This is from my trip to Tampico, Mexico 2 weeks ago...

Friday, August 3, 2007

A few observations from Tampico, Mexico…

This is my second trip to Mexico. Shari and I spent our honeymoon in Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast. A little more than a year later, I agreed to accompany my dad in his trip to speak at the Mexican General Conference. Some things I had forgotten from Mazatlan have become fresh again. Some of my opinions have changed. I’m finding more things to observe; sometimes to laugh at, others to worry about.

When we arrived, I noticed the airport is much smaller than Mazatlan’s. Then plane was forced to brake much harder than usual to compensate for the significantly shorter runway. After we got out of the airport, Bro. Daniel Drost picked us up in a very nice SUV.

Driving along the road, we started laughing at the different businesses we saw—Sam’s Club, Applebee’s, Domino’s Pizza, Popeye’s, Subway, and so on. Most don’t even have Spanish writing on their outside walls. Applebee’s, for instance, has “Neighborhood Grill and Bar” plastered across its side. Inside, it’s a different story. Unlike Mazatlan, the employees don’t know English at all. This truly made us feel like outsiders—it made me wonder about all of the tourists that have come to America that I’ve snickered at.

Dad and I had Subway last night at about 9:45. When we walked in, the employees immediately bombarded us with requests to take our order…in Spanish. Dad and I just stared blankly ahead; we must’ve looked like morons. Finally I managed to shrug and say, “No habla espanol.” The young guy behind the counter looked at his friend and tried to suppress a grin. Dad didn’t appreciate that, I don’t think. I wish I were done with Spanish classes by now. I could’ve used a bit more familiarity with the language.

Since I didn’t know how to order my typical turkey/shredded cheese/and bacon, toasted, I just nodded when they put turkey, ham, and American cheese on the wrong kind of bread. When he asked for vegetables, I made what I thought was the universal sign for “close it up, we’re finished.” Evidently, closing one’s hands together in a folding motion isn’t as universal as I thought. I hope it wasn’t some kind of obscene gesture. I ate the sandwich. It was still good, but not as good as a toasted TCB.

The hotel has a few English subtitles here and there. The clock is actually totally in English. Are there no Spanish clock makers? Unfortunately the only English-language channel is an international version of CNN. It’s strange getting the weather forecast for Argentina right before you get the forecast for France.

This is not a U.S. tourist destination. This is authentic Mexico. It’s still a very nice city, from everything I can tell, but it is not a tourist haven. If you cannot speak Spanish, then you should probably not think of Tampico as a lovely vacation spot. You will be lost and confused.