Mexico, like the rest of the civilized
world, uses the Metric system of measurements. A few very
odd countries, such as the United States, still hold on
to outdated measurement systems by using ridiculously
illogical methods of measuring distance by inches, feet,
and yards; liquids by pints, quarts and gallons; and weights
by ounces and pounds. For the benefit of our visitors
to Los Cabos from the U.S. who still resist moving out
of the stone-age, we provide this simple chart for dealing
with what, to you, will be a different method of measurements.
Think about
this amount... |
as being
this amount... |
but it's
actually exactly... |
| Pint |
almost 1/2 liter |
.47 liters |
| Quart |
almost a liter |
.95 liters |
| Gallon |
almost 4 liters |
3.79 liters |
| 5 Gallons |
almost 19 liters |
18.93 liters |
| Inch |
about 2-1/2 cm |
2.54 cm |
| Foot |
about 30 cm |
30.48 cm |
| Yard |
a bit less than
a meter |
.91 meters |
| Mile |
about 1-1/2 km |
1.61 km |
| Pound |
a bit less than
1/2 kilo |
.45 kilos |
| Ounce |
about 28 grams |
28.35 grams |
| Square Foot |
almost 1/10 of
a sq. meter |
.09 sq. meter |
| Square Yard |
almost 1 sq. meter |
.84 sq. meter |
| Acre |
4/10 of a hectare |
40 hectares |
Shoe
Sizes are a whole different
animal…we’re not sure what the Mexican shoe
size numbers refer to, and this should be considered a ‘rough
guide’ to finding a pair of shoes that fits you. As
always, try them on before you buy, as the actual size from
different manufacturers may vary wildly: Note that Mexicans
in general are of smaller statue than Gringos, and therefore
finding size 11 or larger men's shoes or size 9 or larger
women's shoes may be difficult without considerable searching.
MEN'S SHOE SIZES:
| U.S. |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
| Mexico |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
WOMEN'S SHOE SIZES:
| U.S. |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
| Mexico |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
TIME:
Mexicans are a very relaxed culture. Waiting is part of
life, and nobody gets uptight about things not happening
on the same schedule as the rest of the world. Gringos who
move to San Jose del Cabo or Cabo San Lucas and are unable
to adapt to this new relaxed concept of time are quickly
driven crazy and most of them return to their time-structured
lives back home. (The few that remain simply annoy their
quickly-dwindling pool of friends with constant complaining.)
Here’s a few key Mexican words, followed
by their ‘dictionary definition’, and then the
reality:
“Ahora” is
defined as ‘now’ but actually means ‘in
a while’
“Ahorita” is defined as ‘right
now’ but actually means ‘in a little while’
“Hoy” (say "oy") means 'today'. “Mañana” is defined
as ‘tomorrow’ but actually means ‘some day
other than today’
“Cinco minutos” is defined
as ‘five minutes’ but actually means ‘five
Mexican minutes’, which could be up to 15 minutes
of more
“Momentito” is defined as ‘in
a moment’, but could actually mean ‘five Mexican
minutes’. If you are making time-sensitive plans
with a Mexican, it's best to confirm what you mean: "5:15
Mexican time or Gringo time?" or "He's coming
in cinco minutos or cinco Mexican minutos?". These
will be understood with a smile and clarified in Los Cabos.
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