The Borderlands

In this past few days or so I have decided to create a blog that will enable me to document my experiences in El Paso.  In case you weren't aware, I will be on the border for the next year of my life, experiencing things quite new to me.  El Paso is a long way from Philadelphia, and the distance is becoming more and more aparent as the days pass.  The void created from chessesteak and soft pretzel withdrawl has been filled by enchiladas and burritos.  I am surrounded by a culture steeped not in any one distinct tradition, but a clear mix of several.  Many people here claim to be proficient in three languages, English, Spanish, and una mezcla "Spanglish".  The border is a place in which people will begin talking to you in one language and switch over to another mid sentence without noticing.  It is a place in which tacquerias and car washes share the same building.  It is a place in which some individuals prosper, while others live in constant fear, stuck in no man's land between no work and absolutely no work.  Border Patrol take on the police's work, while the police take on responsibilites they did not sign up for. They say the new "state of the art" fence here costs 7.7 million dollars a mile to errect, while individuals on both sides of that fence go starving each day.

The El Paso/ Juarez border presents a dichotomy unlike any other  I have ever seen.  I live in a fairly pristine neighborhood, sandwhiched between UTEP and downtown El Paso.  While El Paso is amongst the safest cities in the United States with only one recorded homicide in the current year, I live less than half a mile from Ciudad Juarez, which ranks amongst the most dangerous cities in the world, with over 1200 recorded homicdes this year.  One of the safest places in the area to run is a neighborhood in the hills, littered with mansions owned by some of the leaders of drug cartels competing for turf in Juarez.  While this neighborhood is very pleasant, it overlooks the war raging beyond the fence, the war perpetuated by these notorious celebrities living amongst us.  As the gunshots continue, I cannot help but to feel guilty as I realize why the drug trade is such a profitable business, because of the United States.

As I near the middle of my second week on the border, I realize that I have so much to learn.  While I have attempted to prepare myself for this, I really did not know what I was in store for.  I will write later about my job, as I am just now orienting myself to my daily tasks.