Once we were done with this we got packed and left for our first glimpse of the neighborhood in Huehuetoca. The neighborhood in Huehuetoca is owned by a housing development company called Urbi. The houses are all built in a very economical way so that they are very small and compact. Each house is quite small, but has modern amenities inside that are similar to those found in the US. As you can see in the next few pictures, the sprawl of the neighborhood is quite mind boggling.
What’s cool about the Urbi though is that many of the houses have small businesses inside of them that allows the neighborhood to be self sustaining. While these mom and pop stores are allowed by the governing board of the neighborhood, the business owners are not allowed to hang signs advertising their business in their windows. So basically the only way they’re really allowed to advertise is through word of mouth advertising. It’s kinda cool because you must learn the “underground” network of shops and services through meeting people and asking the right questions.
For example, today while taking a tour of the neighborhood with Casey, we tried to get a haircut at one of the local houses. The business owner wasn’t there, but we stopped by a few more places on our way back to the “mission house” (it’s just a house they’re renting in the Urbi for the purposes of storage and a church meeting place). One of our stops was at a small convenience store, another was at a small bed and breakfast, and yet another was at a small bakery. As I stopped at each small business I was amazed to see the people’s dedication to high quality work and services. The Urbi is quite awesome in that any one has the opportunity to start their own business and provide services to the local community with very little cost for location. I think I’m going to enjoy living here.
Following our tour of the neighborhood, Andrew, Casey, and I went back to the main mission house for our first Mexican fiesta. This welcoming party was planned for us by the members of the church to show us true Mexican hospitality. I can’t speak for Andrew, but I know for me I definitely felt welcomed after the party. The women of the church made small treats on cooked tortillas called “sopes” as well as “pambazos”. I was careful to eat them at first since my stomach hasn’t been in the best shape recently, but I decided to try them eventually. Both of the foods there were very tasty and I hope to eat more of them during my stay here.
All of the people I met were very nice and as I played card games with them I saw how they like to joke and kid with each other. The people here are very happy even though they don’t have a lot, which is a lesson I think a lot of Americans need to learn. After the party was over (and it lasted quite a while by the way) I got to experience my first night sleeping in a Mexican home. Tonight I stayed with Ricardo and Claudia, who are fairly affluent Mexicans here in the Urbi.
They were very hospitable and immediately welcomed me to sit down and offered to bring out a drink or food. I asked for a drink and they brought out a glass of water with lime added in. This was a very delicious drink but I fear if I drink too many of them I may develop cavities. We then talked for quite some time (as is the way in the culture) while watching “El bueno, el malo, y el feo” (“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” in Spanish). Ricardo, Claudia, and I tried to understand each other as I speak only some Spanish and Ricardo speaks some English.
It was interesting to find out more about where Ricardo and Claudia are from as well as share my story with them. Overall today has been a great experience and I feel thoroughly welcomed here in Mexico.
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