buses, el centro y Cereso II

You all would have thought I was crazy if you´d seen me come back from el otro lado (¨the other side¨- the Laredo, TX side) this past Sunday. My boss and her family were leaving for vacation in Houston after church on Sunday, so they were willing to drop me off in downtown Laredo, but not cross the bridge (trust me, crossing the bridge takes commitment - you can take up to 2 hours on bad days just waiting to get through the U.S. checkpoint - and don´t ever try waiting behind the Greyhounds that cross the bridge on Saturdays - you´re guaranteed to have to wait longer due to someone on the bus trying to enter illegally). So, I was at my leisure (somewhat) to find a way to get back to the consulate on the Nuevo Laredo side (note: when talking to most of the Mexican citizens here, they always refer to Laredo as ¨Laredo Tejas (Texas)¨, and I think I have yet to hear them refer to Nuevo Laredo as ¨Nuevo Laredo¨...I think it´s usually just ¨Laredo¨, but I could be wrong). Anyway, I spent a little time in downtown Laredo Tejas, visiting some cute (and ridiculously cheap) clothing shops, talking to Papà on the phone (Father´s Day), and then made my way across the bridge.

Forgetting that I was on the U.S. side, I read the sign indicating that the pedestrian bridge toll was 50 cents as 50 centavos (the equivalent of about 5 cents in U.S. proportions). The bridge guard looked at me like I was crazy - there was no way I was going to get away with paying 5 cents to cross this bridge. I was pleased, however, that he chose to explain this to me in Spanish and not English (most of the people who I encounter start using English right away, which I´m trying not to use unless I really can´t understand what people are saying).

I got to the Nuevo Laredo side and started walking toward the plaza where all the buses come by. Nuevo Laredo buses are old school buses painted green and white, without air conditioning, but are much cheaper than taxis (only 5 pesos, or about 50 US cents, in comparison with about $4 US for a taxi). They often have their destination painted in white on a corner of the windshield...but most people have told me that routes can change a little bit, so it´s best to get off just as soon as you notice that the bus is heading the opposite direction that you need to go. I asked 2 women, 1 store clerk and 5 bus drivers before I found one who said he was going right by the Consulate - hooray! I was ecstatic! The bus ride was really hot, but I really couldn´t have cared less.

I went on a second Cereso (prison) visit today, this time to meet with an American Citizen (AmCit) who had been arrested in Mexico (mostly I got to listen and learn as the consulate officer explained that the consulate is not there to be a lawyer or give money to the prisoner, but to make sure that they aren´t being treated any worse than their Mexican citizen counterparts). This cereso seemed more organized to me than the last one, but this was also the same one that 11 prisoners escaped from last week (with the help of a few top guards, who also, needless to say, escaped). Fortunately, today it was probably more secure than it´s ever been due to the addition of some state police...no worries, Mom.

Sorry it´s been a while - I really miss you all a lot! Please write emails - I will try and respond ASAP! P.S. I´ll be in San Antonio this weekend, which means constant cell phone signal, so call if you can! (unless it´s around 3pm - 5pm EST...I´ll be watching Mexico vs. Argentina in the World Cup).