ironic signs

Driving around Mexico, and i've done a lot of that in the past two months, three months?, is an interesting thing sometimes.  

There are a lot of signs,  signs that i dont find particularly useful.  They say things that people who are driving should already know...

Use your seat belt

Yes, you should, and i agree its a good reminder.  so why does only about 10% of the population wear one?

Don't Drive while Tired

Do you remember in Driver's Ed when they showed that cheasey video.  The one where the guy came out of his house in a track suit and keys in his hand.  then he yawned and realized he was tired.  So instead of getting into his car and going to that movie/class/meet his girlfriend, he put the keys in his pocket and went for a run.  yeah- that's what this sign reminds me of.

Show how much culture you have, use emergency flashers

 There are actually many signs about driving with emergency flashers, i still dont understand why you constantly need to drive with flashers on, but Culture? what does that have to do with it?

Drive carefully, your family is waiting for you

 This sign is one of the most, if not the most, common sign that i see on mexican highways.  I honstley have no comment, i cant even think of how to explain why it isnt effective

Obey the signs

ok.  that the sign says so, I will now obey all signs.  good work mexican sign making committee.

If you drink, don't drive

 Now, imagine these signs appearing every 3 minutes or so, and on both sides of the road, just to make sure everyone can see them very well.  

On our 13 mexican state treck, we saw enough of these signs to last a lifetime.  Maybe thats the point.  You see them so often that they are burned into your brain, and the next time you want to drink and drive, you think of the rectangle white sign with black block letters glaring at you from the reflection of the headlights...and do it anyway.

p.s.  My other favorite, that i never got to take a picture of was one that says, "do not mistreat the signs"  and the one that annoyed israel the most, "Don't leave stones on the roadway"

paparazzi

i only have two pictures to show what i'm talking about here...I really should ask the 20 other people to share the ones they took, on their cell phones or the camera they keep strapped to their belt at all times...you know, for times just like this.

So.  Even though Israel thought we already had WAY too many pictures, what with the

engagement pics while in Raleigh

pics during the reception in NC

pre wedding pics

ceremony pics

family pics at wedding

party pics of the wedding.  

but I kindly told him that no... we dont have enough.  we need more.  So we donned (a simpler version) of our wedding day finery and headed out to the streets.

we went to this moderately busy intersection, with multiple lanes and quite a few medians separating the u-turn lanes from the others.  but no, these intricate streets were not our reason for choosing this particular photo shoot location.  it was the bridge that goes over all these lanes and traffic. underneath the bridge, on all the columns and supports there are colorful, interesting, slightly strange, and amazing graffiti paintings.  I have always loved them.  and now, i got to take my picture with them.  in my beautiful wedding dress!

I cannot express how weird Israel thought i was for loving this.  but i did.  and he was a wonderful husband and didnt say, much.

anyway- the funny thing: EVERYONE noticed us.  I, also, would have been curious to see a wedding couple taking pictures on a street couple, but somehow i dont think I dont thnk i would have had quite the grandeur of the reaction we had because we were in mexico.  i would venture to say that wedding pictures under an overpass is a little outside the box that lots of mexicans have.  I'm not saying that everyone in the US would choose the same location, just saying...

1) the guys who stand in the middle of the intersection and wash ppls windshields kept looking at us...ok, but they look at me when i cross the street when i walk to walmart.  so, not too out of the ordinary

2) cars going by honked... again, not so out of the ordinary... yes, at times it was a chorus of honks like they were congraduating us, but here, they honk the horn every time the stoplight turns green

3) then for one picture i was hugging israel, and over his shoulder i saw this guy who was waiting at the light holding his cell phone out the window... picture!

4) a mom and her daughter were walking by..."why are is there a wedding couple here?"

5) a few more pictures from cars.

6) more horn honking

7) the guy at the Comex store just watched us the whole time, he tried to guesture and mouth something to us, but i dont know what he was trying to say...he also took out his cell phone

8) but my favorite one was this guy, who walked up.  he has a digital camera in his hands, on and ready to shoot.  he had the camera case attached to his belt!  and he kinda asked us if it was ok to take a pic and proceeded to take 5, different angles, different orientation, everything.  all the while he was explaining why he had to take a picture: its because they just wont believe it if i tell them...

what is there to believe!? who wouldnt want pictures like this?

the end