Traveling to Mexico taught me a few things. Not only did I experience my first trip outside the United States, I learned to appreciate different cultures. I realize that living in the United States is truly a wonderful thing, but Mexico has some equally wonderful things.

Getting off the plane in Cancun was a unique experience mainly due to all the paperwork. Before landing, the flight attendants were passing out form after form asking for passport numbers, address and phone numbers, what we were planning on doing on our trip to Mexico and so many other “important“ things. Now, to the average person, this probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but after upgrading to first class and taking advantage of the free beverage opportunities, my husband and I were having problems. I can honestly say how surprised I was when they let us into their country after seeing our chicken scratch for handwriting. Traveling outside the United States is apparently serious business.

When we finally made it outside the airport, we went blind. Come to find out, it was just our sunglasses fogging up to the point where we couldn’t see anything. Just to remind you, this trip was in October. Here in North Carolina, October means cooler temperatures and leaves falling off the trees onto the ground. Not in Mexico. As one tour guide told us, “Mexico has two seasons, hot and hotter.” He wasn’t exaggerating. The airport wasn’t our only run-in with the massive heat. Our resort was beautiful and the pools were, as well.

We decided to spend our first full day in the pool, having every drink possible that you could put one of those little umbrellas in. (Ok, even drinks that you didn’t have the little umbrellas in.) That first full day in the pool was our last. We spent about 6 hours in the water and by the time we decided to go inside to get ready for dinner, we were burnt to a crisp. (Uh, yes, we used sunscreen, but it doesn’t work in Mexico.)

But, the vacation must go on, so we ventured out to see some history. Taking a 30-minute ride to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins was an interesting thing. Our tour guide spoke mostly about the heat, again, a natural conversation piece, and lathered on 80 SPF sunscreen and wore a large Indiana Jones style hat to keep the sun off of him. This seemed pretty ironic to me, but was normal for him. He guided us around the ruins and after stopping to talk for half an hour about Mexican chickens, (aka … iguanas) my husband, our friend and myself took off snapping pictures as fast as we could and headed back toward the bus.

Dairy Queen ¬– one of the best stops in our Tulum tour. After ditching our guide, we saw the mirage we so desperately sought. The heat had overwhelmed us, and all we really wanted was some nice, cold ice cream. At the time of our trip, $1 was equal to 13.50 pesos. Most of the shops took our American dollars, so we didn’t have to do any serious money exchange, which was fantastic, especially for me, since I’m challenged in math. The lady at the Dairy Queen counter told our friend, David, that his blizzard cost $5, but the sign clearly read 40.50 pesos. Grab your calculator, that doesn’t equal the $5.00 David paid. After we tried to explain the math, David, so exhausted from the heat, finally blurted out, “I don’t care how much the blizzard costs, I would pay anything for it right now!” Money is no object when you’re threatened with heat stroke.

I have had so much bad customer service in my life that it is pretty much expected anytime I go out. At our resort, and everywhere else I went in Mexico, customer service was unbelievably great. The country makes a vast majority of its money from tourism, so keeping us Americans, and any other vacationers, happy, is key. I never expected to be treated so well. After enjoying a massive reception upon arriving, the entire week was spent being spoiled. Chairs were pulled out, doors opened, everyone had a smile on their face as they spoke to you. I think some Wal-mart employees could use a lesson from this country.

One of my favorite things in life is music and there was definitely no shortage of it in Mexico. There were some exceptionally talented musicians serenading while shopping in Playa del Carmen. Having dinner at the Alux Cave Restaurant, while listening to an acoustic musician, made our dinner seem even more surreal. I could get use to hearing music while walking through the Shoppes at Midway Plantation in Knightdale or how about a great band stationed outside the McDonalds in Wendell?

Mexico is very different from Wendell, North Carolina. I am home now, enjoying the cool air, but still thinking back on my experience. My sunburn hasn’t yet healed and I am still talking about this phenomenal trip. If you can get past the heat, Mexico is definitely some place to visit. I look forward to the day when I can go back, but it will have to be in February when the weather is only hot, not hotter.