Mexicans are people, too

The spring breaks I've had in the past have always been relatively uneventful. They usually consisted of staying in Bloomington and sleeping. This year, I made slightly more interesting plans and joined the hordes of college kids bound for Mexico.\nI never realized it before, but we really do invade the country. According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 100,000 students travel to Cancun alone. That's 20 percent of the city's entire population! And Cancun does not bare the brunt alone. Acapulco also brings in battalions of credit card-wielding students, all ready for a raucous good time.\nWe all know the main goals of spring break in places like these. Get drunk, show some skin and come home more tired than when you left. A combination of bearing witness to this mayhem and talking with my sister, who lives there, led me to wonder: What do the natives think?\nBy all rights, Mexico is a pretty conservative place. I freely admit spandex is in fashion and soft-core porn is sold at newsstands. Nevertheless, most of the Mexicans I saw did not show much in the way of skin themselves. It's the mentality of "showing off is fine as long as neither I nor my daughter engage in it personally."\nBeach towns are slightly more lax about these social rules. However, if your eyes weren't too blurred from the free-flowing Corona, you probably noticed all the beach peddlers wore long pants, button down shirts and shoes -- not sandals. Women wore either long pants or full-length skirts. The single exception I saw to this rule was a rather freaky-looking guy in sparkly glasses and a shirt that read "Massage Terapy."\nMy sister explained why Mexicans dress this way in their perpetually hot climate. Apparently, shorts and T-shirts are for boys. When you become an adult, you are supposed to look respectable. \nSo take this generally conservative atmosphere and inject a several thousand uninhibited Americans fresh out of winter, and what do you get?\nI imagine, to a lot of Mexicans, our spring break is an offensive, ridiculous fantasy. For sure, heads were turning as this rare breed of blonde-headed creature waltzed down Main Street with no pants on. But they were turning for two reasons. No man on Earth -- regardless of upbringing -- would deny the qualities of spring break scenery. But, they also were turning with that one eyebrow cocked stare explicitly asking, "What the hell was that?" Even if it happens every year, I can't imagine they get used to the idea.\nDo you think taxi drivers felt comfortable driving ladies to the pajama party at the Palladium Nightclub on St. Patrick's Day? These women weren't exactly wearing high school pajama-day flannels. Instead, they were stepping out of little faux Volkswagen Beetles in nothing more than heels and select items from the Victoria's Secret catalog. Now, I always advocate wearing lingerie whenever the occasion arises. However, it seems to me it would have been prudent for these girls to at least wrap a sarong around themselves en route to the club.\nYes, yes, yes, as the providers of enormous amounts of tourism dollars we are entitled to do whatever we wish. They need the money, therefore they need to deal with our whims. This was the pervading attitude of the spring breakers in Acapulco, and we need to show a bit more respect for our hosts.\nBy all means, have fun. Show skin on the beach, in private clubs and hotel rooms. Immerse yourself in a drunken sway of lecherous debauchery for all I care. But next time, remember you're guests of Mexico. Think about the locals from time to time.