Final Reflections: Claire

Even before our trip started, we were told to listen to the stories and take what we have learned from the people back to our churches and communities and tell their stories. Throughout the week, there were several stories that stuck out with me, and I will be keeping and sharing along my travels. We have heard how media plays a role in the misinterpretation of the problem at the border, both with border patrol and with the immigrants themselves. We also heard stories of times maybe fifty to sixty years ago that affected a large part of our society as a whole.  For example, we came across Sigrid Martrejean, who ran a small museum in Nogales. In the time she worked as a Foreign Service officer, there was a lot of discrimination against women. In one of her interviews to get a job, the officers that interviewed her said they would have hired her if she were a man. This stuck with me because we can see through this how much society has changed and now, for the most part, people are not hired for their gender, but for their expertise.

Our experience as a whole has been fun and educational. Our already tight group became even tighter with every day. Even though we spent a week with each other at camp last summer, we have shared our views and experiences that maybe we were not able to express before. I will miss the memories made and the stories heard.

- Claire, Grace Church, New Bedford