We hear a lot from people that they’re scared to cross the border and visit Tijuana and Baja California. In this episode we share our experiences and some research we’ve done to help understand this fear better.

It all started around 2008 when the Mexican President at the time began to fight the Tijuana Cartel to reduce violence. This lead to a weaker cartel which then lead to a turf war between the Tijuana and Sinaloa cartels. During this time there were many cases of murder and violent crimes in the border town, which scared off virtually all tourists. Even those of us that had been visiting there for years.

We spoke with several friends and acquaintances and couldn’t find anyone that had spent any fair amount of time down there that had any fear of visiting.

Ben did some research as well into the crime statistics for Mexico and he found:

Anthony Bourdain had a great episode on Baja California that if you’re at all interested you need to watch. He visits lots of places and ends with a great quote which we’ll leave you with here ?

“We forget, most of us don’t even know about this amazing microclimate just south of San Diego another Napa right beneath our noses. Okay, Mexico is a country with a lot of problems but they are our neighbors. Our relationship with Mexico, however reluctant, is a lot more intimate and a lot more romantic than we even have with Canada.

I don’t know if the determination of a few musicians and chefs that we decided to make the most of a bad situation will save the world. I don’t know if incredible ingredients and exciting emerging culinary culture will change things around for Baja, but if there’s any justice in the world, it will. “ – Anthony Bourdain

Ben just got back from his trip to Mexico city so we sat down to hear how it went. Ben was there with his brother for his bachelor party (Despedida de Soltero) and visited many areas, the huge park Chapultepec, and enjoyed a ton of great food.

Ben stayed in Downtown near the Palacio de Las Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) which was filled with tons of people on the weekend for shopping and eating. Shopping is organized into separate areas based on the type of items (Medical supplies, Men’s Clothing, etc.) and there were lots of people trying to get you to buy their products as is typical in a busy shopping area.

Most of the time Ben was in La Roma and La Condeza area however. These areas are known as a Hipster area which means great food and drinks as well as beards and skinny jeans. At night these areas came alive with a vibrant young community that is progressing the cuisine and cocktail scene.

Beyond the hipster areas Ben and his brothers went to the “Central Park” of Mexico City named Chapultepec. This park once was the home of the Mexican president and now is the home to some of North America’s finest Museums. There Ben spent some time watching the performers in park as well as learning about Mexican history in the Museo de Antropología (Museum of Anthropology).

While the trip was filled with mostly eating and checking out cultural things, Ben and his brothers also made it to a salsa club “Mama Rumba”. This was an experience. Ben said that all 300 people in the club danced at a professional level and the eight piece band was killing it. Ben gave it his best to learn with the help of a young couple they met, but alas his skills are more appropriately focused on computers rather than the dance floor.

On the way back Ben was able to use the new Cross Border Express CBX bridge from the Tijuana airport directly across the border into San Diego. We have a saying here in San Diego aboout this place “We build bridges, not walls”

The CBX now allows people to park or get dropped off in San Diego at the entry to CBX and then walk directly across the border into the Tijuana airport. This is super convenient because the TJ airport has many more direct flights to other parts of Mexico and using the bridge saves hours of waiting at the border.

This week Ben interviews a former colleague and friend of his with a unique backstory. Jonathan Zaidman comes from a family that immigrated to Mexico years ago after being turned down by the United States when they were fleeing their homes in eastern Europe for fear of persecution.

There were many that fled this area, especially Jewish people, that were turned away by the United States due to quotas already being filled. They ended up making their way to Mexico City where they created businesses and thrived.

After a couple generations being born and raised in Mexico City, Jonathan’s parents relocated to San Diego where he was born and raised. During his time here in San Diego he spoke solely Spanish in the house while English out in the public.

Jonathan is the founder of the 1 to 1 Movement, a sustainability outreach program to help teach kids about living greener lives. You can find more about his project at their website: http://1to1movement.org/

Enjoy!

We’re so excited to share with you our recent trip down to Valle de Guadalupe! If you’re not familiar, this is Baja’s burgeoning wine country that sits just east of Ensenada about 1.5hrs south of San Diego.

For the drive down we took the 1D freeway which is a toll road because it is generally free of traffic and well maintained. This freeway also runs along the mostly undeveloped coastline of Baja which is beautiful.

After arriving we were blown away by how many wineries (vinicolas) and restaurants are there. Valle is home to 110 wineries and some of the best restaurants in the world. Our first stop was at Lechuza winery which was unfortunately closed due to an upcoming festival and being completely booked.

After trying a couple other wineries we discovered that during this month (Fiesta de Vendimia) most wineries are only open on Saturday and Sunday for tasting or by appointment only. Make sure to check before heading down!

For a late lunch / early dinner we were fortunate to get a table at Deckman’s restaurant. This place is amazing. Deckmans is on a Mogor-Badan farm and vineyard so it is beautiful and the food is some of the best you’ll ever have. We enjoyed a cinco tiempo degustacíon (5 course tasting) of ostras (oysters), scallops (vieiras), qual (cordoniz), succling pig (lechon asado), helado con fresa (strawberry ice cream) that hit the spot.

Beyond just the food, the wine from Mogor and the beer from nearby Agua Mala was incredible and we ended up buying a bottle to bring back.

After Deckman’s we visited Adobe Guadalupe and enjoyed some more tastings and yes, more food. We can’t really over hype how great the food is down there. No matter your preference you’ll be happy with what you find.

We wish we had more time down there than just one day but will undoubtedly return again, maybe on one of the great tour options. Enjoy!

This week we give some updates in our learning journey including trying to get a SENTRI pass, Spanish play dates, making reservations in Spanish, and using some new apps to help build vocabulary.

We also started back at the Culture and Language center taking lessons and have lots to share. You’ll hear what it feels like to take a year off and some of the things that we got rusty at due to lack of practice. Enjoy!

This week we recount a trip we went on early in our Spanish learning journey to Nicaragua. Often for Jennie’s birthday the weather here in San Diego is pretty rainy so we end up traveling, this time to an amazing tropical destination and surf paradise.

The trip was five days in a small town called Playa Gigante at the Papaya Wellness surf and yoga retreat. During the five days we had many opportunities to advance our Spanish speaking as well as interact with many locals and make new memories in an amazing country. Enjoy!

This week Jennie and Ben went to a local Mexican restaurant in Barrio Logan, a very authentic Mexican area near downtown San Diego. At the restaurant they had a really authentic experience ordering, eating, and chatting w/ the ladies making all the food.

The place is staffed by a bunch of old(er) Mexicanas that do things the traditional way. When you ask for Carne, it means pork. There are only about 3 or 4 items on the menu, and it’s cash only. The name? Las Cuatros Milpas which means “The four cornfields”.

If you’re in San Diego ever and looking for an authentic Mexican meal, this is one of the best places to try. Beware though, there is nothing gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan here, just pure traditional Mexican style food.

This week we get to hear from Jennie’s cousin, Michael Field, who went through a Spanish immersion program as a child and is planning an upcoming study abroad in South America. Michael started his journey at an early age of 5 years old when his parents enrolled him in a Spanish immersion school in Portland, Oregon.

His journey has taken him to and from Spain many times where he lived as an exchange student with a local Spanish family. Throughout his and his sister’s life they have had this super-power of speaking the Spanish language fluently and in this episode you get to hear all about what that is like. Enjoy!

Our last two weeks were chock full of experiences in our learning journey including our son’s 1st birthday party and our trip to Portland to visit family. At Jack’s party we had some family and close friends over to celebrate with many speaking both Spanish and English, including Jack’s nanny Patricia.

On the trip to Portland to see family we started out by meeting a woman on our flight that had lived in Peru for 3 years prior and had great things to talk about in Spanish. Later in the week Jennie also had the opportunity to hear first hand from her two cousins that grew up in a Spanish immersion program what it was like and how it has influenced them as young adults.

This week we catch up with each other on how the week was as well as we did our first recording speaking Spanish in the wild! We took a mic with us on a recent journey out and about the town and got a few sound bites of us talking with others in Spanish.

This is the first of many peeks into what it’s really like to be learning a language and trying to speak with other, native Spanish speakers, in the wild. Who knows, maybe we’ll head to a Spanish speaking country soon to get more of these clips for you ?

Jennie had a bit rougher of a week which is how it goes sometimes. She shares her feelings and thoughts about how it was and possibly what to do next week to make it a better learning week. Enjoy!