When most of us pick up a book (when we still pick up books, rather than turning on our Kindle or other reader), we typically don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the “irrelevant” preliminary materials that come along with the book. We want to dive into the story! Maybe, if we’re not too worried that it will reveal that the butler did it, we glance at the table of contents. Or maybe we’re trying to decide about buying this book instead of another and we check out the image on the cover or a blurb from a review. But really, we want to get into the book, right? 

What does border mean to you? If you are a native of the US-Mexico border region, the border might mean a bridge used daily to cross for work or school, a wall that separates you from el norte, or it could mean opportunity. If you are not from the region, the border might mean danger, death, or separation.

Welcome to the Best Border in the World

For this new round of interviews, I reached out to a valuable professor at El Paso Community College (EPCC), biology professor Roshanak Jafari, to talk about the uses she has given to her native language here in El Paso, Texas. Professor Jafari was born and raised in Iran and has been part of our border community for fifteen years.

Back in January of 2020 I started teaching U.S. History 1301 for the first time, from pre-Columbian times until Reconstruction at the El Paso Community College (EPCC) Valle Verde Campus. Some peers from EPCC and The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) shared ideas, experiences, and materials, so I had various resources to build my course. One of the most important pieces of advice I received was from one of my mentors at UTEP’s Borderlands History doctoral program.

As the entire world undergoes a strange and scary time filled with uncertainty at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm writing this blog post to share my experiences as a student and as a community intern at The University of Texas at El Paso Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, touching on my personal transition from a cemented weekly routine to a drastic, do-everything-from-home version of my typical lifestyle.