Tag Archives: culture

in english

Mexican hand gestures

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I’ve been asked so many times about certain things I do that I decided to explain.

  1. Extending and contracting your index finger while all others are contracted means yes.
  2. Extending your index finger and then moving it from side to side while all others are contracted means no.
  3. Extending all fingers, then taking the tips of them to your forehead with your palm facing you and doing a movement outward of about twenty centimetres means thank you.

Update: The video is available here.

in english

Types of Finnish silences

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Talking with a friend and my significant other we came to the conclusion that there are different kinds of silences in Finland:

  • Uncomfortable silences, those where you don’t want to say anything so as to not screw up
  • “It’s happy to be here” silences
  • “I’m working on something” silences
  • And the most important ones, silences that just are there. No reason, no message.

There are more, but I can’t remember them now…

in english

Mexican view of death

You may have heard about the Day of the Dead, when Mexicans remember their dearly departed. What you may not know is that this view of death as part of life permeates their (our) lives. You may know that we eat sugar skulls with our names on the forehead around those days, but I’ll tell you a story that will leave you speechless.

A young Mexican football fan saw the Mexico 1986 World Cup when he was a kid, and idolised Maradona. He cheered for his local team, UANL Tigres, and his dream was to see his team play in his idol’s country, Argentina. Fast forward to 2005. UANL Tigres goes through to the group stages of the Copa Libertadores, and is placed in the same group as Banfield from Argentina. This fan (who is now in his twenties) is very happy and buys his ticket to go with the supporters group all the way there. However, he dies in a car accident the week before. No matter, his friends say. They do all the paperwork and bring the urn with his ashes all the way to Buenos Aires. The team goes to the field with a big sign in his honour, and they duly win 3-0. His friends sing and jump with his urn in their hands. Why? Because “that’s what he wanted”.

No wonder they sell caskets with the seal of your favourite team in Mexico…

in english

Europe in the seventies

People very close to me lived in Europe in the seventies (the crazy seventies). It seems that moral attitudes have changed since then, as some of the conducts (especially relating to sexual promiscuity) are something that don’t seem as widespread here as they once were. It is true that the current twenty-somethings are more moralistic than their parents’ generation.

Does it have to do with the rise of AIDS (e.g., it was discovered the year I was born)?

in english

Multiculturalism and different identities

I was talking with some friends about multiculturalism and different levels of culture identification (what do you feel part of, basically). I, for example, am Mexicano, Chilango/Sateluco, Espoolainen, Uussuomalainen and Brusselaar. I’m a North American, a Latin American, but also Europeanised and with a light Asian sensitivity. I’m the couple to my significant other, son of my parents, member of my family, friend of my friends and alumnus of the different schools I’ve studied in. I’ve taken parts of the places I’ve been to, so I eat a lot of Japanese food, listen to Brazilian pagode and read American sci-fi. I’m a techie, an engineer, a photographer, a linguist and a business person. But most importantly, I’m myself, and I know I’m all those things. I’ll use them when I need to, and depending on where I am.

As a friend of mine said: “It’s like a snowball, wherever you’ve rolled some things stick to you”. Just be sure they’re the good ones.