Day 5: El Paso, Texas....

Big state, big fun.

Unfortunately, we've been so busy and our internet connection so slow that this blog has been sitting in my file for 4 days. So, I'm just gonna post it and leave our wonderful student blogs to do most of the explaining!

We started our morning with art at the El Paso Museum of Art, a small but interesting museum in downtown El Paso. It was so lovely that we scrapped our plans for later in the day so that we could explore a bit more. We wandered through a print exhibit that offered a modern take on bestiario and nahuales. The bestiary was used during the Middle Ages as a way to teach Christian values through animal lore. In other words, each animal is symbolic. Christ, for example, was represented by the lion, an animal seen as both strong and noble. Nahuals, on the other hand, are guardian spirits that reside in animals and which protect people. The idea of nahuals comes from Mayan, Aztec, and MexoAmerican peoples. The exhibit juxtoposed the two in an interesting and connected way and set the tone for the rest of the day. That is, El Paso is clearly more than a border town, it really seemed to offer a mix of both US and Mexican cultures in a way that we found surprisingly interesting.

This theme continued in a a fun yet powerful mixed media piece called "The Border Patrol," that examined issues related to US/Mexican border. (Sadly, we weren't allowed to photograph it but you can see some of the other art below.)

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After the museum, we headed to Fort Bliss, the largest military base in the country---larger than Rhode Island! (How on earth can that be???) Our hosts--Lunelle and Harold showed us around the the old fort, its museum, and the different areas of the base. As a military kid, this base was old hat for me in many ways, but was a big surprise to students. Unlike the base I (partially) grew up on, this base has many privately owned companies on it, including a nationally known burger joint. They earn the right to be there by donating part of their proceeds back to the base. Last year, they "gave" 5 million. One has to wonder how much they make in profit each year to give that chunk of change away. But, I digress...


One thing that struck me about the base was the pride in which it displays its weapons. I mean, this wasn't a surprise as I grew up in a Navy town and taught at a military college. As such, I have profound respect for our soliders and the sacrifices they make for me and our country. But, having just come back from a trip to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, I also saw those weapons in a new light. I saw them for what they were--weapons of destruction and death. Now, we could debate the pros and cons of the military, but my point is similar to one I've made in other posts--that our history and our memory are two different things. It was this way in Vietnam, too, for example. Their war museum told of evil American agressors who ruthlessly attacked a peaceful people...no other side to the story. The truth in all things probably lies somewhere in the middle. And, I think we lose something when we don't put all of the truth out there. Not that this is easy...

Ultimately, I left the base grateful for the time that Harold had given us and for the reminders of
the liberties and freedoms that I do have and which have come at a very high price.


We spent our afternoon at a Latino grocery store stocking up on food, water, and some culture. El Paso is an astounding 82% Latino and this was obvious at the Rancho market where signs were in Spanish and English and "new" foods were plentiful.




Our day ended with Tex-Mex, a gorgeous sunset, and a drive along the border. As we saw people crossing to the other side, I wondered what lay before them. In the case of Mexicans returning home, I wondered what they may have given up to come here, to the US, and what they hoped to achieve for themselves and their families by coming here. Over dinner we talked to a waitress, now a naturalized citizen, who said that Americans don't value family as much as Mexicans. She said that Mexicans stay close to one another and support one another whereas Americans spread out doing whatever we want, following our individual paths. So why come here to the US? Securidad economica. And hope that her two daughters might one day do better than she had. Now, that's an American story if I've ever heard one.