Here is a post that some how didn't get posted from about two weeks ago....Enjoy!
Greetings from New York! A week ago, we made the seven hour trip from Pittsburgh to Riverdale and boy, was it a journey. Since we had the pleasure of driving with Father Lucian, it was a slightly scary ride...with some swerving here and there and some additional excitement. New York is very different from Pittsburgh. The retreat center is located right on the Hudson River and its beautiful. On the first night here, we got to watch the sun set over the river.
On Sunday, we ventured to Bed Sty to celebrate misa en espanol and had the pleasure of meeting Father Jim O'Shea. Father Jim has been living and working in the Bed Sty area for the last twenty or so years and seemed to know everyone who entered the church, walked past us on the streets, or stopped by at our barbecue. Bed Sty is located in Brooklyn, New York and is 95% Hispanic or African American. In many ways, I think this was one of the first experiences for most of us of being the minority. We, as well-to-do white Americans, were entering into a community that looked and lived lives very different to ours. After chowing down on some good ol barbecue, we engaged in a discussion with the members of the Bed Sty community about the ins and outs of being a volunteer and entering a new community.It was extremely eye opening and grounding to say the least. We were given the experience of taking a step in the shoes of the people of the community and what and how they feel when volunteers arrive. Later, we ventured to the streets where we heard thirteen year olds talk matter of factly about shoot outs between different project housing. We learned of the battle to build more affordable housing and we began to understand the hurdles this community faces. Hands down, this one day was the most unsettling and important part of orientation for me.
The week continued with presentations galore. If I was to list them all, well then we would be here for the next three weeks or so. But a zoom through the week would include a trip to the United Nations building, a mime to demonstrate the importance of symbols and ritual (I think), writing poetry, playing softball (yes...I did something athletic), some group sessions, and lots more.
One more week to go and my birthday too!!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Orientation: Blessings
Blessing
Def: 1. A thing conducive to happiness or welfare.
I am blessed and I think more than ever I am starting to realize that. We are on day six of orientation and when I look back on the days that have passed, I cannot help but take note of all the amazing people we have met so far. Everywhere we turn in the monastery, we are greeted with encouragement and support from a visiting nun, a funny priest, a local brother, or an extremely kind parishioner. And all go out of their to make us feel welcome and take a sincere interest in us. Father Joe, a native Pitts burgher, went out to buy a huge stash of Pittsburgh shirts and hats to teach us the Pittsburghese lingo. He also stopped me in the hallway this morning to check that everyone was treating us okay. Terry, a blind lady who is also the cantor at the church, is writing us a prayer in brail and text and cloned all of us after mass on Sunday because she said we were good people. Father Jerry not only spent his whole day today teaching us about the Passionist history, but he gave us a shout out at church. Patty, the associate we met, chatted with us when we came to find her and greeted us with big hugs before mass. We eat in the dining hall every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I cannot tell you how encouraging those times are. We meet person after person who wants to know more about what we are doing and who tells us they will be praying for us. And despite their age, they all remember our names (well most do.....)They tell us how nice it is to have young people in the monastery and they make us feel wonderful. But I think it is really our blessing to be staying here.
Def: 1. A thing conducive to happiness or welfare.
I am blessed and I think more than ever I am starting to realize that. We are on day six of orientation and when I look back on the days that have passed, I cannot help but take note of all the amazing people we have met so far. Everywhere we turn in the monastery, we are greeted with encouragement and support from a visiting nun, a funny priest, a local brother, or an extremely kind parishioner. And all go out of their to make us feel welcome and take a sincere interest in us. Father Joe, a native Pitts burgher, went out to buy a huge stash of Pittsburgh shirts and hats to teach us the Pittsburghese lingo. He also stopped me in the hallway this morning to check that everyone was treating us okay. Terry, a blind lady who is also the cantor at the church, is writing us a prayer in brail and text and cloned all of us after mass on Sunday because she said we were good people. Father Jerry not only spent his whole day today teaching us about the Passionist history, but he gave us a shout out at church. Patty, the associate we met, chatted with us when we came to find her and greeted us with big hugs before mass. We eat in the dining hall every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I cannot tell you how encouraging those times are. We meet person after person who wants to know more about what we are doing and who tells us they will be praying for us. And despite their age, they all remember our names (well most do.....)They tell us how nice it is to have young people in the monastery and they make us feel wonderful. But I think it is really our blessing to be staying here.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Orientation: Part Uno
Greetings from the St. Paul of the Cross Monastery in Pittsburgh! Orientation has officially started and though we have only been here three days, so much has happened already. After some rainy weather and a handful of delays, I arrived in Pittsburgh on Wednesday feeling a little nervous and having no idea what to expect. Earlier that morning, one of my fellow volunteers to Honduras had thought it would be very funny to jokingly tell me that he had decided to back out of the trip. Needless to say, I went into minor freak out mode and spent quite a while doing my darndest to convince him otherwise. Eventually I found out it was a joke and laughed quite a lot. On the arrival in Pittsburgh, we were met by Father Lucian (the founder of the program) and Karen (the director of the program) and spent the rest of the day catching up with old faces, new friends, and exploring our home for the next ten days or so.
Thursday brought us an orientation to orientation and an afternoon of life stories from the PVIs. In total, there are the four of us going to Honduras, six that are going to Jamaica, and two that are going to New York. It is amazing to look at where we have all come from and what we are bringing to the table. Between us all, we have travelled to Spain, done an archaelogical dig in Jordan, studied Spanish in Guatemala, and studied in London. Needless to say, everybody here is very inspiring and I am continually learning something from each one of them. Being surrounded by people with such passion and excitement is something I hope to not take for granted. At night, the Passionists held a vino y queso party for us. It was out of this world--mainly because we met Patty, a rowdy Pittsburghese lady with a huge personality and the best sense of humor. She taught us the ways of speaking Pittsburgh and told us the wonders of Kennywood.
On Friday, our workshops started with an in depth look into acculturation. We discussed at length the baggage we will bring as Americans to these new countries and the many cultural differences we will be experiencing. Thankfully for me, punctuality is not of high importance in Latin America and so we were told not to be too shocked if mass in the villages started a couple of hours late!!! In the afternoon, we were given time to explore and found a jump swing into The Mon (the river) and spent a while hiking down hills and climbing random sets of steps that seem to come out if nowehere! Luckily, there are a couple of huge Harry Potter fans here so some of us went to go check out the new movie and then listened to the Boogey Hustlers (a band) playing. There were some middle aged men breaking out some amazing dance moves and I was very impressed.
Today, culture shock was our big topic. We learned not only how to identify culture shock, but how to deal with it. We watched a video about foreign students and their first reactions to American cultures and such. As a foreign student (to a certain extent), it was strange watching them. In a lot of ways, I could very easily understand their feelings and perceptions of Americans but at the same time, I could also see the American perspective. I guess that is the blessing of being an American Brit. This afternoon, Father Lucian gave us a tour of Pittsburgh, his home town, and I loved it. If it didn't get so cold here in the winter, I think I might consider moving here. Tonight involved some serious pizza and ice cream eating and then a hookah bar!
Well thats a play by play of orientation so far. I doubt that the rest of my entries for orientation will be quite as detailed but hopefully this way you will kind of know what I have been doing here! Tomorrow, we have mass and then a free day. And the next week holds workshops on Adult development, the history of the Passionists, and some other interesting topics. I am very thankful for what I'm learning here and even this early on in the process, I can feel myself starting to really think about what I will be experiencing and how I will be feeling. There is a lot to think about and feel right now, but it is wonderful to be surrounded by people who are also feeling the same way and to be surrounded by people who care.
Thursday brought us an orientation to orientation and an afternoon of life stories from the PVIs. In total, there are the four of us going to Honduras, six that are going to Jamaica, and two that are going to New York. It is amazing to look at where we have all come from and what we are bringing to the table. Between us all, we have travelled to Spain, done an archaelogical dig in Jordan, studied Spanish in Guatemala, and studied in London. Needless to say, everybody here is very inspiring and I am continually learning something from each one of them. Being surrounded by people with such passion and excitement is something I hope to not take for granted. At night, the Passionists held a vino y queso party for us. It was out of this world--mainly because we met Patty, a rowdy Pittsburghese lady with a huge personality and the best sense of humor. She taught us the ways of speaking Pittsburgh and told us the wonders of Kennywood.
On Friday, our workshops started with an in depth look into acculturation. We discussed at length the baggage we will bring as Americans to these new countries and the many cultural differences we will be experiencing. Thankfully for me, punctuality is not of high importance in Latin America and so we were told not to be too shocked if mass in the villages started a couple of hours late!!! In the afternoon, we were given time to explore and found a jump swing into The Mon (the river) and spent a while hiking down hills and climbing random sets of steps that seem to come out if nowehere! Luckily, there are a couple of huge Harry Potter fans here so some of us went to go check out the new movie and then listened to the Boogey Hustlers (a band) playing. There were some middle aged men breaking out some amazing dance moves and I was very impressed.
Today, culture shock was our big topic. We learned not only how to identify culture shock, but how to deal with it. We watched a video about foreign students and their first reactions to American cultures and such. As a foreign student (to a certain extent), it was strange watching them. In a lot of ways, I could very easily understand their feelings and perceptions of Americans but at the same time, I could also see the American perspective. I guess that is the blessing of being an American Brit. This afternoon, Father Lucian gave us a tour of Pittsburgh, his home town, and I loved it. If it didn't get so cold here in the winter, I think I might consider moving here. Tonight involved some serious pizza and ice cream eating and then a hookah bar!
Well thats a play by play of orientation so far. I doubt that the rest of my entries for orientation will be quite as detailed but hopefully this way you will kind of know what I have been doing here! Tomorrow, we have mass and then a free day. And the next week holds workshops on Adult development, the history of the Passionists, and some other interesting topics. I am very thankful for what I'm learning here and even this early on in the process, I can feel myself starting to really think about what I will be experiencing and how I will be feeling. There is a lot to think about and feel right now, but it is wonderful to be surrounded by people who are also feeling the same way and to be surrounded by people who care.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Talanga...isnt that the name of the girl from Boy Meets World?
Thank my mum for the title of this blog. When she asked me for the twentieth time where exactly I am going, I told her Talanga and she responded "Oh isn't that the funny name of that girl from Boy Meets World?" (I'm very proud of my mum's TV knowledge).
Talanga will become my new home in just over a month so I decided to spend some time learning more about it. I think there will be a map of Honduras to the left. If you look on the map and find Tegucigalpa (the capital), Talanga is located North east above Danli. According to Wikipedia's description of Talanga, it sounds like I might need to bring my cowboy hat and some boots. Talanga is described as a wild, wild west town with dirt streets, ox carts, cowboys, and lots of stray dogs. It is home to 30,000 and relies upon agriculture--primarily corn, sugar cane, and livestock fodder--as its main income. In 2006, a sewer system was installed and there are a handful of internet cafes, an indoor market, and "well stocked hardware stores" (my specialty hahah). As for the atmosphere and the people of Talanga, Wikipedia says, "The people of Talanga are very friendly and one would be hardpressed to walk the main street without having people say "buenas" and starting conversations."
Well thats a snip it of information about Talanga and Ive posted the website address below if you want to read more. Also, if you go to the Passionist website and look under the Honduran service site, you will get a lot more information about the location and also what kind of work I might be doing.
I'm heading off to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for the first ten days of orientation and then its off to New York. I will try and update my blog at least once so that I can share with you the gems of knowledge I will be learning! Thanks already to the many people that have sent me encouraging notes on facebook, emails, and all the kind words--they mean a lot :)
http://www.passionistvolunteers.org/PassionistVolunteersInternational/pvi_servicesites.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talanga
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