25 Things I Have Learned

1. Cars don't yield to pedestrians.

2. Patience isn't a virtue; it is just something most Americans don't possess.

3. Don't have a schedule when taking public transportation.

4. Drinking too much Coke turns into diabetes when you are older.

5. Don't take anything for granted because there are many people who are not as fortunate.

6. Let your family know how much you love them like its the last day you are on Earth.

7. When one person gets off the public bus at one corner and another gets off at the next corner its not that they are lazy. They are just making their money go further.

8. Stereotypes of Mexicans by Americans need to be banished.

9. Everyone here knows English at some level or another.

10. Mexicans immigrate to the US for a better life for their families and are not taking Americans' jobs. They are doing the jobs that wouldn't be done if they weren't there.

11. Mexican immigrants contribute billions of dollars into the Social Security fund without getting anything in return.

12. Fruits and vegetables would be $5 a pound instead of $.70-1.30 if there were not Mexican workers in the hot sun breaking their backs just for $.50 a box of fruits or vegetables picked.

13. Mexicans are the hardest working people for the least amount paid.

14. They get paid by the day, not the hour so they don't make as much.

15. The Mexican economy is thriving and rich but is not perceived like that, thanks to American stereotypes.

16. Unlike Europeans, Mexicans are very helpful to tourists that cannot speak much Spanish.

17. The American culture needs to stop destroying ancient cultures with McDonalds, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart all over the world.

18. I see more luxury cars like Jaguars, BMWs, Lexus, and very new cars more often here than I do in the States.

19.When guys whistle or honk and you respond to it, they get scared and go on their way!

20. Jesus Christ is alive in many different cultures, tongues, nations, and races.

21. The dogs here are not mean. They are just lonely and want attention. The dogs in the US are the ones that are mean because if they are on their own they have probably been neglected and abused.

22. I can live without the comforts of home for longer than I thought.

23. Immersing yourself in a different culture and language really forces you to learn about the culture and how to speak the language much faster than any classroom in the US.

24. All the children here are much better behaved than children in the US because they don't get everything they want and more down here. American children control their parents more and more now than ever before and Mexican children have had more discipline.

25. Children with disabilities are the same across languages and cultures. Some just don't get as good of care as those that are in the US do. They all have the same struggles, smiles, hugs, laughter, and touch which are what I love the most.