Settling in to Tucson!

---

Hi Everyone! Sorry it's taken so long to get in contact--we really hit the ground running here! I can't believe it hasn't even been a week yet--we've already seen and done so much in that little time! I arrived last Tuesday, and was in orientation with the rest of the group (there are 14 of us) until Saturday. We stayed at BorderLinks, an organization close to downtown Tucson, that works with different groups that come in and then sets them up with speakers and prominent community members to educate them on what's going on here at the border and give them a better understanding of all the different aspects at play.

Anyway, we did all sorts of things in that time--got oriented to Tucson, to one another, to the specifics of classes, trips, and other details, and of course heard from important people in Tucson and about their views on the borderlands and current issues. So far we've been to the Arizona-Sonora desert museum to learn more about the landscape and ecology here, as well as the problems the militarization of the border (not to mention the wall) has created for the unique environment here. It may be a desert but there is so much life and a lot of unique plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else!

We've talked with several community activists about human rights, environmental, educational issues (and soooo many more) related to migration and the changes in immigration and trade policies, and on Thursday we actually went to Nogales, Sonora (Mexico) for the day to really get our first experience at the border and hearid from people en el otro lado. That was a really intense day--one of the most uncomfortable for me as a privileged Anglo-American travelling with a very conspicous group. But that's so important to this experience, and to developing a better understanding of what's going on here and how someone with my background can contribute positively. We'll be going back to Nogales for a longer stay (3 days) in 2 weeks or so, so it'll be interesting to compare that with the first trip.

On Saturday Orientaton ended and we had a potluck lunch with all of the host families before they took us home! I'm staying with a first-time host family, and they seem really wonderful! My host parents and 2 of their 4 kids are here in the house, and one of the daughters who has moved out and gotten married has 4 kids under the age of 4 and they're over here quite often. The house is pretty quiet until they arive, but it's a nice change! Right now my host mom is suffering from carpel tunnel in both her wrists/hands which is really hard for her, so her 14-year-old that's here and her daughter with all the kids are helping out a lot (and me too now!). The mom and one of the daughters don't eat much meat, so they're used to vegetarian fare and are excited to learn recipes and such from me! Hopefully I'll be able to cook for them sometime soon to take some pressure off of the daughters.

All of the kids and grandkids are completely bilingual, but my parents don't speak any English. They all know I'm trying to get better so yesterday was mostly spanish, but the kids help me out a lot! I've got my own room, and I picked up my bike today from the BSP office at the Historic Y downtown--it's an 30 minute (ish) bike ride back to the house from the office where we have classes so it's going to be quite the commute! There's a bus stop nearby as well, but I'm hoping to use my bike most of the time.

Today was pretty relaxed, thankfully, as yesterday was very long and exhausting! The group met up downtown to pick up our bikes and then explored some more before getting lunch and wandering through shops. Tucson is very different from what I'm used to but I really like it!! The downtown area has a lot of unique, independent shops, restaurants, and cafes so there's lots to do and find! After I got home I settled in a bit more and made some dinner, but it's been pretty quiet most of the day.

I should be starting at my field study (Ochoa elementary school) at some point this week, and classes start on Tuesday--we already have homework!

Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating this, and figure out how to upload photos...

Hope all is well at home, I miss you all but am loving the sunny, warm(ish) time here!

---