Touristic Places

Playa del Carmen is a beach located close to Cancun, the most touristic place in Mexico. “Playa” as most people call it, is also a very touristic spot where Mexicans and foreigners spend their vacations and relax whenever it’s necessary. One of my best friends had to move to that beach when her dad was promoted, and she had to start a new life there. I talked to her in the past days and I realized that life can be so different depending on where you live, no matter your social or economical status.

When I asked her about her school, she told me it was really cool and that she loved the people who was there because they were all very different from everybody she had met before. What caught my attention was that she told me that since their first year of high school they must study the subject of “Tourism”, even if they’ve already decided they want to be something else in life. She told me that they had several classes a week from that subject and they studied how to be hotel receptionists, captains of waiters, restaurant managers, tours sellers, nightclub managers, tour guides, etc. She later told me that although it was only a subject, teachers we’re always trying to convince the kids that being a hotel receptionist was the world’s coolest job and the one they were all born for. Those teachers always tried to push the young residents of that beach to choose the career of tourism and specialize in that area.

I was really shocked to hear those words, first of all because I finally realized the differences between cities just because of their locations. It is very remarkable that these people live from tourism. They have a whole different life from us because all they see is tourists and all they do is serve them and satisfy their needs. That’s what their lives are based on. Second of all, I couldn’t believe the culture these people have. I know we must be tolerant and respect others opinions but, why do they want their kids to conform to those jobs? I’m not saying they are worthless of course not, but there are young people with such a potential to be directors of huge companies, or doctors, or widely recognized executives, or market experts, etc. And all they want them to do is run small businesses that won’t even belong to them. All they want them to do is say hi to tourist and with a wide smile do whatever they ask them to do.

I think it isn’t fair because they’re being taught that this is the world’s greatest thing to do since they are really young and they don’t even have the ability to decide by themselves. I know I can’t change this because that is the way they live and perhaps that is what they NEED to do in order to preserve their beach as that touristic place it is, but they shouldn’t decide for their kids. Finally, I think that this is an example of how economy affects society, by changing their behaviors in order to survive in a world that’s driven mainly by the economic principles and the need to have the enough supply for the demand that’s always present in the planet.