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| xi Acknowledgments As a child, I was often shown a photograph of my grandmother and her family—immigrants from Macedonia—taken in the early twentieth century when my grandmother was just four years old. The family is gathered together, staring at the camera with serious expressions, a reflection of the poverty, war, and survival that defined their lives. But this photograph of a family united is an illusion of sorts: the image was created transnationally. A photograph of my great-grandmother and her children was taken in a town close to their small village that is now part of Greece; this was joined with another photograph of my great-grandfather and my grandmother’s eldest brother, taken years before the family was actually reunited, at a small studio in Portland, Oregon. It was an attempt to reunite those in the homeland, at least visually, with the men in the family who had already migrated to the United States. The photograph, especially the story behind it, made an impression, and as I have conducted research with transnational Mexicans, the image and its sentiment have stayed with me. While there are parallels between the migration experiences of my family and those of transnational Mexicans—many of which I explore in this book, including divided and reunited kin, the distinctly gendered aspects of movement, and the effect of migration on people of all ages including children —there are also striking differences. My grandmother and her family arrived by ship to New York City and, after an immigration official changed their surname, they were sent on their way and boarded a train west. This is, of course, quite different from the border crossings of Mexican migrants into the United States in recent decades. My great-grandparents and my grandmother became U.S. citizens through a relatively simple process, and in a manner essentially impossible for the migrants I know. I hope that readers will situate this account of Mexican migration within a historical and crosscultural frame, recognizing the similarities with previous migrations to the United States, but also the distinct circumstances that Mexican nationals face in the early twenty-first century. I am grateful to my late grandmother for xii | Acknowledgments sharing the stories of her migration, as they have directed and continue to guide my work. Although my research has personal beginnings, it is the product of years of scholarship and has been shaped by exchanges with many mentors, colleagues , and students. I want to recognize the talented and devoted teachers who have contributed to different stages of my education and fostered my own dedication to becoming an educator. I thank my doctoral committee— Louise Lamphere, Carole Nagengast, Sylvia Rodríguez, and the late Michael Kearney—and scholars who have commented on my work at different times and provided mentorship and guidance: Leo Chavez, Susan Coutin, Yen Le Espiritu, Elzbieta Goździak, Joe Heyman, Gail Mummert, Roger Rouse, Louisa Schein, Dianna Shandy, Lynn Stephen, and Susan Terrio. I have also had the good fortune of working closely with many individuals as co-author and co-editor, and I thank these friends and colleagues, including Bianet Castellanos , Cati Coe, Julia Meredith Hess, Heather Rae-Espinoza, Rachel Reynolds , and Heidi Swank. I appreciate the many opportunities for exchange with scholars and friends in both Mexico and the United States. I thank those I have met during classes, seminars, writing groups, workshops, and fellowships: Jeanette Acosta, Carina Alencar, Jiemin Bao, Judy Boruchoff, Beth Buggenhagen, Nancy Burke, Mónica Díaz, Joanna Dreby, Tory Gavito, Nora Haenn, Sarah Horton, David Martin, Héctor Mendoza, Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Ethan Sharp, Karen Stocker, and Rachael Stryker. I also thank Olga Giller and Michael Ramos, my co-teachers in Albuquerque, ex-pats Mark and Patricia Dunn, and Rita McGary, a tireless advocate for migrants. My time at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies and the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California–San Diego was particularly fruitful, and I am grateful for this invaluable support. Thanks to Wayne Cornelius for creating this special place for scholarship, and to those I met during my residency, including Fernando Alanis, Xavi Escandell, Lieba Faier, Gaby Sandoval, Suzanne Simon, Maria Tapias, Gaku Tsuda, and Carolyn Pinedo Turnovsky. Several organizations have provided funding and support that made this project possible. My experience as a WorldTeach volunteer in Guayaquil , Ecuador, introduced me to and fostered my interest in Latin America. During graduate studies at the University of New Mexico, I received...

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