El Mirage

If you were moving to the United States–to, say, Arizona–from a developing country–from, say, Mexico–what do you think you’d notice first about your new home? This has nothing to do with technology. It’s just interesting.

When 16-year-old Luis Ruiz moved here from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico five years ago this is what he noticed: the carpeting and the escalators. And he noticed that cars actually stopped at stop signs. Oh, and he noticed the fire alarms in the classrooms at school. Because in his old school the fire alarm was a hammer and a bell and someone to bang the two together.

Luis Ruiz

Now, Luis has gone digital native. When I told him and his family about Skype–thinking I was being all Mr. Cutting Edge 21st Century Man–as a way to keep in touch with family in Mexico, Luis pulled out his Ipod Touch and typed in “s-k-y-p-e” so he could remember to download the program later.

And when I asked him about the differences between U.S. and Mexican consumer technology he started serving up video game system alphabet soup (all I know is there were a bunch of P’s and D’s and S’s strung together somehow) and said he sent all his old video game systems to family in Mexico. “Because they can’t even buy the newest games down there, anyway.”

Then the showoff started laughing with Letty, his 21-year-old sister, about their Aunt in Mexico who called and asked them to send down a cd player. “I don’t think we can even buy cd players here anymore, ” he said. “We told her to get an mp3 player and she didn’t know what an mp3 was.”

This reminds me of conversations I’ve had with my mother.

Letty Ruiz

Luis said technology was so much easier to acquire here in the United States. I protested. “I’ve been to Mexico–they have computers for sale in the snack shops!” “Yeah,” he said, “but no one can afford them. Computers cost the same here and there. But there, people make $1500 a year. Here, they make that in two weeks.”

So obvious. I was embarrassed by my ignorance.

The Ruiz patriarch, Carlos, said he had much to learn from his kids about how to use computers. Like how to download music, he said. “Por gratis?” I asked. “Por gratis,” he smiled.

At some point in our conversation, Martha, Carlos’s wife, summed up all of human evolution with incredible honesty and insight. I don’t think she even meant to do it. I had asked about whether or not technology was good or bad. Good, she said, because it helped people to be more lazy. And then she grinned from ear to ear.

We stood up to leave and did the usual “thank you so much for your time,” and the “I hope we could be helpful” routine. And then Luis looked at me and said “is it really free to call Mexico with Skype?” Luis, if you’re out there, my username is brad_horn. Our first chat is on me.

-Brad Horn

The Ruiz family. Left to right: Luis, Martha, Carlos, and Letty.