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COMPLETE ARTICLEcar, border, Mexico, bridge, Mexican, American, dogs, Carlos, lane, crossing, border zone, San Antonio, poor, United States, tollbooth, Monterrey, bathroom, originals, country, bank statement, leaving, permit, vehicle, desperation, alone, grand, green light, waiting, dream, I-94.Summary:
As each car approached the little tollbooth, it pushed a button and the stop light flashed red or green.
These cars were searched briefly and efficiently, and in most cases, allowed to continue into Mexico with no hassle.
This was the Mexican/American border I imagined.
It came as a huge surprise to me, then, when I actually reached the Mexican/American border in my own car.
Perhaps the border in Arizona or California has a 25 lane border checkpoint, but I had forgotten about one very important factor in crossing into Mexico fromTexas: the Rio Grande.
It is not so grand or so big as one might expect, but it sure presents a hell of a problem, because to cross the border there means crossing a bridge.
Crossing the other way into the United States presents the even more horrific problems of pure desperation, mind-numbing boredom, and suffocating claustrophobia.
We paid our $1.50 to the American tollbooth and crossed the bridge.
We got a green light on the Mexican side and were waved through.
I was bringing my Massachusetts car into Mexico and past the border zone, so our first stop after the bridge was to get the vehicle permit, or "importación temporal del vehículo."
As we were waiting in line, I saw the Mexican officials battling it out with a poor gringo from San Antonio who had forgotten one of his original documents.
I had crossed the border with Carlos and his family before to go shopping, but we had never left the border zone.
As we got closer, we noticed the American police officers with their dogs.
COMPLETE ARTICLEAmy Gray Kirkcaldy lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico.
When not teaching or learning how to dance cumbias, she is planning her Mexican wedding to Carlos
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Miguel de Allende
