Another night of venturing out to the border and another night of absolute excitement. I spoke with two people and actually received responses to my inquiries. Amazing.
  It's one thing to hear a person's tale by reading it in a book or the newspaper, but it's a whole nother ball game when you are standing there, listening to them tell you it in their native tongue and somewhat understanding it. I'm not going to claim by any means to be fluent in Spanish but heck, I try my hardest and I think it shows.
  Octavio has crossed the border more than five times. His leg is infected because of a wound he incurred as a result of the wrong shoes and the wrong weather. He and a group of others were deported yesterday. The 43-year-old just wanted to work. "And they call me a criminal," Octavio told me. I know where he's coming from, but in the same instant I can't help but say politely, "yes, I know, but a lot of things happen when we don't obey the laws. You need a job, but it also hurts our economy. It's a difficult situation to deal with." He nodded and said something else. He wanted to speak to me in English, to put me more at ease and allow me to stop fumbling over vocabulary words I somehow lost along the way. He let me know that he had taught himself English, that it was tough to speak with people at first, but he kept on doing it. Now he speaks nearly perfect English from what I could gather, only with his native accent. He told me he's not sure when or if he'll try to cross again. If he does, it will be after he gets his wounds taken care of.
  I notice a hobble in most of the steps of these deportees. I ask one woman how long she had been out walking before she and her husband were picked up. Three days. She's only 23, but beautiful and open with me. She doesn't speak any English, so I'm on my own, hobbling along with my Spanish. But once I get over my fears, I get her to smile even though I know she's cold and tired on a night where rain cascaded from the sky in continuing sheets. I try to ask her how long she's been married to her husband, but I word the question incorrectly because her answer doesn't compute. I fumble with conjugations and other words, but I get by. I can't help but think my last semester Spanish teacher would have been shaking her head at me. Oh well, I'll learn. Shoot,  I'm learning.
  Hasta luego mis amigos.