I crossed the border at San Ysidro on foot a couple times when living in San Diego. I found it entirely predictable that the CBP 'cops' were generally rude and

I crossed the border at San Ysidro on foot a couple times when living in San Diego. I found it entirely predictable that the CBP 'cops' were generally rude and off-putting. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Mexican military officers were not constantly scowling and didn't point their weapons at me when I accidentally took a left into their facility instead of turning right to walk onto the streets of Tijuana (they tried Spanish first, presumably because I'm brown, but then asked me politely in English to turn around and go the other way). The only thing that really surprised me was that my friend was able to return to the United States without any documentation after losing his wallet. Then again, he was a white kid with a Louisville accent. Like he said, "Not a hard decision for them which side of the border I should be on". I was scared shitless of losing my passport and I-20 the whole time I was there, being a non-citizen. I found the Mexican officers' demeanor to be similar to the German federal officers one sees in German airports; not constantly smiling (except perhaps at children), but if you cross glance with them they'll usually smile & acknowledge you. Also as with most people surrounded by foreigners they'll definitely smile if you say something nice in their language.