Living Between Two Worlds

 Border Community 

By Valeria Barajas

Hello again!
Today I want to talk to you about a discourse community to which I belong and which has shaped my identity, the bilingual border community. A community of hundreds of people who live, study, work, and navigate across two countries, two cultures, two languages, and two different routines.

This community is considered a discursive community because we all share common goals, the same ways of communicating, the same experiences, and a collective identity. Our goal is often the same: to live life between Mexico and the United States, adapting and thriving, while maintaining both cultures. The members of this community share the experience of crossing the border several times a week; many do so daily, whether for school, family, or work reasons. And we all understand the challenges and opportunities that come with being part of two such different worlds. We share Spanglish as a form of communication, a language that blends English and Spanish words and expressions. A language that isn't found in a dictionary, but that any border resident will understand.


The associated documents vary greatly across the community, but they reflect a great deal of the reality of border life. Some documents are community-generated, such as WhatsApp and Facebook groups, where we stay up-to-date on the line or nearby activities, whether on this side of the border or the other. We also interact through Spanglish memes, jokes about border life, and even social media posts where community members share the challenges of waking up early and waiting in line for hours, in addition to local bilingual radio programs. Others are more formal documents, such as immigration policies and the famous and much-desired SENTRI, which many of us would ask the genie to save us a few hours in line.

What I'd really like to understand better about this community is how people manage to feel like they belong, even though our lives are constantly shifting between two different countries. I'm interested in knowing how we use language, food, and traditions to feel proud of being part of both worlds? How does crossing countries as a daily routine change our outlook on life? I'm also curious to understand when we adapt to both sides without losing the essence of the other, how we balance two lives into a single identity. For me, the border isn't a barrier that divides countries; it's a place where two ways of life meet, forming a new community, one I'm proud to be a part of and would love to share with you.


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