Work in pairs

Student A has lived in Mexico for some time. (Read the information below if you don't know much about the country.)

Student B wants to visit this country soon and needs some information on the following: attitude to time, crime, racism, relationship with the USA, forbidden topics for conversation. (Think of possible questions.)

Mexicans have a more relaxed sense of time, so arriving 15 minutes later than scheduled is OK with them - not so in business environments when they are the customer, as they could get pretty upset if you arrive late.

Many foreigners think Mexico is 'wild country' where no laws are respected; it is a common mistake that often can land you in jail, specially if you are a foreigner.

While overt racism is uncommon, one of the inherited traits from Spanish rule is that the 'whiter' a person is, the more power and privileges are associated with him or her.

A related cultural conception to this is also the believe that beauty is a product of race, so people with European features can expect a lot of attention. However, people of Asian or African backgrounds can also be expected to receive more attention than when they were back home - specially women, see Machismo.

Machismo or male chauvinism is common in small towns and villages, but not so in larger cities. On such places, whistles and inappropriate comments directed to unaccompanied women are common as well.

Most Mexicans have a love-hate relationship with the United States: they love the huge success and resourcefulness of American people, but hate the US government policies that were used to reach such success: mainly the Mexican-American War lost territories and countless incursions into Mexico by the American military.

Most Mexicans are very conservative with traditional values but sympathize with liberal leaders such as JFK or Barack Obama.

Topics like sex, politics and anti-church ideas are a huge no-no when talking to a Mexican, unless you are talking to a young Mexican and have a closer relationship with him/her.

(Источник: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_cultural_values_in_Mexico)