Mexico #6

Well its been awhile, but for the past two weeks, things have basically been on autopilot with my study. But this is the last week of exercise for the first group, so by this time next week I’ll have my first solid data (standard clinical measurements) on whether or not the device is actually doing anything! Although all 3 of my patients have shown improvement in the quantitative test I created and they all claim that their arms feel better after treatment, so I’m hopeful.

In other news, I went to the visit the pyramids at Teotihuacan this past weekend. It was awesome, got to climb to the top of them, beautiful view with strong winds whipping around us. Me gusto. I also found out there is a large forest/national park right by the institute, so I went to check that out last week. It was refreshing to get back into nature for a little bit after being surrounded by all the craziness of the city.

So now to go in a different direction then normal, in the few weeks I’ve been here, I’ve gotten a chance to talk to a lot of different Mexicans about their views of the United States. Naturally I didn’t expect many of them to be fond of the US (our reputation is often less then stellar abroad), but I was actually kind of surprised at how many different opinions I encountered. Although in retrospect I guess I shouldn’t be, since there are just as many different opinions of Mexico in the States.

The first opinion I encountered was not a good one. My friend did not like the idea of so many of his country-men leaving to work in the US. He recognized that there were more jobs available there for the poor in the north of the country, but he felt like the US often discriminated against Mexicans and didn’t think having to live in that kind of environment was worth the financial benefits. His words were, why would he want to move to a country to work where he would be at an immediate disadvantage because of the color of his skin. He also recognized the years of bad history between our two countries, and desired an improvement in our relationships, even if that meant letting go of many wrongs he felt were committed against his people during the early development of our countries (see Texas, California, etc…). He also thought the new law in Arizona was garbage, and I have to say I agree.

Later, I met a guy who had lived in Chicago for 42 years and was now back visiting Mexico during his retirement. He worked in maintenance in an office building there, and had worked his way up to make a decent living. He told me that he raised his kids in the States, and for them that was their home, his son even served in the Army. However, they also had roots in Mexico, and his son had made strong friends down here during vacations. For the dad, Mexico would always be home, but he appreciated what the US had to offer and was glad his family was making a life there.

After that I was talking to one of the doctors at the clinic, and he told me that a large number of graduates from his school left to work in the United States. For him, it wasn’t worth leaving home (plus it is very difficult to get a work visa, even for a doctor), but he understood why they did it, especially since the economy in Mexico was rocky at the time. Like another friend told me, when the US gets a sore throat, Mexico get bronchitis (referring to the economy). He went on to tell me that most of them left with the intention of working for awhile to make a little more money, save up and pay off debts, and then coming back to Mexico. And while this often happened, many of them ended up choosing to stay in the States after getting comfortable at their jobs and establishing roots there.

The fourth opinion I encountered I didn’t really expect. I went out to a night-club this past weekend with a group of students who were part of the wealthier crowd. I was talking to one guy, and he started using a little bit of English, so I asked him if he’d ever been to the States. So he pulls a ticket stub out of his pocket showing a recent flight from Mexico City to San Francisco, and went on to tell me he took a weekend trip up there a few weeks ago. So I asked if he had any family up there, but he told me that the entire purpose of his trip was to go shopping, because, apparently, Hollister, Armani, etc... are difficult to find in Mexico. Nice.

Now to insert my own little political opinion, which is actually something I hate doing, I’m beginning to think more and more that we should open up the borders between the US and Mexico. If they want to come and work, I say let them do it, and legally. Want to cut down on illegal immigrants? Make them legal. Most of them are just trying to find a better life for themselves or their family, which is kind of the point of the Unites States, no? Also, by improving our relationship with Mexico, there could be less of an “us vs. them” mentality, since I know many people think that they come to the States to work, but don’t really want to be one of us. My experience forces me to disagree. Furthermore, we are neighbors. While many of them see problems with policies or groups of thought in the US, everyone here has been incredibly welcoming of me and knows that there are many Americans that they could consider friends. And I think it would be great to cultivate this kind of relationship with our neighbors and to encourage the sharing of cultures which is already taking place. In fact, I’m not sure why Spanish isn’t taught more rigorously in schools (learning other languages is common practice in many other parts of the world). I think too often we accept the way things are as the way things should be. And thats pretty much my main point.