“Do you like life?” I was asked tonight by my friend as we sat and drank mate at her house. When I started my normal speech of the things I enjoy doing and dreams I have, she stopped me, and clarified by saying the question again. “Do you like life? Not your life James, who wouldn’t like your life, you’ve been all over, you are talented, no, Do you like life, sickness, hatred, hunger, and everything that is involved in the human condition” I walked around the barrio after that question in a sort of stunned state. I looked at my surroundings and saw the dirt roads after rain the night before that are impassable now. I thought of the shack homes of pieces of wood and scrap metal that I see as I take the bus to and from the barrio, without water or electricity. I thought about the Toba Indians that are dying of hunger every day here in the Chaco, and I pondered this question. I am almost embarrassed sometimes to talk about how easy my life has been. It is hard to demonstrate to someone that you understand that life is hard, when they tell you that they were hit everyday as a child, and when they ask you about your life you can only answer that your parents love you move than anything in the world. It is hard to show you understand when a 26 year old woman tells you about the three jobs she works to provide for her mother, grandmother, and aunt on top of studying in college. The money I’ve made from working has gone towards vacations, clothes, and coffee shops.
There is so much joy here though, as much as I have seen in anyplace I have been. Kids still laugh at every opportunity. People love to dance, ohh how they love to dance. People help each other, and we talk about how fun falling in love is. In the horrible oppression that this world offers up, most from other humans and their actions, people always find opportunities to laugh and to love. Dancing all night on a dirt patio, watching kids draw and color for hours, drinking mate and talking for hours, being shown a drum set that is made from scrap metal and wood, people sharing food with me, Sunday dinners where they stay and talk for the rest of the day talking after the meal. These are all things that I have seen in the midst of poverty, that make me think that I do like life.
We are going to be painting the mural this week finally. After 2 months of planning and designing I finally feel so horribly unprepared that it could only be the right time to start. We are planning on having the kids do most of the painting with the adults just supervising and helping out in tough situations. It will be a test to see if I have learned the virtues of my supervisor Ofelia as I attempt to trust forty 4-15 year olds with buckets of paint and brushes. I think it will be a real rallying point of the barrio, as I still hear stories of the past mural that was painted 6 years ago. I’m really excited for the first day of going to the barrio after it is finished, turning the corner, and seeing the explosion of color on the wall. Wow that will feel good.
I help set the table now. It is a wonderful thing being the guest in a house, but after about 6 months of always being the guest in places I am very content assuming the role of member of the meal instead of the reason for the meal. I normally bring some sort of food to the lunches and dinners now, and I love knowing where the dishes are, so I can set the table before they can ask me. As I begin to miss home, new homes are opening up to me, and treating me like family. It is a very exciting time in the life of a traveler as I prepare for Christmas and the New Year, filled with odd traditions and even odder food. Case in point, I consumed cow intestine and wanted to cry a little bit. With that I will leave you all. Feliz navidad, enjoy the snow, which I really miss as I type this sweating, enjoy family, enjoy life.
There is so much joy here though, as much as I have seen in anyplace I have been. Kids still laugh at every opportunity. People love to dance, ohh how they love to dance. People help each other, and we talk about how fun falling in love is. In the horrible oppression that this world offers up, most from other humans and their actions, people always find opportunities to laugh and to love. Dancing all night on a dirt patio, watching kids draw and color for hours, drinking mate and talking for hours, being shown a drum set that is made from scrap metal and wood, people sharing food with me, Sunday dinners where they stay and talk for the rest of the day talking after the meal. These are all things that I have seen in the midst of poverty, that make me think that I do like life.
We are going to be painting the mural this week finally. After 2 months of planning and designing I finally feel so horribly unprepared that it could only be the right time to start. We are planning on having the kids do most of the painting with the adults just supervising and helping out in tough situations. It will be a test to see if I have learned the virtues of my supervisor Ofelia as I attempt to trust forty 4-15 year olds with buckets of paint and brushes. I think it will be a real rallying point of the barrio, as I still hear stories of the past mural that was painted 6 years ago. I’m really excited for the first day of going to the barrio after it is finished, turning the corner, and seeing the explosion of color on the wall. Wow that will feel good.
I help set the table now. It is a wonderful thing being the guest in a house, but after about 6 months of always being the guest in places I am very content assuming the role of member of the meal instead of the reason for the meal. I normally bring some sort of food to the lunches and dinners now, and I love knowing where the dishes are, so I can set the table before they can ask me. As I begin to miss home, new homes are opening up to me, and treating me like family. It is a very exciting time in the life of a traveler as I prepare for Christmas and the New Year, filled with odd traditions and even odder food. Case in point, I consumed cow intestine and wanted to cry a little bit. With that I will leave you all. Feliz navidad, enjoy the snow, which I really miss as I type this sweating, enjoy family, enjoy life.
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