Post Trip Reflection

After having the opportunity to meet some of Ry's former students and spend some more time in Mexico, I have been feeling very, very proud of the work he does. Since I've known him I have become progressively more aware of the immigrant experience here in the United States, specifically the Mexican immigrant experience. I've learned that the immigrant experience is even more nuanced than I thought depending on generation, legal status, papers, and social class.

I see now that his job is more than teaching language. He serves as an advocate and source of support for his students. He shows them he is interested in their culture, their wisdom and the richness of their varied backgrounds. He helps them navigate an unknown world and helps them feel more comfortable in a place where no one speaks their language, they are culturally isolated and idiots say things like "you're in America, learn to speak English damn it!" and "go back to Mexico" (or worse they can't even correctly identify their country of origin).

All of this and these students are trapped between two cultural worlds feeling out of place, many of them literally trapped by rapidly evolving witch hunt-style anti-immigration legislation designed to deny them basic human rights. It didn't make sense to me before and it makes even less sense now. We need immigration reform!

The killer is that most Americans have no conception of the richness of Mexican culture. I only experienced a slice of it on our trip and I can say it's vibrant beyond my wildest notions. Most of us Americans don't see Mexicans for anything beyond small, dark-skinned people who have come here "illegally" to take their jobs. Most of us don't know anything about Mexico beyond our vague ideas that it is an "exotic" and "dangerous place". Why don't we learn about Mexican or Canadian history and culture in school? We're all North Americans, right? Shouldn't it be mandatory for us to learn something about our closest neighbors?

This trip has left me feeling more knowledgeable, blessed and conflicted. I marvel at what I learned and what I was able to experience in such a short amount of time. I feel lucky to have met and interacted with more Mexican people. I also feel sad that we know so little about a vibrant, ancient culture right next door. I feel inspired to learn more.

As a side note, I've added pictures to every post from Mexico City and am done. Be sure to scroll back for something colorful!