Had I been born in Mexico\\u2026<\\/h3>\\n If I had been born in Mexico, my life would have been very different. When I was younger, I thought it would be bad different. Air conditioners didn\\u2019t work super well, I\\u2019d live with my parents until I got married, would stay in town for college, I probably wouldn\\u2019t have discovered my love of birds<\\/a> and pursued it as a career<\\/a>. Through an American lens, I felt nothing but relief that I had been born in the US. But now, as an adult, I see some of the aspects I\\u2019ve missed out on.<\\/p>\\n The unity of family. The reality of always having others to lean on. Mutual support in every aspect of life. As a kid, influenced by American culture, the Mexican culture of staying close to family seemed a cursed fate. Now, I recognize it as a blessing.<\\/p>\\n

{"id":405,"date":"2024-06-20T16:54:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T21:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecatholicbirdlover\/?p=405"},"modified":"2024-06-20T22:49:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T03:49:31","slug":"3-very-catholic-truths-mexican-culture-teaches-about-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thecatholicbirdlover\/2024\/06\/3-very-catholic-truths-mexican-culture-teaches-about-life\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Very Catholic Truths Mexican Culture Teaches About Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The constant hum of the fan weaves with the dramatic gongs of the most recent telenovela my grandmother is watching. The carcass of a mosquito, bloated with my blood, lies over the edge of the bed. My own stomach is bloated from the remnants of my grandmother\u2019s birthday dinner a couple hours ago. It\u2019s a peaceful, quiet existence and I reflect on the waves of nostalgia that come every time I visit my family in Mexico. Nostalgia for the life that could have been and the different truths Mexican culture would have instilled in me.<\/p>\n

Had I been born in Mexico\u2026<\/h3>\n If I had been born in Mexico, my life would have been very different. When I was younger, I thought it would be bad different. Air conditioners didn\u2019t work super well, I\u2019d live with my parents until I got married, would stay in town for college, I probably wouldn\u2019t have discovered my love of birds<\/a> and pursued it as a career<\/a>. Through an American lens, I felt nothing but relief that I had been born in the US. But now, as an adult, I see some of the aspects I\u2019ve missed out on.<\/p>\n The unity of family. The reality of always having others to lean on. Mutual support in every aspect of life. As a kid, influenced by American culture, the Mexican culture of staying close to family seemed a cursed fate. Now, I recognize it as a blessing.<\/p>\n

Mexico culture is not all truth\u2026<\/h3>\n \ Not that life in Mexico is perfect. By living abroad, I recognize that I\u2019ve dodged most of the family drama. There\u2019s been no chance to build up resentment because we see each other only once a year. The black sheep of the family to me are just family. And, of course, the truth is, Mexican culture is not very introvert friendly, so I\u2019m relieved that the large family gatherings are something I choose to come to rather than being expected to come to. It\u2019s also true that I likely would never have discovered birds living here in Mexico. My family lives in a desert city, it\u2019s not overrun with wildlife nor is the culture in tune with nature.<\/p>\n \ All of this to say, I don\u2019t regret my life. And though I\u2019ve felt pulled in two directions my whole life, largely due to my daily reality and family being based in two different countries, I\u2019m grateful for it. Having lived in two cultures, my perspective is expanded, I have a greater openness to different and a greater ability to see the flaws in each of my two cultures. So today, from the comfort of my grandmother\u2019s house, I want to share some of the truths that Mexican culture teaches my American self, some truths that are very in line with Christianity.<\/p>\n

Mexican Culture Truth 1: Family is Everything<\/h2>\n " The family is the\u00a0original cell of social life.<\/em>..The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. CCC 2207<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Family is everything. This is one of the truths Mexican culture teaches. Growing up in the US, my goal from middle school was to move out<\/a>. That\u2019s what everyone talked about. When I graduate high school, I\u2019m going away for college. I\u2019m going to rent an apartment and do whatever I want. This was our collective goal. And though I knew\u00a0my<\/em> parents were not pushing for this, it seemed all my friends\u2019 parents took this for granted. They joked about how relieved they\u2019d be when there was no longer a child devouring all the food, or imagined how they\u2019d convert the kids rooms into gyms, or warn that the kids would be charged rent as soon as they turned 18.<\/p>\n I have since realized that most of this is just talk. I know several friends who currently are or have lived with their parents free of charge and I have witnessed extended families who are as close as my Mexican family. And, of course, it should be noted that my Mexican paternal\u00a0<\/em>side has no unity whatsoever.<\/p>\n Still, family is built into Mexican culture in a way that it isn\u2019t in American culture. Take as an example, last year\u2019s Christmas dinner. My cousins with significant others hopped around town to four<\/em> Christmas dinners. Two sets of grandparents per individual. That\u2019s four sets of grandparents in one city. That\u2019s four family branches, four families to lean on and rely on and mutually support. In one city<\/em>. I can\u2019t even imagine. And it\u2019s all made possible by a culture that doesn\u2019t kick children into independence at age 18.<\/p>\n Truth 2: Luxuries are Just Luxuries<\/h2>\n " If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me (Mt 19:21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n* *The second truth of Mexican culture is that luxuries are secondary. An important caveat is that there are many rich people in Mexico and there are many destitute people in Mexico (the gigantic gap between the poor and wealthy is actually one of Mexico\u2019s biggest problems). My family in Mexico is strictly middle class. No villas or private jets, but also not struggling to put food on the table. In my grandma\u2019s house, there are three showers, but only one of them works. There\u2019s no TV, but there are tablets and cellphones. The appliances are outdated, but most of them work.<\/p>\n Compared to my life in the US, there is a certain level of discomfort. Having to share one singular shower, enduring a hot house in the summer and a cold house in the winter, riding in cars that sputter their last breaths\u2026these are things I don\u2019t deal with in my own house. Yet, within a couple of days, I am completely adapted. I don\u2019t miss the luxuries. I don\u2019t need them<\/a>. The fact that I\u2013and my family who lives here year-round\u2013don\u2019t need the luxuries reminds me of what\u2019s really important in life<\/a>. After all, Jesus lived completely without luxury and he was the most joyful man of all.<\/p>\n Truth 3: The Power of the Siesta<\/h2>\n " The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mk 2:27).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To end, let\u2019s discuss the power naps. Now, I\u2019m not going to claim that naps are a core truth of Mexican culture. However, in another life (speaking only in metaphorical terms, of course), my maternal family and I were cats, cats who sprawled out in the sun to sleep at every possible moment. In just the past few days that I\u2019ve been visiting, I have taken at least one nap a day<\/a>. Earlier in the week, flopped on my aunt\u2019s bed with my cousin. Yesterday, sprawled on my grandmother\u2019s bed with another cousin. It\u2019s a tradition my mom keeps going, even in the US. At the end of the day, she and I will find our way to her bed and nap.<\/p>\n What has this taught me? First, with time management (and perhaps some privilege), naps can be incorporated not irresponsibly into the day. In fact, to nap is arguably more responsible. In a country where our identity is tied to our work productivity, taking a nap is a nice reminder that our bodies and souls are more important than our careers. It\u2019s the entire reason for the Sabbath. My theology teacher in high school<\/a> once asked us.\u00a0Why did God rest on the seventh day? Does the all-powerful God need to rest?<\/em> Of course he doesn\u2019t. God doesn\u2019t need to rest. It\u2019s us humans that need to rest. And so, even if we can\u2019t take a daily nap, at least let us honor the Sabbath.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n These are truths my family has taught me<\/h3>\n** At the end of the day, all these lessons come down to my own personal experience. My understanding of Mexican culture is limited to my lived experience with my own family. Either way, I\u2019m grateful for this life that has taught me the significance of family, the value of true riches, and the importance of rest. Thank you all for reading today\u2019s post. For more, follow me on instagram @birdloversmusings<\/a> and check out my personal blog birdloversmusings.com<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The constant hum of the fan weaves with the dramatic gongs of the most recent telenovela my grandmother is watching. The carcass of a mosquito, bloated with my blood, lies over the edge of the bed. My own stomach is bloated from the remnants of my grandmother\u2019s birthday dinner a couple hours ago. It\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5079,"featured_media":423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[132,135,129,107],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-culture","tag-family","tag-mexico","tag-truth"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Very Catholic Truths Mexican Culture Teaches About Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If I had been born in Mexico, my life would have been different. 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