Week 1: Completed! Dust Storm Special Edition :P

Hola mis amigos! Sorry I have been doing a lame-o job at keeping this updated. It's been a little hectic here since we officially started at our sights this past week. So between being at our sights, helping with border immersion groups, hopping around El Paso and New Mexico, and having intentional community nights, it's been madness and not much time for ourselves. However, I’m now able to have some down time today for reflecting and updating this :)

I'm trying to remember what I last wrote about. As Erin put it, we haven’t really had much time to stop and think. There has been a lot to process and reflect on lately. As BSC interns they are always throwing so much information and experiences at us on a daily/hourly basis. I wouldn't want it any other way though! Since a lot has happened between the previous post and this one I guess I will just have to write about the memories that are fresh in the noggin for now.

The other interns and myself visited the border a few days ago. In case anyone was wondering, the border is just a fence. It's not some towering, intimidating wall. You can see through the fence and it looks less than intimidating. People here actually refer to it as “the fence.” What is the most intimidating and frustrating factor about the border is how people choose to handle and perceive it. To start this off with a lighter story, my roommate and friend Erika set off a sensor that is apparently located somewhere near or on the fence. It was hilarious! All she did was take a picture of her hand touching the fence and within 5 seconds we had 5 border patrol cars surrounding us. A little excessive, don't you think, BP? Anyway, it was a pretty classic Erika move, and I encourage no one to touch the fence because you could set off a sensor and have many BP members tell you to step away.

We talked with two BP members. They were actually nice, and not total a**holes. Although it wouldn't have killed the woman to smile a little bit. These two BP were personable and open to answering all types of questions ranging from "How many detainees do you put into the detention center?" to "How do you take the negative perceptions of border patrol? Do you find them insulting?" etc etc. It was personally difficult to listen to some of their discussion, but also interesting to hear their side of the their job. There were some comments in particular that really struck me in a not-so-positive way. The first of these being that when you work for BP you have to take an oath saying that you promise to associate with U.S. citizens only, and if you find out that someone in your family or a friend is in the U.S. illegally that you have to turn them in. I can't imagine having that job just because you would have to actually pick your job mentality over your family. Apparently that has happened in some cases, and it just boggles my mind.

There are many negative perceptions and assumptions that somehow arise about the people who are trying to come in to the country. After spending a week here in El Paso, we have been to many shelters, food pantries, churches, and talks about border awareness. These topics range from families who are homeless, kids who are unintentionally neglected because of the family imbalances of trying to get by in the states, the economics of these border cities, illegal immigration and what that actually means, the process of becoming a citizen (yikes), and how the government and society chooses to view immigration (some of it is disheartening). I am not going to go into all of the logistics, but I feel that it is important to mention my own opinions and overall feelings of how these topics have been presented. Opinions are important for blogs, right?

First of all, just because we are "thee" United States of America, it does not give us the right or pride to push people out of the country and make it virtually impossible for families to have a better life. This goes for the same as keeping families separated and locked into our country. Do you know how many families have actually been split up by the border BECAUSE of the border policies and processes to becoming a citizen? That is a whoooole other rant in itself. Secondly, not to be insulting to those super over-the-top-prideful U.S. citizens, but there are families who would much rather not come here. They are forced to because they fear their own safety in their own country, which really broke my heart hearing that. Just think about that for a second. Many people who are "escaping" to come to the U.S. illegally are so desperate for safety because they have either been threatened, a family member has fallen into gang violence, or even to just be able to send their kids to college someday. If you ask me, I feel like it would be very hard to leave the country that has been called home for x number of years. Third, in the U.S., we can also be just very ignorant. We are all guilty of having ignorant and close-minded thoughts on anything that is considered different. Families who come to the U.S. are not all lazy people who beg for money to buy drugs. The families who belong to the church I work at are making roughly $8,000-14,000, and they bend over backwards to feed their families, keep a roof on their heads, and make many sacrifices to provide. They are literally doing everything that they can but making next to nothing. So how dare we assume that people would want to live a lifestyle of scraping by. I can actually feel my insides tensing up while writing this, especially since I have witnessed and heard many, many horrible judgments about Mexico, the people, and the people who decide to come to the U.S. The fourth thing I want to say is that people just need more compassion and patience to actually seek out the truth about all of the border issues. As U.S. citizens, we have been given many opportunities here (for the most part) that will help us to reach our full potential. Yes, hard work has come from these successes, but so has the ability to realize that we are lucky. That ability alone should stir up some type of compassion inside to take the time to learn, build awareness, and break down our own borders of fear and safety in what is "known," or actually completely unknown. So that is my mini rant on border awareness.

Twice a month BSC El Paso meets up with BSC in Las Cruces, NM for community nights. We were able to come along for this particular night, which I am very thankful for. We drove 45 minutes to A-Mountain in Las Cruces. We split up in two cars. The car ride alone was awesome. Justin drove us, and the two of us talked the whole 45 minutes about life. I am very thankful to have him as a friend; he is da bomb. The hike itself was very steep, exhilarating, exhausting, and absolutely wonderful :) We had to periodically stop to catch our breath and force down water. The altitude also got to me pretty easily. My heart was beating ridiculously fast. I admire the year long BSC members and their ability to hike up without stopping. When we reached the top it was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. It was so awesome to turn around and see what we had left behind down at the bottom, as well as see the sun set. I couldn't get over how beautiful it looked. It created a feeling of accomplishment, gratefulness, and sincere joy inside. We ate dinner with the group and watched the sun go down. We closed our time up there with a group prayer. There was so much peace and positive energy felt around. The hike down the mountain was just as beautiful. As you stepped down trying to keep your balance, there was nothing but pure beauty all around. You could see the mountains surrounding on all sides, the sun setting, the earth below, the sky above, and people all around enjoying conversation and just having an overall great time. I honestly did not want that moment to ever end. The ride back was hilarious because Amy, one of the BSC members, shared a few of her award-winning stories. I just love that woman. I had never known what it meant to feel true peace until that night. It is a feeling that all of humanity deserves.

I officially started working at Cristo Rey this past Wednesday. Erin and I took inventory (a sh**ton of inventory, may I just add) and Justin accompanied us later on. We helped with the after-school program and had the opportunity to read and play with the kids. I LOVE THE KIDS. They are SO cute and say thee greatest things! In their culture, anyone man or woman who is of a teacher role is referred to as Mister or Miss. However when they say Mister or Miss, they say the I as EE, so you have the opportunity to have kids all around you saying "Mees! Mees!" in their adorable, high-pitched voices when trying to get your attention. So. Darn. Cute. It was even funnier when they would forget to switch over between the two, so they would call Justin "Mees" :) Whenever they call Justin, they always say "JustEEn! JustEEn!" and it just lifts your spirit hearing that. Erin and I are in the process of organizing and preparing for our program, the summer program! Woohoo! :) I pretty much have the first day planned. Hopefully it will not change. Erin, Justin, and I have been sitting in our offices working away lately. Justin basically harasses Erin and me. Then we both just make him laugh, which makes us laugh. It is great. However, I blame both of those two for turning me into more of a sassbasket. That has for sure improved significantly since I've arrived here, all thanks to those two. I am overall very excited to start the program and have an authoritative role in at the church. It is a weird and legit feeling writing emails to places with the signature "Jennifer Neidich, Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey Summer Program Director."

So far on this trip, Erin and myself have been notorious for having the strangest experiences and events take place. Thankfully we both have the personalities and abilities to laugh it off and joke about our unusual circumstances. Although we have literally had roughly 10 hazing-type events take place, I will mention one that was actually scary experiencing it. Yesterday after work, we were caught in the middle of our first dust/lightning storm walking home from work. That's right, dust AND lightning... I know, I didn't know those two existed together. We have to walk a good 2 miles home, which is a lot on days when dust/lightning storms take place. As soon as we walked outside we both noticed how funky the sky appeared. We went from being like, "THIS IS SO COOL!" to "Omg we are going to die." within seconds. Dust started blowing eeeeverywhere. Pretty sure we both had half of El Paso in our mouth by the time we reached home. It was also the day that I decided not to bring my sunglasses to work, which would have definitely helped keep the sun out of my eyelids. Towards the beginning of our walk, I asked Erin if she felt like it was safe. She said "Oh yeah" with confidence, and that changed to "Sooo IIII don't think this is really safe anymore." We finally admitted that this could potentially be very harmful to our wellbeing when the wind started to pick up, as the dust was actually really painful as it hit our leg. Erin called Justin, and he, I thought, told us that we were not in any harm. It was funny because while he was telling us this optimism and encouragement we were both uncontrollably saying "AH" or "OW" as the dust struck us. He offered to come pick us up if it became too dangerous so we trusted him, which was not the best decision in the world because lightning started to become way more noticeable and violent. There was no one outside, and people would be shouting at us in Spanish to get inside as we walked past their stores or businesses. Note to self: it is not fun being yelled at in a language that you are not fluent in. So we kept walking. The lightning started to pick up and to make ourselves laugh and pass the time, we recorded videos on my phone that are actually pretty funny, especially if you know Erin and her personality. As we progressed in our walk of wind, dust, and lightning, we received many positive and encouraging text messages from the gang back at the house. Some examples of these texts include "OMG DON'T DIE" to "Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking walking walking walking" and the Finding Nemo reference really boosted our spirits during this time of angst. Hannah later text us just in time because we were noticing that the wind was REALLY picking up. She told us that the storm was picking up and getting worse and that "we should probably hurry back to the house." It was then that we really picked up our feet and ran. When we made it back to the house the crew greeted us with "You're alive!!" and we both walked towards Justin with (probably) a look of disgust and said, "You almost let us die!" He followed up that statement with, "Why didn't you guys call me?! I offered to come pick you up!" I just looked at Erin and she said an innocent "Oops." So that was our first experience in a dust and lightning storm. I highly encourage you all to never experience one. Call us wimps, but the dust is actually really painful! :(

My roommates and I remind each other that we MUST make time to talk and catch up after our time together. We have already been through so much together and have had conversations that have for sure build a solid lifelong friendship. I am also huge fans of the year long BSC members. They are such fabulous people overall! Hannah, a naturally born leader who is a WONDERFUL boss and just an overall very bubbly/down to earth person. Amy, she tells the best stories and has the funniest sense of humor. She is always laughing at her own jokes and, sometimes, I feel like she makes herself laugh more than anything. A very sweet-natured person indeed. Greer, an athletic, sensible, chill, calm and collective soul. She has an eye for art and unique things and has such a kind spirit. Claire, a very kind-hearted and witty person who has a strong head on her shoulders. She always seems to be in a good mood, and is also very entertaining to listen to. Amelia, a spritely and perky personality who has a bold and caring presence. Last but not least, Justin. He is his own breed to say the least. He has the capacity to be a strong leader and ALWAYS has a smile on his face and energy in his walk. You can come to him for anything and he will always be there to listen, give you a hug, or just laugh with you. I don't know how you could not love any of these people. We sadly moved out of their house last night and into Cristo Rey. However, I am happy to not be living out of my suitcase and to have an actual bed to sleep in.

Overall, I am still absolutely loving my time here in El Paso. It feels like we have been here for a month already due to being so busy and bopping all over the city. This feeling reminds me of how I feel during the first week of the school year, if that helps you relate better to what I'm trying to describe. El Paso is a really beautiful city and BSC is such a great opportunity. Your schedule is packed and you feel exhausted, but it is the best type of exhaustion. It's the kind when you feel very accomplished because you are making a difference, almost like a natural high on life. Just knowing that you are making a difference in people's lives gives you all the reward that you need. It's a type of productivity that I wish people valued more than the numerical amount that is achieved. I'm so excited for the rest of this summer and to see what else is in store. As long as dust/lightning storms are not included, and more hikes, positive time with the youth, and quality time with the gang are present, then I think nothing but greatness is ahead. :)