Monday, March 19, 2012

People Watching

Today was a ho hum, totally boring day so I decided to write about one my favourite things, people watching. Yesterday's trip to Merida provided plenty of people to watch.

One of the things I've noticed here is, that for the most part, little girls dress like little girls instead of trashy pop-star wannabes. Yesterday being Sunday, many girls were in lovely, big skirted dresses. Some girls were dressed more casually in shorts and a t-shirt. Still, I saw a couple of young ladies about 6 and 8 years old with shoes more suitable for adults. Mules with a 2-inch heel on an 8 year old? I'm not a fan.

I watched well-dressed ladies walk by, their noses in the air. "Sniffing pies in Heaven" is the phrase we used when I was growing up. Another mom with a muscle shirt and a mullet coaxing her little son along. Young ladies dressed to be noticed.

One guy had on a sports uniform and was hurriedly making his way to somewhere. Young men in skinny jeans and those ridiculous shoes with the long toe that curls up after much walking, making them look like elf shoes.

Faux hawks, dread locks, hair bows. Something else I've observed, women here all have long hair. Older ladies might have a shorter 'do but it's still long enough to get a roller or curling iron in it. I have yet to see a pixie cut on anyone. The younger ladies all have hair at least shoulder length and long enough for a ponytail.

Shortly after we got to the square, Theresa and I saw a long legged beauty with waist length blonde hair, high heels and a shoulder baring top. She was attracting the attention that she had dressed for. Later, she was joined by a friend who, upon closer observation, was a man dressed as a girl. He had on a little black sequined dress and black heels. His hair was a bit shorter than shoulder length and had the most beautiful curls. His very flat, muscular chest and the beginnings of a 5:00 shadow gave him away.

Theresa and I finally concluded that Blondie was also a man. We couldn't see an Adam's apple, but the hair was definitely a wig and the body shape lacked the softness of femininity. We watched Blondie talking with a man and it appeared that Dude was flirting. Or perhaps he knew Blondie. We weren't quite sure. Then it appeared that Dude finally figured out that Blondie wasn't a female and he got a slightly embarassed look, lowering his head and shaking it as Blondie walked away. It was really quite comical.

Ah, yes. People watching. Always interesting and often entertaining.

6 comments:

  1. What neighborhood were you in? South of San Benito market by any chance? Good grief. I'm sorry you haven't posted pictures of this, but I can see this all vividly in my mind. Hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lee, we were at Plaza Grand on C62. I'm afraid I don't know the cross street but the Casa de Montejo is right across the street.

    I wanted to take pictures but I always hesitate. I hate to look like a gawking tourist.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We were at the Plaza de la Independencia aka la Plaza Grande aka el Zocalo (though everyone knows the "real" Zocalo is in DF)...It was during Mérida en Domingo, great place for people watching.
    The blonde beauty really had it going on, it was the attitude most of all, well the walk on 5 inch heels was pretty sexy too.
    it was a nice way to spend the morning.
    regards,
    Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  4. Theresa, thanks for clarifying which plaza. Yeah, "she" really had it going on, didn't "she"?

    Something else I just thought of that gave him away but I couldn't put my finger on at the time...he had no swing to his hips. He walked in those shoes like he was used to them, but women tend to have a sashay in their hips when they walk in heels. He didn't sashay. But he did have the attitude.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm usually ducking hammock salesman at the plaza. I'll have to slow down and be more observant in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lee, we observed all this while we were eating lunch. It's hard to people watch without stopping first. If I tried to watch while I'm still walking, my clumsy self would get hurt.

    ReplyDelete

Comments posted anonymously, or with self-serving links, may be removed.