amalgam of thoughts

Hello! Beunos Tardes! Marcy here...
I'm here to talk about some of my experience here. Not sure what's going to spew out yet. I assure you it will be some collection of words and not my lunch though.

A quick summary of time:
We left on Saturday for El Paso. The plane ride was long. Airports really gouge you on the food. The McDonalds was charging an extra dollar to have sauce. wtf?? It took us the entire day to make it to our final destination of the hostel. I had no idea that America had hostles. I'm very pleased to learn this and hope to take advantage of this new knowledge in future traveling.
The hostel is rather nice. They provide sheets, a blanket, bed and a towel. The towel is of little use to me as I'm well versed in the Hitchhiker's Guide and naturally didn't leave home without my own. There's not much of a view but I can't complain on that point. At night we can hear the music of a nearby club. I'd much prefer to go there, but enjoying the music as I drift to sleep is fine too. I've got the top bunk, on the 2nd floor sharing a room with mi amiga Robin. She's graciously lending me her laptop. We rocked out to Missy Elliott's "work it" the first morning here. For those of you who knew me prior, "yes, I still have that song in my head". (It's your fremme neppa venette)
The first day visited "the Annunciation house". It's a place for non-documented people who have no where else to go that helps them get on their feet. Human rights is their main concern, not US immigration laws. Ruben Garcia spoke to us about border issues; he's a powerful and passionate speaker. He also believes that drugs should be decriminalized. I must inform UTEP SSDP about him...
We met some 'non-documented' persons who shared their hardships with us. One man left for America with a group of about 30 people. Only about half of them made it while the rest perished on the journey. (And you thought that s*** only happened on the Oregon Trail!) Sadly, those woeful pioneer stories we hear about moving out to the old frontier land seem similar to what some people still go through trying to get into our country... minus the covered wagons. These people often just make it over with the clothes on their backs. One boy, only 17, left his family behind to try to support his family. Another man with the same goal in mind had actually studied to become an engineer but it was more profitable to become a migrant worker.
You thought your dorm room sucked? You should see how these people have to live. Take a room, cram it full of bunk beds and you have life for the people fortunate enough to have found a safe shelter. And they're HAPPY. They're greatful to have a place to sleep, and clothes on their backs and still they have so many hardships ahead of them.
Today at AVANCE, a non-profit helping Latino families and victims of domestic violence, I learned more about this unrest. In Mexico, the typical worker makes 500 pesos a week, about $30. School is expensive on those wages, because school isn't free. For a family per year, it costs about 500 pesos to send children to Kindergarden, 400 pesos for Elementary, and 600 pesos for Middle School. High School is even worse with it costing 3,000 pesos per year for the child. Can you think of all the times you complained about school? What if you didn't have it? I'm so glad that at least the USA provides education for it's children, even though it can be improved significantly.
I have more to learn but there are some horribly shady things going on in the government there. There's more corruption there than here! The people are in charge are abusing their powers, neglecting and hurting it's people, and it's from the top all the way to the bottom.
It's becoming increasingly evident to me what a state of unrest Mexico is in.
This post is becoming tediously long. I will part with the following thoughts. In 1980, the wealthiest 1% of the country had about 6% of the wealth. Today, the same 1% has 25%. Something is wrong. It's not that they're working harder, it's that they're making the laws that say they get more. They're greedy and it's hurting EVERYONE. The way Mexico is now is the way our country could be if the wealth is not redistributed and the corrupt animals (*cough AIG cough* etc) are allowed to continue their practices. So far, I'm optimistic about the new administration and the idea that we won't be hopping the fence to Canada anytime soon.
Let's hope it doesn't come to that, I don't like the cold and I don't care much for maple syrup...

(But seriously y'all. Mexico's govt is in bad shape. I don't know what we can do to help them... I hope things improve soon. There's a reason people want to come here. If I were in their position, I would too. We should learn from them, and not make the same mistakes.)

More again this week....
-Marcy 'X' Groman