Wow!
As I read about reglobalization (pgs 725-727) and the companies that have expaned around the world it brought back memories of my Mexico (pronounced Mejico) and the transformation it went through.
I remembered spending my summers there as a kid with my sister and staying with my tias (aunties) and great-grandma whom we called Mama Lola. I remembered going out early in the morning to the mercado (outdoor market place) to get our necessities for the day. At the mercado we could get fresh produce, live chickens(I wasn't fond of us getting chicken for dinner), clothing items, herbs, candy, household items and just about everything we could need for daily living. If we needed any special items like sodas or soap then on our way home we would head over to the corner market to get those items. We rarely went there but once in a while we would go there so that my sister and I could pick a toy or other special treat.
As I recall, life was simple in a very comforting, routine way. Then, one summer the big hype in the city was that there would be a McDonald opening within a few days of our arrival. My tias were talking about it one day and they were saying some negative things about the US. They remembered my sister and I were in the room and their attention was then focused on us. They took turns informing us of how awful those fast food chains were, how the food was not fresh, how the restaurants were dirty and how there was no real way of knowing what they were putting in the processed food. My sister and I smiled, shook our heads in agreement without informing them that back in San Francisco we lived half a block from a McDonald and that once in a while we would go there as a reward for good grades.
Needless to say, we didn't go to that McDonald that summer nor any other summer. We continued to travel to Mexico during the summer breaks till about 8th grade in middle. A few years passed and then we returned.
I remember the drive from the airport to my tia's house. I was in shock. That drive home made my jaw drop and my eyes widen. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were so many US stores there. There weren't just a McDonald on several blocks but I was also seeing Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and along with that came announcements of several other stores opening soon. I just couldn't believe my eyes. The big shock would come the folowing moring.
The next morning I woke up early, thinking that we would go to the mercado to get our necessities for the day. As I questioned why nobody seemed ready to go, my aunties informed me that times had changed. That now, the mercado was only open certain days of the week and not everyday like before. That if I needed anything they could take me to the regular supermarket just down the street. I insisted that I didn't need anything and that I just wanted to follow our daily routine like when I was a kid. They again reminded me that life around them had changed before their eyes, that their friends from the mercado had moved away, that several small business around the neighborhood had also left and that the local family business had been replaced by the bigger (though not better) stores front he US.
I can still recall the sadness in which they informed me of the changes in their neighborrhod and of Mexico. My Mexico and the way I knew it had changed. Lucky for me ( I really nad trully fell blessed and lucky) I at least had the opportunity to know what Mexico was like, even if it was just in the summers.
After pondering through memory lane...
My thoughts then raced around thinking about what the people might of felt. Some like my aunties felt sad, a bit lonely since some of their friends had to move, others felt invaded, while others might of seen it as a means to care for their families as new employment opportunities were available.
I then thought about the lifestyle changes it brought with it. Was their quality of life better, was is worsen. How about the air quality? Mexico is know for their terrible air quality, did all these new businesses worsen it, I don't believe they helped. Were they now asked or required to work more for less pay or did that remain? If it remained, for how long did it last because my understanding now is that they too are over worked and under pay and women have it worst.
I can continue asking the questions ... I'm guessing at this point in the game that the answers are what makes HisTory
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