Hola todos! My name is Sarah and I am a business economics major at The College of Wooster.  I am involved in the investment and economics clubs at school and I am a member of Zeta Phi Gamma.  I have never been to Tijuana before but this is my seventh trip to Mexico, so I had some idea of what to expect.  One initial noticeable characteristic when crossing the border is the poverty.  Many houses are built upon the mountains and are falling apart.  At the bottom of the mountains you see piles and piles of trash.  The conditions improve further into the city.  When we first crossed over the border we saw many people standing near the border waiting to try to immigrate.  Many people have poor ideas of Mexico and think only of possible dangers.  Tijuana is like any city in that some parts are good and others are not so.  I have not once felt unsafe here.  It is understandable for people to be hypersensitive to traveling to Mexico when media only covers the bad parts.  Our director, Eduardo, told us that while we here only of the corruption, drugs, and violence in Mexico, the Mexicans hear only the same of America.  This is one of the reasons I joined this trip.  I believe it is important to travel here and to help our neighbors so we can improve the relations between Mexico and the US.  I believe this country is misrepresented at home.  I love this country because its culture and people are beautiful and rich in so many ways.

Last night we went to a small district called Rosarito for some shopping and dinner.  We've had some amazing authentic meals since coming here.  Today we went to the Cultural Center, downtown Tijuana, and to the border.  Seeing the border was a great and memorable experience.  A very large fence separated Mexico from the US and it extended into the Pacific ocean.  We could see the US border patrol driving around on the American beach.  The fence was painted in many spots with bright colors and phrases promoting peace.

Tomorrow we will go to a local flea market and then to the construction site, where we will work with students from Providence.  I am looking forward to meeting the families that we are helping.