Greetings

It's customary to greet people as you pass them in the street, enter and exit a store, and most other initial face to face encounters. The most common greetings are:

Hola, buenos días / Hi, good morning

Hola, buenas tardes/ Hi, good afternoon

Hola, buenas noches/ Hi, good evening

To respond to this greeting, choose either the hola or the buenos/nas phrase. Use this greeting as though tomorrow will never come, and you will be amazed when even the grumpiest of old ladies and "scary" groups of young men greet you in return.

Exclamations

If you haven't already learned ¡Perdón! (sorry!), do so now. If you are a woman, you can throw a little aye! in front of it. Mumble it to yourself repeatedly until it rolls off your tongue. This is what you say when you accidentally bump into someone on the street, step on their foot, knock their purse about, etc. This is the polite and appropriate way to respond.

"What about lo siento?" you might be wondering. Nope. Don't do it. Lo siento ("I'm sorry") is reserved for much more dire circumstances, e.g., you are telling your neighbor you just ran over her dog.

I encourage you to listen to Mexicans and COPY THEM. Listen to how they order food (they generally don’t use quisiera) how they greet you (hola hola is another common greeting), and how they thank you (gracias muy amable is one of my favorites).

Gestures

There are a couple of gestures you’ll want to learn as soon as your feet hit those cobblestones.

The first is the “thank you” gesture that looks like you’re getting told where to go, or even worse, that you’re telling someone else where to go! Trust me, you're not. For this gesture, raise your hand to about face level, palm facing you, and give a little nod.

This is how you say "thank you" when someone lets you "in" in traffic, or when they stop their car so that you can cross the street.

The second gesture is made by raising your hand to face level and bending your index finger up and down, with your palm facing the person who is talking and the rest of your fist closed. This means "yes" and is especially useful when you have your mouth full but want to agree with what someone else is saying.

I love this gesture because it also lets you agree without interrupting.

Restroom Etiquette

And finally, public restroom etiquette. I’m sorry, but somebody’s gotta say it. Actually, it’s just toilet paper etiquette, so no need to hold your nose.

Unless you are in someone's home or there is a sign directing you otherwise, throw your toilet paper in the trash can or wicker basket next to the toilet. It might seem gross but plumbing here in San Miguel is such that you are quite likely to gum up the works in a public bathroom if you flush your toilet paper (not to mention other unmentionables) down the toilet.

Do note that private homes in Centro are often the exception because their plumbing can be very old and unable to effectively deal with toilet paper.

When you forget (and you will) let that tell tale tail of floating toilet paper serve as your punishment. I mean, reminder.