Comparing San Jose, Mexico City, and Petoskey, Michigan

When I graduated from my Discipleship Training School, I was trying to come up with a few ways to save up money for my Children at Risk School. I was talking with my good friend Alisha from Washington State and asking her for suggestions. "What about taking the bus instead of driving and paying for gas?" Um.... what bus? It then occurred to me that Petoskey is a little bit.... well.... little and there is a lot of variety to be had in the world. And so in this post I intend to explore the difference between Petoskey, Michigan and some of the larger cities in the world that I have visited. Last summer I spent about two weeks in Mexico City during my Discipleship Training School outreach. For the next two weeks I will be in San Jose for my Children At Risk outreach. And Petoskey, Michigan is, of course, my hometown. Let's compare the three shall we?

• When one hears, "Mexico City," they immediately know that I am reffering to the capital of Mexico and the third largest city in the world. When one hears, "San Jose," they will probably guess that it is somewhere in Central America. If they are educated in geography, they may know that San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. When one hears, "Petoskey, Michigan," the appropriate response is, "Where??"
• The population of Mexico City is about 27 million people. San Jose has about 4 million people. In Petoskey, Michigan we have about 6 thousand people on a good day.
• In Petoskey we say, "Huh?" or "Eh?" In Mexico they say, "?Mande?" In San Jose they say, "?Que?"
• The currency in Mexico is the peso (about 12 to a dollar.) In San Jose we pay with colones (about 500 to a dollar.) In Petoskey, Michigan we have the American dollar with the occasional Canadian penny.
• In Petoskey, you better pray you have a car. In Mexico City, the best way to get around is the subway. In San Jose, buses are the best way to get from point A to point B.
• San Jose has a YWAM base. Mexico City and Petoskey do not.
• In San Jose the taxis are red. In Mexico City the taxis are Volkswagen bugs painted red and gold. In Petoskey, you can call ahead and ask for a taxi only on a few holidays, like New Years (if you're planning on being really hammered.) It's an Astro-van.
•  In Petoskey, our staple foods are fudge and Roast and Toast coffee. In Mexico, they eat tacos. In San Jose, every meal has rice and beans.
• In Petoskey we say, "Cool," or, "That's swell." In Mexico they say, "Chido," "Que Padre," or, "Orale." In San Jose they say, "Chevere," and, "Tuanis."
• There is no Lake in Mexico City or San Jose. In Petoskey, we are blessed to live right on Lake Michigan.
• Spell check knows San Jose and Mexico City. Every time I type Petoskey, a squiggly red line shows up.
• In Petoskey, we have 7-11, in Mexico we go to the OXXO, and in Costa Rica they have AM/PM.
• The weirdest thing about Costa Rica is instead of pointing, they "kiss" in the direction that they are speaking. Rather than pointing a finger they pucker their lips in a general direction.

And there you have it. A basic comparison of three of the greatest cities in the world. (or at least in my opinion.)