Mexico Lindo Y Querido...!
Boy oh boy, this was sure a weekend to remember...
This is going to be SUPER L-O-N-G, so I'm going to but it behind a cut...
I guess I'll start at Wednesday night. Jose picked me up from school, and asked me what Leukemia was. Just hearing the word was enough to make me go into panick mode. I asked him why, and he said that Baltazar's baby might have it. Baltazar has been living with us since September 2005, and his baby girl was born October 2005, so he has never met her (she is in Mexico with Balta's wife and two other children). She hadn't been sick, either. The last few weeks she'd been running a fever and sleeping a lot. Once they took her to the doctor, they immediatley sent her via ambulance to Agauas Calientes, which is about a little over an hour away.
When I got home from school that night, Jose had me looking up flights. We looked at flights leaving from Omaha, Chicago, and Kansas City, but that's as far as it went.
Thursday afternoon, while I was at home before school, Jose called and had me looking up more flights. I would give him prices, he would call Balta, and then he would call me back and I would look up another flight. We still didn't buy anything.
I hurried home that evening after school, since I was going to help Diana do her taxes on the internet. Once we got done with her taxes (I couldn't do it, but I gave her a friend's number who did them pretty darned cheap for her!) Jose came into the room and we started talking more about the situation. The baby was worse, and Balta wanted to leave ASAP. Diana mentioned that it was very unlikely that the airport would let him board a plane without some kind of government issued ID. After talking some more, we decided it wasn't worth the risk of buying a $500+ plane ticket and not being able to board the flight. The only other option, though, would be the bus lines that run down to Mexico. On a bus, the trip would easily run longer than 3 days.
We talked some more, and decided to drive Balta down to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico (RIGHT across the border from Laredo, TX and about 16 hours from Omaha) and have him board a flight in Nuevo Laredo. We left right away, around 10:30pm Thursday night. Jose's Mom said she'd be more than happy to take care of the girls for us, and I called my Mom to have her pick them up on Saturday for a few hours so they could get out of the house for a while.
Fast forward to 5pm Friday afternoon. We were now in Laredo, TX. The idea had been brought up during the drive about us driving Baltazar ALL the way to Jalisco, which is about 8-9 hours further south of Nuevo Laredo. Admittedly, I liked the idea. I have never been to Mexico, and it is something I day dream about sometimes! But I have heard horror stories about how scary and dangerous the highways are down there. I told Jose that it couldn't hurt to look into how much tempory car insurance would cost us, and that if we would be able to get permission from customs to take the truck into Mexico, that I would be willing to go. Oh, and I also told him we HAD to be back in Omaha by Monday, since I called in Friday!
We checked out the insurance ($58.00 for 3 days, which Balta paid), ate, and were on our way to Mexico!!! As we drove over the border, I felt a surge of excitement. Especially as we drove under the sign which read "Bienvenidos A Mexico!". We went to customs, and after an hour of running back and forth with paperwork, both myself and the truck were okayed into Mexico!
Right when we drove into Nuevo Laredo, it was obvious we weren't in the USA anymore!!! At stop lights, people would run to jump on your running boards to wash your windows. People selling cotton candy, churros, newspapers, burning trash in the sreet corners... It was so exciting to me to be IN Mexico! Even more exciting to be on our way to Jose's home.
Jose's brother called his wife shortly after entering the country, and the baby was doing worse. I felt soooo sorry for him; to see him hurting so much. He was so worried... He didn't talk much, just kind of sat there, staring out the window... He called a few hours later and she was doing better. By that time, we were all getting excited. Balta hadn't seen his family in almost two years!
I slept most of the way down there. The highways weren't the terrible, horrible, dangerous place that they were made out to be. Lots and lots of semis, moderate traffic. One entire state had flashing lights along the sides of the highway, making it look somewhat magical! I think it made a different that we were driving on the Cuota freeways (which kind of means toll way, we had to pay every couple 100 kms), instead of the Libre. On the Libra (free), is where most of the semis go. It's two lanes (one going/one coming), lots of hills and swerves. Every once and ahile, the Cuota would end, and we'd jump on a piece of the Libra. Phew... A little nerve wrecking, but nothing that bad.
Around 4am we arrived to Lagos De Moreno, Jal!!! We dropped Balta off at his house so he could drop off his luggage, and we then went to Jose's Mom's house (where his two sisters and two other brother's also have houses). Sipriano was waiting for Balta, and they took off for Aguas Calientes to see the baby. It was so exciting to meet everyone!!! Everyone was SOOOO nice. We chatted a little awhile, and went to bed for a couple of hours.
Everything was so new... The smells of the Ladrilleras (where they make bricks!) and Suavitel fabric softener and the roosters crowing, the rain drops falling on the tin roof...
When we woke up, we went to get carnitas (pork meat similar to what is used in tamales). We took most of Jose's neices and nephews with us! LoL. There were probably ten little kids crammed into the truck!!! They were so excited with the truck!!! We went and bought the carnitas, went "home" to eat, and then off again!
We went and visited Jose's grandparents. They were SUCH nice people!!! Then we went downtown... WOW!
Stores, stores, stores!!! Mostly little stores that were more like booths... Shoe stores, knick knacks, religious items, teen clothes, old lady clothes, cowboy style clothing, baby clothes, fruit stands, resteraunts... Blocks and blocks of stores!!! I had $1500 Pesos ($150) to spend at the time, and bought undershirts and panties for the girls, shoes, jeans and two blouses for me, cowboy style jeans for Jose, some stuff for his Mom, hair stuff for the girls as well as stockings and socks, toys, and Mexican candy!!! YAY!
It was raining like crazy, but it was still well over 50 degrees. The rain didn't bother me one BIT. Me and Jose's neice went from store to store until I ran out of money, and then Jose came and got us. Then, me and his sister and sister-in-law went back downtown! I spent another $1900 pesos!
That afternoon, we went and visited his aunts and uncles. The day went by WAY too fast! I was wishing the whole time that the girls were there!!! Isabel would have had a blast playing with her cousins!!!
Towards the end of the night, we headed back to the house so Jose could load up the truck. We left around 10:00pm, his brother Sipriano driving us as far as Nuevo Laredo. He hopped on a bus to get back home, helping out with the drive since Jose was SOOOOO tired!
Balta's baby was getting better and better each day. She's supposed to be released today!
So... that was my crazy weekend!!! Not too much is new. We GOT THE APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY! =D We're moving in and signing the lease 2/13! YAY TO US! =D