It was amazing to see the differences in culture, lifestyle, and work-life balance between my life here in Oakland and life in these small Mexican towns. El Remolino is largely an agricultural village, so many people own land that they farm on or raise animals on. During the day, the streets are empty (most men are working the fields while the women stay home to attend to childcare and/or household duties). Every day there is a two-hour period where all businesses close (even banks!) so that the employees can take a break and have a long lunch. Many businesses are also closed on Thursday afternoons.
There was one central plaza where people would congregate in the evenings to socialize with one another and to enjoy the cooler night air. People would also sit outside of their homes together at night and greet friends and neighbors as they walked by. All in all, life moved much more slowly there and it seemed as if people simply had more time to focus on non-work related things in their lives, especially cultivating relationships with people and playing an active role in their communities. Everyone seemed to really cherish the strong bonds they had with friends and family (this seemed to come above everything else, even their work); they made an effort to spend several hours a day socializing with each other.
I contrasted this way of life with my own in the U.S., and it made me realize how little socializing I do on a daily basis compared to them. Yes, I interact with my coworkers all day, but I think this type of socializing is inherently different than the interactions that happen outside of the job sphere, when we are not brought together simply because of our jobs. I feel that I spend so much time working every day that I have very little energy left for socializing when I get home in the evenings and perhaps I don't place as much value on my relationships with others as they do in these small towns (though I would like to think this isn't true!). I also have chosen to live in a place that is far from most of my family, which I feel is a pretty rare thing in many of these towns where several generations of family members live side-by-side (or, at most, a five-minute walk from each other).
I'm not sure if people in El Remolino worked less every day and had more time for socializing or if they just placed more of a priority on sustaining healthy, happy relationships with others on a daily basis. Either way, it certainly made me rethink my own priorities in life and, even though I have never been one to place work/career above other things in my life, this trip certainly made me realize that I have not been immune to the cultural mindset in the U.S. that encourages us to strive for "personal growth" and "independence", even if it comes at the expense of less community engagement and less of a focus on sustaining relationships with people I care about.
