It took several years for me to understand and learn to cope with being bumped, jostled and touched by strangers, especially in lines and while shopping in street markets. The suspicious side of me was sure I was going to be robbed. Another part of me was irritated that people were (as I saw it) so inconsiderate and rude and not watching where they were going.
I started to understand when I realized many Mexicans grow up with whole families, including three or four children, sleeping in a single room. A three-bedroom home may house three grown brothers, their wives and their children.
This constant physical contact at home is reflected in studies that show while gringos communicate most comfortably at 36-48 inches, reflecting their need for individual space, Hispanics move in closer, to about 18 inches.
Touching with Affection
It is not unusual to see teenage girls and even adolescent boys walking arm in arm. Mexicans are freer with touching and affection than Anglos. Friends kiss on meeting and leaving, men hug, and people touch each other in conversation for emphasis. Grandchildren pat their grandmas and adult women hold hands. At first, it seems strange, even disconcerting; later, it feels really good.
The "Bad" Words and Dirty Jokes
Just say no. Don't even learn them. That way you won't be tempted to disgrace yourself. Some words are slightly bad and can be used playfully, others are very bad, but don't seem so to us. In Zapopan, a Guadalajara suburb, they've just passed a law requiring fines for anyone using profane language in public. You'll stay out of hot water if you don't know the words in the first place.
Ladies should "not hear" when men swear in earshot. Workmen often forget there are ladies around as they get involved hammering and pounding, and revert to teasing banter with their companions. Looking away and not reacting is the best response. Foreign ladies are still considered to be a bit "easy" and smiling or reacting to the bad language only perpetuates the myth.
Mexico's mores today are more like the customs of the United States in the early 50's. Plenty of wise remarks, dirty jokes and explicit terminology are bandied about when the men and women are in separate groups, but it is very disrespectful and in extremely bad form to swear or even make coy and cute double entendres in the presence of the opposite sex or children.
