We are thankful to be back in Japan safely and feel much better after a long night's rest. I've got everything unpacked and laundry hanging all over our house (between the laundry and the suitcases which seem to be ever-present, I've got quite the deco!)
Now, a little recap on the previous days...We crossed the border again on Wednesday night. We were going to brave the Mexico taxis again so that we would not have to risk the 3 hour crossing by car. Apparently, though, crossing by foot can sometimes take just as long. We were blessed in that regard as we got right through, but the rest of the situation did not go the smoothest.
After Mom’s remark that it seemed weird to be standing on a street corner in Tijuana, hailing a cab, we got into this cab, thinking that the driver understood our traditional statement…”will you take us to the border for $10?” Well, he let us in and then started asking us if we knew Spanish. He was a little bit of a strange bird, speaking some of both languages--"holes" he said, referring to why he was swerving a bit. He said he knew San Diego..”ah, beautiful place” so I was reassured, but just for a moment. I next noticed that his low fuel light was on and that the gauge was below the E! Oh great! Well, Akihiro suggested I tell him. He grunted and pointed to the gas station we were coming up to. (I didn’t know that a taxi would ever have to stop on a 15 minute run to get gas…but again, this is Tijuana.) He filled his tank up only 1/3 of the way and we headed off again. Our relief was only short lived as our driver started making comments like he didn’t know how to get to the border. Oh great! Well, these comments were conveniently made around a big line of other taxis. Akihiro thought he was being honest and gave him the $10 for the 7 minute (plus gas stop) ride and said we’d find another way. I got the feeling we were being taken! But, because we didn’t have time or the language ability to argue, we tried to get another one. The next driver who our first driver hollered at said he didn’t know either (with a bit of a grin). Argghhh! Well, just then another lady pulled up in a taxi. We thought she looked like she might be a little kinder. This time we started with “Do you speak English?” She said a little. “Do you know where the San Diego border is?” Keep in mind, it is probably about 7 minutes away! She said yes. Akihiro tried to get her to do it for $5, but she said $6. I told him "just get in!” We were in a rush because we needed to get to North San Diego by 6PM to get my Visa and Passport, otherwise we couldn’t fly out the next am! Well, the dear lady got us there and we ran across the border (past the signs that say "no shopping carts allowed" and past a woman and her 2 small girls with 4 super size black garbage bags filled with tin cans that they had apparently picked up in Mexico. We then hopped on the trolley--followed by the lady trying to balance her 4 massive garbage bags in the back of the train. We arrived at our stop and waited for the rental car lady to come. Thankfully she was pretty efficient once she finally picked us up. We hopped in our Pontiac sports car and headed to the Travel Agency. We called them on our way and thankfully, they said that someone would be available to give us our passport at the office until 7PM. Thank the Lord! We got to the agency about 10 minutes past 6 and got the stuff. How do I spell RELIEF?!!!! I know the Lord would give the needed grace, but I'm glad He called me to Tokyo versus Tijuana!
One other interesting occurance...my brother John had an interesting experience in the Oasis of Hope shuttle van coming from the SD airport. A mother and her daughter from NY were asking him questions about why he was going to OOH. After listening awhile she said, "You are Ito News! You are Ito News!" She had googled Oasis of Hope and since I had mentioned that in the blog, it came up. The internet sure makes for a small world!