Thanksgiving 2009

I tried something new this Thanksgiving. My husband's family took me snowboarding!

I found myself on the ground for most of the day, either on my hands and knees, or my buttocks.  I also discovered I had muscles where I never knew I had them.

The weather was perfect, it was too warm for a coat.  By the end of it, we had worked up a healthy appetite.

Later that day...






Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we went, for the tasty traditional deliciousness of my family's culinary creation.

Pathway on a Change of Plans

I know what you're thinking:  "Oh my goodness.  That girl changes her major like she changes her clothes!"

Yes, I have been indecisive (architecture, art, music, history, society, geography, philosophy, language, literature, CULTURE)...

Applying to UCCS, I said Spanish would be my major, knowing how practical it is to be fluent in the language of our neighbors.  I also said a minor would be crucial to the specialization process which I am going through at the university.

Considering that my interests include various ways of studying humans and their culture, and looking back on the most interesting course I took this semester (Introduction to Human Origins), I realized my best option would be to major in Anthropology and minor in Spanish.  This way, I still become fluent in the language of our neighbors while studying what I am truly passionate about: human beings and their interactions with each other and the environment.

Spring 2010 registration is finished, and this is my final schedule:


~Intermediate Spanish I - a continuation of my Spanish studies! Se habla español.

~Business and Professional Communication - to learn how to effectively sell my skills.

~Nature of Language - anthropological study of tongue.

~Intro to Cultural Anthropology - the counterpart to Physical Anthropology.

~Human Biology & Ecology - to deepen my understanding of human health, reproduction, and demography.

~VAPA Vocal Ensemble - a CHOIR! I haven't been in a choir since high school!

Wintertime Fotos

These fotos were taken in our front yard.

Halloween 2009

Most of my friends have children to costume and parade around the neighborhood.


Here is my husband dressed up to go to work on Halloween.

North American Unfair Trade Agreement

I am too young to remember when it became so popular to make a big deal about illegal Mexican immigrants.  From what I can tell, the numbers of illegal aliens have been dramatically increasing since the mid 1990s.  Is it a coincidence that NAFTA was founded in 1994, at the beginning of this dramatic increase?


What is NAFTA?  The North American Free Trade Agreement allows the trading of goods (but not workers) across national lines.  NAFTA is the installment of a free market between Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  This particular free market is an experiment that has never been tried before.  Is it working yet?


A Brief History:  During a United States labor shortage, thousands of agricultural workers from Mexico were welcomed to this country between 1917 and 1929 as guest workers.  The guest worker program was discontinued during The Great Depression for obvious reasons, and the U.S. Border Patrol was created to protect American interests.  There was another labor shortage during WWII, and the guest worker program was reopened.  The program lasted until 1964 when Congress discontinued it based on reports of ill treatment of workers.  The guest worker program was replaced by the H-2 Visa, a temporary and seasonal worker program that was revised after NAFTA to include miles of classic bureaucratic hoops.


What has changed in Mexico since NAFTA?  Another Brief History: For several decades, Mexico was building internal wealth and growing its middle class by emphasizing community service, by governing the regulation of prices, and by protecting nationally owned businesses.  Mexico had to change its constitution to join NAFTA, and as a result many agricultural workers in Mexico have been displaced.  To keep up with with the new free market, Mexican farmers suddenly had to compete with farmers in the United States.  The average farmer in Mexico is not able to afford to compete with Iowa, so many Mexican farmers are flocking to the cities to find work.  When there is no work to be found in Mexican cities, the displaced farmers must go elsewhere.  To the descendents of the Aztecs who grew corn as a part of their religion, Mexican farmers feel as though joining NAFTA equaled denying their religion.


How does NAFTA change American Life?  Business owners now have the freedom to buy and sell to their advantage, and many have already moved their businesses into Mexico where labor is cheaper.  As manufacturing jobs are relocating to Mexico, illegal immigration is showing decline in recent years, and the unemployment rate in the United States is growing steadily.  In the United States as well as in Mexico, the gap between the poor and the rich is widening.


What happens next?