If you could pack your whole life into a backpack, what would you bring? This question popped up several times throughout our day at Balboa Park in San Diego. Balboa Park was created during the finishing of the Panama Canal as a short area for celebration that today serves many museums. We visited the “All of Us” museum and focused heavily on the “Hostile Grounds” that make up the southern border. The primary piece of this exhibit was the large map of Arizona with the toe tags of many people who had died trying to cross into America. The most common cause of death: exposure to difficult elements. The exhibit depicted the history and journey of the border, from its founding to its current presence of being a barrier. 

During this time, we met an activist named Karen Parker who gave us her story. She has been distributing water, medical supplies and food to migrants walking through the desert near the border and in outdoor detention camps. She shared her opinions on policies, the systems of migration, and border patrol. She shared that after all her years of work she has never been harmed by migrants. However, the one time she was ever attacked it was by a border patrol agent. She also showed us some of the objects both given to her or that she picked up in the area near the border, like notes children carried so that they could find relatives in the US. 

After lunch we went to the border crossing. We anticipated a long, complex, and difficult experience, but getting in Mexico was quick and very easy. This was an exciting moment for a couple of us who were out of the country for the first time. Once we made it to Tijuana, approaching the border wall was intimidating. The wall was giant, militarizing the landscape, and it felt like a prison wall. The day ended by walking around Tijuana and seeing the murals painted on the wall to make it less intimidating. We look forward to tomorrow, our next full day in Mexico!