5. Mall pictures

How can you make sure you NEVER forget your girlfriends from high school? Get an over exposed glossy picture from the local mall, buy the 100 pack, and give them out like herpes at a Tijuana bar.

These pictures usually contain a posse of three to five girls who have used a sharpie to paint their lips and eyebrows on, put enough mousse on their hair to make it look like spaghetti, and make sure to wear the largest pair of earrings they own.

Grab all your pictures, and hand them out at school so EVERYONE can see how cool/hot/amazing/ghetto you are! But don't forget to sign the back of the picture so that everyone that finds it on the floor by the bus stop, or in a trash can, knows that Maria is the name of the angelic face on the front!

4. Big Hoop Earrings

When mexican women are dressing up for a party, church, school, or even to hang out around the house and clean up, they have to make some tough choices when it comes to jewelry.... should I wear the big hoop earrings, or should I wear the even bigger hoop earrings?

The truth is, the bigger the earrings the better. If you can get a parrot to sit on those and swing comfortably, then you are styling it out better than all your friends.

These "arracadas" are extremely popular and worn in any ocassion, just hope that they don't get stuck or hooked on something.

3. Swapmeets

One of the most popular Mexican weekend morning activities is getting up early and going to the swapmeet.

The swapmeet is a large collection of booths (similar to yard sales, but in a larger magnitude) and is the Mexican alternative to expensive department store shopping. It is the place to go for cheap clothing, blankets, beauty products, and knockoffs. In some places, a crafty look-alike of an expensive designer item can serve just as well as the real thing and get you just as much respect, if not more for being so smart. Other booths also offer fresh fruit and vegetables, and regional candy. All this can be found at low, low prices, and most vendors are willing to haggle.

Many swapmeets are hosted at large parking lots, but old drive-in locations can do the job just as well. After paying a minimal entrance fee, you will be immersed in a world of hot sun, loud regional music, shouts of "Pasele, pasele" and "barato, barato!"

Sharpies

Sharpies are not only incredibly handy when marking your underwear so that your brother or roomate can't "accidentally" take it for a ride, they also work wonders as facial make-up. There is nothing like seeing a face with eyebrows painted on with what you can swear is a sharpie marker.

But it doesn't stop at the eyebrows, Mexican girls
also like to do the lips! An art of almost military
precision, painting on your eyebrows and outlining your lips is a talent that requires practice, and extensive experience. Mexican girls begin to paint their faces at around 13, and officially receive permission to wear their make-up with pride at their "Quinceañera."

Next time you see a Mexican girl with eyebrows painted or stenciled on, make sure you take the time to appreciate the effort that girl has made to make sure her face looks outstanding!

La Virgen de Guadalupe

La Virgen de Guadalupe is one of Mexico's most popular images. Mexicans rely on her to grant the most impossible miracles, from winning the lottery to curing novela characters' terminal illnesses.

Aside from churches, you can find her image on t-shirts, stickers, candles, keychains, tattoos, and toast. Having any of the previously mentioned in your collection will make you appear both trendy and pious. The incredibly faithful will see her on anything from cheetos or tortilla chips to moldy walls. If you paint her image on any wall, you will most definetely find flowers and candles placed by Mexicans below it in a matter of days.

She is also a source of inspiration for naming any child born on December 12, and for countless TV specials during the month of December.