Group 2- Yan Li

This is a sticker or bookmark I created after my Arrupe trip to Guatemala. During the trip, we stayed in a village with different families and saw a glimpse into their everyday lives. My host family was Gonzolo (on the right in the photo), Teresa (on the left in the photo), and their children.

The videos and readings from this module reminded me a bit of the trip, because the module highlighted the importance of understanding stories. Dr. Alvarez and Sarah Gallo are inspiring because they do not try to make assumptions. They go into the everyday lives of migrants and try to understand them. Before the trip to Guatemala, I was completely unaware of the personal and collective struggles of Guatemalan people.

During my stay with Gonzolo’s family, we had many conversations around the dinner table. The other Boston College girl that was with me spoke fluent Spanish, so she translated every sentence for me. When talking about the Mexican-American border, Gonzolo said that “We are treated like less than animals. Even animals could eat the grass from the other side of the wall”. They are happy for their friends that have successfully crossed the border, but they knew that it would be too dangerous to do so.

I thought it was very interesting when Dr. Alvarez mentioned in the video that contemporary globalization intentionally covers up undocumented travel. She mentions choosing between two evils of life of experiencing racism, violence, under-the-table unemployment in their home country or facing the same issues in the new country. The video definitely helped me gain new perspectives on what I had heard from Guatemalans, and helped me consider the bigger issue of migrant struggles and feeling unwelcome everywhere.