Sooooo, as a long-time Oprah fan, I was looking around her site today and since it's her last season and all, I wanted to see for which topics they were looking for guests and what ideas they were looking for for submissions on. One of the topics was, "Where in the World Should Oprah go Next?". Well I thought that was a perfect a perfect chance for me to suggest Oprah visit Merida and do a piece on Mexico, specifically about how the US media has sensationalized news stories making it seem like the whole country is riddled with violence when in fact it's only small regions. So I started writing my submission, felt really good about it and then hit "submit" only to get a message reminding me that my submission must be kept to 2000 characters or less. I copied and pasted it into a word document only to discover my original draft was over 3000 characters and more than that with spaces. So I started the difficult task of editing my submission down to 2000 characters. Check out the original version and then the final submission to see how I had to quickly learn the art of editing in order to get my submission down to size. I learned through the process that some ideas work better when stated with fewer words and that it's best to let the location speak for itself. My own personal background on how I ended up here was really fluff, especially since the purpose of the submission was about why to visit Merida, not why to visit Cara in Merida. My hope is that the final version remained persuasive and relavent in the shorter format.
Original Version:
I am a 27-old single American female living in MERIDA, Mexico. After all of the negative press the entire country of Mexico has been getting in the US media about drug-related violence the last couple of years, my friends and family were definitely wondering if I'd lost it and asking if "I was really sure that I wanted to do this" when I announced that I'd be giving up my apartment in Boston and moving to Mexico last August. I work for an American educational student tour company based out of Boston, which happens to have a satellite location here in the Yucatan. After a 6 week assignment last year where I was given the opportunity to work remotely from this office, I decided this was a city in which I really wanted to live. It took me about 5 months to convince the executive team back in Boston that it was a good idea to let me move here for a more permanent assignment, but they finally grated my request. It is truthfully the safest city I've ever lived in; I feel comfortable as a woman walking alone at night; I don't see drug deals happening in broad daylight on the street corners (like I did in downtown Boston everyday on my way into the office); the local daily news is not riddled with senseless crimes and murders; and while I lock my doors at night, I feel like I could sleep with the doors wide open and I would be perfectly safe...from other people at least. The giant bugs are another story, and even the doors being shut doesn't keep them out. I have started an album on my facebook page called "unwelcome guest" to show my friends back home the creepy crawly creatures that have found their way in to my house. 1000 legs nor pinchers are appendages that I like to find on things occupying the same space in which I have to sleep, but I've accepted that that's all part of the adventure of living in Mexico. Viva la cucaracha!
Oprah really must do a story about this city and Mexico in general! The Oprah Show has a unique opportunity, and obligation I believe, to demonstrate to the American public, that the news stories about violence are related to isolated areas, and that Mexico as a whole is an amazing place to live, vacation to, and/or retire. Mexico's tourism industry has taken a huge hit due to the sensationalized news stories that dipict the whole country "under seige" when that is far from the case. There is even a website set up called www.thetruthaboutmexico.com which is written by Americans and Canadians living or spending extended stays in Mexico to give more first-hand point-of-view stories about the conditions within the country. Americans need to get a chance to see what is really going on in their neighbor to the south's backyard.
Merida is a great jumping off point to start the piece about Mexico from because it has everything! It's the capital of the state of Yucutan and has beautiful colonial and European-influenced architecture in the city-center (evoking the city's rich history) as well as an every-expanding area of modern suburban sprawl with strong American influences (TGIFridays, Home Depot, and mall after mall after mall). Here we're just 4 hours by bus from Cancun, 30 minutes from Progreso beach, and within easy day-trip distance from the most famous Mayan archaeological sites such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal. The eco-tourist is also in heaven here with easy access to coastal nature preserves providing the opportunity to see crocodiles and exotic birds of many varieties, including flamingos, in their native habitats.
I'd love to function as Oprah's "local correspondent" giving the inside scoop on living in Mexico from the point-of-view of a young SINGLE American woman. I'd certainly love to discuss Mexico's overall statistics on crime and safety for foreign travelers, due to my interest in helping reinvigorate Mexico's tourism industry. I also think an interesting perspective for a show could be on how in many ways a single woman living on her own is a bit of an enigma here because most women do not live on their own; they stay with their families until they are married and few leave Merida, which creates an amazing web of interconnected familial circles and groups of friends that have known each other since primary school. It's been a fascinating to society to learn to live in, and coming from an Anthropology background in college, it's been a dream-come true to become immersed in another culture. I want to share this culture, the people, and the truth about Mexico with Oprah's viewers. Please give me that chance, you will not be sorry!
FINAL UNDER-2000 CHARACTER SUBMISSION:
Oprah needs to visit MERIDA, Mexico! Having now lived here close to a year, I can say that this is the safest city I've ever lived in; as a woman, I feel safe walking alone at night; I don't see drug deals happening in broad daylight; the local daily news is not riddled with gang violence; and while I lock my doors at night, I feel I could sleep with the doors wide open and I would be perfectly safe—from other people at least. The giant bugs are another story, and even the doors don’t keep them out. But that's all part of the adventure of living in Mexico. Viva la cucaracha! The show has a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the American public, that the news stories about violence in Mexico are related to isolated areas, and that the country as a whole is a safe place to live, vacation, and retire. Mexico's tourism industry has seen a marked decline in visitors from the US due to news stories like “Mexico Under Seige” and “The War Next Door.” A website has even been set up called www.thetruthaboutmexico.com to give an insider perspective on the conditions within Mexico from those of us living here. Merida is a great starting point for any piece about Mexico because it has everything! It's the capital of the state of Yucatán; you have the colonial and European-influenced architecture in the city-center and an ever-expanding area of modern suburban sprawl littered with American chains (and malls galore). We're just 4 hours by bus from Cancun, 30 minutes from the gulf coast, and within easy day-trip distance from the most famous Mayan archaeological sites. The eco-tourist also enjoys access to nature preserves nearby with crocodiles and flamingos in their native habitats. I'd love to function as Oprah's "local correspondent" giving the insider scoop on living in Mexico as a young SINGLE American woman on her own (a unique perspective considering I’m far from the norm here). Please give me that chance, you will not be sorry!
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