@Papa-pepper is not exactly a fan of certain things.
One such thing is paying foolish amounts of money to people when you don't have to. First off, oral health is important. I hear that if it gets bad enough, it can kill you. Yet, you need a separate insurance for your teeth, as if they weren't part of your body, LOL. After the life I once lived, I'm glad to still have teeth, but that's another story for another day. Additionally, I think that I will be doing some research soon, because I have a hunch that "The Food Pyramid" is a scam.
Anyway, over the years, I've spent a lot on dental work. During one such incident, I went to a dentist with the intention of having him pull a tooth. Instead, I let him upsell me into a root canal that not only cost me thousands of dollars, it also didn't take. After paying for the procedure, I still wound up at a funeral in south Texas with an incredible problem. Thankfully, I was only about fifteen minutes from the border of Mexico, so I crossed it and went to find a dentist. $300 later, the problem was solved.
Isn't that interesting. Somehow I allowed myself to get talked into spending thousands of dollars out of my own pocket for a procedure that did not work. Then, for just a few hundred dollars, I had the same procedure done better in another country.... Thus began my love affair with buying things in Mexico, even teeth!
Since @mama-pepper has family members in south Texas down near the border, it only takes us a few more minutes to head into Mexico. Since this is one of those borders that people have put up around the world, there are checkpoints. For this reason I park on the United States side and walk across into Mexico. Trust me, it takes a lot less time to search me than it does to search my vehicle.
Earlier today, I took a stroll into Mexico by myself. I would bring some of the @little-peppers, but when I am going for dental work, the potential for certain things is on another level. For one, a dentist could choose to put me under against my will. Now the place that I go is one that I have been to three times already, but still. Any time you let someone inject something into you, you are taking a certain risk and choosing to trust them. If @papa-pepper gets unintentionally put under, it's one thing, but if I get put under while I have @little-peppers with me that's a completely different situation.
Again, I'm not saying that anything will happen to me like that, just that it is a potential possibility, and one should at least attempt to be intelligent in certain situations. I'm sure plenty of people would also suggest not travelling alone in foreign countries, but sometimes options are limited.
THE ACTUAL BORDER CROSSING
To cross into Mexico via the international bridge, the first thing that you need is 50 cents. Yes, without paying 50 cents, you will not be able to legally make it past this turnstile.
Since quarters are the acceptable tender here, your 50 cents should look like this. If you are unable to come up with two quarters, you may have to change your plans.
You will also want to keep in mind that it costs 25 cents to get out of Mexico. I guess that they sort of treat it like a bad amusement park; 50 cents to get in and 25 cents to get back out again. Please remember this when you are making your travel plans. If your goal is simply to head into Mexico, you will want to budget about 50 cents. However, if you want to come back from Mexico, make sure that you have an extra quarter, or 75 cents total. This will be important. Also, please remember that the extra quarter does not guarantee that you will return from Mexico, it'll just help you when you reach the turnstile on the way back. If you want to make purchases besides just the admission fee and the exit tax, like perhaps teeth for instance, you will need to save up more than 75 cents to be able to go to Mexico.
If you follow the international bridge over the Rio Grande, then you know that you are heading in the correct direction, and Mexico should be in your immediate future.
Halfway across the international bridge, there is a sign letting you know that only half of your body has successfully made it into the unseen, imaginary lines that only shows up on maps. If you continue in the direction that you were going, the rest of your body should follow you out of the United States.
At the end of the bridge, there is now a convenient sign like the one above. It did not use to be there, so I'm not sure what tragedy occurred to inspire the implementation of this sign. I'm guessing that someone accidentally got turned around and walked back into the United States, thinking that it was Mexico, and rather than coming to the realization that perhaps they need to put down their smart phone, stop texting their friends and taking selfies, and pay attention to where they are walking, they probably just sued Mexico instead because they did not have a sign with that arrow thingy pointing which way they were supposed to go. Thankfully, the sign is there now, so I was successful.
The arrow thingy on the sign points into this room. Yes, it has a metal detector/x-ray thingy machine or something and a chair in it with a monitor, but the chair is currently empty. I was probably part of some sort of "upgrade" to Mexican border security which got put into their budget. Now, rather than walking up the sidewalk into Mexico like I used to, I get to look at this machine and chair on my way in. It definitely makes me... something... I'm just not sure what yet.
WELCOME TO MEXICO
If you complete all the steps in this process, then you will successfully be on Mexican soil. For those of you who need a refresher, here are the steps to the entry process.
- Save up a minimum of 50 cents.
- Use the 50 cents to pass the turnstile level of border security.
- Begin walking across the bridge that spans the Rio Grande.
- Once you reach the halfway point, keep going or it will not work.
- Follow the sign with the arrow thingy on it into the security room.
- Walk past the chair and the machine thingy.
TODAY'S AGENDA
Most of my agenda today was business. Well, the first time I went my agenda was business, but then I got back to America and was hungry, so I went back across for dinner, but that too is another story. Anyway, my business was mostly dental and vision care.
With no appointment or referral, I walked into a dentist office that I had not been to in years. Amazingly, they skipped the whole "You missed your six month checkup so I'll have to charge you extra this time" mantra and let me head right in and grab a seat. This seat was different that the ones in the United States though, as it has all sorts of dentisty things around it. I was formerly used to the seats with small tables covered in magazines and root canal brochures. I guess that these dentists do not realize that making customers wait can make the business seem more important, and therefore worthy of higher prices. LOL - foolish foreigners!
In no time the dentist was hard at work evaluating the situation. Today I needed an extraction so that I can get an implant in a couple months, so the dentist numbed me up and got to business.
This tooth had been a problem tooth for me for some time. Thankfully, it is gone now.
I have a whole where it used to be, but I hear that once that hole heals, the dentists down here can put a new on in for me real cheap. Honestly, it is cheaper for me to drive to Mexico, go shopping, stay in a hotel, check out the zoo, hit South Padre Island, eat some delicious food for a week, and get my teeth fixed in Mexico than it is to have the same work done in the United States, depending on what the actually job is. If I choose to have some work done in the United States, it costs me more, I have to wait longer, and no one gets to have any fun.
Once that tooth was successfully ripped out of my mouth, we were all very happy.
Even the teeth and turtle on the wall were happy about this one!
VISION CARE
Sometimes, having an eye exam can help. Other times, people know that their prescription has not changed and that an exam may not really be necessary, at least for the customer. In Mexico, they make it easy... almost too easy.
They put little neon signs in front of certain buildings. If you are intelligent enough to navigate your way into the correct building without the help of one of those arrow thingies, then they will do business with you. It kind of made me feel like I had somehow managed to make it past their rigorous entrance into their secret club. Yeah, the clever lack of the arrow thingy didn't fool me. I know what big pictures of glasses meant!
Without an appointment or exam, I was able to simply tell the employee my needs and they produced the goods! Look at that, a whole pile of -3.75 and -2.25 contact lenses, lying on the counter within seconds!
CUE THE DISTRACTION
Since this completed the business part of my international journey, it was time for me to hit the streets! Lots of people kept asking me if I needed a dentist, and many others asked if I needed a pharmacy. The pharmacy guys are funny, because they start off slow, and mention things like antibiotics and heartburn medication. Then, as you get farther away, they try harder and shout louder, "Vicodin, Oxycontin, Morphine!"
The pharmacy guys are not alone. Plenty of people are hard at work attempting to sell their goods or services. Often, I will humor them although my actual need may not exist.
The thirteen year old who shined my boots for me did a great job. He was actually trying to provide a service rather than just begging, and I paid him well for his effort.
With so many great things for sale, it is hard to stick to the plan. One good thing to remember is that in the store, things have price tags, and usually that is how much the item costs. It kind of reminds me of stores back in the states. On the street, however, the prices change rapidly. If you are offered something for $45, you may want to stop, look at it, and keep walking. Sometimes they will give you an instant discount for every few steps you take away. To maximize this discount, make sure to stop every time that you hear a new price and look back at the item. As long as you keep turning back away from the item and walking, the price may continue to have an instant discount applied to it. I think that stores in the United States should try this. I think that they would sell a lot more items. I certainly bought a lot more items this way.
Eventually, my purchases looked like this. This is when I began to miss the @little-peppers and regret travelling abroad alone. Soon, a solution presented itself. Four young people offered their services to me. Although we agreed on a set price, they allowed me to pay them four times as much.
My favorite part was when we passed the restrooms at the beginning of the bridge. They all spoke rapidly in Spanish to me, set down my things, and ran into the restrooms. Upon returning just moments later, they began to pick my things back up. Quickly, I told them, "Eh! Todos los empleados tienen que lavarse los manos antes de regesar al trabajo."
They looked at me and immediately ran right back into the restrooms as quickly as they had the first time. After a few seconds they all returned again, but this time with wet hands.
What I thought was really cool about my hired hands is that the Mexican border police let them carry my things all the way onto American soil on the other side of the bridge. From there, I was on my own though.
BACK TO MEXICO
As a surprise for my lovely steemians out there, I started a business deal south of the border today. I've got to rendezvous with a man in Mexico at high noon on Friday, and pick up the goods. He has been given a deposit and shown that he is capable of producing what I desired, so I think that the deal will be successful. For now, let's just say that Papa has a little gift for you. I'll keep you posted.
TL;DR
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-mexico
Until next time…
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