tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81428836088038805012024-03-13T05:47:17.692-07:00¡las aventuras mexicanas de kristen!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-1996534414896883152013-05-09T17:10:00.001-07:002013-05-09T17:10:26.258-07:00Ups and DownsApril was a pretty normal month around here. No special events at work, no traveling, just regular life with my Mexico family. As a result of this routine, I've been finding myself easily frustrated by many of the little things that help make up my life here.<br />
<ul>
<li>Constant dog barking (generally from my family's dogs, but other dogs as well)</li>
<li>All-too-common catcalls and whistles on the street as I walk to and from the bus stop</li>
<li>Eating the same foods over and over and over again</li>
<li>Taxis honking at me when I'm waiting for the bus. Unless you can take me across town for 6 pesos, I'm not interested!</li>
</ul>
These are little things that have happened with enough frequency this year to set me on edge quite quickly. But at the same time, there are so many little blessings.<br />
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The day my host mom saw how tired I was when I got home from work, and immediately went to check the boiler so I would have hot water for a shower.<br />
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A walk to Walmart with Humberto and Maury. It exhausted them but they wanted to spend time with me. Maury affectionately called me hermanita, but when Humberto tried to do the same he was quickly reprimanded because I'm <i>only</i> his cousin. Maury wants that brother title all to himself.<br />
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The chance to cook American style food for my coworkers.<br />
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Nightly conversations with my host mom over dinner.<br />
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The joy of watching newborn kittens grow up.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-60103102190249025392013-04-08T15:55:00.003-07:002013-04-08T17:24:19.443-07:00Accepting Hospitality<div style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">ALEM is a pretty tight knit community. Most of the team rides to and from work together, comida is eaten as a group, and there are occasional group outings that are always really fun. It's also common for someone to bring or buy snacks and share with everyone. Today, for example, Raul brought a package of donuts and a 2 liter of coca cola to share with everyone. I caught myself this afternoon trying to figure out how I can reciprocate, what type of snack I can bring to share with everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now, I don't think it's a bad thing to want to share with my coworkers. Rather it was the mindset I went into it with. Thinking that I have to contribute something too, in order to be more a part of the team and not always on the receiving end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Receiving hospitality. Why is that so difficult? Why can't I just gratefully accept my cold glass of coke on a hot afternoon, rather than worrying about how I can pay someone back? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It is one of the more difficult parts of my YAGM year. Recognizing that accepting the hospitality of my host community is one of the best ways to truly become a part of this community, while also recognizing that my cultural upbringing in the U.S. has taught me to not be a bother when I'm a guest, to be self-sufficient. But that doesn't work here. It isolates me. And I don't want to isolate myself here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Special thanks to the Buller family, who financially sponsored this past week in memory of their daughter <a href="http://radical-amor.blogspot.mx/2012/04/in-honor-of-sarah-buller.html">Sarah</a>. Happy 23rd Birthday Sarah!</span></div>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-29090066023639877202013-03-13T16:34:00.001-07:002013-03-13T16:34:37.946-07:00Baking with my family<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
Although I really enjoy cooking and baking, I don't get to help with that in my house very often. However, in the past week I've gotten to cook twice! Last Thursday I asked Zury if I could cook dinner for us, so while they were at karate I started cooking Aggkaka, a Swedish egg dish that's common in my family. Well, nothing in Mexico ever goes quite as planned. First, I couldn't find the measuring cups or the pan I was planning on using. So I mixed up what I could and thought I'd wait for my family to get back to finish. My family got home about 45 minutes later than I thought they would, so I didn't get going on dinner again until about 8:00. Once Zury dug out my measuring cups, I discovered that we needed a little more flour. So I went to the small grocery store around the corner from my house with Stefi, Humberto, and Maury. The whole way there they were asking what I was making. Aggkaka is a difficult enough dish to describe in English, so I didn't really want to attempt it in Spanish, so I told them they would just have to wait and see. That didn't sit too well, so they started guessing everything they could possibly think of that might contain flour.</div>
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"You need flour, so you're making bread, right?"</div>
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"Pizza!"</div>
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"Lasagna!"</div>
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"Cake!"</div>
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No, no, no, and no.</div>
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Back to the kitchen! I can never predict how things are going to turn out with a gas oven, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when it took twice as long as usual to cook, even with the heat turned up all the way. This meant we didn't eat until almost 9, so the kids were practically falling asleep at the table. I also never know how everyone is going to react to my recipes. I bit into my dinner, and it just tasted like home. Stefi, on the other hand, took two bites, and then politely picked at her meal before taking it to the kitchen and leaving for bed. Humberto and Maury both apparently liked it, but were too tired to eat much. More leftovers for me, I guess!</div>
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While walking to the store, Maury had also asked if I was going to use any of the pumpkin puree still sitting in our freezer (not for dinner, no). But that was all the impetus I needed to decide to bake chocolate chip pumpkin bread yesterday! All went well, except for needing two trips to the store because I didn't check my sugar supply well enough (turns out we only had powdered sugar, which wasn't going to fly with my recipe). I used some of the precious chocolate chips I picked up in Arizona, and the bread turned out delicious! Nothing beats homemade chocolate chip pumpkin bread, and it should be eaten all year long, not just in fall!</div>
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After sampling the bread, Maury ran into my room he was so excited!</div>
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"Kristen this cake is so good it's delicious what's the recipe when are you going to make it again!" (paraphrased, of course, since the original was in Spanish, but this is basically how it sounded)</div>
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I pointed to the recipe, in English, on my computer and told him we could make it again soon, which he was pretty excited about. I also told Maury that he can help me make it next time, to which he responded, "te quiero, Kristen" and gave me a big hug. Always nice to be appreciated!</div>
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On a somewhat related note, I feel like I'm finally starting to gel with all my relationships. I have better relationships with my coworkers, and I'm able to joke around a lot more with my family. It's a good feeling, and made even better by the note I received from Stefi, Humberto, and Maury last week:</div>
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Most adorable thing ever! Life is good right now.</div>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-72577521517649397622013-03-12T21:07:00.000-07:002013-03-12T21:07:02.083-07:00Border Immersion Part 4<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 4: Ash Wednesday in the desert</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As Andrea put it, Wednesday's activites were about hope, while Thursday's activites were kind of a downer for the end of the week. We met in the morning with Ken Kennon at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson. Ken was an instrumental leader in the Sanctuary Movement of the 1970s and 1980s. During the U.S. supported dictatorship and wars in Central America, the U.S. didn't welcome refugees from Central America, so churches and other organizations declared their spaces to be "sanctuary" for these refugees and opened their doors, at great personal risk to themselves. Thousands of asylum-seekers were housed in churches across the country: given a place to stay, meals, medical attention, etc. Well, the problem came in the fact that individuals participating in this movement were committing felonies, guilty of 20+ years in federal prison. It was pretty inspiring to be sitting in the church that started this movement in Tucson, and just really eye-opening to be learning about something I had never heard of before.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I3M9l7j5lck/UT_0g5DjItI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/2eDvjCmLEkc/s1600/IMG_1271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I3M9l7j5lck/UT_0g5DjItI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/2eDvjCmLEkc/s320/IMG_1271.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">memorial for migrants who have died in the desert</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">each rock contains the name of a migrant who died in the desert, while those whose bodies were never claimed simply read "desconocido" (unknown)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the afternoon we met with Gene from <a href="http://www.nomoredeaths.org/">No More Deaths</a>, a Tucson based organization that works to decrease the number of migrant deaths in the desert by putting water on migrant trails and providing emergency medical aid. Gene spoke to us at BorderLinks for a little while, but then he took us into the desert to actually walk some of the migrant trails. At one stop we pulled over by a freeway rest stop to duck through some barbed wire and gather items left behind by migrants: backpacks, empty water jugs, discarded items of clothing, all of it destroyed by the brutal sun. We then drove way into the desert to climb a mountain on a different migrant trail. An altar awaited us at the top, full of flowers, water (we also contributed two jugs of water for migrants), a migrant's ashes, a cross, candles. We proceeded to have a short Ash Wednesday service. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222;">Receiving ashes in late afternoon on the top
of a mountain in the middle of the desert was a powerful experience.<span></span><span> </span>This key reminder of the frailty of the
human experience, especially in the desert, helped to usher in the season of
Lent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222;">Jesus also spent time in the desert.<span> </span>He fasted and went through physical and
spiritual trials, just like many migrants do.<span> </span>Jesus walked the paths that these migrants walk every day.<span> </span>I couldn’t help but think that Jesus
must be on the side of the migrant – the wanderer searching for freedom from
poverty or violence.<span> </span>How is Jesus’
heart breaking at the injustice found in the borderlands?</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TYfQ6Nj4eIo/UT_12PH-ulI/AAAAAAAAAn0/0Dz8Xk-1zu0/s1600/IMG_1279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TYfQ6Nj4eIo/UT_12PH-ulI/AAAAAAAAAn0/0Dz8Xk-1zu0/s400/IMG_1279.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">altar on the mountaintop</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_MWdKVSUY8/UT_1LwntsbI/AAAAAAAAAnc/xUzkDE1Fdf4/s1600/ash+wed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_MWdKVSUY8/UT_1LwntsbI/AAAAAAAAAnc/xUzkDE1Fdf4/s400/ash+wed.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">our group with Gene after our Ash Wednesday service</span></td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W2umtaw_xnw/UT_1Niqu6YI/AAAAAAAAAnk/8YKfghVRCWY/s1600/IMG_1283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W2umtaw_xnw/UT_1Niqu6YI/AAAAAAAAAnk/8YKfghVRCWY/s400/IMG_1283.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">some desert scenery along the migrant trails</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Day 5</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our last full day in Arizona was spent learning about some U.S. policies in regards to migration and immigration issues. In the morning we met with an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer at BorderLinks. It was an interesting meeting, both because of the the nature of the discussion, and also because another group staying at BorderLinks was there for that session, and they were very emotionally invested in the conversation. After living in Mexico for 6 months, our group has had experiences related to the migration side of the issue: knowing people whose family members are living in the U.S., knowing people who have traveled to the U.S. legally and illegally in search of work, etc. The other group consisted of high schoolers from southern California who are involved in leadership activities at their schools, and who have been around communities of migrants who have been personally affected by ICE agents and immigration laws. According to the agent giving our presentation, there is a lot of personal discretion that comes with being an ICE agent in terms of who to process for deportation or not, which can create lots of grey areas that can cause questionable situations. There is obviously more to discuss with this, but it's more of a sensitive subject, so if you want more stories let me know!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the afternoon we met with Heather Williams, one of Tucson's public defenders for Operation Streamline. Operation Streamline is a federal program that aims to criminalize undocumented immigration in the U.S. by putting captured migrants through the court system and charging them with either a misdemeanor or a felony in a zero-tolerance policy as part of a larger plan to deter immigration. In Tucson 70 migrants a day are processed through the court system, each one meeting with a lawyer for 30 minutes in the morning to discuss the case before pleading guilty before a judge in the afternoon. Reactions to Operation Streamline are mixed, with many Republicans advocating for an increase in the size of the operation. However, it sounds like the public defenders and many of the judges feel like it is a waste of their time and that Arizona's resources could be better spent elsewhere. After breaking down the costs of the lawyers, courtrooms, and incarcerations, Heather Williams informed our group that Operation Streamline is costing <i>Tucson alone</i> well over a billion dollars every year. What else could be done with this money?</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeh2EVZqobs/UT_1YCAUYoI/AAAAAAAAAnw/rRjFptlh7OI/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeh2EVZqobs/UT_1YCAUYoI/AAAAAAAAAnw/rRjFptlh7OI/s320/IMG_1289.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Closing worship and reflection were held at this sculpture on the U of A campus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I'm clearly still reflecting on this intense week on the border, even a month later. Some things that are still sticking with me:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-Operation Gatekeeper, which pushes migrants into the desert</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-NAFTA, which has screwed up the Mexican economy and threatened a lot of livelihoods that could help to give Mexicans a livable wage in Mexico so they wouldn't migrate</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-Operation Streamline, which criminalizes migrants for entering the U.S. and ultimately costs us billions of dollars in legal and prison costs</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-the continued deportations of migrants who have lived in the U.S. for close to their entire lives, splitting up family after family</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-drug use in the U.S., which encourages drug cartels by giving them a business, which in turn adds to the violence on the border</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-American vigilantes who feel it's their duty to protect U.S. borders by shooting migrants crossing through the desert</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-the legal system that has prosecuted Americans working to stop migrant deaths in the desert (both those giving medical care, and those who leave water in the desert so fewer migrants die of dehydration)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">-the power of hearing migrant stories in their contexts, seeing the landscapes they are crossing, and attempting to understand the life they will have if they ever make it to the U.S. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Well, that's the end of the border saga for now. I have so many more stories and experiences to share, so let me know if you want to chat sometime!</span></span><br />
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Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-74915560372548118682013-03-01T15:23:00.000-08:002013-03-01T15:23:06.206-08:00Border Immersion Part 3A continuation of previous posts...<br />
<br />
Day 3<br />
<br />
Most of the day was spent in the desert. After a brief visit to CRREDA (Centro de<br />Rehabilitacion y Recuperacion Para Engermos de Drogaddicion y Alcoholismo), we headed out into the desert with Agua Para la Vida (Water for Life). Agua Para La Vida is an organization that leaves water in the desert on known migrant trails in an effort to reduce the number of migrant deaths due to dehydration. In 2012 over 10,000 gallons of water were left in the desert, largely on the Mexican side due to threats of vandalism. Not only do migrants have to worry about all the dangers of the desert – extreme weather, Border Patrol agents, wildlife, drug cartels – they also have to contend with American vigilantes who want to decrease the number of migrants crossing the desert. There are stories of vigilante groups keeping watch over the border with guns, shooting any migrants they see (google the Minutemen, it’s shocking what news stories appear). There are also reports by migrants of vandalized water jugs and poisoned water. Some of the migrants we spoke to at the migrant resource center and CAME spoke about avoiding water jugs as a precaution. In recent years Agua Para La Vida has placed the majority of their water on the Mexican side of the wall, where it’s less likely to be tampered with.<br /><br />We drove west along the highway from Agua Prieta before turning off into private land. Agua Para La Vida has an arrangement with some of the ranchers in the area, so we drove through a ranch, past surprised looking cows, down pitted dirt roads, through empty stream beds, bouncing over rocks and plants for well over 30 minutes. Eventually we arrived at our destination: two 55 gallon water jugs within sight of the U.S.-Mexico border. After watching the guys fill the water jugs, we sat down for a quick picnic lunch before walking towards the wall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8LuxswNNG-0/UTE11QEoxEI/AAAAAAAAAmM/rVCGAc0Dp5A/s1600/IMG_1245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8LuxswNNG-0/UTE11QEoxEI/AAAAAAAAAmM/rVCGAc0Dp5A/s320/IMG_1245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah and Joca examining the water jugs</td></tr>
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It’s incredibly difficult to walk through the desert. Spiky plants that catch at your pants and stab your feet through your shoes. The unpredictable weather: one minute it’s warm enough to take off a couple of layers, the next an icy wind blows through. Pockets of snow left over from the night before. Knowing that the Border Patrol is possibly (likely) watching you arrive on their cameras. Continually running across items left behind by previous migrants. Then finally arriving at the fence. The sheer absurdity of a 20 foot wall in the middle of the desert. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some of the desert landscape</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one section of the wall</td></tr>
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A Border Patrol agent drove by to see what we were doing at the wall, and we ended up having a fruitful conversation with him. He told us about some of the new techniques drug runners are using to get their goods across the border (they were probably the source of the small plane that kept flying above us), about how sections of the fence are opened during the rainy season (so the fence doesn’t get slammed with debris) and farmers have responded by putting up barbed wire to keep their cows in when this happens, about how excited new agents are when a group like ours walks to the wall, thinking that the Border Patrol is going to catch a big group of migrants, that the wall isn’t working like it’s supposed to.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yduwYp35Yv8/UTE2T5-3YvI/AAAAAAAAAmw/_SwTDRMUtww/s1600/P2124098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yduwYp35Yv8/UTE2T5-3YvI/AAAAAAAAAmw/_SwTDRMUtww/s320/P2124098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the prickly plants that make walking in the desert difficult*</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOzRnn1oxYw/UTE2l5fSg7I/AAAAAAAAAnA/BYedf5H_8rA/s1600/IMG_1260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOzRnn1oxYw/UTE2l5fSg7I/AAAAAAAAAnA/BYedf5H_8rA/s320/IMG_1260.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another section of the wall - you can see the floodgates with new barbed wire</td></tr>
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The one downside of this time in the desert at the wall is that we missed the weekly prayer vigil that Healing Our Borders hosts at the Douglas port of entry. I had been looking forward to this event the most, so it was kind of sad to miss it. But the rest of the day was pretty remarkable.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfalYfnHt8I/UTE2P_QVzHI/AAAAAAAAAmY/M31qIxjxN_E/s1600/P2124046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfalYfnHt8I/UTE2P_QVzHI/AAAAAAAAAmY/M31qIxjxN_E/s320/P2124046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our group walking on train tracks to get to the wall*</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x04QCGCTudY/UTE2Si0bgJI/AAAAAAAAAmg/BqG9zhBH24w/s1600/P2124096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x04QCGCTudY/UTE2Si0bgJI/AAAAAAAAAmg/BqG9zhBH24w/s320/P2124096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of a ladder left behind by migrants*</td></tr>
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*Pictures taken by our fearless leader AndreaKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-83523545431385787702013-02-19T16:18:00.001-08:002013-02-19T16:18:41.271-08:00Border Immersion, Part 2The Border Immersion was definitely one of the things that drew me towards the Mexico YAGM program when I first heard about it at DIP last April, and the excitement was reignited this past fall when Andrea told us again that this week is always one of the highlights of the year. As a U.S. citizen, especially during the current political push for immigration reform, it was a little embarrassing how little I knew about U.S. immigration policy and what issues are going on in the borderlands right now. I am incredibly grateful for the chance to spend a week visiting the border and learning many different perspectives about what is happening.<br />
<br />
Day 1: Travel Day!<br />
<br />
Excitement about having a short "vacation" from Mexico. Excitement about travel in general, and the anticipation that comes from being in an airport. Having someone else be in charge of travel plans. The ease of getting through U.S. immigration and customs because I hold that precious, expensive, powerful, liberating little blue passport. We were so giddy at dinner that night. All the American food choices at the Phoenix airport! U.S. money! Ordering in English! Putting my backpack <i>on the floor</i> (This doesn't happen in Mexico because the floor is "too dirty" or spirits will get into my bag and steal my money. It's just another of those funny little cultural norms that I've had to get used to, but that I violate in the safety of my own bedroom every day).<br />
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We didn't arrive at Borderlinks in Tucson until 10:30 that night, only to discover that we were locked out and needed to wait for a staff member to arrive and let us in. In those 15 minutes of waiting, I realized that we were going to have a cold week ahead of us! It's about 90 degrees in Cuernavaca now, so the 35 degree winter night in Tucson was a bit of a shock!<br />
<br />
Day 2: Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Sonora<br />
<br />
Our day started ridiculously early, with a 6 am departure from Tucson for our 2 1/2 hour drive to Douglas. First stop: <a href="http://fronteradecristo.org/">Frontera de Cristo</a>. Frontera de Cristo is a bi-national Presbyterian ministry that works to address physical and spiritual needs of people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. They're affiliated with a lot of non-profit groups in Douglas and Agua Prieta and helped connect us these groups. Mark took us out to the wall and gave our group a basic orientation to the features of the wall and some of the challenges migrants face when attempting to cross the border. Among them: sections of the wall made taller, security cameras that have a 3 mile radius, floodlights that keep the wall lit up in Douglas all night, sections of the fence that are only designed to stop cars. The taller wall has done little, if anything, to deter migrants from attempting to cross. Rather, it has made the crossing more dangerous and they are seeing more broken bones as a result of falls. I was also struck by the design of the fence: it's made up of poles that are easy to see between, so people living close to the border can easily see their neighbors through the fence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNtVE71XPcE/USQHOkgZ4rI/AAAAAAAAAlM/WTzCreAuofc/s1600/IMG_1217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNtVE71XPcE/USQHOkgZ4rI/AAAAAAAAAlM/WTzCreAuofc/s320/IMG_1217.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This section of the wall was recently made taller.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j711gMiJHB4/USQHVBNCRUI/AAAAAAAAAlc/ZLiYIzxyTO0/s1600/IMG_1218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j711gMiJHB4/USQHVBNCRUI/AAAAAAAAAlc/ZLiYIzxyTO0/s320/IMG_1218.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was left behind by a migrant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4YG90xgmrk/USQHUhdbOEI/AAAAAAAAAlU/-kpDf92baV4/s1600/IMG_1222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4YG90xgmrk/USQHUhdbOEI/AAAAAAAAAlU/-kpDf92baV4/s320/IMG_1222.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of the vehicle obstruction fences - designed to stop cars rather than individual migrants from crossing</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Our next stop was the Douglas Border Patrol Station. The Douglas station is responsible for 40.5 linear miles of border and 1450 square miles of mountainous terrain. Our visit to the Border Patrol was...interesting. We were all a little disappointed with how rushed the tour felt; our tour guide (a public relations agent) didn't always go into a lot of detail. But seeing the realities of the Border Patrol trucks, which sometimes carry up to 10 migrants in a small holding area in the back and hearing about the level of discretion each agent has in choosing what weapons to carry and how to supply their own truck made it easy to see how reports of abuse by Border Patrol agents happens. Not that this always happens, but we were told that it's up to each agents as to if the holding area is air conditioned or heated, what amount of food is carried, what types of first aid supplies are on board, and what methods each agent will use to control a large migrant group. This can lead to a large variety in the level of treatment migrants might receive. The Border Patrol agent also explained that the official U.S. policy is to use the mountains and desert as a "lethal deterrent" to dissuade migrants from attempting to cross. The theory is that this threat of death in the desert will slow the number of migrants, but this hasn't been the case. Instead, there has been a spike in the death counts because migrants are being pushed further and further away from the cities into the most dangerous areas of the desert.<br />
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After meeting with the Border Patrol we crossed the border into Mexico for lunch and a visit to a community garden with <a href="http://www.douglaprietaworks.org/">DouglaPrieta Works</a>. Delicious chiles rellenos and a cold and windy visit to a community garden with crops, chickens, and rabbits. DouglaPrieta Works, along with <a href="http://justcoffee.org/">Café Justo</a>, a visit later in the afternoon, work to provide a more sustainable livelihood for Mexicans in the area. Café Justo is a coffee roasting company that provides wages far above the level of fair trade. By doing so, they hope to create more economic opportunities in Mexico so people don't have to migrate to the U.S. A recurring theme of our visits to organizations was the fact that many Mexicans don't <i>want</i> to be in the U.S. Many people would rather be home, with their families, in their home communities, but they can't because of the economic opportunity in the U.S. By providing better economic opportunities in Mexico, Café Justo tries to allow more families to stay together in Mexico.<br />
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One of my favorite visits of the day was the Centro de Recursos Para Migrantes, aka the Migrant Resource Center.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FuQ4iecM28g/USQQ--cuRDI/AAAAAAAAAl0/GbJbGekohUs/s1600/IMG_1229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FuQ4iecM28g/USQQ--cuRDI/AAAAAAAAAl0/GbJbGekohUs/s320/IMG_1229.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
It's literally the first thing you see after you get through customs and enter Mexico and is located just feet across the border. The resource center is often the first stop for migrants who have been repatriated back to Mexico after being caught by the Border Patrol; they are escorted to the border by Border Patrol agents and then left to fend for themselves with no resources of their own. That's where the resource center comes in. Migrants can stop by for a warm place to sit, a burrito, water and coffee, a clean pair of socks, new shoelaces, free or reduced bus tickets back to their place of origin in Mexico. Some migrants come in looking for a way home, others just stop by for a quick snack before looking to reconnect with their coyote for another attempt at crossing the border. When we were visiting, there were 20 or so people waiting for their bus ticket from the Mexican government so they could return home to their families.<br />
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I still can't get the image of the pair of men who arrived near the end of our visit. They appeared to be father and son, and it was clear they had just been returned by the Border Patrol. As they sat down to eat a sandwich, I couldn't help but notice their shoes. The younger man had on a pair of orange and white Nikes that were missing their shoelaces. It's common for Border Patrol agents, when apprehending a group of migrants, to gather the shoelaces of the migrants as a deterrent to running away. The image of the shoes without their laces stuck with me, and just made it that much more real. U.S. border policies aren't an abstract thing. They directly impact thousands of people every day, thousands of individuals who might be sitting down eating a burrito right about now.<br />
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Our last visit of the day was to CAME, the Centro de Atención al Migrante "Exodus," a migrant shelter in Agua Prieta. We ate dinner with migrants, some of whom had been deported and were heading home, and others who were on their way to the United States. We were so privileged to hear the stories of these people! The man Casey and I sat with at dinner shared his story with us (we unfortunately didn't catch his name). He's lived in Boca Raton, FL for over 20 years, and has a Cuban wife and an American-born son who both have U.S. citizenship. A little while ago he returned to Mexico to help care for a sick family member, and was then returning to Florida to be with his family when his car blew a tire outside of Tucson. A police officer stopped to help him with his car, discovered his immigration status, and he was returned to Mexico. When we met him, he was in CAME working on crossing again so he could return to his family. <br />
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This was such a heartbreaking story to hear. It put an individual face on some of the injustice of U.S. immigration policy. This man has lived in the U.S. for his entire adult life, but he must live in fear everyday that some freak event will occur that will allow him to be deported. His wife is a Cuban immigrant, who received asylum simply by setting foot on U.S. soil. His college aged son is a citizen by virtue of being born in the U.S. This man was so calm and so quiet, but it was clear he was working as hard as he could to get back to his family and his home. As we were leaving I had to wish him safe travels, and that I hoped he would make it home. For me, in this case, U.S. border policy that intends to close our borders doesn't matter. What matters is reuniting a man with his family.<br />
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More reflections from the border to come!<br />
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-77902980385587094762013-02-16T13:57:00.000-08:002013-02-16T13:57:28.588-08:00Border Immersion, Part 1This is the first of many posts to come from the 2013 Border Immersion! We traveled to Arizona to spend a week visiting and learning about the U.S.-Mexico border. It was an intense and emotional experience, and one that will stick with me forever. To start off the reflecting, here are a few pictures:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHznDSBFki0/UR_5yAiqpGI/AAAAAAAAAj4/Gbx83RtJAYs/s1600/IMG_1224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHznDSBFki0/UR_5yAiqpGI/AAAAAAAAAj4/Gbx83RtJAYs/s320/IMG_1224.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our first morning in Douglas, AZ we visited the wall that marks the border between Mexico and the U.S. It's incredibly intimidating, and stretches out as far as the eye can see. On the U.S. side the wall is lit up by bright lights and closely monitored by surveillance cameras with a 3 mile range. Border Patrol trucks are a common sight. Douglas, AZ is the city on the right side of the fence, and Agua Prieta, Sonora is the city on the left side of the fence. Due to its construction, you can see through the fence. So people living close to the border can wake up every morning to literally see the homes of their neighbors on the other side of the fence.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j8Qg8LjQJSE/UR_57i_uE7I/AAAAAAAAAkM/8KMWfG37RIk/s1600/IMG_1228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j8Qg8LjQJSE/UR_57i_uE7I/AAAAAAAAAkM/8KMWfG37RIk/s400/IMG_1228.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Catie looking up at the fence. This section of the fence was recently rebuilt, and was made even taller. However, everyone we talked to, Border Patrol agents included, admitted that the fence doesn't stop any migrants from crossing. It might slow them down, and there has been a drastic increase in the amount of injuries from the fence (broken legs, sprained ankles, etc.). But the people who are crossing are so desperate that even the threat of injury from the fence, a criminal deportation, or death in the desert is not enough to dissuade them from crossing in search of a better life.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jrOL4F6ENk/UR_55WDQ8tI/AAAAAAAAAkA/9p1CqbuJ9oU/s1600/IMG_1232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jrOL4F6ENk/UR_55WDQ8tI/AAAAAAAAAkA/9p1CqbuJ9oU/s320/IMG_1232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We woke up on Tuesday morning to snow in Douglas. Coming from Cuernavaca's heat, the desert felt especially cold. But we had met with migrants the night before who were planning on crossing, and most of them were just wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. No one was expecting snow. Waking up to snow, I couldn't stop thinking about all the migrants who slept or walked through the snow in the desert the night before. It must have been a miserable night.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RmStuYZUvzQ/UR_6FxvbowI/AAAAAAAAAkU/i-gSHXCWQAU/s1600/IMG_1233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RmStuYZUvzQ/UR_6FxvbowI/AAAAAAAAAkU/i-gSHXCWQAU/s320/IMG_1233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Painted on the wall</span> <span style="font-size: small;">of a community center in Agua Prieta. It reminded me of a quote that stood out to me in <i>The Devil's Highway</i>, that came from St. Toribio's "Prayer for Crossing Without Papers." "I believe I am a citizen of the world, and of a church without borders."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gI154gJbKlk/UR_6JqZJ0iI/AAAAAAAAAkc/MKQkhGFL6pg/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gI154gJbKlk/UR_6JqZJ0iI/AAAAAAAAAkc/MKQkhGFL6pg/s320/IMG_1261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another view through the wall. The landscape is <i>exactly</i> the same on either side. Lethal desert that has killed thousands of migrants.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5i-aaOq9lM/UR_6XDmgZpI/AAAAAAAAAkk/PsToRPGqjxQ/s1600/IMG_1258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5i-aaOq9lM/UR_6XDmgZpI/AAAAAAAAAkk/PsToRPGqjxQ/s320/IMG_1258.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">While walking in the desert we kept coming across items left behind by migrants as proof of their journey. The most common items to see were bottles - bottles of water, of pop, of beer. But we also ran across backpacks, clothing, deodorant tubes, combs, even part of a ladder. Our guides could tell just by looking at jugs of water how long ago the migrant had passed through.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FRWdz_1jUFY/UR_6YrXdXeI/AAAAAAAAAks/PZUWMOAQlPE/s1600/IMG_1291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FRWdz_1jUFY/UR_6YrXdXeI/AAAAAAAAAks/PZUWMOAQlPE/s400/IMG_1291.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is a political cartoon that was on the wall in <a href="https://www.borderlinks.org/">Borderlinks</a>, which was the organization we stayed with in Tuscon. Our country's economy relies so much on undocumented labor. Undocumented workers pick our crops and cook our food. Without them, costs to consumers would be far higher than we are currently willing to pay. But at the same time, we have in place a system that punishes workers for being undocumented while still desperately needing them. The ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement, formerly the INS: Immigration and Naturalization Service) agent we spoke to also discussed this a bit. He mentioned that if we gave everyone papers, then they would move to a new job with better pay and better benefits, leaving behind a job that another undocumented worker would take. It's a vicious cycle.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_hH4w2c6DrE/UR_6ZJ7gA3I/AAAAAAAAAk0/VAJkHtenh6Q/s1600/IMG_1274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_hH4w2c6DrE/UR_6ZJ7gA3I/AAAAAAAAAk0/VAJkHtenh6Q/s320/IMG_1274.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is part of a monument for migrants who have died while crossing the desert. Each rock holds the name of an individual who died, while the unknown deaths are marked simply by "Desconocido" (unknown).</span></td></tr>
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<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-53533947439471123052013-02-06T19:40:00.001-08:002013-02-06T19:40:38.583-08:00ImmigrationThis is a hard post to write. <br />
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Immigration.<br />
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<i>Mexican</i> immigration. <br />
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There are so many negative connotations about this floating around in the the American consciousness right now. You only need to read the comments section of an article about Obama's push for immigration reform to see some of the sheer hatred, racism, and misinformation that many Americans feel. From where I sit right now, it's hard to see the justification for some of these comments, if there even is one. <i>Everyone</i> has a story of crossing to the U.S., of trying to earn a living wage, of walking through the desert, of applying for visas at the U.S. embassy. <br />
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One of my previous co-workers was shot and paralyzed while trying to help someone being robbed. He was shot while being in the U.S. without papers. Does this mean that he is an evil individual without regard for U.S. law? I don't think so. Was he taking an "American" job? Sure. Was it a job that a U.S. citizen wanted to perform? Probably not. This issue is complicated and far more muddled than most people want to see. <br />
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Let me help you clear up some myths about Mexican immigration, as I see it:<br />
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Myth 1: Mexican immigrants take American jobs.<br />
Yes, technically undocumented Mexican workers are working in American jobs, that theoretically U.S. citizens could be working at. But the reality is that most undocumented workers are working jobs for pay that American citizens are unwilling to work them at. Last summer a lot of the Washington asparagus crop didn't get harvested, because there weren't enough workers willing to spend all day cutting asparagus. A couple of years ago <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-07-09-colbert-farm-workers_N.htm">Stephen Colbert</a> talked about immigration on his show, and put out a job application for a farm worker, doing the type of work many undocumented Mexican workers do. Only a handful of people applied. Even documented Mexicans aren't usually willing to do this work; if they can get a legitimate waged job, that's what a lot of people are going to choose.<br />
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Myth 2: Undocumented immigrants cost American taxpayers thousands of dollars a year.<br />
Luis Alberto Urrea discusses the financial costs vs. benefits of undocumented workers in the U.S. in his book <i>The Devil's Highway</i> (check out the final chapter of the book for a good breakdown on these issues). According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the average adult Mexican immigrant costs taxpayers $55, 200 over a lifetime. Urrea breaks this down further though: those $55,000 equal social services that immigrants use and don't pay for. However, most migrants pay federal and state income taxes and social security out of their paychecks, and they won't be filing for a tax refund or be receiving the social security later on. Regardless of where your income is coming from, everyone pays sales tax, and everyone has to buy food and pay for rent somewhere, which again fuels the economy and pays for services that likely won't be taken advantage of. Undocumented workers are also far less likely to attempt to access social services for fear of being deported. The American Graduate School of International Management found out that in 2002, Mexican immigrants paid $600 million in taxes, but received only about $250 million in social services. <b>That means that the U.S. financially profits from undocumented immigrants.</b> The same study reported that <b>Arizona annually receives $8 billion in economic impact</b> from their relationship with Mexico.<br />
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Myth 3: Mexican immigrants are going to take over the U.S.!<br />
You've probably heard the statistic that in 20 years or so, people of Caucasian descent will no longer be the majority in the U.S., and that Hispanics are the fastest growing minority. I have no reason to doubt these statistics, but there was actually a <i>net loss</i> in the number of Mexicans in the U.S. in 2012, as more people returned to Mexico voluntarily or were deported (Obama is actually the president with the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/obama-deportation_n_2594012.html?ir=Latino+Voices&ref=topbar">most deportations</a>, despite calls for immigration reform) than actually entered the country. <br />
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Americans need to understand the situation around Mexican immigration, and understand the role the U.S. has played in encouraging some of this migration. Minimum wage in Mexico is 60 pesos a day, which comes to 1200 pesos a month, or about $100. It's not surprising, then, that many Mexicans look to well-paying jobs in the U.S., where they can make more in an hour than they could in an entire day. For families fighting for their lives, this sort of decision makes sense, and I don't want to judge someone who has to choose whether to feed their family or cross into the U.S. without papers. As Americans, we also need to recognize how U.S. policy has played into this. (I wrote a little about this after our <a href="http://kristensmexicanadventures.blogspot.mx/2012/12/retreat-reflections.html">November retreat</a>.) NAFTA and other economic policies screwed the Mexican economy and helped lead to some of these conditions, while at the same time U.S. immigration policy changed, which forced immigrants to go through the most dangerous parts of the desert and has resulted in <a href="http://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/us-mexico-border-crossing-deaths-are-humanitarian-crisis-according-report-aclu-and">thousands of deaths</a>. <br />
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During our retreat, Andrea handed out copies of the <a href="http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Messages/Immigration.aspx">ELCA's social message on immigration</a> as a way to help us frame some of our thoughts and reflections. Reading this document, it was helpful to realize that my church recognizes the brokenness of the system and the need to advocate for immigration reform, along with our responsibility to care for our neighbor and those who appear to be strangers in our midst, recalling that we are an immigrant country and an immigrant church. "Recalling that our families were once the 'stranger' - and remembering our Lord's call to love our neighbor as ourselves - can expand our moral imagination, enable us to see the new 'stranger' as our neighbor, and open us to welcome today's newcomers" (2). <br />
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I'm not writing this post to tell you to support the immigration of undocumented Mexican workers to the U.S. Clearly, this is a complicated issue, but I hope we can come together anyways, and work for justice for <i>all</i> people. <br />
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I hope we can continue to extend support to our neighbors who have immigrated, whether they have come with papers or without papers.<br />
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I hope we can continue to advocate for economic justice for all people, including our Mexican neighbors.<br />
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I hope we can agree that separated families are a bad thing, and we should work to keep families together.<br />
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I hope we can work for better solutions than sending thousands of people to die in desert in search of a better life.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-5929540594977178062013-01-21T16:04:00.001-08:002013-01-21T16:04:17.863-08:00WallsWalls are everywhere here. Homes, parks, gardens, all rest behind walls. Look down a residential street anywhere in Cuernavaca, and you likely won't see many cars, or people, or grass. Instead, you will see thick concrete walls with impenetrable gates. In my home, there are 8 houses that share a driveway and exist together behind a wall. There's a community back here: my cousins live next door, the dogs are let out to run and play, the kids can play outside without fear of cars, there's even a tiny garden way in the back. But that's the extent to which I know my neighbors, because every other home on our street is also hidden behind a wall. You never know what beautiful spaces are just behind that gate you wonder about.<br />
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During closing worship during in-country orientation in September, we read Robert Frost's poem <a href="http://writing.upenn.edu/%7Eafilreis/88/frost-mending.html">"Mending Wall"</a> (it's long, but definitely worth reading!). Andrea's sermon about the literal and figurative walls we will encounter in this year hit home for me. I've been trying to not build walls around myself this year, but I know I invariably am. I feel all too often that people here don't really get me, and try to put me into a box I don't want to be in. I'm guilty of doing the same thing. When I see other volunteers interacting with their friends in a way that's so different than how I normally see them, I realize that I'm not the only one here who is probably perceived differently by this group than by my friends back in the U.S. I try not to build these walls around myself, but the reality is that when I feel like I'm being misrepresented, I tend to withdraw further rather than trying to tear down those walls.<br />
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In about 3 weeks I, and the rest of the Mexico YAGMs, will be visiting the Mexico-U.S. border and the infamous wall that marks the border in much of the Southwest. Do good fences really make good neighbors? Does this fence really make the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. better?<br />
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Do the walls I build around myself really protect me, or do they just make it easier to be misunderstood?<br />
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"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/ What I was walling in or walling out,/ And to whom I was like to give offense." Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-661691972806421772013-01-16T16:16:00.000-08:002013-01-16T16:16:05.772-08:00Family BlessingsToday is the 5th anniversary of my host brother Iker's death. Iker died as a result of complications from Down's Syndrome when he was about 2 years old after spending most of his life in the hospital.<br />
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Yesterday, when Zury told me about the anniversary, I asked her if this was a sad day for her. To my surprise she said no, that she's glad because she knows Iker is in a better place. She and Mauricio went to the cemetery for a little while this afternoon, but they are incredibly open about this loss in their lives. This day felt like any other in my family. If anything, it's been one of my better days with my family recently. Mauricio has been eating lunch at home lately, and today the whole family, plus Estefania, was able to eat together. As we were finishing our meal, we started playing a game: We took turns asking each other questions, and the first person to respond with "si" or "no" lost. After playing this for a while, I introduced them to the question game, where you start a conversation with a person using only questions, and the first person to not be able to respond with a question loses. Our lunch table soon turned into lots of smiles and laughter. Maury, my 9 year old brother, finds many things hilarious and kept collapsing into giggles. It was a good afternoon and makes me incredibly thankful for this family that has opened their doors and their hearts to me.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-32734487600806667112013-01-02T16:03:00.001-08:002013-01-02T16:03:59.549-08:00December tidbitsDecember kind of got away from me, so I'm going to attempt to share a few stories here!<br />
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Work at ALEM: ALEM has stayed mostly the same this month. More research projects, some time helping in the workshop, afternoons watching Rosy cooking comida for the team (I am slowly learning how to cook a few things!), sleeping kittens in my lap, etc. There was one exciting morning where a group from Portland came to visit us. They were staying at the convent where the Mexico YAGMs stayed for orientation, so I got to say hi and chat with Hermana Raina again. She is possibly the sweetest woman ever. I also just enjoy anytime that I get to talk with people from the Pacific NW, as I miss it so much! One woman somehow recognized me from PLU (I'm not entirely sure how that happened, but it was pretty cool). I shared some of my work with them, and even translated a few questions at the end when Mayra was busy. ALEM's Christmas event this year was a trip to Xochimilco. Xochimilco is a series of canals in Mexico City. You rent a boat, and then float down the canal. We ate lots of food, and just enjoyed life together. The entire time, different food and souvenir vendors and mariachi bands were floating by on their own boats, trying to sell their products. It was a fun way to celebrate with the team!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garfield and Pirata keep me company while I work on my computer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hundreds of brightly colored boats!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">enjoying some of the music at Xochimilco</td></tr>
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CEDISH: I didn't really work with CEDISH in December. Lots of things in Mexico kind of shut down in December in preparation for the holidays, and CEDISH was no exception. However, I was invited over to bake cookies one evening, which was pretty exciting. We baked M & M cookies, as chocolate chips are difficult to find here. I was the master baker, and taught everyone how to bake. Mitzi's son had even invited a friend over so that he could join in on the baking. I was a little surprised that Mitzi and Magnolia don't really know how to bake much. Unfortunately, baking (and baked goods) aren't really a big deal here in Mexico, so it shouldn't be too surprising that most families don't do much (my host family is always surprised by the things I like to bake). Mitzi even showed me a chocolate cookbook she bought but doesn't know how to use, so I foresee many other baking parties! It's a positive first step in building relationships. They also invited me to visit Ocotepec with them to view many of the nacimientos (nativity scenes) that families had set up outside of their homes. They were quite elaborate!<br />
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YAGM Christmas Party: On December 15th we had our YAGM Christmas party! I attempted baking my family's cinnamon pull apart bread with Casey, and it was a great success! A familiar taste of home for the holidays. There was also lots of other delicious food, and I ate so much that I almost felt sick. We also had a White Elephant gift exchange. Everyone brought a small gift, and when we arrived Andrea informed us that there were also other presents for us! Turns out that the Mexico YAGM program has a tradition of leaving behind presents for the next year's group. A big THANK YOU to the Mexico YAGMs from last year. It's a little bit absurd how excited we were for Tide to-go pens, half bottles of lotion and hair stuff, and the pop-tarts from Andrea. But with our stipends, even the simplest presents are exciting. We finished off the evening by going to St. Michael's for their Lessons and Carols service. It's still not quite the same as going caroling in the U.S. or attending the Christmas Eve service at my church, but it was the one chance to sing any English Christmas carols, so it was greatly appreciated!<br />
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Christmas: I celebrated Christmas with my host family. On Christmas Eve I had been told that we were going to Zury's mom's house for comida and then to Mauricio's family's home for dinner. Although I still had no idea of what to expect, having a general idea of the schedule was nice. Then Christmas Eve happened, and I remembered that in Mexico I had to throw all my ideas of what my day is going to be like out the window. Zury was in and out all morning, running errands and prepping food. She came back from one of her many trips at about 2:45 (we were supposed to have arrived at Ana's house at 2). I started chopping celery at around 3, and then helped wrap some presents at 3:15 or so. At 3:30 Zury tells me to get in the car, as we have to go to the supermarket again. At this point I just assumed she had forgotten to get something for our meal. I was completely off-base, as usual. We go into Soriana's (the grocery store by my house) and Zury goes to speak with a manager of some sort. She then heads to the appliance section, grabs the barcode for an oven, and then takes it over to a cashier. Turns out we were at the store to buy a new oven as a Christmas present for her mom! This whole transaction took maybe 10 minutes, but then it took another 20 minutes to figure out how to load the oven into the back of her tiny car. We finally crammed ourselves in, stopped at home for 2 minutes to grab the presents, and then take off. It was a pretty chaotic afternoon, and we finally got to Ana's house at 4, only 2 hours behind schedule. Comida itself was fine; I got a little overwhelmed with the sheer chaos of that family all afternoon. While handing out presents there was a great deal of chanting and singing (along the lines of "open it, open it"). I got a couple of small presents from my family, which was pretty sweet. We finally got home around 9 pm, but were only home long enough for Zury to finally take her shower (she had run out of time in the morning). Then we headed to see Mauricio's family. 4 generations live in the same house, so there are always lots of people around. There were fireworks for about 2 hours, most of which were just loud bangs, and then we got around to presents by about 12:30 or so. Maury then fell asleep on the couch, and our "midnight dinner" started at around 1:15 or so. I didn't really eat much, as I was far too tired. We finally made it home around 2 am. Then on Christmas Day I attended church with Catie and Colleen before heading home to skype with my family. Then we headed to Zury's aunt's home for a quiet afternoon. We played some video games on the kinect, ate more food, and had a couple of piñatas. I felt much more relaxed at this family gathering, as it included less awkward small talk, and the games reminded me of my family's holiday celebrations. Then I raced home to finish packing so I could leave for my vacation! It was a jam-packed couple of days.<br />
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Vacation: I traveled with Colleen to Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, which is about an 8 or 9 hour bus ride from Cuernavaca. We took an overnight bus, so were a little exhausted the first day. Our vacation was full of relaxing days on the beach, lots of reading, snorkeling, swimming, meeting lots of cool people, and my first surf lesson! Our first night at dinner we started talking to a friendly Canadian man vacationing with his young son. He secretly paid our bill, which was a great way to start our vacation! Something I want to pass along at some point... We also hung out some with a couple staying at our hostel. They were from the UK, and they had both quit their jobs to spend a year traveling through Australia, Central and South America. As they had been in Zihuatanejo for a few days already, they were able to give us lots of tips for what to do. This week was a nice relaxing break from life in Cuernavaca, but it has been so nice to get back home! It was also a little weird to be spending so much more money than I do on a regular basis here. I was aware the entire time of how privileged I am to get to go to the beach for a week at Christmas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colleen and I ready for our overnight bus!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the main beach in Zihuatanejo - everything was pretty crowded, because most Mexicans have a week or two of vacation around Christmas, and a lot of them head to the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">welcome to the Pacific coast of Mexico! So nice to see the ocean again; 4+ months is a long time for a Washington girl!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">enjoying the heat</td></tr>
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Happy New Years everyone! I head back to work tomorrow, go back to language school for a week on Monday, and then have another YAGM retreat to look forward to at the end of the month. I can tell that the rest of my YAGM year is going to fly by...Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-72035462283220278902012-12-11T16:39:00.001-08:002012-12-11T16:39:43.756-08:00retreat reflectionsOur November retreat was all about globalization and food security issues. Prior to the retreat we had to read <i>Field Guide to the Global Economy</i>, and then during the retreat we talked about the book, a documentary about food in the U.S., NAFTA, corn farming in Mexico, and all sorts of other related topics.<br />
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Things I learned:<br />
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<li>NAFTA has kind of screwed Mexico, in several ways. Among them: NAFTA allowed the U.S. to flood the Mexican market with super cheap corn (corn subsidies allow corn to be sold at a cheaper price than Mexicans can grow corn. As corn is the backbone of the Mexican diet, this is a problem and puts many Mexicans out of work). At the same time, immigration policies were stiffened, basically forcing Mexicans to cross into the U.S. at the most dangerous places, ensuring that only the most physically fit Mexicans (and thus some of the best workers) survive the trip. This policy has resulted in the deaths of millions of Mexicans.</li>
<li>Corporations really are people! Only not in a good way. In a we-can-now-sue-the-government-for-anything-that-could-possibly-affect-free-trade way. NAFTA lifted all restrictions to free trade, which means corporations can sue governments for laws that might affect free trade. As an example, a Canadian mining company tried to sue California for a law phasing out the use of a dangerous chemical, because this was going to negatively impact their business. In other words, companies have an absurd amount of power and the potential to change laws enacted through the political process.</li>
<li>Countries are not necessarily allowed to put controls on their imports. Examples: genetically modified foods can't be legislated against, in Thailand the government was forced to allow cigarettes to be imported which resulted in a 10% increase in cigarette consumption.</li>
<li>Companies leverage the threat of pulling their factories from a country when there is the possibility of having to accept union workers, higher wages, paying taxes, etc. When productions costs rise in the host country, many companies leave in the middle of the night, leaving suddenly unemployed workers (I saw this firsthand in Namibia). Many companies are also enticed to set up operations in a given country with promises of tax breaks (again, <a href="http://travelingthoughts-kristen.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-to-swakopmund.html">I saw this in Namibia</a>). This means that a corporation receives large tax breaks, and all the country gains is increased local employment. Granted, this is a good thing, but is it worth the cost?</li>
<li>Reminders about the (usually) awful conditions in factories around the world: their labor practices, low wages, environmentally suspect policies, and increased questions about what impact I can possibly have as a consumer, especially when it's so hard to learn about individual companies' practices.</li>
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Every morning on these retreats we start the day with some sort of reflection. One morning <a href="http://www.aliciahillarmexico.blogspot.com/">Alicia</a> led a short Bible study on part of John 9. The last verse in the chapter reads:<br />
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"Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.'" John 9:41 (NIV)<br />
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I know it's pretty dangerous to take just one Bible verse and use it to prove a point, but you'll just have to trust me here that these conclusions came from a longer discussion of the rest of the chapter as well, and reflect the context from which we were thinking during the retreat.<br />
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Our group decided that this verse was an affirmation that we are not allowed to claim ignorance on issues of globalization and food. It's a challenge to us. Now that we're (at least semi-) educated, we can't be innocent of the actions we take and choices we make. I believe an exact quote from this discussion was, "Now that we've seen some things, what are we going to do about it?" <br />
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So that's my challenge to you. Now that you've read this blog, try to educate yourself a bit more on some of these issues. Choose one that pertains to your home community, a country where a YAGM is currently serving (a list of most of their blogs can be found <a href="http://kyleinsa.blogspot.mx/p/my-yagm-family.html">here</a>), or research your favorite clothing company to see if you can ethically support them. Try to be an educated citizen of our global community, because the choices you make have greater implications.<br />
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Now that you've seen some things, what are you going to do about it?Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-18393990718547485302012-12-03T19:03:00.000-08:002012-12-03T19:03:05.906-08:00November Retreat in PhotosHere's the start of my reflections on my first retreat here in Mexico. It was an incredibly life-giving week with close friends, and here's some photos!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This plaque is on an old building in Mexico City, close to where we stayed on the retreat. It commemorates the Irish soldiers who fought on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American war and were later executed by the U.S. The plaque reads, "In memory of the Irish soldiers from the heroic Saint Patrick battalion. Martyrs who gave their lives for the Mexican cause during the unjust invasion by North Americans in 1847." Just another example of the victors writing the history books. It's a good thing to be educated!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexico City was a lot colder than Cuernavaca usually is, and it was the first time the 8 of us had been reunited for longer than an afternoon since orientation. Lots of cuddling time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">giant poinsettia Christmas tree - Christmas has definitely come to Mexico!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City (on the Zocalo): according to my guide book it's the largest cathedral in Latin America, and we had some free time to look around inside. Like everything else on the Zocalo, it's pretty big.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Zocalo with the GIANT Mexican flag. It was a little overwhelming, just because of the sheer size.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had one short afternoon of sightseeing in Mexico City. It was just enough time to learn how the Metro system works, visit the Zocalo, walk around inside the cathedral, eat lunch, and visit Templo Mayor/Tenochtitlán. Templo Mayor was the center of the Aztec world, and the ruins were discovered in the heart of Mexico City in 1978. We got to visit and walk around a little. This is part of our group at Templo Mayor, with the cathedral in the background (that's how close it is to the Zocalo!)<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 30px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 37px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Weo44DL8j4g/UL1j4Os2yjI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ANle6S2tnTk/s1600/598470_10200196861070991_1239126514_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Weo44DL8j4g/UL1j4Os2yjI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ANle6S2tnTk/s320/598470_10200196861070991_1239126514_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving dinner! While our Thanksgiving was a little late, it was pretty delicious, and well worth the wait. Dinner with all the fixings! Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, jello salad, roasted veggies, stuffing, bread, homemade applesauce, and the ever-important pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3DABctWoqng/UL1kA2Ncb0I/AAAAAAAAAhA/BV_Dh7Q_6g8/s1600/IMG_0985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3DABctWoqng/UL1kA2Ncb0I/AAAAAAAAAhA/BV_Dh7Q_6g8/s320/IMG_0985.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got a few cards at the end of the month that helped brighten my days! These cards are from the Sunday School classes at Memorial Lutheran Church in Toledo, OH, one of the sponsor congregations for our country coordinator. It was pretty exciting to get homemade cards, complete with stickers and drawings of tigers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLGFcVaPW7o/UL1kR94fM3I/AAAAAAAAAhI/Ek84k6CFDZo/s1600/IMG_0951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLGFcVaPW7o/UL1kR94fM3I/AAAAAAAAAhI/Ek84k6CFDZo/s320/IMG_0951.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the retreat ended we all headed to Tepoztlan to hang out and <a href="http://kristensmexicanadventures.blogspot.mx/2012/09/visiting-tepoztlan.html">climb to Tepozteco again</a>. It's amazing how much easier hiking is when you can see! It was also just a good time to continue our group bonding with some hiking, a movie, and walking through the Sunday market.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VO-eRHToEC8/UL1kdgWOMgI/AAAAAAAAAhU/L1b8N9ZHVEA/s1600/IMG_0957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VO-eRHToEC8/UL1kdgWOMgI/AAAAAAAAAhU/L1b8N9ZHVEA/s320/IMG_0957.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what Tepozteco looks like during the day.</td></tr>
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<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-79749711070512407642012-11-22T20:08:00.001-08:002012-11-22T20:08:39.274-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!This is the first Thanksgiving where I have never been home with my family (and that list will just keep growing this year, as I've never been gone for Christmas or my birthday either). I could easily make a list of things that I am frustrated with in my life, but now is not the time. Even though I am far from home, I am so blessed!<br />
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I am thankful for:<br />
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<li>warm days and cool nights (and missing Seattle's gloomiest day in 3 years!)</li>
<li>supervisors who bring pumpkin pie to work</li>
<li>country coordinators who share their pumpkin pie spice and support me through all my freak out moments</li>
<li>fast and reliable internet and skype</li>
<li>kittens to cuddle with at work</li>
<li>family who love and support me</li>
<li>a host family who has taken me in and accommodated all my (sometimes odd) requests </li>
<li>friends who write me letters and send me numerous emails</li>
<li>past and present YAGMs around the world who are accompanying me on this journey and working to change the world one relationship at a time</li>
<li>relationships with all the other Mexico YAGMs </li>
<li>the relative safety of having an American passport </li>
<li>not feeling culturally obligated to get up early tomorrow morning to go shopping</li>
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I made my family roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie today. This is just the first step, as all the Mexico YAGMs are cooking Thanksgiving dinner together during our retreat next week. My brother ate some mashed potatoes, tried one bite of pumpkin pie (he doesn't like it), and then told his friends that his dinner was "muy rico" (very good), while I think my host mom was just happy to not have to cook for once. My supervisor at ALEM bought a Costco pumpkin pie for everyone to share at work today, and then let me leave early so I would have time to cook.<br />
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This Thanksgiving has not been much like any of my previous Thanksgivings. I'm not in a food coma (although who knows after our Thanksgiving dinner next week!), I didn't get to make or eat several of my favorite foods, and I'm not curled up in front of the fireplace with a movie and my cat. But I know that I will have those experiences again, and in the meantime, I get to eat lots of tacos!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-3027868745194219262012-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:002012-11-09T17:50:39.273-08:00pumpkin mania<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've always loved any type of food with pumpkin in it. Pumpkin bread? Check. Pumpkin cookies? Most definitely. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls? Delicious. Pumpkin gelato, ice cream, truffles, pie, cake, you name it, I have probably eaten it and loved it! I told this to my host family one day, kind of lamenting the fact that it was fall but that no one in Mexico really eats pumpkin the way I do at home. </div>
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Well, be careful with your words! My mom came home on Monday afternoon with two giant grocery bags filled with pumpkin chunks from Walmart, telling me that she bought it all for me so I can bake pumpkin pie. I just kind of looked in astonishment at the sheer amount of pumpkin sitting in our kitchen, at a loss for words as to what to do with all the chunks. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is about a quarter of the pumpkin that I had to work with, and this is how it comes from Walmart!</td></tr>
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As a
disclaimer, I have never cooked with fresh pumpkin before. I love
creating pumpkin baked goods, but my pumpkin has always come from a
can. So I looked at this as an adventure! I've also been a little sad
with the fact that I don't really get to cook or bake at all in my house
because my family loves to take care of me. But that all changed
today!</div>
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I spent almost 4 hours in the kitchen today, cooking pumpkin, roasting
pumpkin seeds, creating the pumpkin puree, and packaging it for easy
access in the freezer.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some of the pumpkin cooking in our tiny oven</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pumpkin puree</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the finished product! 8 cups of pumpkin puree</td></tr>
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As I was working with the pumpkin, my mom looked over and remarked on the quantity. She commented that I will be eating this pumpkin all year.<br />
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I sure hope so!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-1402893498684836892012-11-09T12:42:00.001-08:002012-11-09T12:42:40.787-08:00Día de los MuertosOn November 1st and 2nd we celebrated Día de los Muertos here in Cuernavaca. My family was out of town for a wedding, so I was hanging out with Colleen all weekend. <br />
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Thursday night we headed to Ocotepec, which is a community in Cuernavaca. It's one of the few communities where homes are open to the public for Día de los Muertos. Every family that has lost someone in the past year creates an ofrenda in their home. People are invited to view the ofrenda/altar and eat the provided food. Colleen and I arrived as dusk was falling, and immediately bought some candles, as it's tradition to give a candle to each family; it's a kind of exchange, with visitors giving candles and receiving food and drinks in return. <br />
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We then met up with Andrea and her family at the church in Ocotepec, before heading out to visit homes. At each house we waited to enter, then viewed the altars set up for the deceased family members. Each altar included some sort of physical representation of the person being remembered, usually with photos and some of their old clothing. Around that, all sorts of food and other items for the dead to use. These included: bread, tamales, piles of fruit, tools, dishes, photos, cigarettes, marigolds, items shaped like skulls, etc. After saying hello to the families, either Colleen or I handed them a candle (then put into a box, I have no idea what they are used for!), and then headed for the food! I ate a taco, a tamale, several pan dulces and pan de muertos, and drank many cups of hot punch (kind of like apple cider, but with different fruits).<br />
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Friday morning Colleen and I headed to Jardin Borda, a giant private garden in the Centro. From Thursday through Sunday entrance was free, there were several large ofrendas throughout the garden, artisans selling their wares, and lots of decorated catrinas, or skeleton ladies. We wandered the park taking pictures and just taking in the atmosphere. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">catrinas at Jardin Borda</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some of the ofrendas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this one is for Frida Kahlo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marigolds are everywhere on Día de los Muertos</td></tr>
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Many families go to the cemetery on Nov. 2 to decorate the family graves and eat food, but I didn't know anyone who was doing that. Día de los Muertos is a way to celebrate and remember your ancestors, as the dead come back to wander the earth. It's a way of engaging with our own mortality while remembering those who we were close to.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-84557290523881729042012-10-29T17:38:00.002-07:002012-10-29T17:38:49.033-07:00"There's an Angry Birds piñata in my living room."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">My cousin Humberto's 8th birthday was last weekend, so we celebrated in style! However, we were very Mexican about it. In other words, I didn't have any idea of what was going to happen. On the Friday before, I was told to invite my friends over for the fiesta at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon, which was the first concrete knowledge I had about this fiesta. On Sunday my parents disappeared in the preparations (literally, as in, I didn't know where they went), and then people started showing up after 2. This is kind of how things work in Mexico.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We took over the empty house next door (still not really sure why we have a key) to set up tables and all the food. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of refrescos: Coca, Coca Light, and Manzana Lift. Mole and chicken salad served on crossaint-like rolls. Popcorn and chicarrones and other snacks. I enjoyed chatting with some of my family's relatives, although it got a little overwhelming once 20 people were crammed into a small living room, all speaking rapid Spanish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Although this was Humberto's party, he and most of the other kids were in Maury's room playing video games all day. But they all appeared when it was time for the piñata!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maury with the unharmed piñata</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humberto mid-swing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the aftermath!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">poor, discarded piñata</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">So much candy! I ended up getting to raid Olivia's candy bag as she ended up with quite the haul. Then it was time for cake! And by cake I mean strawberry tarts and brownies, which is actually better than cake in my opinion!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">All in all, it made for a great party!</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Fundraising Note: Many thanks to Dorothy Holman, who sponsored today in my YAGM year!</span>Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-22464705811383761732012-10-23T18:09:00.000-07:002012-10-23T18:09:30.713-07:00time for some tacos!Saturday night, my family took me out to eat tacos al pastor. It was quite possibly the most delicious food I have eaten so far in Mexico, which is saying something given the sheer amount of delicious food I have eaten in the past two months. <br />
<br />
This adventure started out the way most adventures here do: my family told me to get in the car. In other words, I usually have no idea of what I'm getting myself into, but I try to just go with the flow. As we spend 25 minutes driving through downtown Cuernavaca at 8:30 Saturday night, I wonder why we aren't stopping at any of the numerous taquerías we're driving past. After all, this is Mexico, there are delicious tacos on almost every street corner! Well, this long-ish drive was totally worth it. <br />
<br />
We eventually pull up to a brightly lit taquería a couple of blocks down a dark street. Immediately, I notice the man carving meat from the spit into small corn tortillas before lopping off a chunk of pineapple. No matter where that pinapple flew, he managed to gracefully catch it in the taco. Over and over and over again like a piece of choreography. As we sit down my family greets one of the workers that they know. My mom asks me what I want. When I turn to her with a confused expression on my face, she orders me three tacos al pastor with everything. Waiting for the food, the atmosphere of this little taquería overwhelms me. The fuzzy little tv in the corner with a soccer game. The sizzle of meat as it's cooked behind me. Smelling the overall goodness of Mexican food. <br />
<br />
And then the food comes. My tacos, loaded up with meat, pineapple, cilantro, and onion. I try the different salsas on the table, and then wish I hadn't as my mouth starts to burn, my face turns bright red, and I start sweating from the spice. But it is some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten. The sweet tang of the pineapple as I take a bite, cilantro and onion falling in my lap. Needing to finish every last bite. Washing it all down with the ever present Coca (aka Coca Cola).<br />
<br />
I am in heaven.<br />
<br />
I hope to return some day soon.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-24201802559708359372012-10-14T19:38:00.001-07:002012-10-14T19:38:13.053-07:00Learning Spanish<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2KsuBV2XQGM/UHtwkiuZ9GI/AAAAAAAAAcw/eT08lkVRJpM/s1600/IMG_0669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2KsuBV2XQGM/UHtwkiuZ9GI/AAAAAAAAAcw/eT08lkVRJpM/s320/IMG_0669.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My trusty Spanish tools: pocket dictionary and a notebook for new words! My notebook has pages for food, for my two worksites, for getting my
hair cut, for sickness. I can pretty much guarantee that this notebook
with new vocabulary will become a record of my new experiences for the
year and my attempts to explain these experiences in Spanish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The thing I was probably the most worried about in my YAGM assignment in Mexico was the language. I studied Spanish for two years in high school and then for another two semesters at PLU, but I in no way felt prepared to live for a year in Mexico or to function at a conversational level. During orientation I attended Spanish school in Cuernavaca, which definitely helped my confidence level. But it's been a struggle. At work I'm bombarded with brand new vocabulary: destornillador plano (flat head screwdriver), destornillador de cuadro (Phillips head screwdriver), tornillo (screw), coser (to sew), ciego (blind), sordo (deaf), aflojar (to loosen), picadura (mosquito bite), freno (brake), apretar (to tighten), género (gender). <br />
<br />
After spending a day at work learning new skills and trying to name them in Spanish, or observing an entirely new workshop, I return home to a household where English is only spoken when my brother is working on his English homework. Instead of collapsing after a long day of work, I still have to function in Spanish. I have to try to construct grammatically correct sentences, when all I want to do is give my brain a break. <br />
<br />
Since my arrival in Mexico almost 8 weeks ago, my Spanish has progressed immensely. My vocabulary has expanded exponentially, and I feel so much more comfortable speaking. I can use verb tenses I struggled with in my classes at PLU, and I can function on at least a basic level in Mexican society. That being said, I am nowhere near being fluent, and don't expect to get to that level in my year in Cuernavaca. I still don't talk very much at family meal times because I get frustrated with my lack of vocabulary on any given topic, and I regularly have to ask for sentences to be repeated (but I maybe only need something repeated once, instead of two or three times!). <br />
<br />
I am so in awe of my fellow YAGMs around the world who are learning and using completely new languages. Even with their language school during orientation, I can't even imagine starting in a brand new country with a brand new language. Can you imagine moving to Madagascar, being given three weeks of Malagasy training, and then starting a new life there? What about learning Hungarian or Malay or Arabic or Xhosa or Afrikaans? And then there are the stories I hear of my fellow volunteers using multiple languages. Of Kaia, who uses her Mandarin skills in Malaysia while trying to learn Malay. Of Kristen, who speaks Spanish with her program director in Hungary. Of Kelly, who helps the girls at her work site in Malaysia with Spanish. I'm sure there are countless other stories of people trying to use multiple languages in their communication all around the world. <br />
<br />
I am thankful that I am not starting a brand new language here. I am thankful that I only struggle with one new language here. I am thankful for everyone who patiently listens to my (sometimes awful) Spanish and corrects me without making me feel like a fool. I am thankful for work supervisors who speak in English when I get confused. I am thankful for the woman at the CEDISH workshop last week who came up to me and told me she wants to talk in English with me because she wants to keep practicing. I am thankful that I can help my brother Maury with his English homework, and that he can help me with my Spanish vocabulary. I am thankful for dictionaries and Google translate. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn a new language, and I am hopeful that I will continue to improve in the weeks and months ahead.<br />
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-85182012011633662342012-10-01T15:37:00.002-07:002012-10-01T15:37:27.132-07:00How do I explain Lutheranism to a Mexican?This weekend we celebrated the feast day of Saint Michael (San Miguel). On Saturday a parade from the nearby Catholic church went through my neighborhood, and the bishop came to St. Michael's Anglican church yesterday to help celebrate. As part of this celebration, flower crosses are made and handed out. If you put it on your door, it's supposed to keep the devil away!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39RGG4WkK_s/UGoV8pc_IPI/AAAAAAAAAcc/Rw70VEiSgwM/s1600/IMG_0668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39RGG4WkK_s/UGoV8pc_IPI/AAAAAAAAAcc/Rw70VEiSgwM/s320/IMG_0668.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my front door, safely protected from the devil!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I came home from church with my cross yesterday, my mom asked me if I knew why the crosses were popular, and then explained the story of St. Michael stomping on the devil's head to me. Needless to say, my Lutheran upbringing has not made me all that knowledgeable about the saints!<br />
<br />
After hearing this story, I commented that the Lutheran church doesn't have saints. Only the virgin? Nope, not even the Virgin Mary. Then I tried to clarify. Lutherans believe in a community of saints, that we are all saints (but I don't know the word for sinner, so I didn't even try to get into the theology of simultaneously being saint and sinner).<br />
<br />
It's not hard to see why my host mom was confused. There are largely two denominations of Christianity in Mexico: la iglesia católica, and la iglesia christiana. La iglesia católica is the Roman Catholic church, whereas la iglesia christiana tends to be the more conservative, evangelical churches. This distinction is maintained throughout the culture. A Catholic isn't considered a "Christian", because the "Christian church" is completely separate. Most people here don't know anything about the Lutheran church. Andrea told us during orientation that it would probably be easier to explain the history of the Reformation and Martin Luther, or else to explain that Lutherans "are like Catholics, but without the saints," than it would be to actually explain what makes Lutherans different.<br />
<br />
The church I have been attending in Cuernavaca is St. Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church. It is an English speaking congregation, made up largely of foreigners living in Cuernavaca. The community is great, the food at coffee hour is delicious, I receive communion by name because the pastor knows me already, and the entire service is in English! Because there are no Lutheran churches in Cuernavaca, this Anglican congregation is probably the most similar to a Lutheran one, and many parts of the service are familiar to me. But my host mom was still confused about WHY I attend St. Michaels. I tell her it is the most similar to a Lutheran church, and it's in English. While she accepts that explanation, it is one more example of me being frustrated with not possessing the language to explain myself. How do I tell her that the Anglican church is similar to the Episcopal church in the U.S., and that I grew up with an Episcopal church in my parish? How do I explain that, in the U.S., the ELCA and the Episcopal Church commune with each other? <br />
<br />
Most importantly, how do I explain my Lutheran faith, my Lutheran community, my Lutheran church, to my Mexican family who has no context for this discussion? How do I share this part of my identity when I don't have the language to do so?Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-337412214774576152012-09-27T15:48:00.000-07:002012-09-27T15:48:12.327-07:00Green Space!As much as I love Cuernavaca (and I really do! It's a great city!), it's very urban and there's not a lot of green space in the city. My house has no lawn or garden, there aren't very many parks, and it's hard to even get a glimpse of the city as a whole from my neighborhood.<br />
<br />
So I was super excited when Mayra, my supervisor at ALEM, took me to a
park to show me the site for one of our dance sessions! It's pretty
close to my house (about a 25 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride), it's
free, and it's GREEN!!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">so beautiful!</td></tr>
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As a side note, these are the kittens that live at ALEM! They are always one of the highlights of my day when I see them. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h6W0OeevfmA/UGTXJy3Nv-I/AAAAAAAAAcI/WjJKctTcWNI/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h6W0OeevfmA/UGTXJy3Nv-I/AAAAAAAAAcI/WjJKctTcWNI/s320/IMG_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The black one is named Pirata (aka Pirate) and the orange one is named Garfield.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-63744834861343804252012-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:002012-09-21T17:17:18.987-07:00pondering sicknessThe journey continues, my friends! I'm now lucky enough to be dealing with a cold here in Mexico. It's only slightly irritating, but it has been interesting to see how many people in my community here think about sickness.<br />
<br />
Now, when I think about getting a cold, I know I've picked up some bug somewhere. I need to make sure to be getting my vitamins, getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water and hot liquids, and possibly taking some cough drops or other medicine. My host family has been pretty worried. They heard me coughing the other day and were worried, and I had to reassure them that I already had some medicine (thank you, prescription strength cough drops I could get without seeing a doctor!) and have been taking it as instructed. Every day they ask me how I'm doing, and then make sure I have everything I need (not too different from any other day, actually). <br />
<br />
The real surprise came when I was talking to my supervisors at both ALEM and CEDISH. Comments about how I shouldn't be sitting in front of the fan (but it was hot!), grabbing ice from the freezer (someone has to do it, right?), carry the jug of water back from the OXXO, or even be sitting in on the workshop at work, because I need to rest and not exposed to people. Not to protect them from my germs, but to protect myself somehow. I'm not entirely sure. One of those things that was lost in translation. "But it's only a cold!" I protest. Can you tell I'm not used to being mothered in such an intense way? (as a side note: my mom is great. But I'm not at "home" in Edmonds all that often anymore, and I think she trusts that I know how to take care of myself for the most part.)<br />
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Just another interesting cultural difference I thought I'd share...Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-11521029367173287592012-09-18T15:19:00.000-07:002012-09-18T15:19:11.841-07:00¡Viva México!September 15th is Mexican Independence Day, so of course we had to celebrate in style!<br />
<br />
For me, the morning started out pretty much the same as any other Saturday morning with my host family. I slept in a little, then ate a late-ish breakfast with my family. My grandmother and uncle were over as well, so there were 8 of us eating breakfast! The kids all ate hot cakes, while the adults went with the chicharrones tacos (aka tacos with fried pig skins). I decided to be a kid again, and stick with the pancakes! As an added bonus, my family has both peanut butter and Nutella for me now, so I got pancakes with peanut butter for Independence Day! <br />
<br />
Later I watched part of a movie, then rode with the family to Walmart for some last minute shopping. I then got to try pozole for the first time. DELICIOUS! Pozole is basically a corn soup, that you then load up with chicken, onion, lime, and avocado. While we were eating an epic thunderstorm decided to roll through, so I played some games with my family. Finally, at about 8, we headed to the Zocalo!<br />
<br />
The Zocalo was super crowded, with lots of vendors selling everything from posters to tacos to shoes to handmade purses. I was definitely glad to be there with my family, although I couldn't believe how many people were there with their young children! Maury, Humberto, and Estefania were always holding someone's hand so they wouldn't get lost, but I was also glad to be connected to one of the children (especially when they were also connected to one of the adults) so there was less chance of me getting separated in the giant crowd. We waited out another 45 minute rainstorm with everyone else who didn't want to get dumped on. The rain made a lot of the vendors close up and drove a lot of people away, which was a little sad. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fCGbflWU-o/UFfcuDLjhPI/AAAAAAAAAaw/cY3vXF_yMds/s1600/539390_4536660895949_203687078_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fCGbflWU-o/UFfcuDLjhPI/AAAAAAAAAaw/cY3vXF_yMds/s320/539390_4536660895949_203687078_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the stage and balcony in the Zocalo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eventually I met up with a few of the other volunteers, so we wandered around the Zocalo by ourselves. Several phenomenal mariachi bands played, and then at 11 it was time for the grito! At 11 the governor of Morelos appeared on the balcony overlooking the Zocalo to lead us all in the cry. The governor led the cry, and then we all responded with ¡Viva! as appropriate. (The Huffington Post describes the grito pretty accurately <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/el-grito_n_1885100.html">here</a>.) At the end of that, we all got showered with spray foam! Think silly string cans that spray out foam pellets. I wasn't really expecting that, and we got a little messy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUXK4gKWn9g/UFfctOXH5GI/AAAAAAAAAao/Vf4sUvAhGv8/s1600/393266_4536658655893_1940022309_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUXK4gKWn9g/UFfctOXH5GI/AAAAAAAAAao/Vf4sUvAhGv8/s320/393266_4536658655893_1940022309_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">right after being sprayed with foam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then the fireworks started! As the fireworks were going off, I was struck with one of those "how did I get so lucky and so blessed to be standing here right now in Mexico with all these awesome people" feelings that have been so prevalent lately. Although I wished I could have been singing along with the other Mexicans during the national anthem, it was a beautiful moment!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-25121846489620185442012-09-14T20:38:00.000-07:002012-09-14T20:38:13.841-07:00Visiting TepoztlanImmediately after orientation ended, most of the Mexico YAGM volunteers headed to Tepoztlan, a small pueblo about a 45 minute bus ride from Cuernavaca. Casey and Alicia are living and working there this year, which meant a perfect excuse to visit another city in Mexico! As if that wasn't enough, this last weekend was the celebration of the anniversary of the baptism and conversion to Catholicism of Tepozteco. This meant the weekend was full of cultural festivals and crazy adventures!<br />
<br />
Friday, September 7th, was the one day all year where the hike to Tepozteco Pyramid is open at night (and also free, which is especially nice what with our small YAGM stipends). Now, when I thought about climbing a pyramid, I pictured clambering up some steep steps in the pyramid itself. Well, to get to Tepozteco, it's necessary to first climb up a mountain.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWH9ruK8VXA/UFPzOhtf9AI/AAAAAAAAAZU/qkN_xNRx0io/s1600/IMG_0578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AWH9ruK8VXA/UFPzOhtf9AI/AAAAAAAAAZU/qkN_xNRx0io/s320/IMG_0578.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view of Tepozteco from Alicia's house - yes, the pyramid is at the top!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3iIJ7b9ZCVc/UFPzSf7hFzI/AAAAAAAAAZc/y0Xh0qdw0p8/s1600/IMG_0563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3iIJ7b9ZCVc/UFPzSf7hFzI/AAAAAAAAAZc/y0Xh0qdw0p8/s320/IMG_0563.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">close-up view of the pyramid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next, add in the fact that we didn't start our hike until about 7:45 Friday night. This meant that it was pretty much completely dark about 20 minutes after we started hiking. As frustrating as they were, the many police checkpoints meant to ensure that everyone had a working flashlight were a good thing! Trying to navigate crazy stair-like rocks in the complete dark without a flashlight would have been difficult.<br />
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Once we arrived at the top of the mountain, the 6 of us YAGMs who made the climb were greeted by Tepozteco lit up, oddly enough, by purple and blue lights.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lvBmYJtx3p8/UFP1J_-Ri9I/AAAAAAAAAZk/pb_86Z1msSE/s1600/185122_4675441050764_672332292_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lvBmYJtx3p8/UFP1J_-Ri9I/AAAAAAAAAZk/pb_86Z1msSE/s320/185122_4675441050764_672332292_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anyone else think this looks like a discoteca?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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It was such a surreal experience to be standing in the middle of Mexico, on top of a mountain, next to a pyramid lit up like a techno club, with hundreds of other Mexicans at 10 at night. Literally hundreds of other Mexicans were up there with us. We wanted to take a seat on the pyramid itself, but that would have been impossible due to all the people residing on the pyramid by the time we got there. Stretched out before us were the lights of Tepoztlan and Cuernavaca, and they stretched almost as far as I could see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRIJ5Lcbjyg/UFP1LUPvq9I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/8B_1rH4F4h8/s1600/392075_4675448370947_1344267503_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRIJ5Lcbjyg/UFP1LUPvq9I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/8B_1rH4F4h8/s320/392075_4675448370947_1344267503_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 YAGMs on top of a mountain!</td></tr>
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Even though the hike up was kind of tiring, and we were all exhausted and sick from the end of orientation, I would not have traded that experience for anything. The entire hike we stayed together as a group and took care of each other. It was definitely an accomplishment to go through that experience together, and I'm excited to keep working with the other volunteers throughout the year!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HRC_LKHkjKY/UFP1L7xzsqI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/CH5k73Zmd18/s1600/576855_4675456091140_2064303571_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HRC_LKHkjKY/UFP1L7xzsqI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/CH5k73Zmd18/s320/576855_4675456091140_2064303571_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we had a little fun with the lights of Tepoztlan behind us</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-offQ6EbSNeE/UFP1KiDVSdI/AAAAAAAAAZs/vbvIZ7MBmlg/s1600/249679_4675456371147_837964533_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-offQ6EbSNeE/UFP1KiDVSdI/AAAAAAAAAZs/vbvIZ7MBmlg/s320/249679_4675456371147_837964533_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">for reference again: that's where the pyramid was!</td></tr>
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Saturday was another day full of cultural experiences. In the morning we walked around Tepoz for a while, and just kind of took in the day. The new seed mural was up in front of the church, and later in the afternoon we watched the reenactment of the baptism of Tepozteco. The entire day, it kind of felt like we got lucky and were in the right place at the right time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fCnuzgcOnCk/UFP3SiQJ7ZI/AAAAAAAAAaE/Ucc3VMBEd2o/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fCnuzgcOnCk/UFP3SiQJ7ZI/AAAAAAAAAaE/Ucc3VMBEd2o/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">half of the new seed mural: it depicted the legend of Tepozteco</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y1J4y2unjE/UFP3YR1Va0I/AAAAAAAAAaM/8jY6bSsNJ2c/s1600/IMG_0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y1J4y2unjE/UFP3YR1Va0I/AAAAAAAAAaM/8jY6bSsNJ2c/s320/IMG_0593.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">monks walking to the baptism of Tepozteco</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TPJMhXLLy6M/UFP3dXgme8I/AAAAAAAAAaU/zMmQct-zfIQ/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TPJMhXLLy6M/UFP3dXgme8I/AAAAAAAAAaU/zMmQct-zfIQ/s320/IMG_0633.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the end of the reenactment, and the end of a long day!</td></tr>
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<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142883608803880501.post-32813258999474654722012-09-10T18:12:00.001-07:002012-09-10T18:16:02.296-07:00Orientación, parte dos<style>@font-face {
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mq78RVAsYaw/UE6PO9eTEMI/AAAAAAAAAY0/fG5711HUr8o/s1600/Raina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mq78RVAsYaw/UE6PO9eTEMI/AAAAAAAAAY0/fG5711HUr8o/s320/Raina.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">group photo at Centro Guadalupe with Hermana Raina</td></tr>
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After our first week of language school, all the Mexico
YAGMs returned to Centro Guadalupe (the convent) for our second week of
orientation. This second part of
orientation had two main focuses:</div>
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1. Visiting everyone’s different worksites. This both helped us be not so freaked
out about starting work soon, and also allowed everyone to get a sense of what
the other volunteers will be doing throughout the year. The worksites are quite diverse, and it
will be interesting to hear how everyone is doing once work starts!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCzdjUyqeeQ/UE6Paw-2r2I/AAAAAAAAAY8/tUtZgrqDVBs/s1600/SARAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCzdjUyqeeQ/UE6Paw-2r2I/AAAAAAAAAY8/tUtZgrqDVBs/s320/SARAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the roof at Casey's worksite. We're all jealous of the view!</td></tr>
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2. Sharing our “Art and Story” with everyone. During this activity, everyone shared
(part of) their life story in 40 minutes, along with a few small clay
sculptures to give some structure.
This was a pretty transformative part of my week. It’s hard for me to talk about myself
for that long, and it’s hard to open up about yourself to a group of people you
haven’t known for all that long.
But it was pretty impressive how deep we all were willing to go. I know more about my other volunteers
than I know about some of my friends at home, and vice versa. I’m excited to continue these
conversations throughout the year.</div>
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The visit to CEDISH happened on Monday afternoon. It was great to visit the office, and
my supervisors seem really friendly and willing to work with me. It’s a pretty small office, located
above my supervisor’s house. I’m
still not really sure what I’m going to be doing throughout the year, but I
guess I’ll find out when I actually start work!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OAZzAaP2uM/UE6Orxjhb5I/AAAAAAAAAYk/C8xRKu1Jnl8/s1600/CEDISH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OAZzAaP2uM/UE6Orxjhb5I/AAAAAAAAAYk/C8xRKu1Jnl8/s320/CEDISH.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At CEDISH with my supervisors, Mitzi and Magnolia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AG2QWKyyVaI/UE6OqvlKz1I/AAAAAAAAAYc/m47jd-ii9MA/s1600/CEDISH+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AG2QWKyyVaI/UE6OqvlKz1I/AAAAAAAAAYc/m47jd-ii9MA/s320/CEDISH+2" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexico YAGM girls on the balcony at CEDISH</td></tr>
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Visiting ALEM was a lot more intense. Because ALEM is an organization for
people in wheelchairs, they asked me to sit in a wheelchair for the entire
visit. It definitely takes some
maneuvering to get around, and there’s a ramp that I needed help to get around
in. But I’m excited to start work
there. Mayra, my supervisor, is
excited for me to start, and I can tell that the atmosphere is going to be good
to work in.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2FQNAYbDTXM/UE6PESO4jhI/AAAAAAAAAYs/vGXWLeSA-mE/s1600/ALEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2FQNAYbDTXM/UE6PESO4jhI/AAAAAAAAAYs/vGXWLeSA-mE/s320/ALEM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting helped in my wheelchair at ALEM</td></tr>
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The week was full of community building, but it was hampered
by the fact that most of our group was feeling sick in some way. Several people had stomach bugs, one
girl had (and still has) a cold, one girl hurt her foot last weekend, and it
turns out I have an ear infection, so I was in pain most of the week. I get the dubious honor of being the
first in our group to “get to” visit the doctor. Prayers for the health of our group are greatly appreciated!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IC8TwtAeRXc/UE6P0Y78hLI/AAAAAAAAAZE/oPA9ndRXTRU/s1600/pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IC8TwtAeRXc/UE6P0Y78hLI/AAAAAAAAAZE/oPA9ndRXTRU/s320/pizza.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we definitely appreciated our pizza dinner!</td></tr>
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Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03203157319799513642noreply@blogger.com0