Mexico adapted by a Latvian for Latvians

YES:

• This is definitely telenovela and drama country. with everything and everyone. they are not only being watched but also lived through. From not so good things: rumors, convenience calculations and showing off, judging by social status, but also many good sides: family ties, traditions, religion, fighting for girls love and being treated like a princess - yes, it's all here.
• It is very hot in spring and summer. But not all year round. See the NO section.
  
• Gas is cheap, like 0.28 Ls for liter, so don't be surprised by big cars and driving by them everywhere and every time.
• Many highways are paid ones (cuota), that automatically gives insurance and assure better roads. not always but should be. so when you go farther than city borders, the costs for the way are double: gas + casetas checkpoints
• Many families have maids (mājkalpotājas), maybe without the uniform, but still. Not everyone knows how to turn on washing machine. It's not good or bad, just as it is.
  

NO:

• even if the country resembles of a paradise, it's not easy to start a life here. unless you are having brilliant business ideas, good contacts, great deal of luck and own capital to start something. average salary is much lower than in Latvia and even with cheaper living expenses it would be quite hard to survive.
• for guys: it's not so easy just to come here, get a sexy Mexican and marry her right away. check in wikipedia what Catholicism means.
  
• tequila is not made out of cactus, but agave, looks like aloe vera but BIG and tequila comes from the down part, not the leaves. I'm not very sure about the myth that the añejo and reposado ones are being colored brown, at least originally and by all laws of tequila quality (as champaign can be made only in Champagne, tequila comes only for certain regions of Mexico, mainly Jalisco state) I doubt that good tequila could be made like that. though the one we have in Latvia - all is possible. Sierra (the one with little red hat on the bottle neck) - that's the worst one here. Do not believe the price and don't buy it.

Tequila

• no one drinks tequila shots like you imagine. if it is served in a shot, you're supposed to enjoy every sip slowly not the whole "ritual" with salt and lemon. or at least get the green lime not yellow lemon.
• Corona is not the only beer. In Latvia you can also get Sol which seems even more popular in Mexico. And if you put lemon inside it, add salt as well. Or make my favorite - michelada.
• people do not become automatically tanned when they are in Mexico. unless you live near the beach and go sunbathing every day, then yes. usually people everywhere and every time go by car (in big cities walking is impossible), also sun is not shining every day all year long.temperatures differ by year. Mexico is BIG, only Guadalajara alone has population three times bigger than whole Latvia together. also the climate is different and some states by winter experience even 0 and minus degrees. though no one uses the word combinations "plus degrees" or "minus degrees", they are simply degrees.
• there is winter in Mexico during the same months as we have. if you didn't know the country is located in the same hemisphere as Latvia, just next to United States. I've also learned a lot from geography while being here.
• weather - it is not the top topic to chit chat. yes, it is so nicely sunny, so what? it will be sunny tomorrow. even if it's terribly cold (this winter) or terribly hot (usually spring and summer) - you just grab a jacket or hide in a room with AC and problem is solved.
• no, people do not get oranges from the sidewalks. I really doubt about the quality of fruits that are in between so many cars around, sometimes don't even look orange, to my mind good description is green-ange
• here are no lemons. the yellow ones that we know. limón is what we call lime, the small green one and being used everywhere - drinks, fruits, food. on the other hand - lima is looking as a mix of orange and the yellow lemon but has sweet flavor.
• fruit is not desert. it can be but not necessarily needs to be. mix of fruits + salt + chili + lemon - very normal snack. even strawberries, watermelons and melons which for Latvians are purely sweet and quite exclusive thing in summer season.

The main conclusion - actually the country is sooo big and the population is even bigger, that it's quite impossible to make any generalizations. I'm also working with myself to get over many things that are not as I'm used to, even if it's 3rd time when I'm here.
Cultural sensitivity to say :)

before leaving: survival techniques

yes, yes, I'm leaving again. this time no goodbye parties, I'll be back soon. still the feelings are always weird before closing the suitcases and going to airport. longed so much but still now wanting to meet and hug everyone before leaving.
so let's look at life here during the last 4 months.

never thought so many things could change after 5 months away. even after Erasmus adventure what totally moved my world upside down.
but here I am. almost finished the first semester of my dream studies which I never thought will be so hard, again heading South, again without certain plan. and no possible answers to questions about getting married. btw, it's impolite to ask that.

survived in the cold, between neverending train routes Jelgava-Riga-Jelgava, still amazed by people in the public transportation (my as well I guess), handled the judgments and for the first time felt awkward for my age - being the youngest in university and one of the oldest in youth organization.
so my two remedies:

- learn from Mexico. no matter how much Latvians are always swearing about mañana philosophy and getting stressed about things not done in the right order in the set deadlines, there is some wisdom in that. chill. don't stress about what you cannot change. don't torture yourself if it doesn't help to solve the problem. it doesn't mean people in Mexico do not have worries, even from the telenovelas you've seen that they do know how to make drama but in the next moment (day, week, whenever but soon) the issue is forgotten to give place to more important things - relations, family and friends, small life pleasures. it's not bad to think about yourself and love yourself.

even if the studies are total headaches, even if I've never read Rousseau, have no clue about Michel Foucault or never used words "discourse" instead of debates (current issues, way of talk), "narrative" or "arbitrary" literary translated into Latvian (naratīvs - stāstījums, arbitrārs - patvaļīgi pieņemts) which says as much as the same word in English transcription and "empirical epistemology" is still a weird way of saying "knowledge gained from experience"... there is always a way how to make things simple and get an inspiration even from very academic issues.
One of the coolest lectures I've had this semester was about (dis)enchantment of the modern world by Jane Bennett (here a quick glance into). some of the checklist questions to everyone:

Do you (privately) believe that we are better off than nonmodern peoples precisely because we approach the world with the confidence that "one can, in principle, master all things by calculation"?
But does this picture of the world as a "causal mechanism" also leave you wondering about the purpose of it all? In other words, has science stamped "imprint of meaningless" on your life and death?

Is it ok to run after some kind of imagined goals put on you by the society or better to have your own vision of what you want to reach and take it easy, enjoying the life?
Is it ok to pretend you are super-smart or actually do something for good with the knowledge you gain? I prefer the last option.

- find things that fulfill life and take up responsibility. AIESEC. "why you need to work for free?", "what's the point of your activities?", "do conferences mean sex, beer and girls?" questions again I answer very avoidably. no, conferences do not mean that, there is point and working for free can give much more than work from 9 am to 6 pm every working day. I enjoy being in top management of the organization that truly stands for changing the world for a better place. Look around - it's us, especially the young people, who will do the big things. Not mystical they that would come and solve everything for you. 110+ countries and territories come together with common goals - this is truly about peace and human kind potential fulfillment! Even if it's sounds a bit "sectarian'' :P
Where else you can actually see the good results and changes in lives? Where else you can make actual impact on global issues? And where else I will enjoy working after midnight? :)

to stop for a while, read some books and let life take you where you enjoy being the most.
hasta luego!