After five months of living in Mexico, I finally got to come home to the States for a visit. The plans were very last minute, because we weren't sure if José Luis' schedule would allow him to be gone for so many days. About a week before we left, we had decided that José Luis, his sister, Gaby, and I would be making the voyage in car from Puebla to Dover. Two days before we left, Gaby felt like leaving for a week would put her behind on her German classes and gym training, so she decided not to go. The next day, José Luis' friend, Arturo, called and begged to go with us. Since I've only driven in Mexico once, José Luis figured it would be a good idea to bring a fellow Mexican along to help drive on this side of the border.
The original plan was to leave Puebla around 5 or 6 in the morning and arrive in San Antonio in late evening so we could get a good night's rest and get up early the next morning to drive on to Tennessee. Let's just say not much worked out as planned. First, José Luis had been working very hard all week to get the factory ready for his being away, so he decided to rest a little more and come get me by 6:30. He was there almost on the dot, thank the Lord, and we drove on to pick up Arturo at 7. Arturo turned out to be a fun passenger on such a long trip, but he has one defect: he never gets in a hurry. When we got there, he was at the bank exchanging pesos for dollars. Then he had to go to one of his offices to check on something. We didn't get out of Puebla until 8:30 that morning. With all the times Arturo had to stop for coffee then a bathroom break 15 minutes later, plus taking an hour to eat breakfast and dinner, we didn't get to the border until 11:30 that night. The guys had to get their permission form to be in the country, so we finally got into the States around 12:30. We really wanted to make it to San Antonio, but we were so exhausted that we had to stop right across the border in Laredo.
No one got in a hurry the next day, either. I pretty much had to drag Arturo away from the free breakfast, his coffee and freshly-made waffle in hand. We did a little better that day, stopping less and taking less time on breaks. However, we still got a late start and didn't get into Arkansas until late evening. Then, the biggest downpour you ever saw happened. We couldn't see anything and were afraid to go any further. So we had to stop somewhere between Little Rock and Memphis. I was really sad that I didn't get to spend my first night with my family, but I also knew it was necessary.
The next day we got up fairly early and made it into Dover sometime around noon. We ate a big lunch made by the best mom ever :) and then went out to the cabin for some time with my friends. I was able to see a lot of high school buds in one of my favorite places in the world. The only person that I was sad I couldn't see was Alyssa, because she was in New York for her fall break with her boyfriend, Jake. I had really been missing her because she doesn't use the Internet hardly at all and doesn't always answer her phone. I have only talked to her once since I moved, on her birthday. She called us during the party screaming because Jake had proposed to her in one of her favorite places in the world, a dance studio called Steps. Although I missed her, I was happy for her. We had a good night's rest out there, although it was too hot to make a fire :(
The next day was the big party at Kim's house. José Luis and I dressed up as X-Men, Wolverine and Storm. Arturo dressed up as a war general. The best costume, though, had to be Mom's and Mrs. Sharon's. They made this contraption thing to make them look like they were on a roller coaster. They had fake legs hanging down in front to look like they were sitting down, when really they were just standing up behind it. They spend a lot of time and energy on that thing, but it was worth it. Kim had lots of great decorations and food, and it was great to see all of my family again.
Sunday was church day, and both José Luis and Arturo seemed to enjoy it. After church, I took them on the scenic tour of Dover, which included my Aunt Dee's house. They seemed to enjoy that, too. That night we had more company in the house than I think we've had in a while. Kim and Cindy came after church, then Sharon and Gerald, then Myrna and Floyd, then Lee, then Nate. Even Kevin came over for a little while. We played Loaded Questions and had a great time, as always. Floyd even made me a wooden spoon for me and burned his name on the back. One of the best presents I ever received.
I had told José Luis many times about Patti's Restaurant and how they have the best pork chops in the world, so on this trip, I promised to take him. José Luis, Arturo, Mama, Chris Engelman, and I went to have lunch there and had a great time. They loved the food, little shops, and decorations. Chris even ate a two-inch pork chop! José Luis and Arturo kept bothering him to come to Mexico for Christmas because he could make a lot of money pretending to be Santa Claus. It was so funny how serious they were. That night, my dad's family came for a visit. Aunt Brittye and Uncle Jiggs even drove from Memphis to see me! We ate hot dogs and played Loaded Questions, as well. It got pretty interesting, as it always does with my dad's family. We made fun of José Luis and his pewter stein he bought at Patti's. He was ridiculously proud of that thing, telling everybody the whole night to touch it to see how cold it was. Although I was sad because it was my last night at home, it was nice to spend it with family.
The next morning we had trouble leaving on time again, but this time it wasn't Arturo's fault. Mama wanted to make us breakfast and I wanted to pack up some things to take back to my house. Plus, it was just hard to say goodbye. I think we finally left around 9 or 9:30, and once again, we didn't quite make it to San Antonio. José Luis and Arturo had appointments the next day, and figured we would get as far as possible then stop to make those appointments before arriving in Puebla. However, they both wanted to stop at this big outlet mall in San Antonio, so it was pretty obvious we wouldn't get very deep into Mexico that day. Shopping was fun. José Luis bought Wii and also a lot of Victoria's Secret lotions for the women in his family. Arturo bought...well, pretty much the whole outlet mall. I think he bought like three or four pairs of Crocs. Why he needs that many, I don't know. Around six that evening, we made it to the border. What happened there, though, deserves its own paragraph.
Crossing the border is a lot easier than you think, if you have the right papers. Before we even knew it, we were in Mexico and realized the guys hadn't turned in their permission forms on the other side. The form lasts for six months, but if you don't plan on coming back before it expires, they highly suggest you turning it in. If you don't, it just looks like you stayed. So we asked a Mexican police officer what we should do with the papers, and he said you have to go back to the States to turn it in. So we turned around and got in the other line to cross back over. After they got that all worked out, we once again crossed into Mexico. Finding the immigration office to fill out my tourist visa was also a challenging task. We asked about every person we saw, and they all told us different things. Finally, we found someone that knew what he was talking about, and we made it to the right place. Getting my forms were easy, but it was already pretty late. So we stopped in Monterrey for the night, and José Luis' dad agreed to fill in for him at his appointments. I'm pretty sure Arturo was able to reschedule, as well. So we were able to make the last leg of the trip without being rushed.
In total, we were on the road close to 70 hours. I know that's a long time, but it was a lot more fun than being on a plane, and a lot cheaper, too. What we spent on gas and on toll booths didn't even end up costing what one airplane ticket would. So in the end, it was worth it. We obviously made a lot of mistakes, but it's something to learn for the next time. I am so thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to go visit my family and friends one more time before beginning work here. I hope to be home for a decent amount of time at Christmas, as well. Can't wait to see you all again!
