Hi! I'm Maureen Graham...

Hey fellow blog-ringers,

I'm new at this blog stuff so patience please. I didn't even know what a blog was a couple of months ago. Well, I'll tell you a little bit about myself to let you know where I'm coming from.....First, my name is Maureen MacMahon Graham. I live in St Louis and am currently in the process of making lots of changes. I graduated from Wash U in May with double majors in Psychology and Spanish. Si, me encanta hablar en espanol! After graduation I started working in a research lab at WashU Med School, Department of Psychiatry and well, words can't express how miserable I was. I thought about sticking it out until May, when I will probably be leaving St Louis (I'll get tothat in a bit), but I decided that I didn't want to spend half of my 23rd year wishing that time would pass quickly. I can't stand complaining about something and then not doing something about...so I quit! I'm free at last and it feel great (except for the part about not having $)! Currently, I have about 20 part-time jobs (or just 6), and I'm loving the variety. Variety, diversity, adventure....these are things that I seek in life. I'm a nanny for 10 month old twin boys (who are adorable; they laugh at me when I play Mana..?Donde Jugaran los Ninos?....my favorite cd....and dance for them...they like when I speak Spanish & German with them too:)). I also babysit for 3 other families. On the weekends, I'm a leasing agent for an apartment building (The Parc Frontenac); I show apartments and get to introduce people to St Louis. I like it so far. And I may have another part-time job with Forest Park Forever (The Visitor Center in Forest Park)....I interviewed this week and am keeping my fingers crossed. This is all temporary, as I plan on leaving STL in May. I'm going to Spain from May 12-28 (for the 4th time!)to visit friends & family. I spent a semester studying in Madrid (Becca was my roommate & probably has some dirt on me;). I'm SO excited to go back and see everyone and visit my favorite places. My brother, Hugh, and his Spanish wife, Adriana, live in Barcelona. I'm currently applying for a volunteer program called Annunciation House. If all goes as planned, I'll be heading to the Mexican border June 1 for either the summer internship program or for an entire year (I have decided which to do yet). Annunciation House is a house of hospitality that serves the needs of immigrants from Latin America. I eventually want to go to grad school and get some kind of dual degree in social work and international studies....and work with immigrant population to the U.S. I say this now, but I change my mind ALL the time. I always wanted to be an international spy (I'm still considering a Foreign Language Specialist for the CIA), and then came archaeologist (I wanted to be the first archaeologist on Mars). All that I really know is that I want to do something about which I am passionate.

My loves: WORLD TRAVEL!(South America & Egypt are top on my list), international affairs, languages (I'm in 2nd semester German now), anything Spanish or Latino, tortilla espanola, singing & dancing (though I can't do either well), geography (you should see my map wall & I love to play name that capital), music, babies, MY FAMILY, my friends, learning, prayer & reflection, seeking THE Truth (whatever that means), & LIFE in general.

I'm originally from Springfield, IL. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters. I'm #4 in the order. My family means the world to me! I went to Catholic school from K-12. I'm Catholic, vegetarian, generally Democratic (though I vote for candidates, not a party). I just completed my Illinois absentee ballot and I voted for Kerry. Some cool places that I've been are Haiti & Uganda.

I met Rob through the Catholic Student Center at Wash U. We both have Latin fetishes & like space lots. And I think the reason we get along so well is because we are both big dorks and are not only not afraid to admit it, but we are proud of it!

I'm sure that this is way more than you ever wanted to know about me, but too bad. I look forward to getting to know you all soon! I'm ready for some good, enlightening debate!

peace to you all & Happy Valentine's Day!
Maureen

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Maureen- That was a great synopsis of you! I hope others are reading. Topic of discussion: Lots of people on the news programs (Lou Dobbs for instance) are talking about broken borders, and what a big problem illegal immigration is in the USA. What are your feelings on this?

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rob, in response to your inquiry....I have so many thoughts on illegal immigration...I will try to organize them in a coherent essay this weekend. I watched some of the CNN Debate between the democratic presidential candidates last night and they discussed this for a little bit. What I do know is that everything is tied together....our trade policies are directly linked with illegal and legal immigration from Latin America. Dennis Kucinich says that the first thing he would do if he were elected president is cancel NAFTA and the WTO. Kerry and Edwards say we should reform it. Bush says we should expand it. the way that I understood it is that currently NAFTA has "side treaties" that treat labor and environmental standards, but that these are basically ignored and not enforced. Kerry and Edwards propose that we incorporate these these side treaties into the main treaty and actually enforce them. I'm not sure how much you know about the maquiladoras on the Mexican border, I don't profess to be an expert, but NAFTA has directly contributed to the overflowing of these border factory towns and the depopulation of smaller towns by Mexicans who are seeking work. They can't cut it as small time farmers when large US farming corporations bring their crops to Mexico under free trade and sell them for way less the USA sells theirs. So many people are faced with starving legally in their own country or eating legally in ours. I'll go into detail at a later point about immigration (some statistics) and how I specifically feel. meanwhile, i still don't know if i understand this posting stuff and i wrote something today that I can't seem to post...i'll try to overcome my stupidity and figure it out!

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