What's with mangoes anyway?

In making the mango salsa last night I discovered that I do not understand mango physiology. We never ate mangoes while growing up and I have never actually seen anyone else cut one - so how is it supposed to be done? I think my mango wasn't quite ripe enough. It was mushy on the outer layer and then rock hard in the middle. It was also kind-of stringy in texture. It was quite beguiling. Turns out that the 1/2 that I managed to get out of it was the perfect amount though - any more than that would have overwhelmed the whole salsa.

So - anyone out there have mango tips?