ë Read Online é Mexican Enough: My Life between the Borderlines by Stephanie Elizondo Griest ✓ eBook or Kindle ePUB

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this book. I respect the fact the author brought up the complexities of Mexican society and did not shy away from talking about the many human rights abuses going on within Mexican society that the author seems to see as hidden from many outside the country (probably not too false an assumption). While the author was searching for her own cultural roots I felt the whole way through that she was as much a tourist in this country as anyone else visiting. Incidents were written up with a reporters eye but didn't give away too much of the author's real feelings in my mind. I wasn't touched by this book as much as I feel I should have been, having a particular love and interest for Mexico and its people. That said, the author appears an uncomplicated, brave woman with much to give the friends she made along the way. 336 This is the story of an American woman who goes to Mexico as an adult to discover her Mexican heritage and learn Spanish. I really wanted to like this book---I learned to love Mexico and to speak Spanish as an adult, too---but it is so full of cliches and sophmoric observations that I was frequently irritated while reading it. I also found the author's constant mid-sentence translations of even the most basic words to be annoying. Stephanie Elizondo Griest I've read a large number of books about North Americans in Mexico, and this one belongs on a short list of favorites. The author, who seems to be up for pretty much anything, moves down there with some familial introductions and begins the process of learning Spanish while also learning about other ways of life.

Most books about Mexico either fall into the poor-but-noble-peon-teaching-us-a-better-way-of-life or alcohol-soaked beach memoirs. What makes Griest's book so interesting is that she mostly hangs around big-city people on the cusp of adulthood who are trying to make lives for themselves. The one person who seems to not have much to do is the author, and some of her self-awareness in this regard is almost painful to read. The book also wraps up with a lovely conclusion.

I was expecting something polemical rather than observational, but Stephanie Griest is a fine observer. Stephanie Elizondo Griest I wanted to read this books because I had been interested in perhaps writing a memoir or a long article about my life as a Tejana, family ancestors (as they were part of Texas history), and other things. Griest is from Corpus and my generation so I thought it would be good to read her memoir and see what she wrote about so that if I chose to do one of my own I wouldn't repeat things that she already had mentioned. Once I got to the end I realized that though we were both born around the same time and in fairly Mexican American cities, our experiences as Tejanas couldn't be more different. I think this is a good book to read if you are at all interested in Mexican American culture as opposed to Mexican culture, as they are rather distinct. The writing is clear and concise. I read through the book in about a week, and that is on the bus in the mornings and evenings. I have to admit that I didn't agree with all of her points about Mexico but why would I? We have such different experiences. 1416540172 there are lots of different levels of this book:

1. What's it like to be Mexican

2. What's it like for those of Mexican heritage to be treated by Mexicans and fellow US citizens

3. Immigration

4. Class Issues

5. Gay Rights

6. Racism

This is such a great book that touches on so many different topics that are also part of a wanderlust's desire to travel. What I really enjoyed was the authors honesty at her faux pas, mistakes and smalls humblings.

Very interesting travelogue from the 2005 time frame of a young woman finding her Mexican roots by travelling throughout Mexico and learning about the many different cultures, languages, foods and political thoughts that make up the Republic of Mexico. Growing up as a Chicana myself, I related to Stephanie's quest through out the journey that was her book. I was sad when I was done reading as I hope to live vicariously through her stories. The book also reminded me of how white-washed I truly am and, on a different level, how Mexican I can be. Mexican Enough: My Life between the Borderlines A good into the world of our students who cross borders, cultures and families. It is the story of a woman who at 30 years old decides to go visit her mother's native Mexico and do some searching for her roots. She actually becomes part of a social movement that changed the shape of Mexico. She has adventures with a Polish thief, a Border Patrol agent, and a dominatrix as well as some resistance fighters and gay activists.

Where did she fit into the cultural mosaic? When was she Mexican or American enough? Great true adventures. Stephanie Elizondo Griest The authors accounts of her travels through Mexico were interesting. The curious thing was that her route almost coincided with mine. I was on tour through Oaxaca and Chiapas in September 2006 and must have missed her by a few weeks only as she returned for her second trip. Her focus was directed towards political and socio-cultural aspects of Mexico, which captured my interest. I recall seeing the independent elegidos in Chiapas, but did not venture into them nor did I have enough historical backround knowledge to understand what had happened there. Her well-researched book made that connection for me. What her book lacked for me was personality. Suppossedly she said out to make a connection with her heritage as a Latina. Yet, she got caught up exploring the lifes of others. There was little transition between her travels. One day she arrives in Morelos and that same night she is already back on the bus to la capital. What was her purpose in Mexico? How did she elect the places she visited and why? As a reader, she failed to make a connection with me. The only time she became a little personal was when she debated adopting the little Zapotec girl. Other than that, it seemed, she wanted to keep her life on the outside. It became obvious that she was single at the time as she quite often kept showing interest in the guys that crossed her path. That turned me off as I felt that she needed to reveal a bit more of herself in order to acquire my sympathy.
In the end, I don't see what she accomplished. She got to know Mexico, but what else? Somehow she leaves the reader hanging, especially as she then ties back to her roots in Kansas.
On the last page she quotes Gloria Anzaldua, a famous chicana writer who dealt with the struggle of growing up as a Latina in the US and not feeling home in neither of the two places. Does she feel like that, split between two places? If so, it did not come across.
Mexican Enough? Not sure she lived up to the title of this book. There was not enough of her in this book to draw such a conclusion.
9781416540175 Growing up in Texas and working as a photojournalist there, I felt a connection to the places and the events the author mentioned. Her perspective was interesting, and I like that she shared multiple stories that did not present her in a positive light. Overall, the message throughout the book about our search for identity, our desire to categorize others and ourselves, and the recognition of how impossible that is was appreciated. Mexican Enough: My Life between the Borderlines

Growing up in a half-white, half-brown town and family in South Texas, Stephanie Elizondo Griest struggled with her cultural identity. Upon turning thirty, she ventured to her mother's native Mexico to do some root-searching and stumbled upon a social movement that shook the nation to its core.

Mexican Enough chronicles her adventures rumbling with luchadores (professional wrestlers), marching with rebel teachers in Oaxaca, investigating the murder of a prominent gay activist, and sneaking into a prison to meet with indigenous resistance fighters. She also visits families of the undocumented workers she befriended back home. Travel mates include a Polish thief, a Border Patrol agent, and a sultry dominatrix. Part memoir, part journalistic reportage, Mexican Enough illuminates how we cast off our identity in our youth, only to strive to find it again as adults -- and the lessons to be learned along the way. Mexican Enough: My Life between the Borderlines