My Mexican Letter

Dear Baja Mexico,

If I were to write about each thing I experienced and learned, I would have a whole book written by now. It's almost mind blowing. I left the airport in shorts and a tank top in June and will be going back in jeans and a hoodie here in December. I have to look back at my photos to even remember everything I did while I was here, it went by so fast that it was almost a blur. I cannot believe I have been here for 6 months already. There is just FAR too much to even blog about, far too much to even put my final thoughts together. It's overwhelming thinking of all the things going on in my head. 

The experiences I have had here have been amazing, and life changing. From volunteering, exploring, working with the turtles, tutoring English classes, learning the culture, and meeting all these amazing people.

There are a few things I had to get use to down here, some of them were surprisingly easier to get used to then others. When I first told people I would not have my cell phone most of them were shocked and said "What will you do?!" I was pretty nervous about it at first, but to be honest, as soon as I landed in Mexico and could no longer use it, I felt kind of free from my Blackberry. It felt good not getting notifications about Facebook, e-mail, text messages, etc. every 3 minutes. I never had one problem without it. Those of you who know me know that I love my clothes and putting together different outfits all the time. Here, my clothes were limited, I only had one large suitcase to pack clothes in and it was all summer clothing. It is still something I find a little difficult because I hated putting on the exact same outfit I wore a few days ago. However, it made me stop and think about what I really have and made me appreciate my clothes even more. What I have in my closet now is a huge selection compared to some people. I had to stop and appreciate. This is really a big example of their culture and how you live based off your needs over your wants.

One of the biggest changes for me was the change of pace. Those of you who know me know I am on time for everything and sometimes can just not deal with lateness. Here in Mexico...there is no such thing as "time" really. You get there when you get there. You stop to smell the flowers. This is something that was pretty hard for me, something my parents had to train me about, especially Ed. It's the last week and I think I'm finally used to it now. 

I was surprised at how different the culture was here than from the United States. Everyone here always thinks about their needs over their wants down here. You don't see everyone here walking about with the newest iPhone in their hand or the latest fashions, which goes along with my clothes story. It's a place where you are grateful for what you have in your life. You get to step back and appreciate the little things. I feel as though I can leave here realizing just how blessed I am to have the things in life that I do, the things that we take for granted every day, such as, drinking water from the tap, which by the way is not a rumor, you really cannot drink the water here. Another thing I cannot stress enough is the education. We are all so blessed to be able to get an education and so many people take that for granted as well. There are so many kids down here who cannot move on in school after the 6th grade. When I was tutoring the English classes they were all ready to learn, they had a drive of wanting to learn the English language and they took time from their Saturdays to do so.

Everyone here is also so warm. Yes, there are some nice people in the States and there are also (just like everywhere else) some not-so-warm people here. For example, when you greet somewhere here you shake their hand/hug and kiss them on the cheek. The kiss on the cheek was a bit of a shocker the first time, but it's the culture, and it makes you feel good like they really are happy about meeting or seeing you. So if I kiss you on the cheek in the States, don't be alarmed. During the Mexican Independence celebration we were sitting down watching the performers and the sweetest old lady (a total random stranger) came up to me, hugged me, introduced herself, kissed me on the cheek and just sat right by me. She was talking away about the performers. Even though I didn't understand a lot of what she was saying, it was still so nice! It's people like that around here, they are so pleased to meet everyone. Once I even talked to a man who was deaf, and we had a nice conversation. That's a whole other story though.  People here are not shy to tell you how beautiful you are. If they think you are beautiful, they will tell you. I'm not just talking about guys who say it to flirt, either. I've had people and ladies who I meet that tell me I'm beautiful. It really lifts your spirit.

One thing I really noticed was body and self-esteem, I cannot tell you about this enough. I don't think I have seen one advertisement, a bulletin board, and TV show, media, etc., that has provided the wrong message of beauty. You don't see skinny models or six-packs everywhere. I have gained a little weight here, it's no lie. I've also been eating amazing food, which I won't be getting for awhile. You wanna know something, too? I don't feel too ashamed of it. I've always been pretty comfortable with my body. However, if I gained 5-8 pounds in the States I would be trying to diet, whine over how "fat" I am, and probably cry because my pants don't fit. I feel this way because beauty here isn't about being skinny. A lot of the culture is to eat and enjoy food. You shouldn't feel ashamed about the homemade tamale you just consumed or counting the calories throughout your day. You live life and enjoy the body and skin you're in. (Not saying you should go eat 5 cheeseburgers and feel good about it now, let's stay healthy here.) 

I know that one of the first questions people will ask me back at the States is "What did you learn in Mexico?" (I could tell you that I learned a bunch of cuss words in Spanish, but to be honest, I couldn't end up remembering them all.) It makes me really have to think "What all did I learn in Mexico? What is the thing I learned the most and can walk away with that will change my life forever?"

As I said before, I learned so much from this experience between the culture and the people but the one thing I really learned though, to be honest...I found who I am. I learned the kind of person I really am. I know what I want to do with my life now and how much I have to be grateful for. I have learned that I want to keep volunteering and doing good work everywhere I go. I have learned that I want to experience more places in the world and how thankful I am to be the person I am. I am very blessed to be able to travel and see the world. I know I have chosen the right path as a photographer. It made me realize that there is a whole world out there for me to explore and see in my lifetime.

It's such a beautiful place and in this beautiful place comes a beautiful culture and people.

I promise you this, It's not goodbye, just see you later.

Very blessed,

Mariah

6 months is a long time to remember everything at once, especially when so much went on. I want to share with you more stories about my trip, but for now  if you have any questions about my trip, the culture, the area or anything, please ask! I will do a blog (Or maybe even a vlog) with all of your questions. I'll probably be doing a few more blogs about Mexico. One about the turtles, experiences, my volunteer work, etc. So just ask!