Assignment 3- Neil McGinley

I lived in New Mexico for 2 years. Actually I lived in the oldest mill in America for a little bit. I didn’t obtain much knowledge of Spanish, though I am somewhat well versed in Latin American culture. I spent time in New Mexico McMansion rich, and water from a well poor, and both were enjoyable.
I have to leave the prompt for just a moment here, because what I find to be the most socially enriching part of my time in New Mexico happened on the way to New Mexico, not actually in New Mexico. I was around six, we had been on the road for 2 days or so and we encountered some sort of mechanical issue with the car. I don’t actually remember what it was but it’s totally irrelevant. The important part was the mechanic. We were close south enough and west enough that he was probably born in Mexico but spoke fluent English. He stuck his hand out to me and I, having been raised the way I was, shook it. He kind of laughed at me and said “no man like this” and did the like ‘swipe’ kind of handshake. It’s totally minuscule but it has stuck to me this day. There’s a right way to behave with everyone, but it’s rarely the same way. And if you google changing your mannerism to parrot the people around you it’s appearently called Borderline Personality Disorder, but it works and that dude taught it to me.

Thank you, that is all.