Cultural Difference

Coming from the left-coast of Canada, I am acutely aware of one vast difference between Mexican and Canadian culture. Political correctness is almost non-existant here. Take the picture for example. ‘GORDITAS’ are a kind of food, but it also means fat women. Many people here think nothing of referring to women walking right in front of them as gorditas. When I mentioned that I like Mexican food, some of my coworkers immediately asked me if I like gorditas. What followed was five or ten minutes of discussion about gorditas always described as if it were a food, but clearly implying the slang meaning. It takes a little getting used to. In a recent staff meeting, the foreign teachers were informed that one particular teacher does not come to get our students because “she is fat’.

As you may have guessed, Chiapanecans seem to love making jokes. That’s one reason (of many) why Tuxtla is such a good fit for me. Some of the jokes I make (and that I can repeat) are at the expense of my good-natured roommate, Kris, who is vegetarian (in a very non-vegetarian culture). At a recent fiesta, (I am beginning to mark time by fiestas) I informed Kris that the hot dog appetizers were “Salchichas de Plantas” - Glenn Spanish for hot dogs made from plants and mentioned that they have “savor de arboles” - tree flavoring. Since then my friends have referred to ALL vegetation as food for Kris and all meat as if it is veggy-based. “Pollo de plantas” - chicken from plants, for example. I am sure that none of this seems remotely funny at home, but we laugh uproariously at all of these jokes. Kris gets me back in a myriad of ways, often involving his far superior understanding of Spanish. I have ceased to ask him to tell me the Spanish for words I don’t know as he has started to mess with me by telling me the wrong words. In just one month, my friends and I have so many inside jokes that a discussion without some reference to a previous joke would be very unusual.

I should add that I have avoided mentioning the vast majority of the jokes my friends and I make as even having read about the differences between the two cultures, you would still be horrified at these jokes. Plus I am aware that my blog is family programming for some of you.