Another type of experience regarding check cashing. When we adopted Brenda, we had spent a huge amount of money and made 14 driving trips to Mexico and paid several fees to INS, always using a personal check. So, the final day arrived, we went to the US Condulate, near the bull ring in Tijuana, and discovered that they needed $200 and it had to be in cash before they would let her immigrate. I can't even tell you how many hoops we had jumped through by that time. It is nearly impossible to adopt in Mexico. So, we got back in our beat up Dodge minivan and drove to the nearest bank, where an English speaking teller happily cashed a $200 check on an Oregon bank. I was near tears. It was probably the only easy part of the whole adoption.
After processing out, we drove to the San Ysidro border crossing. We couldn't get her wheelchair out of the packed van, so Bruce drove over the border and I carried her into the border station. The escalator was broken and I had to carry her up the stopped escalator. By the time we got to the top, I was staggering. She was eight years old. We got her papers, managed to get through a turnstyle where the worker was truly rude. He gave me the nastiest look. I read, "What are you eve thinking (you bleeding heart old lady) bringing this crippled Mexican kid into the States. Out on the US side, I had no idea where Bruce and the car had gone. I just sat down in the dirt with Brenda in my lap, crying again, and vowed never EVER to return to Mexico. Nancy
