Impressions of the Border

The border region is very unique in that it incorporates both Mexico and The United States and also reflects something transcending both nations.  I'm not sure if that makes sense, but because of the fusion of cultures and the transit between the two countries, both sides of the border have become a culture of "mixture" - of division and inclusion.  Getting to know this region has been eye opening, interesting and challenging.

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez is one of the most fascinatingly complex cities I have ever visited.  If you look at the city from a distance, and even while driving through it, you see only one city.  It isn't until you look closer and see the wall or canal which divides the city that you realize they are two cities in two different countries.  When we went to the city council meeting to be sworn in as AmeriCorps volunteers the mayor referred to the city as El Paso/Ciudad Juarez as if it were one city.  The city and city members see the need for the cities to function together and remember when the two cities could be more closely identified as one.  In the past six years (since 2006) this has had to change due to increased violence in Juarez - and there is a lot of credible speculation that it's inaccurate to "blame" the violence on drug-related activities in Juarez, that is, El Paso has a large part to play in terms of how and where the violence happens. Even though Jaurez has been horribly affected by violence in the past years, El Paso was rated one of the safest cities in the world with something like an average of 6 murders per year.  This disparity in numbers may reflect, some presume, the effects of political, police, and military negotiations between nations more so than actual cultures of violence endemic to Ciudad Juarez and Mexico generally -- not to dismiss the documented corruption among the Mexican military and paramilitary forces.

Many people live in Juarez and have work visas to come into El Paso everyday for work or live in the U.S. but go back and forth to visit family, etc.  The cultures and people are really inseparable. 

Las Cruces has also been really fascinating to get to know.  The area is so Mestizo that most people in the community support the Latino population and the integration of Mexican culture into the city and society.  NM is one of two bilingual states in the U.S., Hawai'i being the other one. (While Hawai'i has passed formal legislation, there remains some disagreement as to whether New Mexico's bilingual status is official: in practice, yes; in principle, it's debatable.)  The majority of the people here have grown up and lived in this mixed community or have moved here because they value the diversity.  Sometimes there is a little resistance within Las Cruces to expose some of the harder immigration issues that occur in the region -- but there's no general motivation to expose the immigrants or undocumented workers themselves, at least not on the part of the area's residents, as far as I can tell. Of course, there are tensions and issues just like everywhere, but the folks here seem to be aware of difference.  And their ability to imbrace and discuss it impresses me.

 In total, NM is an awesome state!  I think as a whole it is more inclusive, open and welcoming as a whole than any other "American" city/state I've lived in. I have experienced a little resistance from the Chicano population to white people who come in to do service, but I have found that because I am working with (at my job) all Chicana or Mexican women (I'm the only gringa) that with time I am able to build trust and relationships.  I think it just takes time.  In my experience here at work and in the colonias, with time and patience it becomes obvious that I'm not here to take over or tell people what to do or think.  

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez Border

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez

If you are interested in learning more about immigration or the border region I am building a list of films that explore the topic.  Be warned, however, that some are pretty sad.

Featured Films

• Sin Nombre - Gangs and reasons for youth immigration  (can watch on Netflix)
• A Better Life - A father and son in the U.S.
• Entre Nos - Difficulties of making it once in the United States.
• La Misma Luna - Mother and Child Immigrants (can watch on Netflix)
• Harvest of Empire  - Brand New

Documentaries

• Which Way Home - About immigrant children (can watch on Netflix)
• El Sicario Room 164 - About an Assassin hired by the Mexican police in Juarez
• Murder Capital - About the violence in Ciudad Juarez
• Presumed Guilty - corruption in Legal system in Mexico

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El Paso

On Friday (9/21) we visited El Paso to participate in events, sponsored by UTEP, honoring the International Day of Peace. We started the day by watching the documentary, Which Way Home. We then attended a film preview and discussion exploring the violence in Ciudad Juarez. After that we helped with a public art project. Finally, we visited UTEP's Centennial museum. All in all, a great day. Below are some pictures.

Taken near the UTEP campus, a view of the mountains hugging Juarez

Stuffed beaver on display at the Centennial museum

Mimbres pottery - Tucker's favorite

Mimbres bowl depicting a turtle

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Hiking the Organ Mountains

These are pictures we took while hiking on Saturday (9/22/12).  We drove across the Organ Mountains to their eastern side and hiked up Baylor Pass via Aguirre Springs. Pretty spectacular views in all directions -- and downright amazing that the trail head is a short, 20 minute drive from our house. We did see a snake on the return hike, our first sighting.  Probably not a rattler.  Eyes peeled.

Running man

South view of the Organ Mountains, taken from I-70

Shades of Blue

Pretty plant

Mountains big, arms wide

Vast

Sage, tranquil

Las Cruces in the distance

Magical

Big view

The Elephant

5 o'clock shadow

Uggggggh. Stones in my chacos!

View of the Organs from the roof of our house

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Visions

Not the kind that happen under the influence, or during deep meditation, or from heat exhaustion ... I'm thinking about my recent experiences developing relationships with community leaders and brainstorming how to make the "center" I'm working for, Peace Village of Las Cruces, blossom.  I've only ever worked with established organizations.  And while Peace Camp, a program run by Peace Village, is fully functional and well supported, Peace Village exists more or less as a vision -- which an evolving network of visionary types is trying to create, in flesh and bone.

This is one of the most exciting projects I've been a part of.  To try to mid-wife something into being -- this metaphor works for us, helps us keep the process in perspective. I don't feel like going into the details of precisely what we're hoping to do, at least not with this post.  It's late.  Tomorrow we're headed for El Paso  to observe the International Day of Peace.  A global "action" is taking place along the border, which we're pretty pumped to help pull off; something about weaving a poster or image cut into strips through a stretch of chain-linked fence.  Returning to the topic ... the word that comes to mind for me right now is fit, maybe flow.  Things seem to be flowing beautifully for me: My work, or, my service; my community, my marriage; my health; my spiritual practice.  Through work I'm able to meet and collaborate with a variety of people.  I'm developing close professional and personal relationships, often with the same people.  I get to ride my bike all over Las Cruces to spend time with folks I plan to partner with on programs centered on the theories and practices of peacemaking.  Every day I enjoy several moments of deep admiration for the awesomeness of the Organ mountains.  The high desert air is fresh, cool now.  The pace of life is sloooooow, which I cherish.  I'm starting a more formal practice of meditation with a local sangha.  The roshi, or priest, is a kind, insightful, and refreshingly genuine man.  I feel at home just being around him.  He helps me see the clarity in simply being present.

Ahhh, there's much more to say.  Is this an occasion for another (unconventional) haiku?

Soto Zen

Looking at the wall
Practice: thinking not-thinking
The image of a troll staring back at me.

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Boggle and Friends

I was riding my bike back to work from lunch the other day, a little disoriented from a few too many soft tacos.  About a hundred yards from Peace Lutheran -- the church where I have my office -- I heard yap yap yap yap and all of a sudden two little fury, sausage-sized dogs -- they reminded me of lil' smokies -- came running at me something fierce.  I started laughing 'cause it seemed so silly: I thought they'd stop short at the edge of their yard.  No, oh no, they were busting loose, on a tear, running for my ankles.  Meanwhile I'm pedaling along, still not worried, until I realize that these little four-legged sausages are fast, fast, fast. So fast that the chubbiest of the two is trying to nip at my left calf.  And then I notice I'm about ten yards away from the stop sign up ahead: no stop sign in the other direction and there's a car flying down the road.  Two options: stop and get bit by the little suckers or California roll and hope to swerve the oncoming car.  The driver seemed aware of what was happening. He slowed  and I picked up my speed, trying to outpace the wieners.  And then, from the left, a third, fury sausage dog joined the other two.  They joined as a pack, encircled me, lil' smokies closing in.  I was toast.

To my rescue, a lady in a muumuu -- I haven't seen anyone dressed in a muumuu since I lived in the Marshall Islands -- barreled out from somewhere in her backyard and started shouting, "Boggle!  Boggle you asshole, get ooooooovvvvrrrrrrrr here.  Boggle god damn!  Boggle you asshole, and friends!"  At the sound of her voice the fury sausages bolted: the two unnamed ones retreating, while Boggle whimpered home, the lady in the muumuu ripping into 'em with a mess of words I won't write; not fit for this blog.

I was hoping to see Boggle and friends today. No luck. I'll be on the lookout.

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The Bitaba Bird

So one of my housemates was looking up reading resources for her students and she came across this kid's story with voice.  Check it out:

http://www.magickeys.com/books/bitaba/index.html

Kinda weird, kinda weird ...

Tucker

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Hikes and Haikus

About 4 miles from our house sits A mountain, kinda like a chubby middle-schooler.  Relatively small compared to some of the other peaks in the region, but it's close and offers a pretty cool view of Las Cruces.  The hike up is actually fairly strenuous: a lot of scrambling and steep pitches.  Near the top I'm usually breathing heavily. 1,000 feet increase in elevation, leveling off at around 5,100. Not much to look at along the path. Mostly rock, some scrub, a few desert rodents darting away, too swift for me to recognize or name (The squirrels down here are light brown and remarkably camouflaged). I like to ride my bike to either of the two trail heads, hike up -- which usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes -- and watch the sun set. On most days the view reaches way, way out, particularly to the north and west.  And sometimes close to dusk the desert looks steely blue. The sky's rarely blanketed with cloud cover so there's almost always a spectacular display of colors, reddening in the west, purples tracing the Organ Mountains to the east, sometimes black above if a storm cloud is passing through. What I appreciate most about these moments, looking out into the desert -- streaks of red, sunburst orange, and the kind of blue that makes me think of the deep ocean's bug-eyed, piranha-toothed, and spider-limbed creepy crawlers; fierce looking -- the evening darkening quiets everything. Out here in the desert nightfall brings me a sense of peace.

About 12 miles from our house is a beautiful hike that meanders 30 miles or so toward White Sands. It's "maintained" by the Bureau of Land Management, though the upkeep seems to be the work of locals who simply walk the path. The rock formations, vegetation -- there's a surprising abundance of green cloaking the Organs in the eastern parts of the range -- creek beds, and shadow-play cast by the rolling clouds. Just holding these images in my mind now I'm so grateful we live so close to such stunning natural beauty, that within a 15 minute drive and a mile or so of hiking we're in the wild. And wild it is!  There are mountain lions, bears, scorpions, all manner of spiders, rattlesnakes, and my personal favorite, vinegaroons! It's not that common, I hear, to see this sort of wildlife unless you're camping. We hope to camp in the Organs next weekend.

I recently connected with a local sangha in the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. The roshi, or teacher/priest, is a kind, insightful, and gracious man. I really admire him. I sat with the community this morning -- a small group, maybe 8. I felt at home. The sangha practices what some call Engaged Buddhism, which emphasizes social justice and service in the wider community. After this morning's service I came home and wrote a Haiku about my fondness for rattlesnakes:

Shedding snake, hiding
Tail rattler, no-legged drifter
Will you be my friend?

Have I mentioned that one of my housemates recently gave me a rattlesnake skin?  And that I've been writing at least one Haiku each day?  I exercise some flexibility with the syllable count.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Tucker

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Community Bonding

So, this weekend we had an amazing opportunity to get to know our fellow volunteers and the community that helps support us while we are here.  As most of you know we are participating in a volunteer program (Border Servant Corps) that is based out of Las Cruces and funded by the Peace Lutheran Church.  BSC is a small organization and up until this year only had two houses of volunteers - one in El Paso and one in Las Cruces.  This year they have expanded and opened a second house in Las Cruces (our house).  In total there are 18 volunteers and each of us work in different NGO's in the area that need support but can't afford a full-time employee.

We get together as an entire BSC community twice a month either here in Las Cruces or in El Paso, which is just 45 minutes south of us.  In addition to this we also do activities just as a house or as a city.  For example this past weekend the Las Cruces houses were invited by members of the church to participate in a 1920's themed progressive dinner.  It was a blast.  I spend the day with Amy thrift store shopping to find appropriate 1920's attire and then we went from house to house eating a different course at each stop.  I was lucky and found a fancy flapperish dress and of course Tucker decided he wanted to be a bumb - great depression stye.

As you can imagine he pulled it off well.

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Cliff Dwellings

Two weekends ago we participated in a BSC community retreat in Silver City, NM.  Silver City is in southwestern New Mexico and is right outside of the Gila National Forest.  It was a really cute town with an old main street and a lot of small local stores.   The best part however was when we left Silver City we drove into the national forest and visited the cliff dwellings.  First, the Gila wilderness was absolutely breath taking.  As we drove through it I felt a deep sense of home.  The high desert forest was very similar to Eastern Oregon with the mix of ponderosa pine, juniper, yarrow, and sagebrush, but here there is also multiple times of cacti, a hint of red, and the surprising steep-sided canyons that seemed to just pop-up out of nowhere.  The elevation just during our drive to the cliff dwellings changed from 6,000 feet to 7,500 feet probably three or four times - my ears were not happy!

The Cliff Dwellings however, were absolutely amazing.  The terrain was beautiful but the history of the area was what was so incredible.  We saw preserved corn cobs sitting in one of the dwellings that were 700 years old - crazy!  The dwellings are built in the side of canyon walls - dug out of the side by the Mogollon people.  There are five caves but only  three of them were opened to the public when we visited.  Supposedly, the Mogollon lived there between 1275 - 1310 C.E, which is only 35 years - at the time one generation.  This seemed kind of crazy to me, but the park ranger said that this was normal of the cliff dwellers and pueblo people of the time. The Mogollon are believed to be one of the ancestral peoples of the Pueblo and Hopi Indians.  I guess Hopi oral tradition says migrations occurred due to cycles of beliefs and in response to changing climates.

 Anyway, it was a neat experience and one I would love to repeat.  I know Tucker and I will defiantly be going back to the national forest - neither of us could get enough.  We want to go back to go camping and bike riding.  I have to acclimate to the elevation before I take on that challenge but it will happen! There are more cliff dwellings in northern New Mexico and Colorado so it would be neat to go to see how they compare.

700 year old corn cobs

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Emily's Work

So, It has taken a bit to figure out what exactly I will be doing, but I finally feel like I have a handle on it.  I am working with a community organizing agency called Colonias Development Council. This agency historically has worked in the regions around the border called colonias, to develop affordable housing, infrastructure such as roads, potable and waste water systems.  Colonias are the "towns" or areas along the border which lack basic infrastructure or political recognition.  In historical colonias, small house-size plots of land were sold to individual families by developers without allocating space for things like streets etc.  Because of this, most plots within the development were inaccessible and families couldn't access their land because it was locked inside other plots.  In order to eventually put in roads and sewer systems individual families had to give up their land. CDC developed out of the need for the colonias around Las Cruces to organize, be recognized by the state, and to work towards getting basic infrastructure.   Their main goal is to provide training and outreach opportunities for members of the colonia communities so they can make the changes they want to see within their own cummunities. 

For the past 25 years CDC has really developed out of the need of the colonias communities and because of this has changed their area of focus based on what each community states they need.  This makes my position both exciting and a little uncertain.  The need that we have heard the most of in the past year is to have legal aid in the naturalization process and citizenship classes.  Last year 8.12 million immigrants in the U.S. were eligible for nationalization but only 620,000 actually went through the process.  It is not an easy process and there seems to be a lack of support and/or programs to help increase the number of eligible immigrants achieve their citizenship.  This is where I come in.  I am working on developing a citizenship program for CDC here in Las Cruces.  The cool part is that I get to envision and develop the program based on the research and needs I see.  This is also the scary part.

I have really enjoyed my first two weeks here and have started to really get a grasp on what I would like to see happen in terms of this program.  My hope is to help develop a comprehensive program which collaborates with New Mexico State University Education program to offer a three- class citizenship program.  I am working on developing curriculum for an ESL course, a ESL civics-based course and a citizenship course.  The ESL course would be targeted to clients who do not speak any English and need to work on their language skills before they can begin preparing for the citizenship test.  The second course, the civics based ESL course, would develop students English language skills but be based around the citizenship test material.  The citizenship course would be for students who have a great grasp of English but just need a crash course in U.S. history and civics for the test.  Ideally I will be able to develop a mentoring program with student teachers from NMSU, where they can develop their teaching skills and get some supported time in the classroom while they volunteer as citizenship class teachers.

This is the plan but we will see how it all works.  This past week I have been focusing on researching other programs in the country and finding resources which will help us develop our legal aid program and the citizenship class program.  It has been great getting to know my co-workers.  I will be working closest with Erika and Elva who will be doing the legal aid part of our citizenship program.  But I will also be working with Veronica, Diana and Irma when we get to actually implementing our program.  Veronica and Diana are the main organizers - they are out in the community connecting people, training community members to be community leaders etc.  They will be how we connect with community in terms of where we host our classes and making sure people know about the program. 

I will keep you updated as things develop.  I plan on just taking one step at a time.

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Tucker's Work

I'm a program coordinator at Peace Village Las Cruces.  It's a fairly small organization.  I'm currently the only employee, though the board is seeking an executive director -- more of a part-time position -- to help with grant writing and public relations.

I love my job.  In the past two weeks I've been thrust into community organizing, curriculum development, program mission re-visioning, and group facilitation.

Peace Village was the brain child of three locals who'd visited a youth camp in Ruidoso, NM back in 2006 (I think).  They imagined the possibility of starting up something similar in Las Cruces, and over the years their Peace Camp has grown from a one week summer program to a three week formation experience, really, with mini day camps interspersed throughout the fall and spring.

I'm responsible for integrating new materials and curricular objectives and also piloting mentoring communities.  I'm exploring as well how to make Peace Village more fiscally and organizationally sustainable.  Toward these ends I've met with some folks here who are really interested in seeing how some of the stuff I learned from my dissertation research -- involving rites of passage and ritual processes -- might apply.  The rough idea is to create a peace theory and practice-centered model of group transformation, which existing groups in the community can use to enhance cohesion, clarify mission identity, and strengthen direct service and collaboration (with other agencies).  So, Peace Village has the potential to become a kind of Peace Center.  The image we're using is the center hole or hub of a wheel to which an array of spokes is connected.  Or, given grant and funding limitations, Peace Village may simply remain Peace Camp.  Either way my work is exciting and teaching me all sorts of stuff about networking, collaboration, and program development and planning.  Most of all I am learning and trying to practice the subtle art of letting things unfold.

A former professor of mine -- it feels so good to use the word "former" when applying it to one of my professors -- had a saying that kept him in balance: High hopes and low expectations.  That rings true for my work here.

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Nuestra Casa

 Our House 

We are living in a small white stucco house directly across from the Catholic Cathedral.  It's a new house to Border Servant Corps so we are still collecting house items and working out kinks (like getting internet access). We are living with three other wonderful house mates - Amy, Steve, and Maria.   I took some pictures of the house so you can get a feel for our daily lives. 

The House

The Kitchen

Living room

Our Bedroom - Sorry its not a very good picture.

 Our Housemates

Each of us had to write a little introduction for the BSC (Border Servant Corps) newsletter so, I have asked our housemates if we could put their introductions on the blog.  This way you can get to know a little bit about them and put a face to the stories.

Amy: I grew up on the East Coast, went to college in the Midwest, lived on the West Coast and now I’m exploring the Southwest! I have an interdisciplinary degree in English, Communications, and Sociology, and a minor in Gender Studies, from Calvin College. Most recently, I worked on a farm with adults with developmental disabilities through L’arche and Lutheran Volunteer Corps. I have been looking forward to living in the desert, and I am excited about the opportunities to learn and serve through Border Servant Corps. I will be working with La Semilla Food Center, serving at Lynn and Sierra Middle Schools in Las Cruces, teaching kids why they should be excited about growing and eating their own vegetables. We will be tending gardens and having fun cooking classes at both schools. In my spare time, you can find me volunteering at other people’s gardens, reading, hiking, biking everywhere, or singing with the Masterworks Choir at NMSU.


Maria: Hello! My name is Maria Garcia. I am originally from Las Cruces, NM but have been living in Albuquerque, NM for the last seven years. I graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Elementary Education, and was working with a school age after care program before I came to work for Border Servant Corps. I am very excited to be back in my hometown, experiencing it from a whole new perspective, and to be doing such fun, challenging and meaningful work. I am working at Jardín de los Niños this year as an assistant teacher, and also working on a new literacy project. I am so grateful to have this opportunity, and am enjoying my experience so far. This is going to be a great year!

Steve: About Steve: I am a retired real estate broker and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. A native Texan, I reside in Oxaca, México and have a 26-year-old daughter living in Chicago. Since I am retired, I wanted to volunteer to help others and saw Border Servant Corps as an excellent way to accomplish my goal.

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The Trip South and West

The Trip South and West

Emily –

So we’ve made it to Las Cruces, and the journey was definitely an experience. We were blessed to start out our trip with a wedding. My sister Mary was married to Bon on Saturday, August 11 in Ashville, NC. Upon leaving Baltimore we made our way to Raleigh where we helped prepare for the wedding with my family and then were able to spend an amazing weekend in Ashville celebrating their union. The wedding was on this beautiful ranch that is settled in the mountains outside of Ashville. The mountains not only provided gorgeous views but also a well welcomed change in temperature. We were able to run, play frisbee and enjoy family and friends without the threat of melting!

Sunday came quickly and we once again packed up the car to capacity to begin our camping road trip west. We left Ashville and explored the awesome Smokey Mountains with Baltimore friends, Lolo and Brian, who also happened to be traveling through NC on a road trip. We drove the craziest road, Deals Gap, which has 313 turns in a span of 11 miles and saw beautiful vistas. I think Tucker and I were both surprised that such a vast and remote area existed in the east. As we made our way west the terrain change was incredible. On our way through Northern Alabama we visited the Cathedral Caverns where Tom Sawyer was filmed. The caverns themselves were breath taking but the stoner tour guide left a lot to be desired.

Arkansas was much more mountainous than I ever expected and surprisingly beautiful – except for the strip mall style cities that plague it. We went to Hot Springs National Park, the country’s first national park, and definitely the weirdest. The national park is located in the middle of the town and the hot springs are only accessible via privately owned bath houses. Bill Clinton once lived in Hot Springs and the only other claim to fame is the town’s history and a history as a hub for gangsters, gambling and debauchery. The “glory” days are long past and it’s sort of sad to see the local merchants trying to hang-on. After leaving Hot Springs we entered Texas with excitement and anticipation. We camped outside of Dallas at Lake Tawakoni State Park, famous for being the site of the world’s largest recorded spider web. It wasn’t the most pleasant camping experience (e.g., horse flies on PEDs) but we survived.

Tucker –

After visiting a friend on the outskirts of Dallas we headed toward West Texas. The landscape gradually browned and opened up. The sky was vast and blue and wide mesas lined the interstate.The further west we travelled, leaving the sprawl of Fort Worth and Dallas behind, the towns and settlements diminished in size and the desert spaces between them lengthened. The arid land was a great expanse of nothingness in all directions—except for the snaking highway cutting a line in the vastness—and it was beautiful. Until we approached the oil fields and refineries that seemed like some kind of metastasized mechanical cancer choking the earth.

We drove late and looked to find a cheap motel. Unfortunately, this segment of our trip coincided with what oil folks call the fill. We never quite figured out what the fill entails, however, all lodgings were booked for a 120 mile stretch of road. After driving for what must have been three hours—along the way pulling off the interstate at every exit to check for vacancies—we found a room in Odessa at Motel One: 29.95 a night.There was a 10 minute no refund policy--and good for us that we didn’t inspect our room before we paid for it! TV remote controls required a $25 security deposit. The interior face of the room’s front door looked like it'd been kicked-in multiple times. The walls had more spackle and patch than paint. The ceiling above the shower was collapsing and the tap water smelled and tasted—not faintly, mind you—like it had been mixed with gasoline. But we got a good night’s rest, got some coffee in the morning and a filling breakfast at Denny’s—where our lovely waitress confided in us that she, too, wanted to get the hell out of Odessa—and we started out for Las Cruces.

The last length of our trip was uneventful. We were pretty wiped out from two weeks on the road and looked forward to catching some rest—a bit too bleary eyed to really take in the surroundings of what is now our home in the southwest.

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