Here I am again. Back home in Guatemala. It's almost funny how comfortable I am here, considering that I've only spent 3 weeks here, combined, over the last 18 months. There's just something about this country that speaks to me on a level that most other places I've been to just don't.
My time here thus far has been simply to relax and do a little sightseeing. Tomorrow... my first full day in the ghetto since my very first trip here. Since I spent my last week in Guatemala at an arts camp at the coast, I didn't get to spend any time in the ghetto. I can honestly say that I missed it, and as much as I loved my time at the arts camp, I knew after that that my next trip would mean my days being spend in the ghetto. I just needed to be there. I'm a little anxious about my time here, mainly because I'll be teaching dance for 4 hours a day, after almost an entire year sabbatical. I know that I'll love it and it will go smoothly, but there will probably always be some kind of sense of restlessness when I teach in this environment.
I am also selfishly anxious about my emotional reaction to being back in the ghetto. I know that I will return to the Lemonade House completely drained each evening. Even though it is beyond worth it, it is an exhausting experience.
I will try to update you during my time here to share with you more stories from the ghetto. I know that they're not always easy to read, but they are filled with truth about the experiences of other living in much less advantageous circumstances. I beg for the audience of your attention and time...
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Experts at Not Thinking
I realized something today. Since my recent relocation into center city Philadelphia, I have spent the last 5 days intentionally avoiding drinking the water out of the faucet. I simply don’t trust the water to be as clean and tasty as I might want it to be. This also got me thinking about the things we take for granted. Which, as anyone who takes a few minutes to think about will realize, is a lot. As a culture, we’ve become experts at not thinking about all of the conveniences that we have at our fingertips. Experts at not thinking. What a strange statement to make, when you really think about it. And yet, it’s very true. We don't think.
We don’t think about how we turn a knob and water comes out. We don’t think about how we push a handle and a toilet flushes. We don’t think about the fact that we can afford trash removal, and thus keep our streets and lawns clean. We don’t think.
What a shame. What an utter shame that we don’t think while there are people out there without clean water, without running sewage, without trash removal. Without food, and medicine, and hope. We don’t think.
I leave for my third trip to Guatemala in 3 days. I plan on thinking a lot over the next few weeks. I plan on thinking about all of my blessings, on a job that pays my bills, on easy access to the necessities of life. And then I plan on thinking about how I can make a difference in the lives of people who don’t have these simple things.
I plan on thinking.
We don’t think about how we turn a knob and water comes out. We don’t think about how we push a handle and a toilet flushes. We don’t think about the fact that we can afford trash removal, and thus keep our streets and lawns clean. We don’t think.
What a shame. What an utter shame that we don’t think while there are people out there without clean water, without running sewage, without trash removal. Without food, and medicine, and hope. We don’t think.
I leave for my third trip to Guatemala in 3 days. I plan on thinking a lot over the next few weeks. I plan on thinking about all of my blessings, on a job that pays my bills, on easy access to the necessities of life. And then I plan on thinking about how I can make a difference in the lives of people who don’t have these simple things.
I plan on thinking.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Reason #127 I Feel Like a Mom
I've been puppy sitting for the past few days. I love animals, and have always wanted a dog, so this was a particularly fun prospect. Now, remember, I have two cats. And a small apartment. Mix in a 3 month old huskador (or is that labsky?) and it was a recipe for a very interesting few days.
There's the age old advice that if you're thinking about having kids, get a puppy first. I can tell you from experience, this is in fact accurate. Now, I realize that I don't have kids, but good Lord, it certainly feels like being a mother to human children must be something similar to this. My house has looked like a bomb went off, there are toys littering my living room floor. I can't keep sharp objects on the edges of tables. I get nervous taking a shower for fear of what I might find in puppy's mouth when I am done. I can handle hew chewing on most things, as long as it's not one of my cats' legs or anything. I've chuckled at myself more than once in the past few days, recalling things my sister has said about motherhood and realizing that I've been feeling the same way about my 4 legged furry charge. The things that have come out of my mouth have been strikingly similar to utterance of my sister to my nieces and nephews. Things like, "get that out of your mouth!" "Stop chewing on the furniture!" "Do NOT eat the cat poop!!!!" *sigh*
Having a puppy in and of itself is really not so bad. Sure, it's a considerable amount of work. You have to drag yourself out of bed 45 minutes early to feed the dog, walk the dog, and play with the dog so that you don't come home to find your bathroom totally trashed. I don't think my landlord would appreciate my toilet having a hole chewed it in. But when the living space is so confined and there are 2 cats involved.... yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.
Bella, being the scaredy cat that she is, has spent the past few days hiding behind the curtain on my bedroom window sill. I've seen her approximately 4 times in the last 3 days. Oliver, on the other hand, is way too curious for his own good. And also stupid. He definitely wants to know what this thing is that barks and runs around. However, little puppy just wants to play with him, which he will have none of that. The ensuing chase has to have my downstairs neighbor pulling her hair out, as it happens at least 3 times an hour. It most sound something like a stampede from her vantage point. Maybe I should write her a note and apologize....
I think that Reason #127 that I feel like a parent this week just about any mother can relate to: I get terribly concerned when it's totally quiet. Either someone has chewed on something they shouldn't have and are silently choking to death. Or some kind of bad mischief is going on. So, for goodness sake puppy, please make sure that I can hear you at all times. Seriously.
There's the age old advice that if you're thinking about having kids, get a puppy first. I can tell you from experience, this is in fact accurate. Now, I realize that I don't have kids, but good Lord, it certainly feels like being a mother to human children must be something similar to this. My house has looked like a bomb went off, there are toys littering my living room floor. I can't keep sharp objects on the edges of tables. I get nervous taking a shower for fear of what I might find in puppy's mouth when I am done. I can handle hew chewing on most things, as long as it's not one of my cats' legs or anything. I've chuckled at myself more than once in the past few days, recalling things my sister has said about motherhood and realizing that I've been feeling the same way about my 4 legged furry charge. The things that have come out of my mouth have been strikingly similar to utterance of my sister to my nieces and nephews. Things like, "get that out of your mouth!" "Stop chewing on the furniture!" "Do NOT eat the cat poop!!!!" *sigh*
Having a puppy in and of itself is really not so bad. Sure, it's a considerable amount of work. You have to drag yourself out of bed 45 minutes early to feed the dog, walk the dog, and play with the dog so that you don't come home to find your bathroom totally trashed. I don't think my landlord would appreciate my toilet having a hole chewed it in. But when the living space is so confined and there are 2 cats involved.... yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.
Bella, being the scaredy cat that she is, has spent the past few days hiding behind the curtain on my bedroom window sill. I've seen her approximately 4 times in the last 3 days. Oliver, on the other hand, is way too curious for his own good. And also stupid. He definitely wants to know what this thing is that barks and runs around. However, little puppy just wants to play with him, which he will have none of that. The ensuing chase has to have my downstairs neighbor pulling her hair out, as it happens at least 3 times an hour. It most sound something like a stampede from her vantage point. Maybe I should write her a note and apologize....
I think that Reason #127 that I feel like a parent this week just about any mother can relate to: I get terribly concerned when it's totally quiet. Either someone has chewed on something they shouldn't have and are silently choking to death. Or some kind of bad mischief is going on. So, for goodness sake puppy, please make sure that I can hear you at all times. Seriously.
