After five weeks in Mexico, familiarizing myself with new faces and Spanish phrases, I have fallen into that phase of reverse-culture shock that often follows long travels. Flying over the city of Houston, I noticed the great difference in appearance between the U.S. and Mexico as thin strings of two-lane roads morphed in to wide freeways housing a steady stream of automobiles and small, scattered homes turned into massive webs of suburbia.
When I stepped off the plane, my shock continued as I noticed all of the luxuries that one rarely considers: water fountains flowing freely with cool, pure water, moving sidewalks that prevent you from overexerting yourself for 50 feet, air conditioning.
While taking a breather on one of those moving sidewalks, I considered again a thought that had been plaguing me the entire day of travel—how I am going to answer the question I will undoubtedly be asked:
“So, how was your trip?”
It is impossible to sum up my experiences in Mexico in a single blog entry or even words in general. What events do I choose to tell in order to accurately depict the past month and a half? Do I describe my view from the front of CASA’s old VW van on our trips through the countryside on the way to rural villages? The children’s amazement when we showed them their image on the tiny screen of the video camera? The way Doña Antonia and Nohemi spoke so passionately about the importance and difficulties of being a midwife? Or do I speak about the genuine pride that exuded from the midwifery students on their graduation day?
Just as likely I will be asked,
“What was CASA like? What do they do?” just as I have been asking interviewee’s for the past few weeks. And just as they have always hesitated not knowing what words justify CASA’s programs, I too hesitated after being asked this very question.
“Well…” I said, and then paused, trying to explain an expanse of programs into one sentence. I pushed out some sort of answer about adolescents and education and immediately recognized it was insufficient.
The truth is, CASA has expanded into a diverse organization, starting programs in a number of areas as it has become aware of developing needs. In this way, CASA recognizes the interconnectedness of social issues, and that real progress can only be made through combining work in various fields.
-Briana