I'd rather be with like minded people even if I don't speak the language or am the same race, Christian values are way more important and can be recognized between people. My Mexican neighbors who know little English but we have similar strong family/Western values have been so nice to live by, wish all my neighbors could be like them. Some things go beyond how you spice the rice or what grandma is called.
That's true, but no one likes to be different -- at least not day in, day out. It gets old.
Actually, we spice the rice about the same as those in Seguin -- we eat a lot of Mexican and Tex-Mex food around here. I also collect and sell scrap metal to the recycling place. There are plenty of ways I feel more like "Mateo" than "Matthew". But still, there are parts of Hispanic culture that are foreign to me, so I still
feel like I don't belong. It's just an emotional feeling, but very real nonetheless.
What things make me stand out from others in the Mexican community?
1. My daughters don't have their ears pierced -- not even our 6 year old (gasp!)
2. My wife doesn't spend anything on beauty supplies (natural beauty all the way, and plenty of it!)
3. We homeschool
4. We don't have a TV in our house, let alone multiple TVs
5. We might pray the daily Rosary, but we don't hang one from our rearview mirror.
6. Neither of us has a cell phone
7. We don't use much cash
8. We never go to a payday loan store or pawn shop
9. My wife and I are boring Germans when it comes to partying.
10. My wife and I don't use birth control.
If I wanted to branch into the "younger generation" of Mexican-Americans, I could also include things like the boring rims on my car, our lack of tattoos, etc. But the items 1-9 above are pretty universal among all Mexicans I've seen in Texas.
I haven't met a Mexican family that homeschools. Mexicans, at least around here, seem to be VERY interested in partaking of American culture and the American way of life (maybe it's just our material things?) -- but they do love to keep their language alive. They are aloof in that respect.