Comments by "Steve Davenport" (@stevedavenport1202) on "The Yarbros" channel.

  1. WAY back in the day, I was an English teacher in Mexico City. One of my fellow teachers was a gentleman from Veracruz who was more Afro than Mexican. His English was amazing and we hung out a lot between classes. We came upon a group of his friends from Africa and he stopped me and said, "Are you cool with this?",...gesturing towards them and back to me. It was an interesting cultural moment. I had lost sight of the fact that the majority of Mexicans consider us white gringos to be closeted members of the KKK. I got a bit of a chuckle out of it but felt sad at the same time.
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  2. I gotta say. You can't underestimate the importance of having some contact with gringos. There is something about being with people who understand your language and jokes. 😀
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  3. I can throw out my own hypothesis. A lot of it could be fear. We are not that far removed from Jim Crow days where you literally could not travel without fear of something bad happening. A lot of black "United Statsers" 😀😀 don't have the $$ for travel and those that that do are more focused on getting themselves established in their careers, buying a house, etc. And, yeah, like you said, American work culture doesn't really encourage taking a lot of time off from work.
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  4. Yeah, the Philippines is a 30 day visa, but you can extend for up to a year by showing up at the immigration office every month with some $$. The C.O.L. is cheap and they have lots of beaches and nice people. One of the major downsides is the omnipresent heat and humidity.
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  5. Love the earthquake effect. Does that come standard in your editing software? 😀
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  6. Kinda sucks to fit a profile. I used to get heavily scrutinized when crossing into Canada. It turns out that there is a lot of drug trafficking going on and I happened to fit that profile. Also, the largest source of illegal immigrants to Canada are US citizens and I fit that profile as well since they considered my online selling business not legit or profitable, so maybe a risk to take a job in Canada.
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  7. I have met muchos a holes in Mexico. They are in every country.
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  8. If you want to have a surreal travel experience, fly into Tijuana. Your flight path will most likely be east to west and your plane will fly directly over TJ, make a loop over the Pacific, then head due east over the border. It's is a once in a lifetime experience.
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  9. "He was two knuckles deep up in that nose..." just told my wife I'm gonna skip dinner. 🤣
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  10. I get the rubber neck reaction when I go to the Philippinee. Had a little girl staring at me for several minutes in a public market...thought she was seeing a ghost. 😀
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  11. So, why are tourists getting pulled over in Mexico?
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  12. "A slave master"...my sentiments exactly about the world of work/employment.
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  13. Back in the day, I know, said it again, you would pretty much always be issued a 180 day tourist card at the Port of entry and nobody would ask to see it, not even at the airport when you were leaving the country. How times have changed.
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  14. Pop quiz for the Yarbros....no Google...what is the name of the man singing at minute 11:00 ?
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  15. I discovered I was allergic to bullets when I was in the Army...ain't messing with that ish no more... Sadly, you can't afford to have a high profile in Mexico. Even many entertainers have moved to the USA for fear of being kidnapped by the cartels.
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  16. Team flour tortillas
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  17. No fear if you are legit.
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  18. Glad you guys made it to TJ. It is a foodie paradise.
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  19. Mexico is both classist and racist. If light skinned Mexicans hold most of the wealth and darker skinned indigenous people bear the brunt of poverty, that tells you something right there.
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  20.  @TheYarbros  TJ is a surreal place, even on the ground. It is truly an immigrant society as the majority of its inhabitants are from other parts of Mexico. It also has a a surprisingly large Chinese community, people from other parts of Latin America, Haitians, Russians and Americans who live in TJ and commute into San Diego for work. Despite the diversity, it is still a very Mexican city. The gastronomy is worth checking out as well, lots of seafood, fusion cuisine, traditional Mexican, etc. Also some nice vineyards south of TJ. Oh, and the climate is pretty sweet year round.
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  21. Budget airlines are a real boon for Mexico because traveling very long distances on a bus is...hmmm...a real adventure....😀
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  22. There are other does and don'ts as well. For example, when entering a business or office or even when attempting to talk to a stranger, you should say "Buenos dias, tardes, noches" etc Dont use the term "indio" to refer to somebody of indigenous ancestry. Its a real insult. Be careful with tu vs usted. A lot of older people and others in positions of authority expect to be addresed by the more formal "usted"
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  23. There is another issue to consider. Makes has a steep power distance gradient between those who are in charge and those who follow. This lends itself to imperious/classist interactions amongst different social groups.
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  24.  @TheYarbros  No bueno...maybe Mexico isn't the place to be nowadays. I never got harassed like that, back in the 80s.
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  25. The cop said "cigarro" which is cigarette. Cigar is "puro"
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  26. But the working classes in Mexico get zero respect.
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  27.  @TheYarbros  You got it! 😀
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  28.  @citripio4321  Si su patria no les brinda protecion,, pues adios, Mexico.
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  29. Yes, assimilation is key in Mexico. Multi culturism is a word in a dictionary there, not a concept they embrace. I was often forcefully reminded about doing things "The right way"
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  30. Very true.
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  31. Al Pastor...yeah, we went to school together 😀
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  32.  @TheYarbros  Sad but true, amigo...😀
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  33. CDMX is my old hood. Haven't been there since 1995.
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  34. I got a lot of anti Gringo vibe in Mexico back in the 8os. It's nothing new. They weren't shy about letting me know
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  35. Well, truth be told, Mexico has traditionally been a destination for some ragamuffin gringos living on the jagged edge of poverty. I recall running into one of them on the Metro system in Mexico City. He would go from train to train giving his speech in Spanish about how he was raising money for his "non profit"....100% scammer.
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  36. I know a thing or two about reverse culture shock...sucks.
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  37. Cheese oooooooverload 😀
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  38. I had always heard the term private label, but never white label...interesting.
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