Mexico, a post-script.

When I finished my goodbye to Mexico, I was awash in conflicting emotions.

Was that really what I thought? Did it matter if a place wasn’t a good fit for me? What exactly was I looking for?

I talked to a close friend, who said the piece also surprised her, especially given the all-in ways I tend to interact with new cultures.

It also surprised her, since it sounded a lot like I was looking for home.

Home has always been a complicated thing for me, and these journeys have meant that home has become something different - an ever-changing exploration of the planet we live on.

And that story is true.

But it’s also true that there are places that fit me so well. Thailand felt like I’d slipped on a brand-new suit, and my god, it was tailored perfectly. I was me, and I fit in with how you were supposed to be and act in society. It was marvelous.

Here in Mexico, I found something different.

There are of course the same spectrums of personality here as anywhere. But here, the societal archetype (which everyone feels pressure from) is flamboyant, outgoing, loud and laughing.

I have friends here who are genuinely reserved artists. But put them at a party and they’re quickly the drunkest people in the room, loud and bawdy. Once everyone else gets drunk, they quiet down, and find a nice corner to relax in. It’s a defense mechanism.

There’s a curious sort of joke here, a fun form of sarcasm where you say something untrue, shocking, and generally self-deprecating, wait for the paused shock, and then loudly give a “AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”, smiling and laughing. The punchline is as much the show as the joke, and everyone does it. Men, women, kids, all in.

This is the default way of life - everyone at once entertainer and entertained, a happy circus to while away the hot afternoon, the lingering evenings, the star-soaked nights.

Looking ahead, here in my only-two-days-left-in-Mexico state, I wonder what I’ll find ahead. What molds of “human” the cultures I’ll meet will expect from each other - and me.

Not how I’ll adapt. But how well they will fit.