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 By: Suzanne Marie Bandick
An excerpt from her book Only in Mexico You Say?
Our family crossed the border to live in Mexico Sept. 10. 2001. We spent our first night in Hermosillo, in the Northwest of Mexico, in the state of Sonora. The next morning we came down to breakfast in our hotel and saw everyone crowded around a TV; the words Nuevo York were pasted on the screen along with pictures that showed what looked like a large building with a plane hitting it? Shock registered as we managed to piece together what little we could of what had happened in New York; the date was now September 11, 2001. It was not easy to understand what was going on as the TV channel was
in Spanish and no one had much knowledge of English and our Spanish was
very basic. We realized we needed to know more of what had happened.
We also got the news that the borders in and out of Mexico were now closed for an indefinite amount of time. We had just crossed the border the day before, what if we had not? Now we could not leave Mexico even if we wanted to, not that we had any intention of going back or giving up our dream, but when the border closes behind you and you are two countries away from home and you have no option to go back, you must go forward – that is a very different feeling. The world had changed overnight; yet somehow I felt safe here, in Mexico.
We traveled 2 1/2 hours to a little coastal town called San Carlos that day; thinking maybe someone there could tell us more. We actually spent 2 nights in San Carlos learning more details of what had happened in New York and what it meant to us and the world, as well as sending e-mails to let family and friends to let them know we were fine. To our surprise many people spoke English in this quiet little town; we learned at certain times of year it is actually full of Americans and Canadians.
Everyone we met, from this point on, no matter which was their home country was very concerned for the US and her people. Would there be more attacks? How would the US respond? Would it affect other countries? How could this be happening to the US anyway? We all shared whatever latest news we had. People everywhere showed how much they cared and everyone was very upset. The Mexican people in particular were so supportive and caring that all the towns we went to were canceling their own Independence Day celebrations in respect to the US.
Now, it was not long before we started getting low on cash and an interesting little thing resulted from the attack on the US that directly affected us as travelers; no one would now cash our US Traveler’s Checks as they apparently considered the fate of the USA and the value of its currency uncertain. How would you feel at this point? We certainly felt concern. Thank goodness for bank machines and Canadian bank accounts!
Fortunately, the uncertainty that the Mexican banks were feeling was cleared up in relatively short order. However, we knew life would never quite be the same for any of us.
This comes from a Canadian, living in Mexico, feeling her connection to the US.
Suzanne Marie Bandick is a Life Coach and the author of: Only in Mexico, You Say? The Humorous Side of Living in Mexico. Visit www.SuzanneMarieBandick.com or www.OnlyinMexicoYouSay.com
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