Hello from Tucson!

Hey Mom, Dad, Simon, and Leon:

I miss you all so much! However, I think I have found a real interest, and found what I am going to spend my future doing- Human Rights. I am so interested in all the aspects of Immigration, and it seems to be a problem with so many different angles! I can't wait to get home and tell you everything I've learned. Working at Paula's( immigration attorney) has always interested me, but there is something about being here where all the action takes place. And, I have TOTALLY made my decision- I am taking spanish in college. Not chinese. Being down here reminded me of the culture that latin american people have. It is so incredibly welcoming, and thankful. My spanish has completely come back to me and I can't wait to work with these people more in the future.

I am enjoying my time here so far. It is sooooooooo hot. Yes, it is dry heat but still hot! So far we have watched a documentary called 800 mile wall, which was incredibly heart wrenching. There were a few migrants that talked about their family members dying in front of their eyes. We saw the blisters on people's feets, the tears, but it was truly eye opening. I guess I realize how much there is to learn, and how much education needs to be done before the actual problem can be fixed. So that is a goal of mine, and I plan on working with borderlinks and no more deaths throughout college. We also did a political cartoon activity which addressed the difference between prejudice and racism/discrimination, which was very interesting. I guess I considered them to go together.

We have 5 black tahoes. They are huge. You can feel the tension, and isolation in Tuscon due to the new immigration law. So, driving 5 tahoe's around in a caravan looks VERY suspicious and we get a lot of stares.

Tomorrow, I am headed to southside presbyterian church to work serving migrants and homeless people from around Tucson. They are able to get a full meal there, get laundry done, shower, and we will be chatting with people about their experiences. Then, we will be going to watch a real court hearing for migrants who are facing criminal charges for crossing the border. Tracy (borderlinks coordinator) said this is heart wrenching and will take pretty much the whole night to recover from.

We haven't had many stressors this trip, as everything is pretty much planned for us by Borderlinks, however Marge's bag somehow got misplaced between Pheonix airport and here. Of all the people's bags to loose it is so sad because she had all her medical traction devices in her bag. She is incredible pain without it. I feel awful. We've called the airport and there is no reports of her bag.

Leon! I hope your grad party went well! I miss you so much. I hope that you aren't forgetting about me. Let me know how things are going.

Anyways, love and miss you all. Write more later.

Caroline Brown