By Yazmine Milena Garcia, Fellow Class of 2018
Colorado State University
In October 2019, I took a leap of faith and studied abroad. I traveled to a small town in Baja California Sur, Mexico named Todos Santos. This was my home for the next two months but I found myself to be torn between two identities. I was not born in Mexico and I certainly did not have to cross an international border to attain a better lifestyle. But the struggles remain, I’ve had to witness family members voluntarily return to Mexico in hopes of speeding up their “Naturalization” process. They’ve had to return to a country they know very little about because they left when they were just toddlers. I’ve witnessed my grandparents mourn the loss of their loved ones back in Mexico while they were stuck on the other side of the border. Fearful of the fact that if they even tried visiting their Mexico quierdo (beloved) they would be stuck there. I’ve witnessed women in my family put up with emotional and physical abuse because they were threatened to have immigration called on them if they even thought about leaving their partner. I have been denied service or have had to wait longer to attain service at a restaurant due to the color of my skin and how I carry myself as a person in a public setting. And I have not been taken seriously in a delicate situation where I know my white counterparts would have had the situation escalated.
I am a descendant of immigrants who migrated to the U.S in search of opportunities for a better life than what they had in Mexico. I attended American public schools and was immersed into a culture that I didn’t have the capacity of understanding until my freshman year of college. Since then, I have found myself taking advantage of each opportunity that finds me. For example, the privilege to study abroad in a country so dear to my family, Mexico. This opportunity gave me the capacity to understand life in a world outside of my own. Because true cultural immersion goes beyond education in the language. It is one thing to speak but another to truly understand. For once, I don’t have to worry about being seen as the ‘other’. I’m not worried about the color of my skin because it is the same as everyone else’s. I am accepted, rich or poor, and I know this is my home. This, mi Mexico querido, is where my soul has been longing to be.
While in Mexico, I was amazed at the ways natives to this area accommodate to white people or other white-passing foreigners. The people now have to adapt to a fast-paced economy and find the means to make a living different from what they used to know. Some will even go the extra mile to learn English just so that they can tend to their American counterparts. It’s interesting to reflect on the many extents people will take to accommodate tourists, like having menu’s in English, playing English music, or having business signs in English. But on the other side of the border, most people would not even think twice about burying a language barrier. People in America will not accommodate to their Mexican counterparts. Instead, people in America will say “this is America, here we speak English. Learn to speak English or go back where you came from”. What a shame. Many of us are too demanding, too ignorant, and too unappreciative of life itself. Some of us would not know how to live a simple life because we’re used to getting everything that we want, not what we need. It’s completely different in Mexico. Everyone makes do with what they HAVE. They do not fuss if they can’t get those new shoes. They do not fuss if they can’t get that new wallet. They fuss about where their next meal is coming from, or if they cannot pay the next bill on time. As long as they have clothes on their backs, food in their stomachs, and a roof over their heads, nothing else matters. In Baja there’s a phrase known as La Pura Vida, meaning The Pure Life. This was not only a phrase but a lesson for me, a lesson that taught me to appreciate my surroundings. I’ve learned the value of a simple life, the value of saying good morning/day/night, and the beauty of the world itself the sand, the sky, the water. We are very fortunate to be on this Earth, don’t forget to be thankful for this beautiful, pure life.
