Eileen reflects on time spent in Tucson, Nogales, El Paso, and Ciudad Juarez.

My name is Eileen Sanderson, and I am from Virginia, specifically a little peninsula on a slightly larger peninsula. I am a junior at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, studying Mathematics for Elementary Education and squeezing in Spanish classes where I can!

This semester is turning out to be one of the most challenging- emotionally, physically, and academically! BUT I am having great experiences, meeting some amazing people, and learning a lot.

In Tucson, my host family is a retired couple, Stan and Sally, who are incredibly loving and warm, doing everything in their power to make me feel at home (and they are succeeding!). We have great conversations all the time, and I tag along to their church, Southside Presbyterian, whenever I am here!

My field study is at Cesar Chavez Learning Community, a charter
school that caters to mostly Latino and Native American middle and high school students. I've been helping out in two middle school math classes, an English Language Learners class where I work individually with one student, and a handful of afternoon project-based learning sessions. This school has offered me some great (and tough) experiences that I know will help me when I start teaching on my own!

In Nogales, I lived with an amazing family, too! My mom, Noemí is a nurse; my dad, Reyes, works at the Instituto Tecnologia; my sister Leslie is studying psychology at university; my brother is a senior at the preparatorio/high school and plans to go to the Instituto Tecnologia next year; and my sister Mitzue is in secundaria/middle school. I also met a lot of relatives, but I don't think I have room to talk about all of them!

My field study in Nogales was at a primaria/elementary school. I only got to teach a couple of times before I left, but I got to sub in the English classes, and I started to teach computer classes. I had so much fun with these students, even when I struggled to understand what they were saying or to be understood! I definitely think elementary school teaching fits me better than middle school teaching, but who knows what I'll end up doing!?
With all the papers and projects that are due in the next few weeks, it is hard to think about everything we've already done! So, I'll just talk about right now. We have come to El Paso, Texas, which is especially exciting for me because my mom's family is from El Paso, and my grandma and aunt's family still live here. I got to visit them once!

Friday, we had a tour of the border, met with two professors from UTEP- Ben Saenz, creative writing, and Tony Payan, political science. Ben Saenz talked about the community and how it had changed and grown over the years, and Tony Payan explained a bit about the drug violence and its history.

Saturday, we got to go to Ciudad Juarez (honestly, a surprise for all the students…even though it was in the schedule). We spoke to Maricela Ortiz about the organization Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa and the femicides in Juarez. It was very interesting but difficult and sad to hear (of course). We also got to feed carrots to a giraffe named Modesto! We walked back to
the US in a 30 minute line, but Amy and Lily had a four hour wait to drive across! We had lunch at a church gym that also housed a thrift store, and few students made it out without buying anything. I bought *It's a Wonderful Life* Christmas cards and earrings! Then we spoke with a local artist who works with youth in El Paso. He also gave us a mini-walking tour of some murals in El Paso. There was a fantastic mural in (and out) of the public library. Then we went to Cinco Puntos Press Publishing House, where we learned a bit about the publishing process, and again, everyone left with bank accounts a bit emptier. After dinner on Saturday, some of us went to the movies! Most of us saw the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, while others watched W.

Sunday, we took a tour of Annunciation House, a shelter almost exclusively for undocumented migrants. I got to talk to a resident who gushed about her grandchildren, especially her nine-year-old granddaughter. We also played paper football with a young boy who was there. Then we headed off to Maternidad La Luz, a midwifery clinic that caters to mostly Mexicans. It was so interesting to hear about natural birth and everything that they do at the clinic and the school. We wandered around downtown El Paso, taking the opportunity to compare downtown El Paso to downtown Nogales, Arizona… (Well I did). We relaxed or tried to get work done.

Monday after we packed up the van, we went to UTEP for another meeting. This one was with a former maquila manager. We ate more danishes than is recommended, and as we were leaving, we got at least two free books (more if we found some we liked)! Then we loaded up again and headed back to Tucson…I will definitely miss El Paso!