Chilpancingo y La Playa

Yesterday, we went to Tijuana for the last time. What an amazing day! There were two experiences from my day that I will not forget. The first was in Chilpancingo. Our group had made bracelets to give to the children in order to establish a sense of community. I was a bit hesitant at first because I am not fluent in Spanish and did not want to make a fool out of myself. I opened my hand to present the variety of bracelets and the first girl knew exactly what she wanted. There were so many children around the area. It was during the school day and I was a bit curious as to why they were not in school. I was told by one of our immersion leaders that the children often are alone while their parent/s are at work and so, they do not go to school. On the way out of Chilpancingo, one of the girls who I had earlier given a bracelet to came back with a companion! A bracelet goes a long way...
Another experience I was particularly fond of was on a beach in Tijuana. After seeing how visible and real the wall is (it extends into the ocean!) a group of us took a picture in front of it with our thumbs facing down. One of the girls later brought up an interesting point that when tourists take pictures of somber conditions, it often seems to exploit them and the people living there. As I thought about it, I realized that in our case taking pictures is a form of media in which we could circulate in our communities to bring awareness to the situation at the border. Not everyone will have the opportunity to go to Tijuana but if we are able to share our experiences with others through making them visible (photos, documentaries, etc), people can choose if they want to take action. This trip has been very enlightening and I plan to bring some ideas for action back to my club in Berkeley, so that we can execute the next step...