The airport has a lounge, power outlets, and free Wi-Fi. I've been on my feet for 2 days, and there have been no luggage lockers since 9/11. Turning on good old Skype, I found my Mexican friend Hector, who kindly watched my bags via webcam while I slept peacefully with headphones on so he could report the situation to me:)

Never lose hope for the best - open your heart and eyes: you will see happiness in simple things, you will appreciate them and rejoice.

And I found my happiness. Where I least expected it and barely hoped for it. That's how my greatest life journey began.

Mexico is a country known for its illegal immigrants, drugs, and wars. But only part of that is true. I saw another side.

If you enter Mexico for no more than 32 kilometers, it's a free economic zone for which you don't legally need a visa. If your US visa is multientry, you are very lucky. The checkpoint doesn't require documents, and bags are rarely checked. You just pay 75 cents and walk into a completely different country, from which you must return by September 6th. There is also a rule that from the moment you cross the border (which isn't recorded anyway) visa-free, you must return to the States within 30 days. The way back is more complicated. When you go from Mexico to the States, your passport and visa are checked very thoroughly, they ask a lot of questions, and they might even detain you for 3-4 hours to check documents. Sometimes it reached the point of absurdity: after a question about the circumstances of my stay in Mexico, the next one was about why I am friends with Mexicans. For all the suffering, a gift - chips and juice after the check;) It was necessary to have absolutely all documents with me, and my termination letter helped a lot here. They called my boss for a long time and checked the circumstances, questioning the invalid status of a seasonal worker (under the Work and Travel program). What was important was denying living in Mexico, so I also had an American address (Hec's friends were very kind to confirm this).

Why did I decide to live in Mexico? The fact is:

Prices there are significantly lower, as income is also correspondingly low. The average cost of a kilo of bananas is 20 US cents, mangoes - 40, potatoes - 50 cents per kilo. Meat is the basis of Mexican cuisine, one and a half to two dollars per kilo. I could feed myself on what was left even with low earnings...

I had a friend who took me in with his family for 2 months for free - I felt like a person again who had a family and support.

Mexicans are welcoming and open, very kind and responsive people, at least in their own country. It doesn't matter what city you are in - big or small, you will see style, taste, care for yourself and your family, health, and religiosity.

But living in Mexico was still not easy, because the border is a hot spot in the war for influence between three forces - the southern mafia, the northern one, and the federals. I saw many dangerous situations, but there was still more that was pleasant.