Inez is a tall, jet-black haired woman from Central Mexico. She is big-boned, in serious "work" mode most of the time, but she is all wide smile when she grins. Today, sitting with her in the brisk cold air on the picnic bench at lunch, I had the opportunity to hear more of her story, and was amazed at her courage in moving to a new country when she was settled in her old.
It was the year 2000. Or likely, 1999 when she started pondering coming because January 2000 was when she crossed the border to go north. I don't know how she orchestrated her visa and work permissions, but 4 months after she passed over, she got a job as a production lady at B. Her brother had been inviting her for years to visit the States for a vacation, but she had never felt compelled to come--she wasn't a fan of English, what would she do in America? But when her friend suggested moving to the U.S. for three years, she thought, why not? Her friend came too, but left after two years. Inez came and never moved back. It's been 14 years. She was 24; she is now almost 38. I wonder what moved her here--she had a comfortable life working at a bank, family around her, had just finished college. What moved her from zero interest in visiting America to moving here for 3 years, just to check it out? And now loving it so much that she wouldn't go back? When she came, she was amazed by the big city, in awe. She asked her brother about different places to visit, and he told her that he didn't know about them because he never went there. She was not him--she couldn't wait to check out all these new places, and hopped on buses to get there.
