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   Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:06:07 JST Adrianna Tan

   I was really glad to have spent the entirety of my trip in Mexico City with a friend who is from here, but lives in SF now. Since we met several years ago as coworkers, we bonded over our love for food and culture. We’d been planning this trip since 2020.

   This year, we finally got to go.

   While walking through an underpass to go to a Chinese grocery store in Mexico City yesterday (I wanted to get tea; she wanted to get Lao Gan Ma for her local friends), she commented: isn’t it incredible that here and in places like Southeast Asia, there’s just amazing local food.. everywhere? On the streets? Tens of thousands of restaurants? And there are always people eating, being together, having a good time?

   We both agreed that going to other places without this type of culture was the biggest culture shock, and that we both felt a lot of familiarity and kinship in each other’s regions for this, and many other reasons.

   Just the warmth and joy that comes from sharing food with family, friends and strangers.

   #Mexico

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:15:53 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     To me, there’s something inherently alienating about having to get into a car to get groceries or coffee or food. I doubt I will ever get used to it.

     Going from box to box.

     Even where I now live in San Francisco, the most Asian and the most ‘downtown’ type of place I can find there (I not only have food in my neighborhood I have dozens!) it still feels so.. quiet in comparison to what I am used to. The suburbs are really hard for me. They make me want to scream and leave immediately.

     Going to places like Mexico City help me recalibrate, although realistically it also looks more like ‘spending much more time in South and southeast Asia’ in the coming years. Which makes me happy.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:26:58 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • trisweb

     @trisweb many parts of Canada and Australia are also like this :) I think speaking English causes car culture dysfunction :)

   • Embed this notice
     trisweb (trisweb@m.trisweb.com)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:26:59 JST trisweb

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte America truly has a dysfunctional local culture. Probably the worst part.

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     trisweb (trisweb@m.trisweb.com)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:34:12 JST trisweb

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte could be the size and space? So people spread out? But Mexico is big too… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Saturday, 30-May-2026 23:34:12 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • trisweb

     @trisweb white flight and racism caused the US’s infrastructure and culture issues on this front. To a certain extent almost all Anglo settler colonies have similar problems.

     I don’t think you can easily replicate a living culture when so much of it is based on violence and possession, and excluding others.