By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Hola. Por favor excuse my absence last week while I was on vacation in Mexico with my husband, Kevin. We had a lovely time and it was the first visit we made to this area which they call the Maya Rivera. The resort we stayed in was south of Cancun, about half way to Playa del Carmen. We both agreed we would like to visit again, so I'm going to try to learn more Spanish in the meantime. I haven't taken a course since high school!

I'm not a world traveler, but the times I have traveled outside of this country have always been very insightful experiences. They remind me that America is not the center of the world, as much as many of us Americans think it is. While we were in a resort area, we did not sit at the resort everyday and had rented a car which allowed us to get out and explore a bit. My family and friends cautioned us before we left. "Be careful, don't go to far from the resort. Mexico is not a safe place to visit." While I agree we needed to be cautious, these statements are true no matter where you go. Just think of the horrible tragedy that happened just yesterday at a small college in Oakland, CA.

What I wanted to point out is that all the local Mexicans that we met, those that worked at the resort, the local Walmart in Playa del Carmen, the guides that took us out on their boats to snorkel the reef, we're all so very pleasant. Yes, many rely on us tourists to make a living, however, there appeared to be a genuine friendless that I found more with them then with the average American. My husband and I would both wake up early every morning and go for a jog or a walk around the resort. Each employee we passed would make eye contact and greet us with either a hola or buenos dias. In contrast, not all the resort's guests were as friendly. So we can learn something here.