An Interesting Experiment

I really want to share two reactions to the same video....

first, my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/ashleycorinne22. The video was shot on the day of the Anti-Bush protest. The Video is called "Burning Flag at the US Embassy"
I don't really care if you watch the video or not....what I care about are the responses I've gotten:
°you fucked up mexico and you bring your bad habits here stay where you are and stop bitching
°This is Mexico's laws .fuck Mexico There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools, no special ballots for elections, all government business will be conducted in our language.
Foreigners will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
Foreigners will NEVER be able to hold political office.
Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. NO welfare, No food stamps, No health care, or other government assistance programs.
°Yeah thats right fuck all Americans vengeful bitches go back to Europe where you belong you ugly fucks fuck the U.S. its supposed to be Mexico.
° SPICS SUS PUTAS MADRES PENDEJOS
°poor uneducated mexicans lets cloth them feed them house them wipe there ass etc lets take them into our arms educate them if possible wa wa wa
°WOW< fucking lame ass bitches. If I see any of those FUCKING spics in my country, i'll tie them to a post and burn them along with the mexicant flag.

etc etc etc

Here is Toño's youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/sateruiz. The Video is called "Queman bandera de EU frente a su embajada en México" It's the same exact video.....here are responses to his:

° SI..chinga tu madre bush..(YES..F!#$ your mother bush)
° cuando bush se muera las va pagar cuando vea a toda la gente que mato alla arriba (when Bush dies he'll pay when he sees all the people he killed up there (up there as in heaven i guess?))
° Que muera el asesino...(death to the murderer)
° Que FAlt de respeto chusma!!!!! (what a lack of respect)
° jeje bien hecho, bandera fea y gente fea (haha, good job, ugly flag and ugly people)

I just thought it was interesting the exptreme racism on both sides of the border.....all addressed to the same video.

Please, don't mistake Mexican hospitality for politeness

The Mexican culture has a not so misplaced infamy of hospitality. I've had more than my fair share of unrequited hospitable gestures; it's something entirely foreign and slightly unnerving to a person coming from an isolationist culture such as that of us Americans. But once one lets down their guard and seizes to fear the worst -- rapist, kidnapper, robber, serial killer, etc -- the motion is actually seen for what it truly is meant to be.....a favor in exchange for a future favor, or cash.

But don't mistake these hospitable gestures for politeness; while a Mexican will offer you his house, pay for your dinner, or give you even the clothes off his back (actually, I was given a bracelet just because I said I liked it and I offended the girl who gave it to me when I tried to refuse it....also, at a restaurant I complimented the hostess on her necklace and she responded not with the usual "thank you" but with "muy a sus ordenes" -- at your orders, AKA, whenever you want to borrow it, it's yours), their culture can seem to lack a bit in etiquette.

Mexicans answer their phones in movie theaters -- they don't even turn off the ringer
Mexicans honk, cut people off, and nearly run pedestrians over any chance they get
Mexicans will clap loudly and constantly if the play, concert or movie doesn't start on time
Mexicans will whistle the tune "shave and a haircut" to people who make them mad because it means "chinga tu madre"

These traits don't express naquese or rudeness here in Mexico, they are an everyday, common as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (in the US) occurrence that has manifested itself into a cultural characteristic.....a spiky, gritty, hard-to-swallow characteristic, as far as this California girl is concerned.

A (photo) trip through my humble abode

I figured it's been a while since I've shown pictures of our apartment and since it seems like no more furniture will fit, I thought now would be a good time (aka, it's not looking to change much from here on out). So here is a photo montage of our humble abode.


Starting with the door....we recently put up a "magnolia stained glass window"....it's that stuff that you stick on to make it look like stained glass window

Moving to the left,

and left some more

a bit farther left


close up of the fish


and here we've completed the circle (well, almost) which leads us to the (oriental) kitchen...

and this time we'll go to the right...we had a bbq that day

farther right

and farther right still (avoiding the sink and the boiler for some reason)

we go back through the living room and into the bed room, say hi to Violeta


moving again to the left

skip the bathroom and we jump to the desk...look closely at that taspestry...that's Toño's doing

that would be the tour of our miniature apartment....I figured I wouldn't subject you to anymore bathroom photos, nothing has changed, it's continuing nastiness is just as frustrating as ever and keeping everyone away from it as much as possible is my goal.