Moon's so bright, like to light up the night

I have another stamp in my passport now...last weekend I went to Mexico, land of the margarita and beautiful beaches. As with all vacations, I left my life behind to learn a little about someone else, a little about somewhere else, and I picked up a little about myself along the way. What I learned this time is that for all my efforts to learn about other cultures and respect their practices and views, Mexico is not the place for me. I may not be an obnoxious American, but I am definitely an American.

The lesson began as soon as we hit the ground. "We" being myself and two girlfriends, one of whom having a birthday. It was a whirlwind trip taken at a snail's pace. We could only get a few days off, so we flew into our resort town on Thursday, ready to slather up with SPF, grab an umbrella drink and hit the sun. T'was not to be...we got off the plane and were greeted with a one hour wait to get through immigration. Not that the airport was overly busy, but because there were only two clerks working, and one went on lunch.

As the vacation progressed, we learned that time is of no essence in Mexico, and five minutes could easily mean a half hour or more - a concept we three queens of multitasking could not comprehend. But when in Rome....so we didn't raise a stink over anything, simply mused to ourselves that we would not fit in were we here more than a weekend.

In a place where time doesn't matter, everything takes longer. Perhaps that's why I was so bothered by the concept of constant bargaining for everything you need. We stopped at Super WalMart to get groceries for the condo, and that was the only time a price was fixed on anything. Everything else - food, drink, cab ride, you name it - could all be had at the price quoted you, but that price is always too high. The only way to gain respect and save money is to barter. Something that's hard for someone who does not speak Spanish!

So I readily admit, I am a proud member of a society that's going nowhere, but doing it at breakneck speed, while talking on the cell phone and checking email. I love taking my tap water for granted. I'm spoiled by the idea that some things cost what they cost and if it's too much, I can go elsewhere.

I also felt badly about my gringo status. The Condo we stayed in was not in the touristy part of town. Instead, it was in a separate village, surrounded by a fence. Traveling through the village gave us a look at a side of Mexico most people never see. We saw evening gatherings of people just sitting and chatting. Houses with holes in the roof. Houses with NO roof. Families sharing one meal between them. I'm not a rich person by American standards, but this made me feel downright opulent and almost embarrassed by it.

All that said, it was still a wonderful vacation, and I still have the sunburn to prove it. Hours on end spent by the pool, on the beach, doing at the same time nothing important and perhaps the most important thing of all...preserving our collective sanity. Now I'm back to the rat race, but I have the memories of calm blue waters, palm trees in the moonlight, and an intriguing night at a local dance club after one of my girlfriends decided to give me a makeover. Ah, memories...