I’ve been living in Cuernavaca, Morelos just 1.5h south of Mexico City for the past 8 months I’ve got to know the Mexican people along the way. In my experience from living here I would say that Mexicans are very curious about foreigners, especially in a small town such as Cuernavaca. There are just as many opinions about any given subject as there are Mexicans and foreigners definitely seem to be one of them, when I walk in the streets I get looks of both amazement, be-wonderment, bewilderment and disgust. Disgust was especially pervasive when I decided to wear shorts in February. I can’t blame the Mexicans though, being at least 20cm above the average height does make me stick out.

I think the curiosity about foreigners comes from a feeling of among the Mexicans that they are isolated from the outside world, which I definitely have felt as well, even in these times of the Corona-virus. Each colonia is like its own little society and you rarely have to venture outside it. This all is in stark contrast to the way of life in all of Europe, we commute across town every day and import most of our daily-use products, foreigners are commonplace and it’s considered rude or even racist to raise the question about people’s origin and this has been the greatest culture shock for me I think – I had no idea what it would be like to be considered as a foreigner in this way.