We're sitting here in the living room of our hostel on the last night of the trip watching Full Metal Jacket. We left this morning around 7:45 or so to start on about a two hour trip to visit the Hispanic War Veterans of America in Alexandria, VA. We spoke with two veterans, one who served in Vietnam and another older man who served in both Korea and Vietnam.

One of the main things that was addressed by these men about their organization was the emphasis the organization places on separating immigration issues from veterans affairs. The organization doesn't focus its attention on resolving the controversies surrounding illegal immigration but rather problems revolving around services available, or lack thereof, for immigrant war veterans. I think of the most interesting things I learned today from these men was that many immigrants come legally to the US and enroll for military service yet are not allowed to apply for citizenship until after their service is complete.

Looking back, there were many fulfilling aspects of this trip. From a social perspective, it was cool to get to know and spend time with some new people from school. Yea it sounds cliche but I feel like a lot of things sound cliche because they are true and represent certain commonalities in all of us and for me at least, considering that this was my first alternative break trip, I am sincerely glad I was able to experience this. From a topical perspective, I think the most fulfilling times were when we were able to personally talk with veterans and get to know them a bit more personally and intimately. This was cool because you were able to get to see them more as humans and individuals rather than soldiers of a mass, collective military.

To be continued...