Ok, when I say Mexico, people generally think one of two things.  Slummy boarder town Tijuana or guys drinking Tequila running around in Sarapes and huge hats.  It's absolutely nothing like either of the two. I hope that you don't mind reading a rather long article..  

I enjoyed my stay in Yucatan, and it was not Texas border towns that they portray on the X-Files.  I lived in a city called Merida, with a very nice Mexican family.  It was a clean looking town of approximately 1.5million, 15 minutes away from white powder gulf beaches, 1.5hrs away from Chichen Itza and 3hrs away from Cancun.  Click on the map for an idea.   I didn't live the party beach life though.  I had to study.

I went to a school called Roger's Hall  (finished my Grade 12 there) and graduated with Honors.  I knew very little about Spanish before hand, and the people were incredibly patient with me.   I had to take classes on Spanish, French, Greek and Latin, as well as History, Sociology and Mexican Law.  My grammar might not have been perfect at times, but as long as I demonstrated knowledge, I got good grades. True, in some ways their schools are inferior to North American ones, but in other ways they are better. 

I found that the kids in Roger's Hall were MUCH nicer and more pleasant than in Canada.  There were several hundred students from K-12.  Maybe it was because they wore school uniforms, but after wearing one myself, I can tell you that it makes a HUGE difference in attitude.  

Previously, I hated school. Even though I was an honor student back home, the kids were absolutely insufferable.  It was all about the Guess Jeans and who's friends with who, etc, etc.  

But in Mexico, it was totally different.  I will never forget how there were no cliques, everyone was nice to one another, no school fights, and the only competition was for the best grades.   I didn't even have to call the teachers by their last names.  Once, my Law teacher even took us out for breakfast, totally skipping class.   Although air-conditioning would have been a nice touch in the 120 degree heat, I would gladly give that up just to have everyone get along anyway. 

The family I stayed with was incredibly kind as well.  They were very hospitable and went out of their way to take me all over the Peninsula.  I saw some really out of the way villages, got insiders tips and learned Spanish.  I would have never been able to learn Spanish or culture in a Canadian classroom.   The amazing part, was that the Albor Ruiz's never charged me a thing to stay in their home.  They didn't even charge me to fly to Mexico city with them to attend a family wedding.  That's not the norm for exchange trips, but it was neat.  I only wish I could have seen Cancun more than 2wice though!

Even if you just go for a visit to the Yucatan Peninsula, it's an incredibly beautiful place.  Cancun is a little "over Americanized" but if you journey off the beaten path, the real Mexico is still there.  Ancient ruins, blue seas, green rainforests, quaint towns, and a lot of culture. I highly recommend it. 

Many people who go, return over and over again.  It's not your a-typical Mexican scene at all.   Although the Caribbean sea on the East side of the Peninsula is the biggest tourist attraction, the Gulf sides have far more pristine white sand beaches and the less populated areas have lots of shells.    There are a lot of cool sites to see too (besides the ruins) like Celestun.  A small town on the Western coast of the Peninsula, Celestun hides over 15,000 pink flamingos in a salt water estuary, as well as fresh water Cenotes that you can swim in.  And if you go town hopping, you can find North America's oldest Convent and other ancient Churches.  

The West side is also a lot less expensive than the East side of the Peninsula.  Tourist area's have considerably higher prices for tours, hotels, souvenirs, food and anything else you can imagine.  Raise the price about 1000% and every year it goes up.  I learned that even having an accent when you try to barter in Spanish may screw you over on a deal.  I still love Cancun and Cozumel, but because of soaring prices I didn't get to visit but a few times.   (Culture tip - Mexican family's aren't into spending money if they can help it)

Of the entire stay, the food was my least favorite thing to deal with.  I only liked about 8 things, all of which I was rarely able to have.....and because of that, my diet was absolutely horrible.  I made myself more sick from malnutrition than from eating anything bad.  The water was fine, that never hurt me, cleanliness....well just don't eat in the streets too often, and the family cooking was never dirty.  Their diet is not North American and I hate to break it to everyone but Mexicans DO NOT EAT BURRITOS ok?  

Sure there is rice and some refried beans but the diet consists of different versions of our foods.  Of course, there is nothing truly wrong with their food, but if you are raised on North American stuff, it's incredibly hard to make such a change in your diet! The steaks are thin and stringy, not tasty at all.  The chicken, they like to fry it and its thin and greasy.  They don't eat a lot of salads or vegetables, at least my family didn't.  No potatoes or cooked carrots or anything of the sort.   Most of it was very regional and hard to get used to.

Fruits are cheap to get, but I wasn't a huge fruit eater -- Papaya's smell like dirty socks and taste like it too.   Then they have a few traditional dishes that I simply didn't have the pallet for - Papadzules and Chicken or Cochinita Pibil were fairly popular dishes, which I didn't like.  That's like saying you don't enjoy Steak and potatoes or something, you are basically screwed.  Oh and they eat spaghetti stone cold.  Desert is sometimes no better.  The humidity forces their pastry's to be bordering on "drinking cake" instead of eating it and their donuts are deep fried, so they taste odd if you are used to Tim Hortons/Krispy Kreme.   You can get a hold of American foods in restaurants, but you'll spend a fortune doing it and it's not much healthier. I didn't cook at the time or I imagine I would have fared better.

So exactly what DID I like about the food? Tacos Al Pastor border on my absolute favorite food, of all.  Just ask my buddies, who during a convention, I forced to eat at a *real* Mexican restaurant with me.  They'll never forgive me, but I pig out on that stuff, since it's my favorite and available in the USA.  

I also liked Taquitos, Panuchos (Mayan taco covered with shredded chicken), Poc Chuc (Mayan - Pork cooked in a sour orange sauce), Elotes con Crema y Queso (Corn with Creme and Cheese), Sopa de flor de Calabaza (Soup of Pumpkin Flower) cacahuates con picosita y limon (Peanuts in a hot sauce with lime), Ceviche (raw fish, don't go there) Marquesitas (sweet thin rolled waffle cone with a white cheese in the middle, almost a desert). 

And I have been absolutely UNABLE to find any of the above in the USA, except for Tacos Al Pastor.  Half the Mexicans here give me a blank stare if I even mention the word Panucho, so I've given up.  I also really love the cheese called Manchego.  It is only available if you buy it online.  

Anyway, I could probably go on for pages but I'm sure it would get boring. (It might already be).  So I'll close it with a couple more pictures.  I would highly recommend visiting Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula as a vacation.  It would probably be best to do it in 2 vacations, since both will take up a lot of your time, but it's a trip you won't forget.

Chichen Itza Pyramid "Kukulcan") 365 steps total. Mayans were extremely intelligent people.	REAL Mariachis (notice no big hats) These guys  came to the house one time very late at night.   Eduardo Sr. hired them for his wife's birthday.   Very cool.

Hacienda Teya http://www.haciendateya.com