Wow! Where do I even begin? Ok so I am now in Okinawa. I have just moved into my “official” room. I will be living by the parish by myself. My two fellow site partners (Michelle and Susan) will be living in the volunteer house, a block away. I feel so lucky to have a community again! I am so lucky I live and work with two people who share the same values and outlook on life. That is a big part of mission work.
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| Me, Michelle, and Susan |
Teaching at the Japanese school (12 classes, 1st through 8th grade).
Teaching at the Bolivian school (20 classes, 9th through 12th grade).
Watching the girls from the boarding school (making sure they do their homework).
Visiting communities (Going out the rural areas that are extremely poor, this is by far my favorite part of my duties here).
Teaching Catechism (At the home parish and in the communities on weekends).
Driving the Sisters (Driving to and from the communities and anywhere else they want and need me to go).
Washing the truck (Self explanatory).
Translating letters for sponsors (this feels like counting sand).
Doing random things all day.
As you can see I will be really busy. Yet I am so happy to be here. Classes have started already. Everything is still chaotic and badly organized. At least at the Bolivian School. The Bolivian school is called San Francisco Xavier (SFX). The shirts we wear are white polo’s with the initials SFX in the front. It looks like they say SEX because of how the F is written. I still have to look twice every time I see it.
The first day of classes was just celebrations and singing of all different kinds of Anthems. First they sing the National Anthem, then the one for the school. The rest I don’t remember. They have one for everything; teachers, parents, students, and many more. All of the kids know them by heart.
Going between the Japanese school and Bolivian school is like going from night to day. At the Bolivian school the kids are more savage and barbaric. There seems to be a common understanding, and that is to disobey and create chaos. I am currently teaching the high school in English. I have to go in the classroom looking like King Kong for the kids to somewhat behave. I feel so blessed to have the language and so I can be respected somewhat more than others. I haven’t plucked my eyebrows so I can look scarier, but I think I just succeed in looking uglier. I usually feel like the principle from the movie “Matilda.” I wish I would be the cute little teacher that just warms your heart, but if I act like that the kids will eat me alive.
The Japanese school is another story. There I am a teacher’s assistant. So the real teacher takes care of all the real stuff and I just help out. The classes are filled with ten or less well behaved students. They all do their work and are a teachers dream. They do as their told and are very bright. The little kids are so cute and melt my heart.
The volunteers are also in charge of watching the girls from the boarding school at night. There are 13 of them and they behave pretty well. It is really nice to be with them because they kind of remind me of the girls from the Hogar.
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| Our girls performing at Hogar Don Bosco |
The day before school started was the feast day of Saint Don Bosco. There are tons of Salesians here in Bolivia so this is a big celebration. In Santa Cruz (the state I live in) there are tons of Orphanages within an hour’s drive. Once a year they all get together for the feast of Don Bosco. The kids dance and sing in front of all the other kids. There are over 3,000 kids in attendance. It is both heart breaking and moving to see this. I love going to these reunions because my priorities are quickly put back into order. I also love going because our girls always put on a dance that they had been working so hard on. The dance is usually inappropriate but I support them nonetheless. Seeing their faces light up when they dance is priceless. Seeing all those broken families makes me be thankful for mine. Seeing the smiles on the kids who have lost everything and yet they feel they have everything; is so humbling.
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| All the volunteers at the retreat: Left to Right Mary Pat, Johanna, Andrea, Me, Monica, Marcos, Amber, Nicolas Bottom Left to Right Susan, Angela, Michelle and Melia |
During the retreat I got to speak to my Brother Bear, which was another highlight. I had been yearning for a talk like the one we had, and it was awesome. I will be farther away from him now but I hope we still can see each other often.
This week we had a visit from a past volunteer from Okinawa; Kathleen Curran. Kathleen is amazing! She is like Oprah. She runs a house for girls who don’t have the means to go to college and she pays for everything. She supports them financially and emotionally. It is so great to see the work she is doing. She also helps other kids achieve their dreams of going to college, but can’t afford it. She is literally making a difference in the world.
Kathleen was a volunteer here in Okinawa 10 years ago. She had not been to the volunteer house in a long time. Seeing her reaction as she went in to a place she called home for 3 ½ years was priceless. Her expression was that of someone who visits the house they had in their childhood, and memories and emotions come up with every part of the house. We had dinner and talked forever. It is so amazing to see someone who does so much for the good of humanity.
Overall I love it here. I can tell God definitely wanted me here in the first place, but had to learn some lessons in another place. I feel right at home here. Although I still struggle with my emotions when I go to the Hogar, I have a sense of peace in knowing that I am exactly where I need to be.
Being here has also given me a new respect for teachers and the education system. I will go more into that later. But for now just thank God for living or being part of a country that is 1st world.
Now for some funny stories:
As you know I live with Susan and Michelle. They are both very sweet and gullible. If you know anything about me is that I prey on people like that. It’s like I have my very own entertainment source, where the entertainment never ends. I am constantly scaring and teasing them. My favorite happened two nights ago. Susan said she felt air in her ear. So I did the most logical thing I knew for that. “El Cono!” Yes I know my family is cracking up right now. El cono is a home remedy that my mom used on us growing up. What it basically consists of is, making a newspaper in the shape of a cone and putting it in the ear. Then you do the most practical thing, and light it on fire. I still can’t believe Susan let me do it. Two cones and 50 matches later, she still felt the same. You can take the girl away from her Mexican customs but can’t take the Mexican customs away from the girl.
Another favorite of mine is one that happened to Michelle. If you don’t know Michelle she is… well… really hard to describe. In short I love her and if she is around there is no need for television. Talking to her is like someone changing the channels mid-sentence. She is always so filled with energy and craziness. We were standing outside the volunteer house when her face turned very serious and she quickly runs to the sink and swings her leg up. Fire ants were all over her feet and were crawling up her legs. She kept making the funniest noises and saying the funniest things that I melted into laughter. I knew it wasn’t the moment to laugh because she was in real pain, but my laughter turned into a compulsion. When the ants started getting higher and higher she quickly ran to the shower. I of course followed with a parade of laughter. Her skirt was flying everywhere and she did what looked like a dance in the shower. She closed the door. When she came out I was still in a laughing euphoria. I can’t believe they have to put up with me a whole year.
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