Thursday, July 17, 2008
Interesting Research
Since we've been down here in Mexico, a question we asked a lot (and frankly think about a lot) is, "What do the native Mexicans think about you living in their town/country?" Well, yesterday I came across a survey the MUND Group, a Mexico City-based public opinion and market research firm, recently conducted. They point-blank asked a representative sample of Mexicans, "When you see and hear about the following kinds of foreigners are you bothered -- a great deal, some, or not at all?" They asked about (among others) tourists, students, businesspeople, journalists and long-term foreign residents. The results reinforce our core belief that Mexicans, as a general rule, are tolerant and mellow folks. Less than 5% admitted to being bothered a great deal, while another 7% are bothered a little. There were, however, a couple of glaring exceptions: Missionaries of all faiths bother about a quarter of the people surveyed, and foreign police (mostly DEA agents) bother just over 40% of the people. Any wonder we like it down here?
An interesting side note: When asked in focus groups to describe a "mythical" U.S. citizen who might come to their home for dinner, they said that person would arrive late, be large (probably overweight), be dressed casually (in blue), talk loudly and bring a hostess gift of bread, beef or fast food. When asked to describe a mythical Canadian guest, they said that person would be punctual, if not early, wear a (brown) dress or sport coat, be tall and athletic, speak softly, and bring a hostess gift of fresh seafood or maple syrup. [??????]
An interesting side note: When asked in focus groups to describe a "mythical" U.S. citizen who might come to their home for dinner, they said that person would arrive late, be large (probably overweight), be dressed casually (in blue), talk loudly and bring a hostess gift of bread, beef or fast food. When asked to describe a mythical Canadian guest, they said that person would be punctual, if not early, wear a (brown) dress or sport coat, be tall and athletic, speak softly, and bring a hostess gift of fresh seafood or maple syrup. [??????]
# posted by goots @ 4:30 PM 
