Learning About Mexican Culture: Space Needs
October 17, 2012
Learning About Mexican Culture: Space Needs
This article is the second in a series to help you to understand the Mexican Culture a bit better.
I could have called the series, “Why Do they Do THAT!”
That title would suggest however that there’s something wrong with the culture.
This series is to help you to understand the culture and not to judge it good or bad.
Now, I like my culture and think it’s the best in many ways, but I’m learning that my way is not the only way,
nor is it always the best way.
I want to address the “Space Issue” in this article, but no, I’m not going to tell you about a Mexican Space Exploration program. Today I’m going to give you my take on “personal space” in the Mexican Culture.
North Americans seek out the maximum convenient space or distance form the other person.
If with a group of friends or family visiting a park picnic area we would not choose a table immediately adjacent to another family. We would instinctively know to keep a “polite distance” from the other family to give them “their privacy”.
This same scene at a Mexican park would likely be totally opposite. Setting up close to another family would just seem the polite thing to do and would not be viewed as rude or intrusive at all.
So, if you visit one of our beautiful parks here don’t be surprised if a Mexican family sets up their spot right next to your spot.
To them this is quite natural. You see they are group rather than individually oriented. They group up in large
Families of several generations in what we might consider cramped quarters.
You have to learn to get along. They feel uncomfortable if the space between each other is too large.
If you were to leave the park area after the Mexican family arrived they might even be offended, especially if you settled in another part of the park, as if to say that you did not want to be near them.
My suggestion, be polite, enjoy watching the Mexican family interact with each other. Do some constructive”People watching”.
About 12 years ago I was an English as a Second Language teacher in Guadalajara. That’s where I was first Introduced to the “group togetherness and personal space” proclivity of Mexican people.
I was to have 8 students in my first ever teaching class.
I set up two tables in a V pattern where each chair could see me and my white board.
I configured each table with four chairs. Then, I watched as my students began to arrive for their free English Class.
The first student came in and sat down at the table closest to the door and was followed closely by the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th student. They each sat next to the previous students at the same table.
Student 5 came in, went to the second table, picked up one of the chairs there and moved it to the first table and placed it at one end of the long table.
I just watched. Then the 6th student entered and he too took a chair from the empty table and placed it at the other end of the first table.
So, now there are 6 students at the one table. The last two students arrived and you already have guessed what happened right?
Well if you guessed that they went to the empty table and took a chair and headed for the ‘group’ table you’d be right.
As they placed their chairs on my side of the table which would have meant that they would have had their backs to me and the white board most of the time… I pulled rank.
They had to use the now empty table so they could see me and the white board. In fact I redistributed the class so that I had 2 groups of 4, but moved the tables so that they touched and were all one group.
So, after the reshuffling everyone was happy. There was just one group, “The Students” and one leader “The Teacher”.
That was about 12 years ago and I’m still friends with four of those students to this day. I even married one of the four. I continue to study the culture from a whole new perspective being the only gringo in a huge Mexican family. All for now.
Siempre tu amigo, Sid
