Across the Border with Trinity

Alternative Winter Break, a service event sponsored by Campus and Community Involvement of Trinity University provided students with an opportunity to travel across the border (Brownsville, Texas along  with Matamoros, Mexico) and serve the homeless, orphans and other under-privileged groups. I was among the 10 lucky students to be chosen for this trip. To make it even sweeter, all of my expenses were covered through a scholarship by Mexico- Americas- Spain (MAS) Program. Jealous?

1. Crossing the Border

I had to get a Mexican visa but the surprising fact is that no one checked it, neither when I crossed into Mexico nor when I crossed back into the US. I thought what's the point of making us get one, then? Well, of course I had to pay $36 for the visa, which is THE point. Usually when you cross a border, you see gradual change and can hardly distinguish where one country ends and the other begins if it were not for border patrols on either sides. But, as we crossed into Mexico, we felt the change was rather steep. Houses lost their luster and activity increased on the streets such as, people hurrying to sell newspapers whenever vehicles stopped at  traffic signals or people rushing to wipe windshields in hope of getting some change in return. Also, houses were haphazardly built and lacked sense of architecture, suggesting those might have been self-built without consultation of an engineer or an architect. Many houses had incomplete pillars, with bare metal rods, an observation we could not have missed since Dr. David Spener had advised us to look for those as we entered Mexico.

        2. Serving Dinner to the Homeless

On our First day, we sorted through clothes that were donated to Good Neighbor House in Brownsville. A tour was given to us of donations that Good Neighbor had received. The volume of donations and the quality of donated goods surprised us all but it assured that goodwill and altruism are not extinct yet. After that, we served dinner to homeless people, and this was clearly the most significant event of the day (at least for me). Several thoughts ran in my mind as they ate quietly with their families. I was saddened however to see that they had to satiate their hunger with 3 tortillas and second help was denied due to shortage of food.

         3. Two days at Orphanage

On our second day, we traveled into Mexico to an orphanage and spent time playing with orphans. Despite hardships they faced, they exuded cheerfulness and were athletically superior as they defeated us in every game we played. It was interesting to notice how soon the barrier of shyness broke as we started playing. We played kickball (I had never played it before) and soccer among others. The kids were smiling and so were we and the whole environment was so joyous. We all felt a sense of accomplishment seeing smiles on those cute faces. There were two dormitories, one for boys and another for girls but there was only one classroom where students of primary, secondary and high school level studied together. Also, there was only one assigned teacher for them meaning they did attend a formal school. We returned to the orphanage the next day and played indoor games since it was chilly and windy outside, ruling out any outdoor activity. The moment came that we liked the least: saying good-bye to those wonderful kids.

        4. Assisting in Constructing a House

On our fourth day, we helped build a house that would be sold later and a fraction of whose profits would be used to support under-privileged groups. Most of us had no prior experience of building a house. I had some prior experience of building a truss and a balloon launcher (which every engineer at Trinity builds) and it came pretty handy while nailing. We all enjoyed working with nails and hammers even though the weather was unpleasantly cold. As wooden walls that we built were erected on two sides, we swelled with pride and accomplishment.

After the trip, we reflected back on our highs and lows and felt we all learnt different things about life outside United States.

Photo Courtesy: Paurakh Rajbhandary

* My special thanks to our cool and friendly trip coordinators, Edwin Blanton and Lily Gonzalez for making this trip so wonderful.