Cultural differences between the US and Mexico

Whew. It has been awhile since the last post. Sorry to those of you who feel betrayed or neglected (all, like, one and a half of you).

I've been meaning to write about my experiences of culture shock in Mexico for awhile. Though Mexican culture and American culture are much more similar than, say, Afghani culture and American culture, there are many important differences. Today I will write about one of the most important and shocking: the difference in permissible uses of mayonnaise. [I'm including here Miracle Whip since, though it tastes different, pretty much serves the same function.]

In the US, we use mayo for sandwiches (including hamburgers) and tuna, chicken, or pea salad. Period. And those salads are the referent of the "salad dressing" description. You may not put mayonnaise on your chef salad.

In Mexico, however, those boundaries are crossed on all sides. Mayonnaise is generously slathered on hot dogs (Costco here has mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and jalapeño pepper dispensers for their delicious hot dogs), elote (corn, either on-the-cob or in-a-cup), and potato chips, among other things. There is a huge billboard for McCormick Mayonnaise that stretches over the ten lanes of one of the main roads that simply pictures, on the end of a fork, a bite of steak with a big dab of mayo on it. Mmmmm.