By William Hurley
As the Honors trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, approached in January, I had already formed a number of expectations about the country based on past experiences, conversations, and media. Whenever I told people I was going to Mexico, the most common response was, “Don’t drink the water!” I wondered, what about showers? Could I breathe in the vapor in the air? In preparation, I braved a Hepatitis A shot and carried a prescription for the antibiotic Cipro at all times. A few years ago, I had briefly been to Algodones, Mexico—a small, notorious tourist-trap village on the border of Arizona—where suave salesmen desperately attempted to push their Chinese-made trinkets to unsuspecting gringos. I prognosticated similar experiences in Guadalajara. In all, I had accumulated various inklings of an exotic, yet beleaguered, nation. However, the warm climate, culture, and people of Mexico quickly dispelled such prejudices upon my arrival.
Mexican food was a recurring theme in my daily journal. Among the delicious dishes I tried were spicy pork shank on the bone; an array of authentic Cuban dishes, and shredded lamb that had been cooked and buried eight feet into the ground. I also became enamored with flan, especially its caramel variant. Furthermore, the drinks were quite interesting: often a drink that looked like milk turned out to be a white rice drink or coconut juice. On the other hand, American culture pervaded much of Mexico, especially evident in the nearby McDonalds and Hard Rock Café. I knew enough Spanish to get around; but at the same time, I knew nothing. It was quite a humbling experience. Besides the fact that I was traveling with other American students, there was always something to remind me of home.
Fortunately, all of the classes were in English. It was fascinating to apply the concepts we had read in the book and solidified in Professor Blake Pattridge’s history classes to our day-to-day activities in Mexico. One of the most interesting recurrences involved looking for which historical figures were popular and seen in murals, sculptures, and monuments—like Benito Juárez, a hero of the Mexican Revolution. I think it is important for a country to have such national symbols of strength, as they secularly unify people across all races and religions.
We also had the privilege of taking classes on Doing Business in Mexico from Tec de Monterrey teachers. The biggest takeaway among all the lessons was simple: China. The emerging capitalist economy will not only be a serious competitor to fully developed countries like the U.S., but it will also dominate the cheap labor market, taking Mexican jobs away. I sensed a certain urgency in all of the professors’ voices, as if they saw it as their duty to educate tomorrow’s technological entrepreneurs to rescue Mexico from foreign dependency. Tec employs a program similar to FME in that students conceptualize and sell a product in downtown Guadalajara. As Professor Ed Cale and the Tec faculty agreed, Babson and Tec could really benefit from each other’s innovative ideas.
On our first weekend getaway—to Guanajuato—it seemed that no matter where I looked, I was presented with a barrage of brightly colored houses—orange, red, blue, white, and yellow—situated perfectly within the brown and green valley. This beautiful environment was a contrasting backdrop to the house of the mummies, a display of the dried remnants of poor citizens whose families could not afford proper graves. Although it was painful for me to look at 50-year-old corpses, I realized that it was more important that I saw the grim truth than not.
Our second weekend excursion was in Puerto Vallarta, characterized by the bright blue Pacific Ocean and the perpetual coastal breeze. One of the pinnacles of the trip took place here: parasailing. Although I immediately ruled it out, petrified of falling, the spirit of Mexico persuaded me to go for it. The ascent felt like a roller coaster, but once I got up to the maximum height, everything was peaceful with an occasional gust of wind. I realized I was powerless from that point forward, which ironically made the flight less frightening. A rough landing in the water ended the otherwise smooth ride, but the experience was unforgettable.
In all, the expectations that I formed about Mexico were only partially true. Bottled water was abundant, and besides a head cold and two minor stomachaches, I did not succumb to the fallout of Moctezuma’s Revenge. Guadalajara, while punctuated by modern buildings and infrastructure, still has many areas of undeveloped, crumbling concrete buildings plagued by graffiti. The economy is far from beleaguered, but the Mexicans noticeably have work to do. The upcoming presidential elections will foretell the political climate to come. With the increasing trend of global business, I am rooting for Mexico’s success. What I saw there—the vibrant culture, people, food, geographical beauty, and spirit—greatly impressed me.
