My children and I lived in Tijuana for two years so my six children
(ages 1 to 12 when we arrived) could learn Spanish and be immersed in the
culture of their father’s side of the family. (My husband came to visit us

My children and I lived in Tijuana for two years so my six children
(ages 1 to 12 when we arrived) could learn Spanish and be immersed in the
culture of their father’s side of the family. (My husband came to visit us
two weekends every month; at the time he was a homicide investigator with
our local sheriff’s department, and there’s no such thing as a two-year
sabbatical — even if we could have afforded it.)

I read the bulletin posted earlier about the dangers of traveling in
certain parts of Mexico, and Tijuana was listed as a place with a high rate
of crime. We lived near the bullring in Fraccionamiento Escondida; it was
the most wonderful experience of our lives, and the only crime we
experienced was that a sweatshirt hanging on the line to dry disappeared.
Meanwhile, the bicycles we had left in America for safekeeping were stolen.

I always bought bottled water to drink– still do, as a matter of
fact, but we brushed our teeth from the tap. None of us was ever sick
during our stay — except for the two littlest ones, who got chicken pox
near the end of our stay.

My mother-in-law worried the entire time that something horrible
would happen, however. Luckily, we ignored her warnings. I say ignore your
relatives, and take a chance. It will be an adventure you’ll never forget.

~Deena Ortiz~