Thursday, October 18, 2007

US/Mexico Border

The US and Mexico are very different. On one side there's fertile green grass, on the other, dirt and many houses. Although I've never been to across the border or like that close to it, I've heard many things from the people that have. In Mexico, there are many houses, but dirty. No middle class, just the rich and the poor with restaurants on every street corner. On the other side of the border, San Diego, California. Still with houses, condos, and apartments. Driving around Chula Vista, you see the construction of more houses, freeways, malls, and towncenters. In the neighboorhoods, parks children playing in the streets. Like those suburbs you see in the movies. There is a difference. But why?
Brainstorming in class, just for about three minutes, talking about Mexico and why it's the way it is, you hear words like "poor, brown, dirty", "rich or poor, nothing inbetween", "needy", "smelles bad". I think that Mexico is like that because of so many people living there. With the overpopulation, caused them to have to build more houses and to do that, they had to clear the way and create space. Which caused the dirt and pollution no one bothered to clean up which might have caused the difference in the air and scent you notice once you cross the border.
Living here all my life, I've always been close to the border, but never crossed it. I know what's on this side of the border, here or in Washington. It's very green here, lots of grass and trees. With people still planting more around the house, or around the neighboorhood, there's always a lot of plants and flowers around, making it so beautiful. Here we always have good weather. Sunny during summer, sometimes too hot. Somtimes rainy winters that can get too cold.
But why is it so different? I'm guessing that it's the overpopulation and the constant building without cleaning. I've never been there, so I still don't know. But until then, I can only assume from what I've heard.

1 comment:

K. Flewelling said...

Really excellent post, Joelle! Great job thinking all the way to the why (and also speculating, since you have never been to Mexico).

I wonder, where do we get our ideas about the places we have never been? Isn't it strange how we can know so much about things we have never experienced?