to communicate with us. By the time we reached Mexico City and spent time there we had spent about 4 weeks in Mexico. Isolation and lonliness began to sit upon us. While posters advertising events were plastered over the Plaza, we could not read them. We longed to attend a cultural event, a rock concert or listen to interesting speaker with a different view point. We longed for an event to fill our evening. Evenings became routinized with dinner, walking the streets and maybe finding some music in a bar somewhere later in the evening. At the nightclubs, people were disinterested, tolerated us at best, and despite our attempts at Salsa Dancing, we never really felt like we belonged in those clubs. (We may have been ignored due to our bastardization of the their classic dance, the Salsa).
We could not find a cinema and even if we had found one, it would have been in Spanish. We had watched many Spanish videos on the Mexican Greyhound and it is less than satisfying to understand the odd word here and there (although, we did find we often got the jist of the story). Museums did not translate into English the descriptions of the displays. So yes, we got to see bones and jewlery and pots and pans, we didn't really get to understand the historical context of these items. Interestingly, you begin to feel a bit put out that they have not accomodated us, the English. Ethnocentricity rears it's ugly head again.
I had run out of reading material (having not brought my Kindle with me - dumb) and could not find an English book store or English book anywhere. Bill was totally deprived of an English newspaper. Occassionally throughout Mexico, he could pick up a copy of The News, an English paper, but Mexico City was devoid of this tabloid.
We became more and more isolated and lonely and realized that this might be our experience in Sri Lanka. At home, when we are feeling lonely, bored or sad, why, we merely pick up the phone and make a date with a family member or a friend, plan a dinner, go to a movie, take a drive, go out into the garden, have a run, play cards or go to a meeting. Many of these options will not be available to us in Sri Lanka for many reasons but particularly, language barrier, lack of contact with others and perhaps most importantly, because it takes time to establish relationships with others, even in the same culture. How long will it take in a completely different culture?
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