Monterrey, part II

After another day in Monterrey, the first full day here, I feel like writing more...a lot of thoughts go through my head as I am living in a place that is a mix between the States and Mexico...so it has American chains and brands, people play American football here, but at the same time we're in Mexico, everybody speaks Spanish, or castellano, and everything is "dirty, loud, broken and poor", as most Americans would say. I guess that is how they see it, and now that I've been in the US for a long time I can kind of see where they come from...but still, there's so much they're missing! People are more simple, friendlier, more "normal", and I feel more alive here...social interaction is just Latino-like I guess, so it seems quite different from that in the States...the way cars drive, the way people walk and cross the street, the way people greet and spend time together, the way things look and work is just very close to what I am used to, at least before my time in the US, and it just seems so much more real!
They still have all the American trucks, chain stores, a lot of brands and stuff...and they probably look up to the States as some sort of model I guess,...yet it seems so different!
Today I went around town in a car twice, during the daylight and at night...and I learned some interesting things about this place that most Americans are so ready to look down upon: I went on a hill from where you can see the whole city, and where the 2nd largest flag in Mexico lies, on top of this hill. Well, I learned that to use the Mexican flag in non-official situations and without the due respect is prohibited, so you can't find any clothes or things with the flag...yeah with the colors you can, but not with the whole flag (colors + "shield"). You can't sing the national anthem just whenever and however you want, but you have to do it in the appropriate situation. This is a world away from what they do just 2 hours away over the border, where, as everybody knows, the flag is way overused and can be found in anything from bags to underwear...2 completely different ways of being "patriotic", although on both sides of the border there seems to be a lot going on about the flag and stuff, in the schools for once.
Also, I got to get groceries for cheap (including bread and cheese!) and I got to try some local specialties, although the number one seems the "cabrito": the legs of a kid (baby goat). Well, I got to try some sort of pumpkin immersed in honey, and some sort of cornbread cooked with butter...interesting, although kind of heavy! :)
No vegetarian restaurant for me today...hopefully I will get to go there at some point...tomorrow is the Horsetail Waterfalls (Cascadas Cola de Caballo) and maybe some caves (Grutas de Garcia)...and then Saturday I am off to Saltillo for the day, before I head back to Tejas on Sunday morning! But I better not think about that and go enjoy my night out!