I came to Mexico resolved that Mexico would be my hobby – not golf, not bridge, not club work, none of that – just Mexico’s history and language. I’ve made some progress as my articles for Mexico Connect and the Guadalajara Reporter show.
If I write of a vaguely defined “big city,” it’s really Guadalajara, where I live, but what I am saying, I feel, applies to nearly all urban Mexican life.
And if I use Mexican slang and “dichos” – which are funny sayings – it’s because I really love them and have worked hard to learn them. If anybody tells you, “We don’t use that careless type of language,” don’t believe them. It’s the language of people having a few beers together or the language of the family when it meets.
My wife was born here and I shamelessly pick her brain. But she’s glad to think that what she knows will interest friendly foreigners and teach them about her country. We’re out on long walks every day in the never-ending quest to learn more about this city and how it works.