I am sitting at "Parque Mexico" watching my niece play and run around from one slide to another without a care in the world. The park is full and the children run around laughing and smiling, without any worry of who is around because, after all, the park is full of moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles.
I love how innocent childhood can be. Children play beside each other without worrying about social status or color of skin, and when they befriend each other, fun is the only determinant. The only references to skin color among children are innocent and observant. When I was young, I spent a lot of time playing at the beach so my skin color, with the exception of where my bathing suit covered me, was dark and sun kissed. I had a friend named Daniela that had dark skin, and I assumed it was because she constantly played under the sun. One day while we were playing at my house, I went into the bathroom with her and I received the shock of my childhood: her entire body was sun kissed, even where the bathing suit covered. I ran out of the bathroom to tell my mom that my friend was made out of chocolate, at that age what else is there to associate color other than food, and of course, to this day I am mocked about my innocent and rather ingenious observation.
But the point of my story is that early childhood knows no discrimination. Here at this park, there are children and parents of all different backgrounds. I see Jewish Orthodox children playing, I hear parents talking in foreign languages, I see Asian children playing on the slides, I see children of low economic status playing alongside children of higher class, I see mothers and grandmothers talking when their children befriend each other. Considering that Mexico is not known to be a "melting pot" of cultures such as the U.S., France and England, there is a definite mixing and befriending of children of different backgrounds right here at Parque Mexico. I hope that these experiences of playing with children of other cultures and classes is a sign of a much more tolerant and open society for the future.
