Hello, everyone. I am sitting in the "Internet Cafe" on the Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy. Even though I'm in the Gulf of Mexico, through the wonder of modern technology I can connect to the Internet via a satellite connection. Unfortunately, this is not cheap, nor can it be a slow, carefree experience. I've got less than 30 minutes to get this article finished and saved!
In any case, I wanted to share something that struck me today while in Progreso, Mexico. It's a small fishing village on the western side of the Yucatan Peninsula. We docked early this morning and stayed in port about seven hours. Since this is our first cruise, we chose not to take one of the many tours available. Instead, we spent a few hours doing some shopping in the "strip mall" of shops that sit just off the docks.
There were all kinds of shops with all kinds of stuff to buy (a topic for another article). We were told not to go with the requested price, but to bargain with the shopkeepers. I don't do this well (again, a topic for another article). However, several somethings crossed my mind while we were looking for souvenirs. The main something was this: How do the Mexican people view Americans visiting their country?
The question first crossed my mind when I was asking questions of someone regarding a particular item. I turned to my wife and whispered, "Do you realize that we're speaking in our native language and here WE are the ones who sound funny?" That concept was a little disturbing. I'm not used to being viewed as the outsider because of my clothing, or my language, or my culture or customs.
The second time the question popped up was when we were heading back to the ship. We had to pass through Mexican security to get back to the docks. I wondered as the Mexican authorities looked at our ship cards if they were resentful of our being there, if this was a nuisance to them, or if they welcomed our presence.
I've had opportunity to dwell on the question since boarding, and I'm sure it will pop up again tomorrow when we are in Cozumel. But I do have to wonder: Do the Mexicans welcome our presence as money-spending tourists? Do they like us only for our money? Do we improve their economy, or are we just a burden? What kind of impact do we have on their way of life? These aren't questions I'm going to get any answers to anytime soon, but they cross my mind nevertheless. I don't know if this is normal thinking for people when they visit outside their own countries, but it definitely crossed my mind.
There will be several articles coming from my keyboard over the next few weeks because of this adventure, but I wanted to put this out there while the thoughts were fresh in my mind. Besides, this way I get a computer fix (killing two birds with one stone, so to speak). I'll be back home on Saturday and will be sharing a lot of our experiences concerning our first-time cruise. In the meantime, I'm going to get a diet Coke and check out that buffet line again...!
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