3/23/10

On the road again

Driving back up the Baja Peninsula. The grass is lush and tall and the wild flowers are blooming everywhere. This is definitely not the same landscape we saw on the drive down.
Aili has taken up knitting which is a good way to keep her busy fingers, busy.
The border crossing. Leaving Mexico behind.


Its really a shame that we don't see these north of the border. Where else can you find a giant flaming Mary statue or an un-liscenced Curious George?

or a large rooster?

On a more serious note. Crossing over into the U.S and leaving behind everything familiar has been harder than I anticipated. Not that I'm not enjoying public bathrooms with not only toilet seats but paper seat covers but it's strange how foreign and even overwhelming everything looked. Going from rural Mexico into the bustling city of San Diego is a bit of an extreme change. I turned my Spanish worship up loud and held on to the last bit of my life in Mexico that I could.
We spent Sunday and Monday night at an rv park in the San Diego area. We spent the day yesterday hanging out at Mission beach and visiting an old school amusement park and video arcades.
Silas' first impressions of the U.S compared to rural Baja.
"That is a BIG side walk" (The first large paved parking lot we parked in)
"Someone needs to sweep this patio!" (another , possibly dirtier, paved parking lot)
"That girl is wearing her underwear" (A woman in short shorts)
"That girl is naked!" (A woman in short shorts and a tube top)
It's been funny to watch the kids readjust to a different environment, and I admit at times a little embarassing. It was also a lot of fun to spend the day just enjoying each other. Our focus was just on our own kids and our family. For almost 6 months our focus has been on so many other kids and ministries that it was good for all of us to just re-group and enjoy each other.

We will be pulling out of California and making our way toward Canada this morning. We do have some reminders of Mexico and are setting of a "bug bomb" in our trailer while we are all in our car travelling. The sand fleas got really bad before we left Mexico, I suspect the recent warmer weather and the wet winter made the sand fleas were pretty happy. We haven't had more than a couple little bites all winter but the last few weeks have been miserable. If you have ever been bit by a flea, and reacted to it, you know how intense and horrible the itching is. Aili is covered from head to toe right now in bites. They seem to only like her, me, and Silas has a couple bites. They are picky I guess. Poor Aili looks like she has chicken pox! Anyone who knows would understand how desperate and miserable we are if I am willing to spray chemicals all over my mobile home. I still don't know if its the right thing to do but bringing a trailer full of fleas home with us isn't an option. We may have only picked up one little flea but they have an unnerving way of multiplying.
I know to anyone who hasn't lived in a place like rural Mexico the idea of fleas is pretty gross. I have a clean ,frequently washed and vacuumed trailer (fortunately with no carpets) and my kids bath daily and have all winter. I guess its the price we pay when we are hugging kids that live in a poverty stricken area and running around in the Baja sand and dirt. We'll chalk it up to a missionary experience. :)
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