Mexicans and Americans: Cracking the Cultural Code

Something that I have to be careful of when I write about my experience as an American expat in Mexico is not to come across in my prose as an expat expert. I think I tend to do this, but be assured, it is unintentional. It is easy for any nonfiction writer to get into trouble with this.

I took a writer's workshop a few years ago where this warning was discussed. Whenever you write nonfiction, readers tend to regard you as an expert in the subject about which you write. It is mostly unavoidable since you, the writer, are not responsible for how someone interprets what you write. You cannot dictate your reader's perception of the prose you put on the page. No matter what you write, there is going to be someone, somewhere, who somehow takes it the wrong way. Such is the adventure of writing.

Lately, I've been investigating works on culture by specialists who I would interpret as indeed being experts in Mexican culture. I have had a great time looking at those who have gone before me. They have done decades of practical and academic investigation into the Mexican worldview that steadily flows through the culture of these wonderful people. I've been humbled, instructed, and corrected in what I've read, particularly by a book called, Mexicans & AmericansCracking the Cultural Code, written by cultural analyst Ned Crouch.

In some of the cultural bumps in my expat road I've been driving here in Mexico, I've run into things that have been, to use a hyperbole, mindboggling. However, Mr. Crouch, who is indeed academically and experientially qualified in Mexican culture, has given me criteria in his fine book with which to exist at peace with some of these cultural mysteries.

One particular thing that I learned is that you could become fluent in Spanish and never begin to crack the cultural code of Mexico. What is needed is Spanish fluency, which leads to Cultural fluency.

You've got to have both.

Americans from Hispanic heritage and who speak Spanish find it difficult to get along in Mexico's culture because they operate here with an American Cultural Worldview. You have to become not only bilingual but also bicultural to be a success here.

I recommend getting a copy of this book. If you are going to do business in Mexico, study in Mexico, teach ESL in Mexico, work in Mexico doing anything, or even if you plan on making this country your retirement home, you need to read this book.

Though it is slanted towards readers who plan on conducting business in Mexico, everything from the first word to the last is applicable for anyone who will be spending time in Mexico.

MEXICAN & AMERICANS
Cracking the Cultural Code
Ned Crouch
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1857883428