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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Airline Telephone Numbers
Passport, Visa, and border crossing requirements
Passport, Visa, and border crossing requirements
The U.S. government requires U.S. citizens entering the United States via land, sea, or air to have a passport, passport card, or other travel document approved by the Department of Homeland Security. Expedia strongly recommends that every traveler have a passport; if you don't have one, allow a minimum of six to eight weeks to obtain one.
- Children: All U.S. citizen children ranging in age from birth to 18 years are required to present their own passport when entering the United States at airports.
- Air Travel: Passports are required for U.S. citizens traveling to or from all international destinations, including Mexico or Canada.
- Land & Sea Travel: U.S. citizens returning home from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda, by land or sea, will be required to present one of the travel documents listed below:
- U.S. Passport
- U.S. Passport Card
- Enhanced Driver's License (EDL)
- Trusted Traveler Program Cards
EXCEPTION: U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port) and visit Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and/or countries of the Caribbean will be able to enter or depart the US with a birth certificate and government issued photo ID.
As of July 2009, Mexican nationals are required to present a visa in order to travel to Canada. For more information on this new policy, and how to obtain a visa, please read the visa requirements for Mexico.
For further information, see U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Web site
For information on passports, U.S. citizens can visit the State Department's Web site, or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center: (877) 4USA-PPT. Please allowat minimum six to eight weeks for processing of the passport application. If you need to travel urgently and require a passport sooner, expedited processing is available.
For information on obtaining and renewing a passport, visit the Passport Announcements page.
For information on entry requirements for a specific country, please go to the Entry/Exit Requirements section in the country-specific information for the country you are interested in. You may also contact the U.S. embassy or consulate of that country for further information.
To find U.S. entry requirements for non-citizens, read the U.S. visa information page.
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Shoes for Souls
Written by Danielle WallingsfordTuesday, 24 July 2012 18:18
A life changing experience for a local woman
Shannon Black heard God tell her “I want you to do that” as she listened to her friend Susan Hicks describe the blessings she received on a mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. But she thought to herself, “There’s no way I could ever do that.” She wondered how she would get off work and be away from her family. A few months later she heard someone else sharing their missionary experiences and she knew she had to make it happen.
“I just got chill bumps and I felt God telling me again, ‘I want you to do that.’” At that moment she grabbed Susan and said “Okay. I’ve got to do this!”
She and Susan, along with Susan’s husband Dennis Hicks and Rebecca Wells, found a way to do what God put in their hearts to do, and last October they made their way down to Mexico on a Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip.
Shoes for Orphan Souls is a humanitarian aid project of Buckner International. Their organization delivers shoes to thousands of children in many impoverished regions of the world, children who otherwise might spend their young life dealing with diseases brought on by walking the harsh earth in bare feet. Buckner sends individuals like Shannon and Susan to these children with the blessing of brand new shoes and the assurance of Jesus’s love.
Though the shoes are meant to be a gift for the children, Shannon felt that she was the one who truly received a blessing. “It was just so amazing to see how much a simple pair of shoes, something we take for granted every single day, meant to the kids. They loved them,” she said. The trip left Shannon with many unforgettable and life changing memories. She savored the simple beauty of singing a hymn, then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art, while others who worshiped sang the words in Spanish mi corazon entona la cancion, cuan grande es El. Shannon will also carry the memory of a little boy named Ernesto in her heart forever. Ernesto lived in an orphanage and walked with braces on his legs. She worked with him on Vacation Bible School activities, but before she could say goodbye a teacher took him to work on something else. Later she noticed Ernesto sitting in a corner, his feet without new shoes. She was able to wash his feet and place new shoes on his young feet. “That was special for me, to put his shoes and socks on after we had formed that special bond. It was just a really awesome experience,” she said.
Susan received her share of blessings on that trip as well. She visited a government orphanage. “They told us in the morning you’re going to be with some mentally challenged children,” she said. At first, the situation made Susan feel uneasy because, having had four healthy children, she had never been around children with disabilities before. Susan said, “I’m a talker and normally nothing ever prevents me from talking, but this day I couldn’t. I was just standing there thinking, ‘these children, what kind of life do they live?’” When she went into the room she noticed a girl, about 14 years old, who was sitting across the room moving her head back and forth. Her name was Patti. Susan sat down with her, took off her old shoes and washed her feet. But, before she could get the shoes on Hattie’s feet something amazing happened. “Tears are just pouring down my face and I’m trying so hard to keep it together,” she said. Then, inside Patti’s new shoes Susan found a note. It said, “God made you special, love Mallory.” In that moment, God gave solace to Susan. “I was like okay Lord, that’s it. God made her just the way she is. I don’t understand it and it doesn’t seem fair in my eyes, but God you just gave me an answer right there. This little girl is special in your eyes,” Susan remembered thinking.
Volunteers like Shannon and Susan help bring blessings to orphans across the globe, and they are rewarded with joyous hugs and kisses of small children whose grateful smiles will forever linger in their minds. If you too would like to help improve an impoverished child’s life by giving them a new pair of shoes you can drop-off a new pair of athletic shoes and socks to Calvary Baptist Church in Scottsboro by August 31. The shoes will be sent to Buckner International and processed to go out as a gift to a special child in need. For more information call 256-259-0385 or visit www.shoesfororphansouls.org
Shannon Black heard God tell her “I want you to do that” as she listened to her friend Susan Hicks describe the blessings she received on a mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. But she thought to herself, “There’s no way I could ever do that.” She wondered how she would get off work and be away from her family. A few months later she heard someone else sharing their missionary experiences and she knew she had to make it happen.
“I just got chill bumps and I felt God telling me again, ‘I want you to do that.’” At that moment she grabbed Susan and said “Okay. I’ve got to do this!”
She and Susan, along with Susan’s husband Dennis Hicks and Rebecca Wells, found a way to do what God put in their hearts to do, and last October they made their way down to Mexico on a Shoes for Orphan Souls mission trip.
Shoes for Orphan Souls is a humanitarian aid project of Buckner International. Their organization delivers shoes to thousands of children in many impoverished regions of the world, children who otherwise might spend their young life dealing with diseases brought on by walking the harsh earth in bare feet. Buckner sends individuals like Shannon and Susan to these children with the blessing of brand new shoes and the assurance of Jesus’s love.
Though the shoes are meant to be a gift for the children, Shannon felt that she was the one who truly received a blessing. “It was just so amazing to see how much a simple pair of shoes, something we take for granted every single day, meant to the kids. They loved them,” she said. The trip left Shannon with many unforgettable and life changing memories. She savored the simple beauty of singing a hymn, then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art, while others who worshiped sang the words in Spanish mi corazon entona la cancion, cuan grande es El. Shannon will also carry the memory of a little boy named Ernesto in her heart forever. Ernesto lived in an orphanage and walked with braces on his legs. She worked with him on Vacation Bible School activities, but before she could say goodbye a teacher took him to work on something else. Later she noticed Ernesto sitting in a corner, his feet without new shoes. She was able to wash his feet and place new shoes on his young feet. “That was special for me, to put his shoes and socks on after we had formed that special bond. It was just a really awesome experience,” she said.
Susan received her share of blessings on that trip as well. She visited a government orphanage. “They told us in the morning you’re going to be with some mentally challenged children,” she said. At first, the situation made Susan feel uneasy because, having had four healthy children, she had never been around children with disabilities before. Susan said, “I’m a talker and normally nothing ever prevents me from talking, but this day I couldn’t. I was just standing there thinking, ‘these children, what kind of life do they live?’” When she went into the room she noticed a girl, about 14 years old, who was sitting across the room moving her head back and forth. Her name was Patti. Susan sat down with her, took off her old shoes and washed her feet. But, before she could get the shoes on Hattie’s feet something amazing happened. “Tears are just pouring down my face and I’m trying so hard to keep it together,” she said. Then, inside Patti’s new shoes Susan found a note. It said, “God made you special, love Mallory.” In that moment, God gave solace to Susan. “I was like okay Lord, that’s it. God made her just the way she is. I don’t understand it and it doesn’t seem fair in my eyes, but God you just gave me an answer right there. This little girl is special in your eyes,” Susan remembered thinking.
Volunteers like Shannon and Susan help bring blessings to orphans across the globe, and they are rewarded with joyous hugs and kisses of small children whose grateful smiles will forever linger in their minds. If you too would like to help improve an impoverished child’s life by giving them a new pair of shoes you can drop-off a new pair of athletic shoes and socks to Calvary Baptist Church in Scottsboro by August 31. The shoes will be sent to Buckner International and processed to go out as a gift to a special child in need. For more information call 256-259-0385 or visit www.shoesfororphansouls.org
Recipe for Oaxacan-style carne asada JULY 24, 2012
Recipe for Oaxacan-style carne asada
Serves 4
You might not be able to re-create the atmosphere of the smoky alleyway in the Mercado 20 Noviembre, but carne asada at home couldn’t be easier. Grill skirt or flank steak and pork cutlet, then briefly grill tortillas. Add cilantro-flavored guacamole, lots of onion, and don’t worry too much about authenticity.
GUACAMOLE
| 2 | ripe avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled |
| Juice of ½ lime | |
| ⅓ | cup water |
| Handful fresh cilantro leaves | |
| Pinch of salt |
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2. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate.1. In a food processor, combine avocados, lime juice, water, cilantro, and salt. Puree until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more lime juice, if you like.
MEAT
| ½ | pound skirt steak or flank steak |
| ½ | pound boneless pork cutlet, trimmed of fat |
| 1 | teaspoon ancho chili powder, or anotherfavorite chili |
| 1 | large sweet onion, quartered |
| 1 | bunch scallions, tops trimmed |
| Canola or vegetable oil (for sprinkling) | |
| 4 | medium, mild green chilies, such as Anaheim |
| Salt and pepper, to taste | |
| 8 | large flour or corntortillas |
| 1 | bunch radishes, sliced |
| 1 | can or jar (16 ounces) nopales (in the Latin section of supermarkets) |
| 2 | ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced |
1. Light a charcoal grill or turn a gas grill to medium-high.
2. Pound the meat between two sheets of plastic wrap, using fresh sheets when switching meats. Cover both sides of the pork cutlet with chili powder. Transfer to a plate and cover. Refrigerate both meats.
3. In a bowl, combine the onion and scallions. Sprinkle with oil. Set on the grill rack with the chilies. Grill scallions for 5 minutes or until charred, chilies 3 minutes on a side, onions 10 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
4. Sprinkle the meats with salt and pepper. Set on grill rack and cook steak about 3 minutes on a side, pork about 4 minutes on a side or until both are cooked through.
5. Add the tortillas to the grill rack. Cook about 30 seconds on a side; stack on a plate.
6. Spread a little guacamole on a tortilla and add meat and vegetable. Garnish with radishes, nopales, and tomatoes.Luke Pyenson
In Oaxaca, you’ll find an alley offering smoky grilled meats By Luke Pyenson | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JULY 24, 2012
In Oaxaca, you’ll find an alley offering smoky grilled meats
LUKE PYENSON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
A vendor at the Mercado 20 Noviembre in Oaxaca behind a shelf of various meats.
OAXACA, Mexico — Travelers know there is something special about the state of Oaxaca. A longtime destination for explorers of all kinds, the laid-back colonial capital of Oaxaca de Juarez, known simply as Oaxaca, is justly well known for being the “land of seven moles.” Those prized, saucy dishes range from the jet black mole negro to the golden-red mole amarillo.
But in an area where complexity in cuisine is celebrated, it’s worth knowing that one of Oaxaca’s culinary marvels is simply grilled meat wrapped in a tortilla. Eating carne asada at the Mercado 20 Noviembre is an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Located just a few blocks past the zocalo, or main square, the Mercado 20 Noviembre (named for the day on which Mexicans commemorate the Mexican revolution) is full of good things. The Mexican dining schedule resembles that of Spain. The main meal of the day, called comida, is in the afternoon. Therefore, the time to hit the market is between 2 and 6 p.m, when you’ll find many small comedors (modest food stalls with a counter and stools) selling solid, cheap food prepared by seasoned Oaxaquenas who also know their way around a good mole.
Better comedors will be serving a couple of selections each day, and it’s helpful to check out several of them first to see what’s on offer before making a decision. Smoke drifts into this area from an adjacent alleyway of primal pleasures, and it is wise to follow that smoke to the alley of carne asada vendors, located right next to the main market building.
Hawkers, bright lights, and displays of unrefrigerated raw meats prove to be a perfect storm of tourist deterrents. Mainly local families crowd the handful of communal tables toward the end of the alley. Each stall down the roughly city-block-long alleyway sells a few different kinds of meat, to be grilled “al carbon,” or over coals. There is tasajo, a type of thinly pounded, air-dried, salted beef; cecina enchilada, a thin pork cutlet covered in chili powder; fat little links of fragrant pork chorizo; thin slices of steak; and the occasional ropelike pieces of beef tripe blowing in the smoky wind. All are delicious, and are possible to enjoy together, as part of a “mixta,” or mixed platter.
LUKE PYENSON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Customers put together their tortillas from grilled meats, vegetables, chilies, and sauces.
The meat is accompanied by grilled onions and charred chiles de agua (a mild, medium-size green chili pepper native to the region) from another stall in the alley. When you order meat from the meat vendors, they coordinate with the vegetable cooks, and at the end somebody brings you everything at once. This might include slices of fresh radishes, strips of nopales (cactus pad), and whole avocados criollos, the smaller, deeper green-fleshed forefather to the modern varieties. There is also, of course, guacamole, but don’t expect the chunky stuff you get in the States. Here, guacamole is more of a sauce than a dip; thin but with a little body.
The stage is set for everything to be stuffed into blandas, which are large, soft, Oaxacan tortillas made of pure corn. Diners create their handheld feasts and meals are shared over paper place mats without implements or the slightest hint of pretension. The end result is not unlike the Tex-Mex fajita, without the sizzle.
Pilar Cabrera, chef of the popular La Olla restaurant in Oaxaca and its cooking school, La Casa de Los Sabores, understands the appeal of the carne asada alley. “It’s a way to eat quickly and not too expensively,” she says. “It’s an example of how simple food can be as good as the most delicious mole you can make at home.”
Perhaps most people are not making a mole as good as the chef’s. But the reality is, even the locals aren’t eating moles every day. When in Oaxaca de Juarez, after you sample the moles, satisfy your appetite with smoky, grilled meat, pillowy tortillas, and indigenous avocados.
Mercado 20 Noviembre Between Calles 20 de Noviembre and Miguel Cabrera (the alley is impossible to miss) at Calle Aldama, Oaxaca.
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