So one of our current volunteers, John, looks exactly like a volunteer from two years ago, Daniel. Exactly. I´ve seen them both, standing next to each other, side by side. They are duplicates. It has a lot to do with the combination of short hair, beard and impressively full mustache. They are also about the same size. But, since some of the neighbors seem to just adore us, and also they have very impressive memories, John gets confused for Daniel a lot down here in the communities. Wherever he goes kids shout out ¨Daniel!¨ as he walks by on the street and adults never stop reminding John how much he looks like the former volunteer.
That being said, when we were at Walter and Jesus´house with Santa Clara University during some neighborhood time we were going around the room doing introductions. The retreatants would say their name, their age, and what they were studying. When it was my turn I reminded them my name and that I was a volunteer living in the other neighborhood. When it was John´s turn he did much of the same until he was interupted with what happens a lot.
¨You look like someone¨ Walter said as he paused to think...
John replied, ¨Yes, I know...¨ turning to the retreatants. ¨I always get confused with a former volunteer that used to live here. Turning back to Walter he said that he looked like Daniel and asked if he was right.
¨No...¨ Walter said as he looked to his brother who was equally trying as hard as he could to figure out the resemblance.
¨JUDAS! That´s it!¨ he shouted and turned to his brother. His brother sighed loudly in agreement.
¨Judas¨ he turned and agreed with Walter.
Giving himself a single clap to applaud his spot-on recognizing abilities, Walter went back to presenting to the retreat group.
So that had me laughing for a long time.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
oh, forgot one - 8/11/09
Impressions on the surface after week 1:
bullet proof vested cops riding double on dirt bikes, immaculate conservative school boy/girl uniforms, stray dogs, stray chickens, dust, ¨sound of silence¨ during Lord´s prayer at mass, american first names like Edison, Jefferson, Wellington, Nixon, shells of houses, welcoming people, confused people, lots of people in general walking in the streets.
bullet proof vested cops riding double on dirt bikes, immaculate conservative school boy/girl uniforms, stray dogs, stray chickens, dust, ¨sound of silence¨ during Lord´s prayer at mass, american first names like Edison, Jefferson, Wellington, Nixon, shells of houses, welcoming people, confused people, lots of people in general walking in the streets.
9/03/09
Descriptions from the front porch hammock:
The clouds in front of the what could be a full moon seem like they are painted on the sky with a sponge, continually adding blotches of darker and lighter hues from left to right as the silent higher winds shepard them along.
To my left the stocky out of bloom mango tree looks like a hundred green hands and fingers, palms down in a limp wild cat´s claw pose.
The light goes out in the little red and white guard booth next to it.
The birds are chirping like dawn is on the horizon, but the night still has a long way to go.
I can hear from inside some of the volunteers quizing each other on the subjunctive and stirring crystal light packets into cups of water for a taste of sugar to tide them over until they fall fast asleep under clumsy ceiling fans that seem to trip over themselves every revolution.
I sit on the hammock and try not to make sense of it all. i´ve given up on understanding for the moment. thy will be done.
The clouds in front of the what could be a full moon seem like they are painted on the sky with a sponge, continually adding blotches of darker and lighter hues from left to right as the silent higher winds shepard them along.
To my left the stocky out of bloom mango tree looks like a hundred green hands and fingers, palms down in a limp wild cat´s claw pose.
The light goes out in the little red and white guard booth next to it.
The birds are chirping like dawn is on the horizon, but the night still has a long way to go.
I can hear from inside some of the volunteers quizing each other on the subjunctive and stirring crystal light packets into cups of water for a taste of sugar to tide them over until they fall fast asleep under clumsy ceiling fans that seem to trip over themselves every revolution.
I sit on the hammock and try not to make sense of it all. i´ve given up on understanding for the moment. thy will be done.
8/22/09
Saturday: feels like the first free day i´ve had here. jogged in the morning, ate breakfast with one of the guards and his family, showered, napped, woke up, and watched Fargo.
Felt a lot like home... while i was watching the movie i felt transported back to my living room. had the curtains drawn so it was dark, fan so it was cool, and i really got lost in the movie. the snow, the soundtrack, the acting - it felt very homely. the appreciation for its quality and the detaching feeling was homely.
It was quite the shock to return to equa-world. no more snow, no more rusty violins and pianos, no more escapism. back to the dust and heat and make-shift existence. stark contrast, bittersweet. it felt like i had woke up from my nap all over again...
note: by make-shift existence i mean that nothing here seems finalized. there are draped tarps for windows, house fascades that look like they are stripped and ready for paint. they won´t be painted. even houses that are completed don´t appear to be so - at least to someone like me who is used to american suburbs.
another note: santa clara university is the broncos. good call dad.
Felt a lot like home... while i was watching the movie i felt transported back to my living room. had the curtains drawn so it was dark, fan so it was cool, and i really got lost in the movie. the snow, the soundtrack, the acting - it felt very homely. the appreciation for its quality and the detaching feeling was homely.
It was quite the shock to return to equa-world. no more snow, no more rusty violins and pianos, no more escapism. back to the dust and heat and make-shift existence. stark contrast, bittersweet. it felt like i had woke up from my nap all over again...
note: by make-shift existence i mean that nothing here seems finalized. there are draped tarps for windows, house fascades that look like they are stripped and ready for paint. they won´t be painted. even houses that are completed don´t appear to be so - at least to someone like me who is used to american suburbs.
another note: santa clara university is the broncos. good call dad.
Journal entry from 8/16/09
Mistakes are at the essence of progress. there is no such thing as a new experience if its passage is without mishandle. if it washes over you and you handle it flawlessly then there was something about it that you understood how to react. hence not new experience.
Also, if you don´t act out of fear of mistake you stay stagnant for the moment while the world continues to change as it intended. it is unnatural to act counter to the world and existence. in a sense you´re putting yourself on the sidelines while the game clock is ticking down (i played football). MAKE MISTAKES!
Also, if you don´t act out of fear of mistake you stay stagnant for the moment while the world continues to change as it intended. it is unnatural to act counter to the world and existence. in a sense you´re putting yourself on the sidelines while the game clock is ticking down (i played football). MAKE MISTAKES!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
What I am doing here
http://www.rostrodecristo.org/ can probably give you a better explanation than I can. I am continually learning what my purpose here actually is. From what I have gathered I am living in a Cristo-centered intentional community with ten other Americans. My house in the Arbolito neighborhood consists of five besides myself. Another house has five. The other house is about a mile away in the area called Antonio Jose de Sucre. A strip of more dangerous territory is an obstacle that exists half way into our cross-neighborhood walk. We take buses if we are alone. We don´t attempt it at night. The city our neighborhoods are located in is Duran. It is right across a bridge from Guayaquil. The city is poor, our neighborhoods are poorer.
As volunteers we live amongst them, work in their city, listen to their stories. We are here to learn - about Ecuadorians, about ourselves, about the world we live in and the way we affect it (intentionally or unintentionally, negatively or positively). They have much to show us and we have much to learn. Hopefully I can put together a good post in the future about what they get from us. but it is too complicated for part of a post.
Our days are divided into morning worksites and afternoon programs. Some work mornings in shelters, others in schools. I work as the logistical coordinator for the program. There were positions that were available, people felt called to different worksites, I felt called to the connections between the worksites. We had a very long discernment process. As logistics coordinator I also am the point person for the 26 retreat groups we will have during the course of the year. The first retreat group comes down friday from Santa Clara University. My dad says their nickname´s the Broncos. He likes guessing university mascots. I´ll ask them when they arrive.
In the afternoon I work with two other volunteers at Manos Abiertos afterschool program. The name means "open hands". The program is held in a morning school in the 28 de Agosto neighborhood. Here neighborhoods often are named after the date in which they gained recognition. 28 de Agosto, the date just passed. There were parties there but I had to miss them. Steve and Julia, my co-workers at Manos, attended. They said it was fun, but when we describe things as fun to other volunteers it usually means it was crazy and surreal. 28 de Agosto is a landfill. The people there have practially nothing. One bedroom cane houses are the norm, in contrast to the neighborhoods we live in where one bedroom cane houses are every third home or so. I don´t believe they have the deeds to their lands in 28 de Agosto. It either used to be or still is an invastion commuity, meaning whoever owns the land can come in at any time and bulldoze their homes. I will find that out and get back to you. At the afterschool program we do critical thinking exercises with them, have recreo and play with them, then we give them a charla about a value we hope they would live by: respect, kindness, accountability, etc. Then we give them bread, sometimes a banana, a vitamin, water, and they go home and so do me, Steve, and Julia.
In the volunteer houses at night we take turns cooking, cleaning, and leading nightly spiritual reflections. Sometimes it gets intense, sometimes we just talk about America (sometimes it gets intense). Most times we just enjoy each others company. Its a blessing to be here with the other volunteers. We challenge each other to continually grow as people every day. Some times it is difficult. It is always rewarding. We genuinely care for one another. There would be no other possible way of doing this year if we did not.
I care for all of you reading this. That is why I am taking this time to communicate what I am going through with you. More posts will follow. Until then.
As volunteers we live amongst them, work in their city, listen to their stories. We are here to learn - about Ecuadorians, about ourselves, about the world we live in and the way we affect it (intentionally or unintentionally, negatively or positively). They have much to show us and we have much to learn. Hopefully I can put together a good post in the future about what they get from us. but it is too complicated for part of a post.
Our days are divided into morning worksites and afternoon programs. Some work mornings in shelters, others in schools. I work as the logistical coordinator for the program. There were positions that were available, people felt called to different worksites, I felt called to the connections between the worksites. We had a very long discernment process. As logistics coordinator I also am the point person for the 26 retreat groups we will have during the course of the year. The first retreat group comes down friday from Santa Clara University. My dad says their nickname´s the Broncos. He likes guessing university mascots. I´ll ask them when they arrive.
In the afternoon I work with two other volunteers at Manos Abiertos afterschool program. The name means "open hands". The program is held in a morning school in the 28 de Agosto neighborhood. Here neighborhoods often are named after the date in which they gained recognition. 28 de Agosto, the date just passed. There were parties there but I had to miss them. Steve and Julia, my co-workers at Manos, attended. They said it was fun, but when we describe things as fun to other volunteers it usually means it was crazy and surreal. 28 de Agosto is a landfill. The people there have practially nothing. One bedroom cane houses are the norm, in contrast to the neighborhoods we live in where one bedroom cane houses are every third home or so. I don´t believe they have the deeds to their lands in 28 de Agosto. It either used to be or still is an invastion commuity, meaning whoever owns the land can come in at any time and bulldoze their homes. I will find that out and get back to you. At the afterschool program we do critical thinking exercises with them, have recreo and play with them, then we give them a charla about a value we hope they would live by: respect, kindness, accountability, etc. Then we give them bread, sometimes a banana, a vitamin, water, and they go home and so do me, Steve, and Julia.
In the volunteer houses at night we take turns cooking, cleaning, and leading nightly spiritual reflections. Sometimes it gets intense, sometimes we just talk about America (sometimes it gets intense). Most times we just enjoy each others company. Its a blessing to be here with the other volunteers. We challenge each other to continually grow as people every day. Some times it is difficult. It is always rewarding. We genuinely care for one another. There would be no other possible way of doing this year if we did not.
I care for all of you reading this. That is why I am taking this time to communicate what I am going through with you. More posts will follow. Until then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)