1000 WORDS, 5 DAYS: DAY 5

This photograph was captured in the summer of 2015 while in Tequila, Mexico with my family. This was taken while on the way to the Sauza Tequila distillery tour. This photo is significant for various reasons, whether it be the subject matter, the representation and symbolism, or something more personal.

What makes this photograph significant to me is the reminder I receive when I take a look.

The man in the photograph is not young. In fact, he looks old enough to be my grandfather. Hell, this even seems like something my grandfather would do. I could suggest that this man represents my grandfather. My grandfather is young at heart. He was one of the men who raised me and showed me that his age wasn’t an excuse to not do something. Typically people of this age range would be considered fragile, slow, and weak. This man, like my grandfather, breaks all the stereotypes of an elderly person. He does not let his age stop him from working and earning an honest income, neither did my grandfather.

Although I draw much similarity from this photo towards my grandfather, there are memories attached to this photo.

The summer of 2015 was the first time I had spent longer than two weeks in Mexico with my family. I had gotten the chance to really get to know this side of my family as well as the chance to see parts of Mexico I had not seen before. I mainly stayed in the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. This is the city where my grandparents, aunt, and cousins live. I stayed in my grandparent’s home in a small room at the top, next to the roof. I remember the first morning I woke up to find ten mosquito bites on each one of my legs. There was a joke in my family that the parasites liked and preferred my blood because I’m American and because I looked white. As it turns out, I have a blood type that mosquitos generally prefer, which is most unfortunate for me in humid areas with high mosquito populations. As you can imagine, the itch that came from the bites left me with less patience towards others than usual. I think the combination of the bites and the hot, humid weather, led to a very agitated version of myself. I remember my brothers and uncles annoying me very easily. One uncle in particular, loved to use my hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. However, I wasn’t the only one who faced this disgusting misfortune. He also targeted my brothers and especially my younger cousins. I remember the many times he would perform these tricks for us claiming he had some magical power. It was very funny to see the puzzled looks on the faces of my younger cousins. They would always ask “where did it go” or “how did you do that?”

The summer I was in Mexico, was the summer I discovered a lot of things about my family.

I went to family parties and met many people I am somehow related to. If there was one major thing I had learned, it would be that the Mexican side of my family is giant! I always knew my family was big, but the family parties is where I obtained visual evidence. I remember a room full of over 200 people and only recognizing five percent of the relatives.

The craziest part is that this wasn’t everyone who was part of the family. There were relatives in other parts of Mexico and various other parts of the world that couldn’t make it to the event.

My grandfather is one of sixteen children. His brothers and sisters all have families of their own, consisting of children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. My grandfather’s line of siblings are what make this side of my family so large. Despite the immense amount of family members, there was always plenty of food and drinks to go around for everyone at the parties. I remember the first family party we went to. At every table, consisting of about eight people, there were two bottles of soda, one bottle of water, chips and salsa, nuts, and an entire bottle of tequila. I remember there were tables that had gone through two and a half bottles of tequila. I found this observation so funny. At family parties in California, there would maybe be a bottle of wine or a few cans of beer that would be drunken by a few family members.

This was completely different from how we throw parties with my family in California, but I loved it.

I think something that also stuck with me was how hospitable my family members were. I stayed at my grandfather’s brother’s home in Mexico City with my two uncles, aunt, cousin, and brother. It was a two bedroom apartment. My brother and two uncles stayed in the living room while my aunt, cousin, and I stayed in my great uncle’s room, trying to fit the three of us on a king sized bed. My great uncle and his wife stayed in a smaller room that was reserved for their grandson. Since we were guests, they let us stay in their room. My great uncle’s wife cooked for us breakfast, lunch, dinner, and much more. I remember feeling overly full after inhaling her deliciously prepared food. After eating she would even offer us more food to eat.

I remember one morning, my great uncle offered me an alcoholic beverage in the morning. It was very good, reminded me of egg nog.

The summer I spent in Mexico with my family was quite the experience. I spent much-needed time with family members I both knew and met for the first time. I over-indulged on the delicious foods that my family would prepare and offer. I went and saw places I had never been to before.

It has been almost two years since I was last been in Mexico. I hope to return again soon.

Here’s a list of some of the places I visited:

•  Guadalajara
• ​Tizapan
  
• Ayutla
  
• ​Tequila
  
• Mexico City
  
• Teotihuacan
  
• ​Rincon de Guayabitos
  

Please note: I only provide this little list of places because it is difficult to describe all my experiences of these different places into 1000 words or less. However, if you are curious of a particular city or location, let me know and I would be happy to share with you all what happened, what I did, as well as my advice when it comes to visiting that area.

Thank you for your patience if you have been following along. Stay tuned because I will be making an announcement later this week! Thank you again for your support and for taking the time to read this!