Ixtlico El Grande Calls

Emilio (Changa), my pastry assistant, has been talking seriously of returning to Mexico.  If he returns, I will miss him.  When I first asked him if he was interested in working with me, in learning pastry, I was unsure of what his answer would be.  Like the other Mexicans, other than a few questions here and there, he did not talk to me.  It was possible he would see it as an insult to work under a woman.  Now, I feel we are friends.  I have been to his home and he to mine, we gone shopping together and shared food.  He has invited me to visit him in Ixtlico El Grande and stay as long as I like.

Yesterday, he asked me why the people here (in the USA) work so hard, so many hours, while in Mexico, life is easier.  This is a question I cannot answer for him fully, and the language barrier makes it even more difficult.  I told him that Mexico is a poor country, where there are so few jobs, the people must leave their homes and come the the USA to find work and good wages.  I told him that the Mexicans who work here send a huge amount of money to Mexico and that if they didn't send this money, Mexico would be even
poorer.  I also told him that his country has huge problems with drug cartels and corruption.  All of this he agreed to.  Yet, I believe he will return anyway.  As illegal border crossing seems very dangerous these days,  he and I have discussed how hard it would be for him to come back, that if he leaves, it will be for good, or a very long time.  He has considered all of this.

To be home, with people who speak his language, accept him and know him, to feel a part of the world surrounding him again after 15 years here; this is what matters now.