Shopping, Guanajuato-style

I went to Guanajuato's only chain supermarket this week, Comercial Mexicana. It's not that far a walk, so I was trying to understand why I felt so tired once I got home. There's the heat, of course. Even at almost 7000', it can get quite warm. But other factors are also part of shopping stress.

1. The noise. In the supermarket, a loud male voice shouted items for sale. You hear selling spiels at supermarkets in the States, of course, but this guy's voice sounded louder, faster, and more breathless. Plus there was music, of course. Loud music almost everywhere--one of the realities of Mexican life.

2. Groups. There are more people walking in Guanajuato (a town with few cars, and a large pedestrian area), but in addition, you usually see larger groups made up of 2, 3, 4 and more people. Frequently I see a mom, I'm guessing her sister, and their combined kids. In the U.S., I rarely see more than one or maybe two people shopping. Mexicans are a group culture, not an individual one. They are defined by groups.

3. Order. In the U.S., people seem to have more of a sense of direction and order. They know where they're going, and they go there; then they get in their cars, and they drive home. Here, it doesn't look like people are so goal-oriented. They may be, but they seem less linear. Especially the kids, who zigzag and wander this way and that, screaming up and down the aisles, picking up products, playing, parents nowhere in sight, though I know they're around. Kids seem to have more physical freedom here (not sure about emotional/mental).

4. Different flow/orientation. As I walk down the sidewalk, frequently I almost bump into someone walking out of a shop or stepping off the sidewalk. I expect the person leaving the store to look left or right and pause, because, from my perspective, the pedestrians on the sidewalk are the "main current" and have the right of way. I'm assuming that people entering the "river" from outside it will yield before entering, like cars on an on-ramp. Wish on! People don't look either way; they just walk right in, and someone like me, who isn't used to it, has to quickly come to a stop or I'll bump right into them. I wondered if it was just me who had this sense? I checked with Barry, and he agrees; people don't seem to look where they’re going. I shared my observation with one of my Spanish teachers, and he laughed and said. "Well, I never thought about it, but it's true."

On the other hand, they must intuitively understand the flow, because they're not the ones bumping into each other, like I am.

5. Crowdedness and body space. Buses and taxis exist, but even so, the streets and narrow sidewalks are thick with people from mid-morning til late at night. People rub shoulders with each other.

6. Waiting. In many shops there will be only one cashier operating, while other cashiers are talking with each other or attending to other tasks, not focused on customers. Mexicans wait patiently. This doesn't seem to annoy customers as it would in the U.S.

So this is why after an hour or two of shopping, the Mexican way, I come home and want a siesta!