Fitting In

A quickie.

A friend of mine owns a little “cowboy wear” (sombreros, saddles, belts, boots, etc) shop in a pueblo on the outskirts of Guadalajara, close to one of the businesses (circuitboard/electronics company called Flextronics, previously Selectron) where I give a class some mornings.  For perspective, the shop can’t be more than 100 square feet.  In order to beat traffic I decided to pay her a visit yesterday. 

Got to talking to a 13 year old kid that spends his afternoons there for lack of a better thing to do.  He claims that he also goes to school.  We chatted for a good hour.  I guess his family owns some horses and gives tours of the surrounding countryside, and he promised to take me around next time I’m in town… I’m still trying to determine if this is a real promise or a Mexican courtesy promise. 

A shipment of cowboy hats arrived and we tore into the box and began sorting them all out and trying them on.  I put on a wide-brimmed feaux-leather sombrero and the kid stared at me for a second, laughed, and declared “You look like a foreigner!  Wait, are you from here?”  Hilarious and flattering.  I guess I’m gradually fitting in, starting with ignorant country children and hoping to one day deceive the rest of the nation as well.