International Internet Day

Today is International Internet Day.  Supposedly there are over 20 million internet users in Mexico…this number has increased dramatically (more than doubled) in the last 3 years.  With just over 100 million people living in Mexico that means that 1 in 5 Mexicans are connected in this way.  I guess some of these 20 million users may be the same person with multiple usernames.  Anyway…there are alot of Mexicans connected to the internet…and the number is growing.

Its not what most people envision when they think of Mexico.  Burros, tortillas, sombreros, tacos, tequila, mariachi music, siesta…internet.  I don’t think so. 

I’m reminded that Mexico has changed and continues to be on the fast track for change.  What will the “new” Mexico be?  The lists are long of both the good and the bad that comes from this and other sources of change.  But its still happening…

What does it mean? 

I’m not even sure sometimes what the questions are…much less the answers. 

Mexicans–Ties That Bind

Two or three weeks back I listened to an interview with researcher Dan Lund who lives and works in Mexico City.  He has recently done research on Mexicans and what are the common ties that hold Mexicans together–whether in Mexico or living abroad.  The gist of his research question was:  “What are you most proud of as a Mexican?” 

Surprisingly, instead of turning up symbols of the Church or of patriotism, he said he discovered a unique configuration of family, food and place.  How does it work? 

Family.  Mexicans are extremely family oriented.  They love getting together in family groups…often extended family.  Typically the group comes together around a meal…around the table…around the grill…sometimes its a birthday party or some holiday…sometimes its just the weekend.  Food.  Mexicans are proud of their food…and Mexican food is fabulous–tacos, carne asada, mole, pozole, barbacoa, birria, tamales…  And the thing is that Mexicans love to cook and love to eat.  What’s more the food is the conversation.  Each dish has a history and varies from region to region.  Mexicans can talk for hours about the food.  Lund says the metaphor for Mexico is table.  Place.  To be a Mexican is to be from a specific place.  Mexicans feel a strong tie to some specific place…some city or pueblito.  Even when you don’t presently live there, eres de alli.  You are proud of where you are from.  Lund says that the money sent back to Mexico by Mexicans living in the U.S. is not just about the money…but about the connection to a place…it is a social relationship. 

So what does all of this mean?  What does it say to those who want to understand and connect with Mexicans (in Mexico or in the U.S.)?

I think about Jesus and the way table was so important to him, to his ministry…so important in the Kingdom message he lived and proclaimed. 

I think about the potential blessing of eating alot of good Mexican food!

fruit of machismo?

i want to understand better what’s going on in mexico. 

i want to understand what causes some mexicans to do whatever it takes to find a better life. 

i read a quote today from mexico’s president felipe calderon saying that there is a culture of “machismo and misogyny” that pervades in mexico…said that in 2006, 49% of all homicides against women were at the hands of their husbands.

the president called these figures “chilling.”  i agree. 

i wonder what the connection is with drugs and alcohol. 

i wonder what the figure is in other places. 

A Bite Out of My Plans

last saturday morning i had so much to do…so much to do this week.  i thought i’d get up and run a few miles before i got started.  5 minutes into the run i found myself with my thumb in a big dog’s mouth.  i’m not sure of all that happened and why…but with a couple of hours in the er, stitches, the doc’s fear of infection, my plans for the day…and for the week changed. 

i think i’m supposed to slow down…maybe not feel so much in control…and of course watch out for big biting dogs! 

Getting Started With This Thing

i’ve been wanting to start this for ages.  so here it goes.  my friend ben said the best way to begin is to think of the blog as a trail…of what i’ve been reading…hearing…attending…thinking…

as i’ve thought about it more, i think its important for me to notice what is happening in and around me in these days…to notice if there is a connection.  if there doesn’t seem to be one, no problem.  it may come later.  or not at all. 

maybe someone else will help out. 

so let’s see how it goes…