Problem Solved

I'm a happy girl! So I was really worried about finding a good school for my daughter that I could afford. And not only that, I was also really concerned about finding a church, we are Seventh Day Adventist. So as I was doing my 100th Google search today, I found a church and it's not just a church but a temple! While I was researching the temple I found a link to an Adventist private school that is not bilingual but does teach English and is only $140 a month! I am so happy because since my immigration journey began I prayed a lot to God and asked him to let me go home so that I could continue to attend church as a Family and I promised to make God a big part of our lives. Once we decided to move to Mexicali I was really sad because I could not find a good affordable school or a church and then bam, there it was today and I am thrilled! I can not only still attend church with my family but have it be apart of my daughter's school. I immediately called my husband on Skype to let him know and we both feel that this is a sign from God that Mexicali is where we are meant to be right now and that we only need to have faith and God will make everything fall into place. : )

Forgetting my English

So today while I was talking to my hubby and I realized something that I never thought would happen, I'm beginning to forget my English! I was trying to describe something to him and could not remember for the life of me how to say it in English so I said it in Spanish. I have also caught myself several times saying things backwards. You know how in English and Spanish everything is flipped, well I seem to be stuck on Spanish mode. I have always spoken Spanish my whole life but I speak English a lot better. It worries me because I have only been in Mexico 18 months and I still have 8 1/2 yrs to go. I tell my hubby all the time to only talk to me in English so I can practice but he wants to do the same so we end up speaking Spanglish. That is one language I dominate lol. It also got me thinking about my daughter. Since our original plan was to live in the States we have only taught her Spanish, thinking that when she starts school she will learn English right, well that's not gonna happen now.


I have been looking into putting her in bilingual school once we make the big move but dang its expensive! Who has an extra $300 - $400 a month to pay for that? I was talking to my aunt about it and she suggested we pick a good normal school and since both my husband and I speak English that we should teach her at home. Then I thought back to when I was a kid. I was only allowed to speak Spanish inside our home and outside was English. I guess I'll be doing the same for my daughter but flipped. Not a bad idea and it's a lot cheaper. Even though bilingual school is still an option we will know if we can even afford it once my hubby finds a job closer to where we will live which is still a few months away. So there you have it, my random thoughts for the day.

And so it begins...

         I never thought I would be the type of person to start a blog, but here I am. In a new chapter in my life and I am ready to begin living it. My name is Gaby and I started this blog in hopes that it will bring comfort and hope to others as other blogs have done for me. I was born in Mexico and left just before I turned 3. I lived in the United States for a year and then we moved to Canada for 7 yrs. We then returned to the States and I lived there for 11 years until I was deported on December 2, 2010. I have been happily married for almost 4 years, we have been together for 6 years but we have known each other since we were 5. Together we have our beautiful daughter who will be 3 next month.

         Since I have been in Mexico it has been a very long and hard immigration process that we began in 2009 and ended abruptly on June 4, 2012 the day of my visa interview. I was not only denied my visa but given a 10 year ban which will be up December 3, 2020! Ya, talk about devastating. We were definitely not prepared for that but I truly believe everything happens for a reason and I know that God is never wrong and everything happens as it should. God is so great that the very next day after receiving such terrible news we had found the solution to our problems. It began in our hotel we stayed at in Ciudad Juarez, that's where we meet a family from Mexicali. They told us to not give up and that if we were thinking of border living then Mexicali is the way to go. They made it sound amazing and the fact that my husband could continue to work in the States was a huge plus!

       Since I have been here we have struggled a lot financially and we were so worried that if we lived in Mexico and both worked, we would work crazy long hours, never have enough money or time for anything and would not be able to provide our daughter with a life she deserves. The couple told us that it is common in Mexicali for a family member to cross the border daily for work and that on an American salary they live very comfortably. I quickly began to do research and the more I found the more I began to fall in love with the place. Everyone we have asked about Mexicali has had nothing but great things to say about there, except for the heat of course. Well in a few short months my family will be making the move out there. Some think we are crazy because neither of us have ever even been to Mexicali before but after almost 2 years of living apart we are ready to be a family again. I miss my daughter and my husband more than words can say. And after reading so many other blogs with stories similar to mine it gives me hope and lets me know that there is life after this 10 year ban.


      I am so excited to start living again because since I have been in Mexico our lives have been frozen, time passes but we remain the same. I can't wait to wake up to my family again and start making new memories! To anyone who is going through a similar situation, just know that life goes on and it can still be as happy and fulfilling as ever. Its all on how you choose to view things. I see this ban not as a bad thing but as a new opportunity. God has other plans for me than the ones I seem to be making all the time and I'm okay with that. Home is where the heart is and soon I shall be home!! :)