The Morning Edition - What Living in Mexico is REALLY Like

When people are considering living another country, they spend a lot of time looking for the "real story" about what life in at country is like.  For Mexico, like any other country, we find all sorts of extremes flying around, with some people trying to promote as paradise, and others, who like to present themselves as "realistic," telling exaggerated horror stories.  With the first people, you're left wondering what they're trying to sell, or what they've been doing to remove they're mind from reality, with the second, you're left wondering why they're still here if it's so horrible; the truth is that both are falsifying for the pleasure of telling stories and either pleasing people or shocking people (the two are not so dissimilar.)

From my point of view, the plain truth is that once you settle into day to day life, enjoying the simple pleasures that each day brings to you, or hating the mundane routine that you can't escape from (the optimistic vs. pessimistic view of the exact same things,) day to day life is about the same just about where ever you live.

This is not to deny or even diminish the importance of cultural differences, lifestyle and work routines, which are very dependent on where you live.  But the point is that even the richest culture or the most comfortable lifestyle can be swallowed up by boredom and no pleasure to life whatsoever.  On the other hand, the place most devoid of culture and anything remotely interesting in terms of human achievement could be beautiful to the open heart.

My life in Mexico is most defined by the same things that define the lives of people I know in Canada, Mexico City, China, the U.S., etc; I get up, I take my son to school, I do my work, sometimes I cook, I eat, I help clean the house or do the dishes, I write my blog, I help put the kids to bed, I read, etc. I'd guess that well over 90% of my life is taken up by these things.  My friends who don't have kids wouldn't be doing those items, but most of the rest would be similar.

Of course, the places we live and the people near us define the flavor of these routines; but it is our openness to life that shows us the beauty of the place we live and the people we interact with.

I love my routine because it is with my family and friends, and in a place that is pleasant. The strange, interesting and wonderful little discoveries I come across (many of which show up in this blog) add flavor and spice to this.

In this blog, the posts that are most about my life every day here are the ones that are not much different from little things people everywhere would enjoy:

Our New Park
The Neighborhood I Call Home
Our Beautiful Bougainvilleas - Flowers, Flowers and more Flowers

These are like rice (I like rice); they are the base of my daily life.  The other neat little things I have the pleasure of coming across are like the spices and other ingredients added to the rice to add flavor and variety:

Cafe de Olla - One of my Favorites!
Day of the Dead - The Symbols and Traditional Elements


Of course, there are things which aren't pleasant at all, but these are also a part of normal life.

So what is life in Mexico like?  The short answer is, when the new wears off, just about like anywhere else; discovering and enjoying the little beautiful things and intriguing features unique to Mexico, which add some spice to life will depend entirely on how you view life ...