Mexico trip slideshow

7-minute student-made slideshow of the trip.

Welcome to the junior class blog of our trip to the US/Mexico borderlands. We traveled in southern Arizona and northern Sonora for two weeks this February in order to study the complex issues playing out in this region. We hiked in the desert, met with border patrol, minutemen (civilians who patrol the border), humanitarian groups, and an immigrant rights lawyer. We interviewed migrants recently deported, volunteered at a soup kitchen, hiked water into the desert for those crossing, toured a Maquiladora-- a US garage door making factory in Mexico, made paper flowers, lived with families in a "colonia" in Nogales, visited a town through which 1000 people pass each day before walking 3-5 days through the desert to reach a US highway. We made crosses and hung them on the border wall to represent the lives lost while crossing the desert. We swam in the Sea of Cortez. We lived with Mexican families in the town of Carbo where we learned the true meaning of the expression "Mi casa es tu casa." This was a profound journey for students and staff alike. We return full of stories and images, and full of gratitude for our lives and the opportunities we have. Many, many thanks to all of the people who met with us. You have made us think, and you have inspired us.

The most recent entries are posted first, so please scroll down to the bottom and read up.

Thanks!

I had never...

Back to Compass, students wrote a list of 20 things they had never done before this trip. Here are three from each person. Almost every single student wrote "I had never learned so much in such a short time."

I had never...

heard a pack of coyotes howling at night
interviewed a deported migrant
hugged a person goodbye who I only knew for one night
swam in the Pacific Ocean
learned so much in two weeks
seen a sky so blue as the one I saw in Carbo
laughed so much on a school trip
tried to overcome my fears
forgotten about my life back home while on a class trip
made a tortilla
seen so many people being real, honest, forward, understanding, and welcoming
bonded so quickly with people outside of my family
seen a sunset in the desert
smacked my head into a cactus
eaten so many hot burritios for breakfast
had to pay to use a restroom
seen people illegally crossing the border
milked a cow
camped in the desert
stayed with a family as poor as the Nogales family
gotten my hair cut in Mexico
known I could do a hike on hard rocky canyon cliffs all day long
done a homestay before
known how to make beautiful paper flowers
appreciated showers and running water like I do now
met so many inspirational people
been stared at so much
felt the power of a man-made barrier
seen and done so many amazing things in one day
cried for the lives of people I didn’t know
eaten a cactus
seen a ring of clouds around the moon
shared a bed with 6 guys
realized what an amazing school Compass is
taught an English class
felt so connected with my classmates
been a minority
built 80 crosses to represent human death
seen such kindness from strangers

Day 14: Isabel Garcia, by Mario Tofiño

Some of us woke up early and did a little hike with Andy around the campsite. It turned out really nice and worth the effort of losing sleep time. Then we all had breakfast and packed the vans to go to Tucson, to the place we camped the first days.

When we got there it was weird. It felt weird to see the place where we camped at the beginning after all those days of work and learning. It felt different. We were looking at it differently. After taking showers and setting up the tents we left for downtown Tucson to meet with Isabel Garcia, we had an appointment at 3:00 pm

She got there at 3:50 pm; we were kind of annoyed and I felt like I would sleep during her presentation. But from the moment she started talking until the moment we left I couldn’t stop paying attention. The energy in her voice and the emotion with which she felt the issue blew my sleepiness away and made me listen intently. She talked about Project Streamline, which makes crossing the border illegally a felony and randomly chooses people to prosecute. Those people face 2-20 years in jail in the US. She also talked about how the people get targeted and the racial profiling is rising in Arizona. She inspired us to think: “We have to do something. We’ve got to.” Isabel Garcia is the most convincing person I’ve ever met.

No More Deaths hike in the desert, by Abigail Brusco

On Feb. 5th 2009, we met up with Vanessa and Wendy, volunteers for “No More Deaths” in Arivaca who led us on a desert hike. They told us that “No More Deaths” is an organization that helps the migrants. The “No More Deaths” volunteers walk in the desert, look for the migrants and give them food, supplies, and clothes. We hiked to a dump site where the migrants left their belongings. At this point they have been walking in the desert for 3-5 days and this is their last stop before they get to the road. They leave their possessions here so that they don’t look like migrants when they get their ride to a US city. We collected backpacks that can be recycled. After we collected the bags, Vanessa described how she got involved in the organization and the number of migrants that came through the dump area.

When I saw the dump, it made me sad, seeing all the belongings scattered everywhere on the ground.

Border Patrol, by Kyle Tansley

Our Time with the Border Patrol

Kyle Tansley

When we left Carbo, our first stop on the way back to the US was at the Border Patrol headquarters of the Tucson sector. When we rolled in we saw a very large amount of border patrol trucks. Our guides greeted us when we walked in, and we spent some time in the lobby looking at patches on the wall. We saw multiple agents with automatic weapons walking through the halls. It was a rather intimidating place. Over the few hours that we were there we asked many questions, and the agents were able to answer most of them. I could tell that they weren’t telling the exact truth the whole time, and I asked questions to confirm that suspicion.

I had talked to an immigrant in Nogales who had been held for 4 days by the border patrol. They had taken a medication he needs to live, and when they deported him they didn’t give it back. I asked the border patrol agent if they were supposed to give everything back to the immigrants when they left, and he said yes, so either he or the immigrant were lying, and I believe the immigrant.

We also saw a few agents walking around with decked out M4’s and other automatic weapons. I asked the agent if they were allowed to walk around with magazines in their weapons, and he said that no, they were supposed to have the magazines out inside the headquarters. I know he wasn’t lying about that, but that means that many agents we saw were in violation of protocol, which isn’t good either.

Overall, I thought the border patrol had their game down. They had very impressive numbers and technology, and we even got to see them in action working with immigrants near the holding cells. There were definitely holes in what they told us, but it was very good to hear their side of the story.

Leaving homestays, by Pete Terwilliger

Leaving Carbo

I awoke in the dark of my room at the Rodiguez home. I could hear noises from the kitchen, people murmuring things in Spanish, and the sizzling of something on a pan. I crawled out of the tangle of blankets and my red sleeping bag and groggily flipped the light switch on. Then I proceeded to dig through my huge black duffel bag for a pair of clean pants and a shirt to wear on our visit to border patrol when we crossed back into Arizona. Andy warned us that a previous group had smelled so bad that border patrol requested that the next year they come cleaner. As I pulled on a pair of jeans I realized that I had stayed in these people’s home for only 3 nights and already I felt like I was a part of their family. We joked together, talked about philosophies of life together, politics and the value of good hard work, all in my very broken Spanish and their very broken English. But somehow we were able to understand each other perfectly (Well, almost). I was sad, I could potentially never see any member of this family, my new family, ever again. When I entered the small kitchen the aroma of freshly cooked machaca (dried meat), beans, potatoes and corn tortillas invaded my nostrils. I sat down alongside my host mother’s grandmother smiling and greeting them “good morning”.

My host mother serves me first as she always does, and I wait. Over these 3 days I have learned that my family is fairly religious and prays every breakfast, so I wait until they are all served. Then we bend our heads, and my host father says something very solemnly. I hear my name once or twice. He is thanking god for me and asking for safety on my journey. Then we eat, and eat and eat. My host mother is an excellent cook and delights when she is able to feed me more.

As we sit eating, my host sister Anna leaves with a purple maker. A few minutes later she returns carrying a picture I had seen hanging in their living room. It is a framed picture depicting the Deer Dance which is the native people of Sonora, the Yaqui’s, request for more deer. It is a picture with deep sentimental value and they were handing it to me. She had written on the back: “to remember your visit to Carbó” and the date. At the time I hadn’t realized they were actually giving it to me until when we were all gathered in the center of town saying goodbye to our families and they again handed it to me. Then it really hit me, how much I meant to them, and how I had really become a part of their family. With reverence I took this meaningful gift in my hands saying “Gracias. Muchas gracias”. I felt as though I couldn’t put into words how grateful I was, for the gift but more for the way they had let me into their home and made me a part of their life for a few days.

All the families stood in a circle, Compass kids with their host families, some crying. It is amazing to think back a few days when we were paired off with these total strangers. The looks that I saw then are so different than what I see now. On the first day people were nervous, even terrified. And today people are sad, but also completely comfortable with their families, and being minorities in this group of Mexicans. We learned what it feels like to be truly uncomfortable and what it feels like to be the minority. We go around the circle saying things that we feel the need to say. I say nothing. I have told my family everything that I need too. Thanking them profusely for letting me in their home, showing me kindness that I hadn’t seen before from a complete stranger, and letting this experience happen. An experience that I think is key to life, a experience that is so very valuable.

After the circle there are hugs and some tears. As we all pile into the vans we scream adios, goodbye, gracias, thank you! Sitting in the van, I watch our host families disappear as we drive away, our journey is more than half over but I feel like I have been here for months and I feel like I have a new family. I think that as we drove off leaving Carbo, driving on that narrow Sonoran highway we were all thinking the same thing. We were amazed at the power of people to do good, and the humanity of all people, and also surprised in ourselves at what we had just accomplished. For at least five minutes we were very quiet until someone passed gas and then the rest of the trip was a ruckus. But I know for those five minutes of thought we were all dazed, and amazed.

Now we were on the road for Arizona. We were heading home to the United States.

The last night of home-stays, by Sarah Schreiber

2/4/09

Tonight is the last night of my home-stay. It’s been great so far, minus going to school with my host-sister, Alexia. Being here I feel like I have a real family, living with both parents and a few sisters instead of divorced parents and two brothers that don’t live at home. The first night at this home-stay I was half asleep and my “mom” come in my room and made sure my blanket was covering me, just that one thing made me feel accepted in their home.
I’ve been trying hard to communicate with my family but it’s pretty difficult, although I feel like I’m learning a lot. My “sister”, Dulce, is too young to understand that I just don’t understand and speak Spanish and she just repeats everything and gives me a look like I’m crazy for not understanding. I can write with my other “sisters”, Alexia and Yolanda though and have a decent conversation with them. My “dad” is pretty funny with communicating, he just yells everything (but always with a smile on his face) hoping that speaking louder will make me understand. On the first my he came into my room with a glass of milk and yelled, “MILK!?”.
I met a couple people around my age that spoke English, Alma and Rigo. I’m so glad I got to meet them and they both made me feel more welcome into the community. Rigo even gave me a really nice picture of a video game character to take home.
I also went to school with Alexia, she’s 11 so she’s in 5th or 6th grade, and it was such a terrible experience. I walked through the school yard with her and I felt every pair of young eyes watch me, the American girl with bleach blonde hair and 9 piercings, all of them wondering what I was doing there. We eventually made it to the classroom and sat down at desks I could hardly fit in, they seemed so small. The teacher was barely even there for a class, I’d almost not consider him a teacher because he didn’t do anything. He was there in the classroom for a total of maybe 45 minutes. He would be there for a little while and then leave, but every time he left, a riot would break out between around 30 of the students, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I would describe it was a Fight Club for 10 year olds. Another time the teacher left every single kid piled in a circle around me to just stare at me and touch my hair and piercings. One little girl, Kayla, spoke English and said that they wanted to see my ear, I showed them, and they all gasped at the long metal bar that went through the top of my left ear. Things might have been worse in the classroom next to me though. The teacher left, and like my class, the kids started fighting and some kid got pushed through a window and his hand went through it and cut his wrist pretty back. That school was definitely an experience I won’t forget.
We also just had a party for everyone on their last night, all of the students and their families came to it and had a great time. There was a piñata, lots of food, music, poetry and lots of thank you’s to everyone for such a great experience with home-stays.

Truck drive through the desert, by Sara Solanas

February 3, 2009

Today was a good day, one of those days when the sun and the moon are in the sky together at the same time. Just that made it special. After 12 PM when the sun was at the highest point, I sat in the back of my host family’s pickup looking around me feeling the sun burning up my skin. The sky was a blue that I have never seen before with nothing that interrupted it, no clouds, no airplanes... no sounds… just pure sky.

From the back of the truck I could feel something really different from those in the front. The wind carefully enveloped each part of my body and the speed made my eyes water and tear up. As they went down my cheeks, the wind made them feel really cold in contrast to the hotness of my face. The strong light pointed directly into my sunglasses and made it difficult for me to look at the land along the empty road. Still, it was the most beautiful desert that I have seen in my entire life.

But the most amazing moment was looking backwards at the receding mountains yet feeling like they were moving toward me, an illusion that made me feel like I was out of this world. The memory of this stays with me, as a moment just one step away from perfection.

Homestays in Carbo

We are now in Carbo, Sonora where students are living with families for three days. Janet, Andy, Emmy, Memo, and I have spent the day walking through town visiting students. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and their Mexican families. I wish you could all be here to experience this place. People are so welcoming, and this is such a sweet town. More stories to come...

I took these pictures last night as students were matched with their families.

Kino and Beginning of Homestays, by Sara Solanas

After spending an intense week in Mexico learning about the issues of illegal immigration, we went to Kino for 2 days. We rested and had a peaceful day on the beach. In the morning we had a couple of hours more to sleep in than the other days. We ate breakfast together as we had any other normal day and then we had some time to reflect about the past week, some kind of own quiet space. After our brief free time it became a pretty busy morning because we started to organize all our stuff, clean the places were we had stayed and worked on blogs and thanks notes.

It was amazing how good Kino was for all of us. After our first week together we started to get grumpy and really tired and the 2 days gave us a chance to breathe. The group is now becoming strong together and we are learning so much from each other. We are finding that we are a good team and as always, we were ready to go when it was time.

Time in the van passed without noticing and then we were there, in the plaza of Carbo. All of us looked at the “plaza” trying to imagine what could be there. Suddenly we saw a group of Mexican people standing in one of the corners. When the vans parked and before anyone could get out, a bunch of little Mexican children were waiting in front of the doors smiling at us. I was nervous about my host family but at the same time I felt protected and supported by my classmates. I was ready for my first real homestay.