Preparations: Charlie

As I look ahead to leaving my home to go to the border of Arizona and Mexico, I will have to leave my whole world behind.  I will be seeing a whole different way of life and I will have to be open to the ways a whole different culture operates.  I will have to get used to hearing Spanish a lot, a language that I don’t speak at all.  I will also have to leave behind some of my preconceived notions about certain people.  I will have to be open to hearing an ICE agent’s thoughts and opinions even if they may be the polar opposite of mine and I will be in a place of a lot of political turmoil, whereas where I live it is pretty one-sided and most people agree on things.  I will have to have an open mind and not let some of my beliefs get in the way of getting the experience I want from this trip.  I hope to also be able to leave some of my normal life behind. I will have to put what’s going on in my world to the side.  I will probably have a lot of things on my mind when I go to Arizona and Mexico, and I will need to shift my focus when I am in the Borderlands.  I hope to just be able to take in all of the things I see and learn without being stressed about other things in my life.  I can’t wait to go and learn about this whole new culture and help the oppressed!

-Charlie, St. Paul’s, Newburyport