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Culture Shock: 3rd World to 1st World in 1 Long Day |
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Contributed by Jack Deal
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 Mayan Retreat
Even before the east begins to brighten; the roosters are crowing like
crazy. The roosters are crazy of course; all chickens are neurotic
messes. The crickets are cricketing and the east slowly begins to
brighten. Coffee is made, baths are taken, the car is packed and it's
goodbye time to the jungle.
But parting is such sweet sorrow. While the bug bites and dysentery
will not be missed, the pristine environment and many Maya friends
will. Neighbor's tears abound but alas there is an afternoon fight from
Cancun to Phoenix that simply cannot be missed. Besides, the jungle can
take care of itself and hopefully another hurricane won't hit. God
forbid, we lost so many big trees.
We drive into Felipe Carrillo Puerto and get something to eat. Time is
becoming increasingly important as we shift back to the First World.
Time may be what the clock says but it is starting to run our lives
again. We can't miss the flight.
We order coffee and sabuites and discuss the day's preflight travel
agenda. Unfortunately a side trip to Akumal is out and we took enough
pictures of Tulum; but it would be nice to stop for lunch in Playa
before going to the airport. Big plans.
We head north from Carrillo onto the stretch of notorious highway known
by us locals as the 'Tramo de Muerte' or Death Strip. Even veteran
Mexico drivers prefer spending the night in Playa or Tulum before
heading onto the Death Strip at night. But it's almost 9:00 AM and it's
not raining. Death Strip or not, it's pedal to the metal.
We stop in Tulum and buy some bread and hear the German and French
Canadian accents. Rotten weather in Germany and Canada and no Maya
spoken here. The only Maya we see are those making food and stocking
shelves; sweeping floors and picking up trash.
It's off to Playa del Carmen and the fastest growing municipality in
Mexico. We have lunch at Cafe Andrade and speak to the waiters who we
know well; on prior business trips I set up my office there but not
today. We see one Maya cook. After some Coronas and an 'arrachera'
steak, it's off to the Cancun Airport.
At the rental car drop off we handle the necessary paperwork and the
car has no damage; just a lot of that white, limestone sascab dust that
one gets doing backroad jungle day trips. We get a lift to the airport
and stand in a very, very long line for over an hour but that's okay as
the Phoenix flight is over four hours. At the counter they tell us our
flight is delayed just long enough so we won't be able to make our
connection in Phoenix. This just simply confirms the fact that Phoenix
is one big Twilight Zone for connections. If it happens every single
time, is that a trend or a law of physics?
To make matters worse, in Phoenix we were missing a bag. The wife had
tied yellow and red ribbons and I happened to see this family with a
similar suitcase with said ribbons. I took the liberty of examining the
tags and determined it was my bag they were getting ready to carry
through customs. And they looked a bit strange...not a good idea, eh?
Clueless or diabolical? At this point, there are no Maya.
The Phoenix Airport is modern but about as intuitive as a computer
chip. After finding our bag and going through immigration and customs,
we of course barely miss our San Jose connection. The good news, the
next one was only two hours later.
It is very clear this next flight is the Silicon Valley Techie shuttle
run as all are carrying their laptops and look dead tired with that
sunken, black eye syndrome. On the flight to San Jose I noticed that
almost all were asleep; no pretzels and Bloody Mary mix for this lively
bunch.
At San Jose all was new and bright and under construction. The San Jose
Airport is in the state of Perpetual Construction. If you drive, you
will never take the same path twice. That should remind you to buy
stock in Perpetual Construction, Inc. and their never-ending contract.
After a long day it's finally home. The bills have piled up and nothing
has gotten better. Washington, D.C. and Hollywood, California are still
there and still the same. Things may change but not much. At home the
Internet and phones work and Carlos Slim doesn't own them yet...my
water bill is thirty times higher and my electric bill twenty times
higher. Agrarian Reform does have its advantages. It's raining but
there are no trees down...yet.
As I look through my "Official Sample Ballot" for the upcoming
Presidential election I see numerous and sundry ways whatever is
proposed is going to cost me more money. That's what the future
bodes...welcome to reality. No Mayas on the ballot but the Indians that
are on the ballot stand to make tens of millions of bucks if I vote for
them to open casinos. Why not?
It never ceases to amaze the power of long distance travel and the
impact of a good, strong culture shock. Only broken Maya spoken here.
Article Source: articopia.com.
Jack Deal is the owner of a jungle ranch and Deal Business Consulting.
Related articlesmay be found at jddeal.com/blog and freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com.
Author Profile: - jackdeal.
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