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Preparing for a New Experience

General, Snapshots

I packed my bags last week, and I felt the need to repack them again yesterday. I keep wondering if I am missing something or if there is something I did not anticipate. I am looking forward to the heat, but I also know the heat might be a challenge for me too. I spent three years living in Palm Desert, California when I was little. In the desert, the temperature could easily reach a hundred degrees. Then for the rest of my childhood, I lived in Southern California near the ocean which was tended to be warm most days. After being in Indiana for over a year, I do miss the heat. I might regret saying so because the Texas heat is so different. Texas weather may be milder this time of year, but with the high humidity, this heat will be vastly different from the dry heat of the desert.

With my uncertainty of the Texas weather, I wonder if I am packing the right clothes. Honestly, I am struggling more with overpacking. Differentiating what is needed versus what is unnecessary has never been my strong suit. I am the type of person to pack too much because of a “just in case” mentality. Then again, as I talk to the team about what their suitcases looks like, I find myself adding to my already mile long packing list. I will overpack my field bag. I can almost guarantee it. I originally thought I would use a small field pack, but yesterday I decided to pack my field pack to see how everything fits. I realized quickly that my pack was barely able to hold everything, leaving extraordinarily little room for anything else. I should be grateful that I always carry too much because my field pack feels light in comparison to my school bag. Yet, after multiple hours of walking through the unforgiving Texas landscape, I am not sure if I will feel the same way.

Packing considerations aside, I am excited to truly experience South Texas. I have spent a grand total of 3 days in the state of Texas before this trip. All three days were spent close to Dallas, which is quite different from the area that the team will experience. Growing up in a big state, I understand how different areas can have so much to offer culturally. The ability to experience the unique aspects of the area the team will be working in will be extremely influential. I will be exposed to many new perspectives and experiences that will provide an irreplaceable learning experience. Not only can I learn about the firsthand experiences of those that are working in South Texas, but I can learn from those that have been affected by this crisis. Our team will be able to contribute to the work being done in South Texas and, in the process, we can learn about how approaches to a humanitarian crisis differ. Understanding the nuances of humanitarian work, is one of the most important educational opportunities I will encounter on this trip.

Claire

When Moments Become Memories

Reflections, Snapshots

My son was assigned a book to read in his English class and asked me to read it with him. It was called “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. What started as an effort to bond and find conversation with my son ended as a reflective experience, with many connections to the Beyond Borders Team and our work in the Texas borderlands. A major theme of the book focuses on memories. The characters in the book have none. There is no memory of the past, of other places or other experiences. Each person lives and believes there is only now. Memories are essential for growth and understanding. Our memories allow us to do well in school, to get everything we need at the grocery store, to drive a car, care for ourselves, and so much more. Our memories allow us to grow as humans and our memories allow us to avoid mistakes. These trips create core memories for the team that benefit them professionally and emotionally. With each trip I see how the team members mature in so many ways.

Team member Justin helping Dr. Latham dig
My memory from our first mission to Brooks County in 2013. Teamwork exemplified as Justin held my arm so I didn’t fall into the area I was excavating.

Our memories also hold our emotions. The Giver tells us that life is not complete without the good and the bad experiences. That is the irony of these trips. The team is purposely put in a terrible experience. It’s one in which death, despair, struggle and questioning is all around us. “He knew that there was no quick comfort for emotions like those. They were deeper and they did not need to be told. They were felt.” This blog is a way for the team to communicate their experiences and their emotions, but in reality, readers will never feel what we feel. And we will never feel what it feels like to be someone forced to cross into the US through clandestine paths. Yet, through these bad emotions and experiences, the memories are good. Team members leave with a sense of confidence in their abilities and in what they accomplished.

Dr. Latham analyzing skeletal remains
photo by the Houston Chronicle — My memory from our first lab mission to TX State University in 2015. We worked directly on skeletal analysis to aid in identification efforts.

That is because we tend to think of memories as absolute records of the past. But in fact, our memories evolve as we grow and change. They are colored by the reflection of who we are today. Often our memories are not what actually happened, but what we need to remember to support who we are today. That means our memories and experiences allow us to change our minds and our perspectives. Not because we were wrong, but because we are evolving and growing. In The Giver, Jonas longed for choice. Living in the now means accepting everything as it is. With memory comes choices and decisions. The decision facing Beyond Borders Team members is what they will do with the memories and experiences from their trip.

Team members paint AGUA on barrels
My memory from our first mission working with The South Texas Human Rights Center in 2015. Team members Justin and Amanda prep water barrels for us to place on migrant routes.

I saw a quote by another author that seems fitting here in talking about decisions in how you approach situations. “Sympathy is easy because it comes from a position of power. Empathy is getting down on your knees and looking someone else in the eye, and realizing that you could be them, and that all that separates you is luck.” -Dennis Lahane 

Team members with Deputy White on a search
My memory from our first search & recovery mission working with Deputy White in 2018. Team members are planning how to proceed with search the area.

Thank you for following us and sharing our journey.

~KEL

Pre-Reflections for the Trip of a Lifetime

Reflections, Snapshots
Packing suitcases and my US passport to travel to Falfurrias, Texas.
Packing my suitcases and US passport to travel to Falfurrias, Texas.

There is much I have been preparing for as it gets closer to the day we leave to travel to Falfurrias, Texas. I’ve spent days preparing by writing lists for everything I’ll possibly need, shopping, and packing my bags. I’ve thought about how I will be able to handle the environment of South Texas and what things I can preemptively do to help me physically in the field. In reflectance, I find that this is just another aspect of the privilege in how I live my life. Those who cross the border from Mexico to Texas don’t have the luxury to buy clothing to protect themselves from the harsh vegetation including thick pants and leather gloves. Migrants, likewise, don’t have the time or funds to prepare ahead of time like taking enough food, water, and medications to aid them on their journey. My teammates and I are privileged to be traveling with others who know the area, support us, and are very prepared in case of an emergency. These individuals embark on this journey with minimal supplies and guidance driven solely by a want for a better life. The experiences of migrants making the journey to cross into the United States will be nothing like our own. This experience will help me attempt to understand the challenges millions of migrants face entering and living in the United States.

I have gotten increasingly nervous each day as it gets closer when we leave on January 3rd. I’ve been most concerned with how I can mentally prepare for the things I will see while searching the Texas wilderness for migrants in distress. I’ve found that I am a very empathetic person and tend to place myself in other’s shoes in order to attempt and understand what they are experiencing. In reading literature on migrant experiences, it has become more and more clear how this experience will test my ability to handle my emotions in the field. The personal accounts that I read about are sometimes hard for me to understand or digest fully. Seeing the physical remains of migrants’ journeys in person and hearing stories from those who’ve dedicated their lives to searching will likewise be hard but necessary for my growth. Talking with everyone on the team and back home can remind me to keep a positive attitude amid such an emotionally challenged environment. I am very thankful that I will be traveling with a team with which I feel comfortable asking questions and expressing how I am feeling.

The Beyond Borders humanitarian mission to the Texas-Mexico border is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There will be so much for me to learn and experience while in the field searching for individuals who may have gone missing en route. Being able to experience hands-on the reality of this humanitarian crisis and the culture of these areas will be truly enlightening. I am very excited to learn from and work with Remote Wildlands Search and Recovery and with the South Texas Human Rights Center. Hopefully, the work I get to do in the Texas Borderlands will help aid in individuals keeping the basic human rights they are entitled to. This experience, I foresee, will be life-changing and solidify whether I want to work as a forensic anthropologist in human rights contexts.

Chastidy