Their Stories

Of all the things I plan to talk about on this blog, ¨Their Stories¨ excites me the most. The excitement comes because it was stories that first taught me about Mexico. My hope in retelling the stories I have been told is that we can all come a little closer to achieving the main goal of this blog: to close the gap between "us" and "them" by cultivating greater understanding of Mexico and its people.

Understanding a nation's heritage is a unique process with profound implications, especially for a country like Mexico where there is so much to learn. One approach to understanding Mexico´s heritage is to go to the books and learn about the important historical events that impact the Mexico of today. And this is definitely an important step. Everything from Mexico's indigenous past to current events has something to say about the stories and lives of the people we call Mexicans. As I have learned over the years, history provides the context for the present and allows us to see who we are, where we've been, and where we are going. It is no different for Mexico.

History in and of itself, however, is not sufficient for defining a nation's heritage; rather history must be accompanied by an examination of the meaning individuals and nations place on it and how they allow their history to define them. For this reason, going directly to the people and listening to their stories is an important means of understanding the heritage of a nation. My first experience of this type (in Mexcio) occurred during the summer of 2012.  As part of a project evaluation for a humanitarian agency, my research team and I were able to interview hundreds of individuals as well as live with and converse with them "off the books." Nothing I could have studied in a book or heard on the news could have taught me more about Mexico than those conversations. In a matter of days, my whole concept of immigration was turned on its head, my understanding of rural poverty enlightened, and my love for Mexican food and traditions enhanced.

Retelling the stories I learned during that summer, as well as those I have learned since and will continue to learn during this Mexican adventure, allows me to share exactly what it was that taught me so much about Mexico from the start: their stories. The stories I will share are the stories of the people who live just across the border, but often times seem worlds away. I will tell the the stories of my neighbors, and in doing so I hope you will find that they are your neighbors too.