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Mi Casa Es Tu Casa

Jamaiyah M. Yusof

When the Ministry of Foreign Af airs informed me that my next posting
was to Mexico, my initial reaction was mixed. T e fact that Mexico has
one of the highest crime rates in the world really scared me. I was very
much inf uenced by the negative coverage on CNN. I then shared the news
of my new assignment and my concerns with my family. To my surprise,
their reaction was quite positive. T ey said, “Mexico is a wonderful country
with rich history, unique culture, great food, many interesting places to see
and home to many Meso American civilisation such as the Olmec, Toltec,
Teotihuacan, Aztec and Mayan.”

T e impression I had of Mexico before I went there was that it was a land
of drug dealers and kidnappers. Upon ref ection, I realised that it was unfair
to judge a country based on negative portrayal by the media and movies. I
should take this assignment and see it myself. T ere is always more than just
one side to a story.

Arriving in Mexico
On 8 May 2011, I landed at the Benito Juarez International Airport in
Mexico City after a very long 25-hour f ight. As has been the practice, I
was received by the home-based staf of the Malaysian Embassy. Also at
the airport were the ASEAN ambassadors from Indonesia, the Philippines,
T ailand, and Vietnam to greet me. At the time, I thought to myself that if
the Mexicans were not friendly, at least I have my ASEAN friends.

However, I did not have to worry about Mexicans being unfriendly. Later in
my stay, I discovered that the Mexicans are indeed very friendly people, and
they made my four-year stay in Mexico interesting and memorable.

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