The original Beetle is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. With over 21 million manufactured, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car worldwide.
They couldn't survive in our cold weather climates because of all the salt from the snow. For sure they'd all be rusted out by now in Wisconsin! But in Tepoztlán, the newest (original) ones are already 10 years old, and most are way older than that!
I'll tell a joke that my Spanish teacher shared with me. It's not directly related to the VW bug, but cars in general. It says something about three different cultures that I thought you'd get a kick out of. I certainly did! Here goes:
There was a German man driving down the road. He heard a funny sound coming from his car. It got louder and of course he was immediately concerned. He pulled over, got out all his tools, and did some initial work on the car to make it home safely. Once he arrived home he got out his car manuals, did an exhaustive amount of research on fixing the car, and after much time and effort spent on fixing it, the sound was gone and his car was running smoothly again.
And the American man--- what does he do in the same situation? After hearing the funny sound coming from his car, he pulls it over, leaves it on the side of the road, and goes and buys another one!
And the Mexican guy --- he's driving down the road, the funny sound comes up from his car... What does he do? He turns up the music and he keeps on driving!
Although this joke is obviously a generalization and stereotype, it also says something about the German, American, and Mexican cultures.
Here are photos of VW Bugs that I've spotted during our time here. As an art teacher, I guess I have a strong inclination toward color, so I've color coordinated the bugs in shades of the rainbow.
Here are Red Bugs:
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| The Bug as a maintenance car... |
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| And that little car even has the potential to trail heavy things from behind... |
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| This one's playing Peek-a-Boo! |
And Yellow Bugs:
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| Kind of cool to see all the inner workings... I wonder how long this one will be on the road. |
And Green Bugs:
And Blue Bugs:
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| This one's got the loadspeakers going to sell something! It's a common thing here... |
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| There is a political movement to stop the expansion of the highway that leads into the village. This Bug was part of a car parade against the expansion. On the side of this Bug it says "In our hands lies the future of the earth." It's been inspiring to witness the activism in regard to this issue. |
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| And Lea next to a shiny, baby blue Bug! |
And Purple Bugs:
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| Note the advertisement on the side of the Bug... |
And Multi- Colored Bugs:
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| The initials of the person who owns this Bug perhaps? |
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| Lea sports a pose with my friend Kirsten from Madison when she was visiting just recently. |
And VW Vans (otherwise known as "Combies" here in Tepoztlán):
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| These are used for public transport to take people throughout Tepoztlán and to and from areas closeby. |
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| And of course it's funner to see Lea next to one. |
And Double Bugs, which is a sign of how many there actually are!
There are a few of the new Bugs that we see, primarily from visitors coming in from outside the village, but they are few and far between...
And here's the other extreme of the Bug that you'll see here:
These "bugs" have such a personality all of their own. Can you imagine driving one down the street, hearing a funny noise come up with the car, turning up the music, and just keep on drivin!?!
As I've mentioned in the past, we have a lot to learn from this culture about living for today and simply enjoying the present moment...
