The Swine Flu, McDonald’s, and Kangaroos

To say that Mexico is full of the swine flu (or for that matter, drug traffickers or people wanting to immigrate to the United States) is like saying that all Americans eat McDonald’s or that Australians all have kangaroos living as pets in their backyards: it’s just not true. (Just a funny anecdote regarding stereotypes: the other day I met someone from Costa Rica who, upon hearing that I was from South Carolina in the U.S., asked excitedly, “Oh is that anywhere close to where Britney Spears was born??”).

I’m working on a project in my communications class on quantitative research, in which my group is analyzing the stereotypes that the cinema gives to Mexico. Although we have barely begun, I can already tell that the results will be amazing but not surprising. Think about the following movies: ‘Babel’. ‘The Mexican’. ‘Nacho Libre’. Even the ‘Sex and the City’ movie. Can you honestly say that these movies don’t reinforce the stereotypes that you already had about Mexico? ‘Babel’ deals with immigration and portrays a Mexican woman crossing the border through the desert. ‘The Mexican’ deals with drug trafficking and portrays the Mexicans in it as mob members. ‘Nacho Libre’ makes a fool out of Mexico (from what I’ve gathered at least; I have no real desire to see it). And even the ‘Sex and the City’ movie portrays the water in Mexico as undrinkable (I realize in some areas it’s not a good idea for a foreigner to drink the water, but I have been drinking tap water here in Monterrey and have had no problems).

Community service is an essential part of my time here as a Rotary scholar, and I have been searching all over for ways to volunteer my time. To be honest, it’s been difficult. Having worked for the last year for an organization that helps immigrants, I have unfortunately not been completely devoid of stereotypes either. I half assumed that I would be coming to a Mexico that I could help “save” from all of the “terrible things” it was experiencing that I heard about on a daily basis in the newspapers, on TV, and in the movies. Don’t get me wrong; I have a great deal of respect for those who have come to Mexico, have volunteered and worked in rural communities, and have helped an incredible amount. Because yes, there is a lot of need in certain areas. However, since I am here in Monterrey, I’d like to offer a different perspective on Mexico – one that you may never hear about otherwise: Mexico has great, well-developed and modern cities that offer everything that you could need or want. There are – believe it or not – areas where the tap water is drinkable. I have not yet encountered any drug traffickers nor have I seen any drug-related violence (or any violence at all for that matter). (By the way, I should note that almost all of the violence involving drugs that does occur is against people who are in some way already involved in the drug trade). I have not caught the swine flu or met anyone who has. And lastly, of the Mexicans whom I have met who have traveled to the U.S., all have gone with proper documents, to visit and to see the many great things that our country has to offer as well.

On that note, I was able to find a way I can do some community service here while also learning more about the culture of Mexico! I joined a student organization called Asociación Estudiantil por los Pueblos Indígenas(Student Organization for Indigenous People). (Click here for more information). Their mission is to promote interest and understanding of the culture and current situation of Mexico’s indigenous people. Through this organization, I will be doing some volunteer work with a related program called Creando Espacios de Inclusión (Creating Spaces of Inclusion). This program meets several Saturday afternoons throughout the semester, and it is intended to help indigenous students from small villages adjust to life in the big city of Monterrey. The students range from high school- to college-age, and are given scholarships to study in Monterrey.

My first time volunteering there was last Saturday, September 12 (we actually met in one of the classrooms at Monterrey Tec). After a fun icebreaker activity, we watched two videos about life in the indigenous villages, learning a lot about the struggles the people go through, including lack of access to health care and education, militarization (i.e. intimidating military there) and poor infrastructure. Afterwards, we broke up into groups to discuss the film. The indigenous students in my group described to us life in their villages, and how they experienced situations like the ones in the videos. They then talked about the difficulty in moving to Monterrey, a huge, sometimes intimidating city.

My first Saturday with Creando Espacios de Inclusión was of particular interest to me since I have worked with immigrants in South Carolina, helping them to adjust to a completely different environment than what they are used to. I thought it was a great strategy to bring together indigenous students and Tec students, and allow the indigenous students to share their stories and the Tec students to open their eyes to another culture – its beauty and its struggles.

As these Saturday meetings continue, hopefully friendships between the indigenous students and the Tec students will develop. I came to Mexico as a Rotary scholar hoping to foster mutual understanding between the Mexican and the U.S. cultures, but I have found that there is so much more here. Not only is there the cultural interaction of the people of Mexico and of the U.S., but in this city of four million, there are also students and professionals from almost every country in the world, as well as indigenous people who are native to Mexico but have a culture of their own. And I am eager to learn about them all.