Flag Day finally came this past Monday, Aug. 31st, and my fate was determined. I must say, it was extremely nerve wrecking ceremony, as each country's flag was presented and the name of the person headed there was mentioned. I listened intently as Uruguay, Honduras, Brazil, and other posts I had bid on went to other classmates. I nervously awaited as Mexican posts started floating by - one by one - and my name still had not been called. My good friends were each called: Izaak is headed to Bangkok,Thailand, Rob is headed to Maseru, Lesotho (Africa), and Darin is headed to Mumbai, India.
Finally there were two flags left for Mexico among the other Chinese posts and Slavik countries. While I knew it was a possibility that I could technically get China, I knew deep down, I was destined to head to a Mexican post. Unfortunately, I did not get Guadalajara, which I had hoped so much for, but instead as the second to last Mexican flag was called, I heard my name - Mexico: TIJUANA - Corey Bordenkecher. It was finally over, I released a big sigh of relief, as I could have easily been heading to Ciudad Juarez. Instead, my time in Tijuana will take me to one of the busiest American Citizens Services units in the world, as well as a huge non-immigrant visa unit. I cannot tell you just how excited I am, although many of the friends and family just don't believe me.
By the way, notice the spelling of Tijuana. This is commonly mispronounced as "Tiajuana = Tea/ah/wanna"...it is actually "Tijuana = Tea/wanna".jpg)
So what is American Citizens Services, you ask...and why is Tijuana one of the worlds largest? Well as soon as you understand one, you'll understand the other. American Citizens Services is virtually all services offered to American Citizens. This includes, jail visits, deaths, births, lost passports, etc. Now if you know anything about Tijuana, you will understands why there are so many Americans that find themselves needing consular services. Let's just say...a lot of alcohol, underage drinking (well technically in Mexico where the drinking age is 18, it is not underage), and a crazy night life. At the end of the day, the consular unit does a lot of jail visits. Furthermore, I found out that there are more than 300,000 Americans that actually live in Tijuana. This does make sense however considering that Tijuana is virtually 30-45 minutes south of San Diego, California. In fact, there are many citizens who work in San Diego but live in Tijuana becuase it is much cheaper and the dollar does go a little bit farther.
It isn't without saying that Tijuana does have it's down sides as well. It is not all glamorous, but at the end of the day, I am extremely excited to be going there. I will be close to the beach, close to San Diego, and not too far from Cabo San Lucas...so come on...who can complain? Also, one of my classmates will be joining as well after her training ends in mid 2010, so I will already know one person really well. She is originally from Los Angeles and has already told me that I will have to come to LA for Christmas since I will be so far away without family, etc....I just may have to take her up on that (I have never been to LA). Furthermore, with being so close to San Diego, flights home will be easy to come by, and easy for friends to come out and visit. Yes, you better come visit. ;-)
I will officially wrap up all of my training on Dec. 15th and it will then come down to if post wants me to come out just before Christmas or wait until after the New Year. I did find out that I will have to drive there from DC, since I will be bringing my vehicle. That is a little bit of a bummer, but at least I will have my vehicle with me as soon as I arrive, and of course, I get to take a little more baggage with me instead of having to pack a limited amoung and wait for it to arrive via air.
So that's it amigos. I have included some links here to check out some more info on Tijuana and I look forward to keeping you updated as time progresses through training and my adventures in Tijuana.
1) Short Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmxQXlTGxlE
2) US Consulate in Tijuana: http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/
3) Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tijuana
4) Tourism: http://www.seetijuana.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment