The Way Things Work in Mexico

I am constantly amazed by the fact that things work here, even when it seems to my american eyes that there is no logic to why or how or when or whether something will be accomplished. An example. We went into a bodega on the main street of Mazunte. An old toothless man drinking a corona out front yelled for someone in the comedor next door to come help us. We wandered around for a few seconds with no attention, observing the clear local Mezcal packaged in a small vinegar-bottle package, giving off a MOONSHINE vibe... Then a little girl of about 7 ran in barefoot to help us. (An aside: the kids run very free here, always barefoot, playing and laughing, helping out in stores and the places their parents work.) Dirk asked her for a pack of Marlboros. She climbed up on the shelves behind the counter, being to short to reach otherwise, and said, no we don´t have those (no los tenemos). He asked for a different brand, some sort of generic Mexican brand, and she said, no, asked for a different kind but no, no, all we have are these (esos son los solos que yo tengo), and pulled down a pack of Marlboros. OK, we´ll get these, and gave her a 100 peso bill, which is worth a little less than 10 dollars. No one ever has change for a bill bigger than a 50 on hand, unless we´re talking a supermarket or hotel, so after subtracting the amount on a little calculator, she ran off to get change from someone else. But, no, this one has a rip in it, we can´t take it. OK, we pull out a new 100 peso note and hand it to her. A few minutes later, a woman came out from the kitchen of the comedor to make our change for us, and we´re on our way. The best part of this mellow chaos - call it disorder perhaps - is that everything actually works. Ha!
-Sarah