Get off the grass!

On Monday I went to Zacatecas with my friend Paola. We wandered around the center, went to her house and ordered pizza, and then relaxed in a park. In general, there isn't much grass in Zacatecas because of the arid climate, but this park was well-watered and quite beautiful. I wanted to take some pictures in an off-limits area and Paola rightly scolded me. I was joking about how we could climb over the fence and how the off-limits sign didn't really matter. "You wouldn't do that in your own country! Sometimes people disobey the rules in Mexico because they think it doesn't matter, but it does." 

I appreciated her respect for her country and the reminder that I too need to respect the rules here. Vices such as ethnocentrism come through subtly when we make jokes about how much something costs in "real money" as opposed to pesos. Or when we disobey traffic signs because they aren't as enforced as in the United States. I was reminded again that I am visitor here, a guest, and I need to be humble in my demeanor.