A Week's Recap In Mexico....

I can't believe I've been here one week already. I'm far from being moved in. Tomorrow and Tuesday are big move days for the Bohorquez house. I'll try to be brief! The day I arrived I accidentally drove straight into downtown Tijuana. Honestly after being used to the sights, sounds and smells of Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City .... Tijuana is pretty nice! They definitely cater to the American tourist a nice plus in my book.

So instead of veering off to the "right" as my husband suggested, my TomTom GPS drove me downtown. With a nearly dead cell phone and no signal I decided it was a good time to hyperventilate. Having my parents and son with me was also another good reason to add to my anxiety. As we drove down the street I saw a SUV with California plates and decided to follow him. I managed to drove over a double speed bump ... and the car decides to turn off on me. I managed to turn it on and drove to a church (empty I guess service was over). I finally got a single and managed to call my husband and yell "I got lost!" We find each other and after hugs and kisses we had a good laugh about the whole thing. Now I see that church every time we drive back to TJ..."Look Aaron that's the church mommy was lost at!" :-|

So we enjoyed some great tacos and my parents returned with my brother and sister to my brother house in Grand Terrace, CA (an hour and 1/2 away). So Eduardo, Aaron and I drove to our new home in Playas de Tijuana. It is really nice and clean! Everyone is respectful and gracious. The house is really nice. Eduardo did a great job finding it.

Things I managed to forget about Mexico:

1. Around 7 or 8 in the morning the gas truck blows the horn and people run out to get a new gas tank. By now I've managed not jerk out of bed yelling "what the heck is going on!"
   
2. There's no hot water in the house. If we want hot water for the shower Eduardo has to go outside in the back and jimmy the water heater.
3. You should not throw toilet paper in the toilet... I will not elaborate on that.
4. Everyone drives like lunatics!
   

Things I managed to forget about my husband:

1. He's extremely attentive and affectionate
   
2. He's always cleaning
3. He's always cooking
4. He's impatient :)
5. He's a health nut :/
   

Last night during dinner he asked me if he's changed. Was he the same or different? I said he was still the same person I fell in love with it and its wonderful remembering his great qualities. As I write this... he washed the car and now cleaning the patio area.

Aaron returned to Chicago today with my parents and sister. We did this for a few reasons. One Eduardo and I haven't lived together in 5 and 1/2 years. We needed to get used to each other and get rid of our independence of living solo. Eduardo is not a Mexican Macho, but he tends to give "orders" which doesn't fly with me. So we need to work on asking each other to do things versus telling each other what they should be doing. One example... I was on the computer when my beloved said "I'm only giving you a little bit of time on that computer"... to which I replied "It sounded like you're telling me what to do and that doesn't fly with me. you wanna try that again?" He laughed and said "your right."

Back to Aaron. He's needs to have some stability and familiarity. We are far from being moved in and I still need to learn the ropes of driving and eventually the bus and trolley systems. This way when Aaron does return I'll know what I'm doing hahaha.

So much to post and so little time...

Some of you know what's the story with Eduardo immigration case. For those of you that don't here's what happened. My husband arrived in Chicago (illegally) sometime in the early 90's. During which time he didn't live a good moral life. Others have said he was being young and stupid. So in the end he has a criminal past and associated with the wrong crowd which has haunted him until this very day.

When I met Eduardo back in August 1998 we met at a church sponsored youth camp. He was an aspiring minister and on the path to becoming a pastor. We married the following year and I, like so many others, thought that by marrying a US citizen getting his papers would be a cinch! It was not so. We consulted with an immigration attorney here in Chicago and she found out that Eduardo had an order of deportation on him. When he first arrived in Chicago his mother started the paperwork for him to get legalized but again being young and stupid he never followed through with his appointments.

During one of his arrests he was told he had to appear in immigration court and he would receive the notice in the mail. Eduardo moved around a lot during that time and never got the notice. By failing to appear in court he received the deportation order. So we tried to appeal. Our argument was that he never received the noticed. We fought for almost 3 years and in the end we lost.

He had to comply with the deportation order and he leave the country on January 10, 2004. So we filed new paperwork and we waited for him to receive his interview appointment in Cuidad Juarez. After three denials from the US Consulate in Mexico, 5 1/2 years of living separately and close to $20,000 in immigration and attorney fees, we've chosen to be a family.

Aaron and I will be moving to Mexico in two weeks.

Traveling Adventures with a 7 year old...

Last week, after months of daily harassment from our son, we decided to take a quick trip to Mexico City to visit Eduardo. I was diligently searching Expedia, Mexicana and Travelocity websites for flights deals because the prices were around $350 for each of us. After taxes it was nearly $1,000 for 2 round trip tickets. On top of that it was Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Mexico. Way too expensive So we finally caught a break on Delta for $200 for tickets.

Flying Delta wasn't as bad as many people have told me. I usually fly Mexicana because of its flexibility, low prices, direct flights and FREE meals. With Delta I had to fly specific flight times (boo!), pay a decent price for tickets, take a connection in Atlanta and PAY for my meals. Blah.

As I mentioned it was Semana Santa and our flight was packed with families traveling with kids. It wasn't bad because for the most part everyone was pretty quiet. However the flight from Atlanta to Mexico City had such horrible turbulence. Horrific. It certainly didn't help that with each bump, shift or jolt every kid was screaming. I swear I was on the American Eagle at Six Flags Great America. I guess the good thing that it was screams of delight and not terror. It still was not comforting. I almost lost my $5.00 cheese and fruit plate I just finished eating.

As we landed in Mexico City I knew the drill. Go to the bathroom and make sure Aaron went to the bathroom before we got into the line at Customs. Its so long and I wanted to avoid getting out of that line at any cost. So we walked calmly to the bathroom and Aaron laid a bomb which was great because I knew he wouldn't bother me about going to the bathroom.

We then went proceed to the line.

Aaron starts to fidget...

Me: What's wrong...?

A: Are we done yet...?

Me: Nope the line is slow...

A: Mommy I'm so hot....

(I remove his sweat shirt because it was hot in there)

A: Mommy I don't feel so good...

*Cough, Cough, Gagging*

Me: What's wrong!?

A: I NEED SOME WATER!!!

(Me frantically looking for the 3.00 bottle of water I bought, congratulate myself for finding it, hand it to Aaron)

By this time we've progressed to the middle of the line.

A: MOMMY!!! I HAVE TO GO CACA!!!

(I've told Aaron time and time again to whisper in my ear when he has to go #2 but he's still learning)

Me: Please baby, we're almost done, you have to hold it.

A: MOMMY!!! I HAVE TO GO CACA!!!!

Me: Babe there's a bathroom right outside that door can you please just hold it?

A: MOOOOOOOOMMMMYYY I got diarrheas! THE BATHROOM IS RIGHT THERE!!!

(Yep, the plural version and he's pointing to the bathroom we just used)

Me: Barnacles Aaron you just went to the bathroom!!

(I really don't want to get out of line because it's so freaking long!)

Aaron finally manages to wait and when we get to the customs agent he practically screams at her "I HAVE TO GO CACA!"

So I'm telling the woman (in spanish) please please hurry he's got diarrhea!

She stamps our passports and we take off like bullets to the bathroom. After he's done he says "Whoa Mommy I'm so hungry!"

Ya I bet.

By the way, I didn't mention the two times that Aaron undid the rope guards while we were in line. The zipper belt flew back into its place only after it slapped someone in the back....

A Straight Comedy of Errors Today...

Omg this morning was the worst morning… first I wake up an hour late, missed my regular bus, forgot my laptop, cell and iPod at home. Then while I’m waiting for the bus I realize I forgot my wallet. So I started praying that someone from work would be riding the bus… nope. So I thought I just couldn’t ask these Complete strangers for money, so I started asking everyone if I could borrow a cell phone. I got one and called my dad and who drove back and gave me like 3 bucks in quarters. I thought I would be extremely mad this morning but in the end it was just hilarious.

Last night I watched Rachel Getting Married. At first I wasn’t sure what it was really about since I don’t remember the previews, but I figured it was really good because Anne Hathaway was nominated for an Oscar right? Boy was I wrong, it was just long and it didn’t make any sense. By the end I just took it out and went to bed. I didn’t bother to finish it.

According to Rotten Tomatoes... Hathaway's Kym is a recovering drug addict who leaves rehab behind to attend the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt, MAD MEN), but Kym's problems follow her home. Rachel cannot forgive or forget Kym's many drug-fueled transgressions, and their father (Bill Irwin, LADY IN THE WATER) dotes on his returned daughter. As the wedding grows closer, the spotlight shifts from Rachel to Kym, much to the bride's irritation. The alternately hilarious and heartbreaking dialogue in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED adeptly walks the line between wit and reality, giving audiences a picture of a family that feels entirely authentic.

I felt like this was a wedding I did not want to be at...

Mini-Update

Ok,

Here’s what you should know. The State Department (Homeland Security) made the final decision to deny my Eduardo the chance to file the pardon. The American Consulate in Mexico agreed with the State Department and the process was over for us.

We started working with a group called Westside Minister’s Coalition (WMC) and they in turned had us work with Senator Roland Burris. Well you know that whole scandal with Gov. Blago and Burris. WMC told us that whole thing with Burris was going to blow over and for while I didn’t see it happening but apparently it has.

WMC has kept in touch with my mom and the status of getting that decision overturned. The last we heard was the Burris had this binder I created for WMC. The binder included a personal letter from me, our timeline, my husband's police records and court dispositions, letters of rehabilitation, copies of his diplomas, pictures of us, pictures of my husband preaching, etc.

So at this point the State Department is reviewing our case again. Pray for a favorable decision because we’re supposed to hear back by the end of the week.

Bridget