In order to get to the airport in Mexico City for my 6:50 am
flight Saturday morning, I needed to get a taxi to take me to the bus station
for my 1:00 am bus to Mexico City. My
Spanish hasn’t improved much and I was nervous about having to call and
schedule a taxi, but Lulu offered to call for me and put me on the schedule to
be picked up at 12:30 am—it only takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the
station. Well 12:30 am rolls around and
(TIM) no taxi. I waited for about 8
minutes and then walked up to the front gate of my apartment to see if I could
flag one down. An unmarked car stopped
with a man and woman and they asked if I needed a taxi… uh, Stranger
Danger!!! Luckily a REAL taxi pulled up
next and I jumped in that one. The
driver asked me a bunch of questions in Spanish, and I did my best to
respond. Somewhere around 12:50 am he
asked when my bus was leaving and I told him 1:00 am. He looked at me in the rearview mirror and
then stepped on the gas pedal—we weren’t on the main highway to the terminal
but on some back roads. He weaved in and
out of traffic and sped over topes (speed bumps). He kept looking back and saying “A la una… ay…”
and drove faster. Despite TIM (This Is
Mexico), there is also PTL (Praise The Lord) in this first leg of the journey
because I managed to make it ON the bus by 1:00 am! I was the very last person and received many
glares, but I made it.
Second leg… I made it to the right terminal, checked my bag
(more to come on that later), and made it through security okay. (Just a note to those of you flying out of
Mexico in the near future: you do not have to take your shoes off and if
you do, they look at you funny and tell you to put them back on.) So I wandered around looking for Immigration
and found it because there was a HUGE line of people and no one at either of
the two desks! Typical Mexican
efficiency… luckily I arrived at the airport in plenty of time to be able to
wait an hour in line and still make my flight.
Things I learned so far in the trip: 1) When ordering a taxi, give an
hour of cushion instead of a half hour; 2) again I am confirmed in my decision
to leave Mexico after this year; and 3) Expecting the worst but relying on God’s
Sovereignty is a good combination.
Third leg… San Francisco. I survived Immigration only to learn that I am expected to get my luggage from baggage claim and Recheck it too late. I didn’t pick up on the clues of everyone around me getting their bags and grabbing luggage carts… They wouldn’t let me go back the 20 feet to get my bag and told me that I just needed to go to my gate and hope the bag makes it to my final destination—yeah right! After going through security AGAIN, I grabbed a Subway sandwich and settled in at my gate. At least I was back in a country I could understand and speak the language.
Fourth leg… SEATAC.
As expected, my luggage did not make it to Seattle. I reported my lost bag to a United
representative who was very kind and humorous.
He pointed out that the first problem is that my bag was incorrectly
tagged—I am not Benito. My bag’s final
destination, according to the incorrect tag, was San Francisco. After a quick email to the people in San
Francisco, I was told my bag would be returned within a couple of days. Luckily I was picking up my parents from
SEATAC Monday and I could pick it up then.
Upon opening my bag, I found a note that said they found and destroyed
three Kinder Eggs because they are illegal in the US, but they managed to leave
behind one in my bag…
Things I learned from this trip: 1) When ordering a taxi,
give an hour of cushion instead of a half hour; 2) again I am confirmed in my
decision to leave Mexico after this year; 3) I’ll always double check my
luggage tags; and 4) Expecting the worst but relying on God’s Sovereignty is a
good combination.
It’s good to be home.
5th) You are not Benito. ~Van
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