Stereotypes that are common from the American point of view is that all mexicans are small and very tan people.  In fact much of this is true, not all of the Mexicans are this way.  Vicinte Fox for example was the ex-president and was very tall and white.  Also another common misconception is the type of food that Mexicans eat is much like what you would buy at taco bell.  However i know this also to be false.  From my own personal experience latin americans in general are much cleaner in the household.  This is something i am very excited to encounter.    A common Mexican stereotype of Americans is that we are all rich and get drunker than necessary.  I hope to break these stereotypes.

Originally I had thought that the typical Mexican dish would be rather similar to what I had encountered in the past in Latin America.  The food of Mexico typically is much spicier because of the habanero.  People in the states also have an image of Mexicans to be of smaller stature than the people of the states.  However, this is not quite always the truth.  Yes for the most part Americans are taller but one of my Yucatecan friends is 6’4” which is tall even for an American.  I used to think that the parties in Mexico had less of an influence of alcohol and more dancing because of the Colombian friends I had in Florida.  However through my experience in Merida, Mexicans can drink you under the table and dance about as well as white people.  The women can dance but the men (unless in a salsa club) cannot.  As I originally had expected the homes in Mexico are extremely clean.  Everyone is very nice in Merida, (especially if you speak to them in Spanish) and I hope to return next year for the internship.  I would recommend this study abroad to whoever is interested in becoming culturally and intellectually challenged.