Thirteen Things I Learned on my Vacation in MEXICO 1…. Cinco de Mayo is NOT celebrated in Mexico AT ALL. It is a totally Americanized holiday, and contrary to popular belief, is not Mexican Independence day (which is actually September 16th) but is the day of celebration of the Mexican Army’s victory of France or something random like that. 2. All doors open IN toward you, instead of OUT away from you. This can lead to some serious injuries if you’re not careful. 3. I can still drink like I used to in my early 20’s, and get up in the morning feeling no pain. I probably wouldn’t attempt it now that I’m back, but it was good to know I could still “hang”. 4. When you’re on vacation in a foreign country, even a rat looking animal can be “kind of cute”. 5. Boys will be boys, and whether you’re in Boston or Playa Del Carmen, there is always a romantic triangle to watch and be entertained by. 6. The hottest guy in the group will ALWAYS be gay; this does not change whether you’re in America, Mexico or the North Pole. 7. Reports of machine gun armed soldiers parading the streets and patroling the beaches at night are HIGHLY exaggerated. The whole time we were there, only one of us actually saw one of these guards. 8. I will do things on vacation that I would never do in real life, i.e. snorkel, get on a jet ski, parasail, horseback ride IN THE OCEAN, or a number of other water related activities, when I am deathly afraid of drowning 9. When you wake up to the sound of exotic birds, look out the window and see a blue/green ocean and can smell the sea air, there is very little chance that you could possibly be in a bad mood. 10. Small rinky-dink charter airlines are evil and unless you enjoy 4 hours of “oh crap I am going to die” feelings, they are NOT the way to travel. 11. The Mexican sun WILL burn you, even if you are Mexican and already have a mega-tan, so note to all white Americans, wear sunscreen, but you will still burn anyway, so bring aloe. 12. Americans are way too uptight and prudish and take EVERYTHING way too seriously, impairing their ability to just LIVE sometimes. From sexually charged jokes that would certainly get Americans in a tizzy, to revealing costumes for both the female AND male dancers on stage in a “family geared” evening show, to the relaxed way both males and females will show physical affection, to the lax rules regarding driving an ATV through the jungle at high speeds, to the lack of “fences” along a walk-way in the resort which was surrounded by (shallow) water, in which a child could have easily jumped in (had I not stopped him last minute) (and yes, I know some of these are probably necessary safety measure type things), there is just a much more laid back feeling about life in general in other cultures, which I already knew, but was reminded of this week. 13. And yes, EVERYONE does wear speedos at a tropical resort, even those that certainly should not. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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