23 November, 2005

theborder

Jill and i just got back from our ninth country together: Mexico! actually, in many respects Tijuana hardly counts as another country, but at least we saw a side that most Americanos don't bother to look for. we stayed well clear of Avenida Revolucion, and headed for the Centro Cultural Tijuana, in the newish downtownish area. this part of town has apparently seen a lot of work over the past few years, trying to turn it into a place that would lure turistas away from the Revolucion; they even put a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln in the middle of a roundabout:


Honest Abe and me, just hanging out in TJ.

like all Americans would (?), i just had to see it, even though Jill was none too thrilled about walking all the way down there. what kind of patriot is she anyway? besides, after i dragged her down there, threatening her with near death from a thousand crazy drivers, i took her to the cool IMAX theater inside the huge ball that gives the cultural center its distinctive look. we saw the National Geographic film "Fuerzas de la Naturaleza", or "Forces of Nature", which was narrated by Kevin Bacon. trouble was, he, or whoever was pretending to be him, was speaking Spanish, so we missed a bit of the meaning. but there were cool pictures of volcanoes exploding, and it only cost about US$2 each to get in. they even gave us a student discount with our American IDs.


Jill and me at the cultural center. that's her bag, promise.

next time we go, we're heading for the luxury movie theater at the Rio shopping center. comfy sofa seats, tickets still cheaper than you can get up here, and who knows, Kevin Bacon may have dubbed one of the movies. in any case, Tijuana proper is pretty cool. next time you go, get your cheap souvenir shopping done quick and head for the downtown; it's pretty nice, and Honest Abe will be waiting.

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