Honeymoon

Greetings from Tanzania!

I arrived safely three weeks ago and have many initial experiences to share. To cover the basics, I arrived, the food is good, I am healthy and happy. Allow me to elaborate. The first two nights that we spent in Dar are a blur. I was jetlagged, tired, there was a lot going on, and we were meeting many new people. We visited Gonzaga one day. They were doing a bit of refurbishing, but it looks nice and will be ever better once it’s filled with the students. It is confirmed that I will be teaching English to standard three and ICT to standards three and four. I thought ICT was a computer class, but it is actually learning about all forms of communication including a section on computers (ya, I still really don’t know).

We traveled to Morogoro, which was an easy four hour bus ride. Morogoro is BEAUTIFUL. We stayed on the campus of the Lutheran Junior Seminary which contains the Swahili language school. Our days went like this: breakfast at seven, morning devotions at seven forty five, morning lesson at eight, tea time at ten, continue morning lesson until lunch at noon. We had a long afternoon break at which time I most frequently napped. At two thirty we began drills (saying the same phrases over and over for repetition) and ended for afternoon tea at four…does this sound like LOTR to anyone else?, “but what about second breakfast?” We would do our homework, or play volley ball, or nap again until dinner at seven. The evenings were free and we played cards and watched movies with other students in the common area. Our teacher, who is actually the director of the school, was awesome. He had a great sense of humor and understood where we were coming from as foreigners fresh in country. We learned a lot! Mostly the basics of grammar and greetings. My vocabulary has some growing to do. On the weekend we visited the Masaii cow market (you’ll have to look online for pictures) and also went on an incredible hike. It was a good way to ease into the country. The environment was fairly sheltered so the only Tanzanians we were interacting with were mostly teachers, who well understood our language struggle and were encouraging and helpful. We made good friends of our teachers, who are mostly our age and younger.

The four newbies on a hike in Morogoro. (Barbara, Ryan, Becca, and myself)

After two weeks we left for Dodoma. It was hard to say goodbye to the place and the people with whom we had become so familiar in Morogoro. The first order of business in Dodoma was to go on retreat with the eight volunteers (four in Dar and four in Dodoma). We stayed at a convent/retreat house where the sisters took great care of us. It was a good time to become more centered and begin to reflect on the other side of this transition, which is, being here. We had time to share our story, meet in our communities, and talk about some of the things we are going to inevitably struggle with while we are here. I was happy to spend time in our community, talking about the coming year and having that initial bonding time.

 

Barbara and I with our new friend and fellow graduate Henrick at graduation. 

Christmas was great. Since my family was able to have a mini Christmas before I left, I really didn’t feel homesick. Christmas eve we went to mass in the evening. It was all in Swahili, but there were a few songs that I recognized. The best part was a five minute rendition of Gloria, you know, GLOoOoOoOOOoOoOoOoOoOria. There was a children’s choir who danced and sang in the aisles of the huge parish. It was awesome. After mass we were invited over to the Jesuit residence for drinks and (literally) midnight snacks. Christmas day we spent at the Jesuit residence at St. Peter Claver High School just outside Dodoma. We cooked a huge meal for twenty five people. It was quite a dinner. It wasn’t a white Christmas; a torrential downpour would have to suffice. 

All the JVs (sans Barbara who's taking the pic) at our Mexican food themed Christmas eve dinner.

It was seven hours on a bus back to Dar Es Salaam and we managed to have no problems or delays. I was happy to unpack the suitcase (finally!) and get my room set up. We have been here three full days now and the honeymoon is wearing off. Slowly I am beginning to feel the shock of moving here, settling in, and calling Tanzania my home. It is good though. I am not unhappy, just acclimating. We have walked around the neighborhood and met many of the people who are friends of the JVs and some of the men and women who we consistently buy our food from. Today even we had a tour of the parish compound and learned about all the communities and schools the parish is a part of.

The Dar Es Salaam JVs with Dodoma in the background. (Barbara, Alyson, Erin, and myself)

For New Years Eve we are having a big party at our house. We have invited many neighbors, teachers, and Jesuits. It will be a really exciting evening meeting and greeting many people, but I am happy that we can welcome so many people into our home. I look forward to feeling a real sense of belonging. Even a few friends from the language school will come.

Phew, that was a lot. It felt like a lot packed into three weeks! Happy New Year! Peace.

And She's Off!

These past few weeks have been a roller coaster, to say the least. Just today I woke up hesitant, became stressed, felt both indifferent and overwhelmed, surreal, and finally blind excitement. And i haven't even left the US! I imagine at this point it is important to keep in perspective the things I can control. There is quite a bit that I cannot control, and that is a beautiful thing. Now that my bags are packed and I have left Denver, there is very little left for me to do but wait. 

Father Sean talked about waiting in his sermon on Sunday, the beginning of Advent. We must wait actively, not passively. We must be ready, because we do not know the day or the hour. There has been so much focus up to this point on tying up the loose ends of life in Colorado. Now I must actively anticipate the coming adventure. I must acknowledge my feelings and emotions, honor them, and keep my heart and mind open to all the possibilities of the coming days. This is easier said than done. It is my default, when I don't want to share my emotions, to say that I am tired. I will be exhausted, no doubt, but in that exhaustion I need to be able to recognize all the feelings and be able to share them with my new community mates so they can support me. 

It may be the new year before I am able to share all my initial experiences with you. I am looking forward to all the crazy and fun stories I can share as my life in Tanzania begins to take form. Until then I ask for your prayers to keep and open mind and an open heart, especially when it is easier to shut off emotionally. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And I shall see you all on the other side of the world.

Peace

Give Your All To Me

          Most of you have probably heard (perhaps too many times already this summer) the song “All of Me” by John Legend. Well I have yet to overplay it, and I really like it! It’s a love song, and as I was listening to it today I thought how well it aligned with the invitation from God to love. One line goes, “Give your all to me, I’ll give my all to you.” Then I was thinking about this whole volunteering for two years in the example of Christ thing…If I am willing to give my all to God, to my community mates, to my students, and to the broader community, God will pour out all his love. Of course giving my all to God is much easier said than done. Though entering into this commitment of service is a good place to start. Another line in the song goes, “You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind.” I am crazy. But God is out of his mind! And I love it.

           Tomorrow I begin a month of traveling, in the middle of which is my initial orientation for JVC. It has been a mile marker to look forward to since I accepted my placement with the program. I am really looking forward to spending time with other volunteers and absorbing all the information about what exactly we’ve signed up for. I am mostly looking forward to having two weeks for the explicit purpose of being a JV, in prayer and in small groups all focusing on where we are and where God is and where we are going with God. On my journey my call to service is one that I understand comes from God, and I firmly believe this is God’s will for my life at this time. But since being accepted I have rarely prayed or brought my worries and excitement to God in prayer. It’s a fault I fall into often, but I take advantage of God’s presence in my life and only commit time to our relationship when it is set aside for me i.e. this orientation. I anticipate it being a prayerful experience. The challenge will be to keep up with the prayer once I am back home. If you were going to say a prayer for me, let it be that I commit more time to God in prayer.

           I want to thank everyone who has donated to my fundraising thus far! If you haven’t had an opportunity yet here is the link: https://jesuitvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/sendmetoserve/search.do

You can type in my name, select it, and hit “sponsor me” on my fundraising page. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated. I came across this quote in The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything

            “Fear not; the things you are afraid of are quite likely to happen to you, but they are nothing to be afraid of.”

Peace

Initial Thoughts

Greetings! I wanted to provide a thoughtful reflection on my commitment to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). It has been my desire since my senior year of high school to serve internationally. I am thrilled and overwhelmed that my dream is coming true. I am especially greatful that this journey will be directed by faith and guided by Ignation spirituality. It is my belief, informed by the Catholic Church and educated by the Jesuits, that God loves every human soul and calls us to do the same. In Tanzania, I hope to express that love by listening with an open heart, teaching with an open mind, and being evangelized by those whom I am serving.

            Through the JVC discernment process I have come to realize that my life experiences thus far have led me to accepting this position of international service. There is great consolation in believing that I am fulfilling God’s will for my life by moving to Dar Es Salaam and living among the poor in that community. In this program I am committing to building community, both within my house and in the neighborhood, witnessing faith, doing justice, and living simply. I anticipate these commitments will be a challenge at some points in the next two year, but I look forward to the ways that this experience will change me for the better. I can’t wait to be “ruined by the Jesuits.”

            Thank you for your support and prayers. I did not arrive at this point in my life without the love and compassion of you, my friends and family. My prayer these past few weeks (more to get through the last month of work than anything) has been:

The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

Peace.

Fall Break

Ciao. My apologies for the extended time without an update. October got away from me. The most exciting part of October was Fall Break. After a stressful week of midterms we were off for a week to travel to our hearts desires. The University organized a study trip to Poland and that is where I spent the first seven days of my break.

We began in Warsaw, the capital. The airport was an hour and a half outside the city (thank you cheap airlines) so we had to take a cab into the city center. My friend and I ended up in a cab with a Polish couple recently returning from their honeymoon. The groom is working on his doctorate in History, so he was telling us all about Polish history, especially during World War II. It was a interesting and unexpected introduction to our trip. We spent two night in Warsaw, spending time wandering around the city center and old square. The Polish food is fabulous and a welcome change from the pasta, pasta, and more pasta of Rome. My favorite dish was probably beet soup with beef dumplings, yum. We went to the Warsaw Uprising museum and learned about the Pole’s attempt to liberate themselves at the end of the war as the Soviets invaded from the east. They were unsuccessful, and the Western part of Warsaw was obliterated by the Nazi army. Not a building was left intact. You would never know it from the way the city looks now, modern and bustling.

We took a train to Torun, in the North of Poland, home to Nicholas Copernicus University and the only city left untouched during WWII. There we attended a Human Rights Symposium on Human Trafficking. Sunday evening we watched a sobering film called Sisters, that explicitly depicted the life of girls who are trafficked for sex slavery. Monday morning we came together with a study abroad program from Spring Hill in Louisiana and other law students from the host university to listen to two speakers. The first gave us many statistics on human trafficking. The second speaker, Iana Matei, runs a shelter in Romania for repatriated women who have been trafficked. She also works on the political level lobbying for laws against traffickers. Her presentation was an interactive discussion, answering our questions about human trafficking. She was a very dynamic speaker and impassioned activist. The conference was altogether too short and there was no follow up discussion on what we had learned, but I consider myself more educated on the issues of human trafficking.

We then took a very long train ride to Krakow. Spending most of our free time wandering around the old square admiring the architecture and browsing the markets. The group went to the Schindler Museum which was a comprehensive overview of life in Krakow during WWII for Jews, Poles, and Germans. Wednesday we went to the Auschwitz and Birkineau concentration camps. There are not any good adjectives to describe that experience except for that it was in fact an experience. After studying the war and the Holocaust for a long time in grade and high school, being in the camps was a bit surreal. The most incredible experience for me was walking into a still intact gas chamber where thousands of people had been killed. It was important to see the camps. It is important to know what human beings are capable of and to ensure that no such massacre can be allowed to happen again.

Overall I very much enjoyed my time in Poland. The weather was cold and foggy and all the leaves were changing colors. I was happy to get a taste of fall that I will not have in Rome. With a weekend of break left, I went with my friends to Paris.

The weekend was jam packed with tourist destinations: the Louvre, Notre Dame, Pompadour, the Eiffel Tour, Versailles, Sacre Coure, and Musee de Orsay. My favorite destination was the gardens at Versailles. O they were so beautiful! Miles of tailored green space with fountains and sculptures. Versailles was every bit as extravagant as you would expect it to be, just ridiculous really. The Eiffel Tour is just how you’d imagine it as well. I ate raw beef, not on purpose, but I had forgotten what “tartar” meant. It actually just tasted like a hamburger, a very rare hamburger.

I was exhausted after a week of traveling. But I have only six weeks left in Rome and I intend to enjoy every one of them.  Happy November!

Five Weeks In...

The wedding in Amalfi was wonderful. It was really great to be with the family, if only for an evening. Amalfi is a fun little town, despite being full of tourists. We spent Saturday on the beach and swam in the Mediterranean. In the evening we found a little church for mass. I was the youngest person there, and if I hadn’t been there, my parents would have been the youngest. It was so fun to see all these cute old people singing their hearts out and responding enthusiastically to the liturgy. I have no idea what the gospel was, or what the homily was about, but I found so much joy in this Saturday evening ritual. My favorite part of the weekend was riding the boat back to Salerno. The water was blue, the coast was green, I may as well have been on a postcard.

Mom and dad stayed the rest of the week in Rome. We explored the Catacombs on Monday. They are incredible. Three stories of underground tombs that expand for miles! I was totally impressed. On Wednesday we ventured to Orvieto, a hill town in the region of Tuscany. The basilica there has the most intricate façade. There are huge mosaics that tell different bible stories and intricate carvings of stone that must have taken a hundred years to finish. I climbed 254 stairs to the top of the clock tower from which there were fabulous views of the surrounding countryside. Then the family and I headed back south to Naples to spend the weekend with my Aunt Vicki. Her flat has the most incredible view of the coast and we spent some quality time on the patio eating and drinking wine. Her boyfriend Antonio cooked us the most delicious dinner. The lobster we ate on our pasta was brought home alive from the market! It was all so fresh and mmm, wonderful. We spent Saturday on the island of Ischia at a hot water pools spa. It was beyond luxurious, but so relaxing. Sunday night mom and dad came to campus for evening mass and we said our goodbyes.

This past weekend was the first that has not been planned out for me since I arrived. I spent Friday wandering about the south of Rome exploring some churches, one claiming to have relics of Jesus’ cross… Another church, called Scala Santa supposedly has the steps that Jesus walked up and down during his trial with Pilot. On these specific set of stairs you are only allowed to climb up on your knees. It was really moving to see all these different tourists and people of faith climb the stairs in reverent prayer. I may return and climb the steps myself, but I feel it would take a certain preparation. Saturday I went to the beach with some friends. It was a bit windy for my taste, but the sun was hot and the water bearable.

Life at JFRC goes on as usual. With my parents here for two weeks, I felt like I never really got into a routine of classes and such things. I cannot call our campus home, not yet. I have been craving the human rights, social justice, and international relations curriculum that I am used to. I do not get that in any of my classes, unfortunately. There is an intramural Calcio (an abbreviated version of soccer) league with the students that play every Wednesday. I had my first game this week. It was exhausting, but so much fun to have a greater portion of the community together cheering each other on. I have also begun to lead a CLC, only one so far, but I am happy to have a spiritual community on campus.

I have found what I think will become my favorite spot in Rome. Our campus is on a hill and there is a park that opens up to overlook the whole city. There is a fallen tree, that is comfortable enough and I just love being in nature, but the view is unreal. Much time of contemplation is bound to happen there. Happy October! Peace. 

Pasta and Wine

It has been a little over two weeks in Italy. My classes have started and my favorite thus far is a writing of fiction class. It is an on sight class so we read stories that take place in Rome, walk to those places and discuss the stories, and use the city of Rome as our inspiration to write our own fictions. I have the same fun professor for European Masterpieces and Italian Film. I will read some great novels and watch some great films by the end of the semester. Tonio Kroger by Thomas Mann is our first book. (Let me actually read it and I’ll let you know what I think). We watched Cabiria, a silent film made in 1914. Revolutionary for its day, I am glad movies have come so far. Finally there is Italian 101. I am far from fluent, but my professor is very patient and it is a fun class.

I spent a wonderful weekend in Tuscany to finish off our orientation to the JFRC. There was a lot of good food and a lot of good wine. For my taste the weekend was heavy with tours of quaint and quite Tuscan towns. My most favorite moment was sitting on the front of the boat on our lake tour and simply basking in the Tuscan sun and taking in the sights of the surrounding villages. I was able to meet a few more people as well. There are two hundred here in our program and I will not get to know each one of them, but it is nice to know names and see familiar smiles in the halls.

“How is Rome?!?” My friends at home have been asking, and I actually don’t quite know how to answer. Rome is old, ancient in fact. There is history around every corner, much of which I will never learn. Ruins mix with tourists, mix with fashionable locals, mix with an inefficient bus system. I am lucky to have already experienced studying abroad because it has taught me to be patient and open with the quirks of another country. I also know that it will take me some time to fall in love with Rome, and that is ok.

The official conclusion of orientation was mass of the Holy Spirit at the Ignatius chapel down town this past Wednesday. It was fun for the community to come together, all dressed up for mass in this gigantic church. The homily was about how we are to believe in the human spirit. Father Al began with a story from the 1936 Olympic Games where Hitler was determined to exemplify the dominance of the German race. Jesse Owens, an African American runner, beat out the German hope Carl Long in the long jump event. During the medal ceremony, Owens with gold and Long with silver, Hitler stormed out of the stadium. After the anthem, Long embraced Owens and they walked off the field arm in arm. This was quite a brave act on behalf of Long, but what a testament to the human spirit. That story stuck with me and is an inspiration for me to live in love…

Tomorrow I am off the Amalfi coast for the wedding of my cousin Tony to his wonderful fiancé Lisa. It is going to be a beautiful wedding, in a beautiful place, with beautiful people. Peace.