We got back online this past Sunday - here are some thoughts from the past weeks:
August 29th, 2006
There’s still no internet in Bánica, but I have quite a lot to tell about my first couple months here, so I’m going to write some entries and put them on the blog as soon as I can.
After I got back from the capital some of the teenagers from the youth group and I worked for a few weeks giving campamentos in some of the different campos (rural communities) of the parish. We would spend two mornings in a campo, giving catechism classes, making crafts, and playing sports, and then we’d move on to another campo. We focused the catechism classes on the Mass, explaining each part of the Mass, going over the prayers that we say and why we say them, etc. Most of the kids had a vague idea about the basics of the Mass, but not really any understanding. I kind of wish we had been able to spend more time in one place – almost all the kids seemed eager to learn, but it was slow going. By the end of the second morning we’d just be starting to make progress, and then we’d have to move on to a new campo.
Everything’s been working out really well with the family I’m staying with. I’m actually in the same house that Mrs. Hickson and I stayed in when we were here in March. The señora of the house is named Tagó. She has 8 grown children who live on their own, although her second-to-youngest son, Eloy, has been staying with her on vacation since I’ve been here. He heads back to the capital this week to go back to the university. She also has a grandson, Yunior (pronounced “junior”), living with her during the school year. He’s 14, and he’s absolutely hilarious. You know how some people are just really funny without even trying? He’s like that. He really could make a future as a stand-up comedian. Doña Tagó also has a granddaughter, Odelis, who doesn’t live with her, but she’s always at the house. She’s 10, and she’s really sweet. She loves to talk, which is good for me as far as learning Spanish goes. She also has a beautiful singing voice (which I'm discovering is kind of rare here) – she’s sung a couple songs for me so I can learn them on the violin, so we can play and sing them together.
Speaking of the violin, 3 of the 16 violins that Mrs. Cotter arranged to have donated to the mission arrived last week with Fr. Jack. I’ve already started lessons with Yunior, Odelis, and another little boy named Gelinson. There are a lot of others who say they want to learn, too. We’ll see how it goes – I think a lot of the ones who say they want to learn, especially the older ones, will end up losing interest when they realize it takes more than a week to learn to play the violin. One of my friends, Esteban, came up to me last week and says, “María, I want you to teach me to play the violin. What time can I come by this afternoon?” I ask him, “You want to start today?” “Of course,” he says, “I’m leaving Monday for the capital, so that only leaves us 4 days.” He did learn a good amount before he left, but we didn’t quite get to cover everything.
August 31st, 2006
Fr. Jack left on Sunday. I really enjoyed his visit. The Saturday before he left I went with him to one of the farthest campos when he went to say Mass. The drive there was so beautiful – I’ll try to get some pictures up, even though they really can’t compare to what the views are like in real life. There were a couple “exciting” parts along the way, too – places where the road was, shall we say, a little rough. I admit, there were a couple spots that did make me a little nervous. We were kind of high up, and it’s not like there are guardrails or anything. But our Dominican friends just jump out of the truck, place some rocks just so, and we’re on our way again.
We also stopped in Las Matas, a city about 40 minute’s drive from Bánica, to visit the Missionaries of Charity who have a convent there. The sisters there run a nutrition center for children who are sick, under- or malnourished, dehydrated, etc. The children come and stay until they’re healthy, and then they return to their families. Or, if they don’t have families to return to, they’re sent to an orphanage in another city. Fr. Jack thought it would be good for me to get to know the sisters, in case I meet some children who might need to spend some time at the nutrition center.
August 29th, 2006
There’s still no internet in Bánica, but I have quite a lot to tell about my first couple months here, so I’m going to write some entries and put them on the blog as soon as I can.
After I got back from the capital some of the teenagers from the youth group and I worked for a few weeks giving campamentos in some of the different campos (rural communities) of the parish. We would spend two mornings in a campo, giving catechism classes, making crafts, and playing sports, and then we’d move on to another campo. We focused the catechism classes on the Mass, explaining each part of the Mass, going over the prayers that we say and why we say them, etc. Most of the kids had a vague idea about the basics of the Mass, but not really any understanding. I kind of wish we had been able to spend more time in one place – almost all the kids seemed eager to learn, but it was slow going. By the end of the second morning we’d just be starting to make progress, and then we’d have to move on to a new campo.
Everything’s been working out really well with the family I’m staying with. I’m actually in the same house that Mrs. Hickson and I stayed in when we were here in March. The señora of the house is named Tagó. She has 8 grown children who live on their own, although her second-to-youngest son, Eloy, has been staying with her on vacation since I’ve been here. He heads back to the capital this week to go back to the university. She also has a grandson, Yunior (pronounced “junior”), living with her during the school year. He’s 14, and he’s absolutely hilarious. You know how some people are just really funny without even trying? He’s like that. He really could make a future as a stand-up comedian. Doña Tagó also has a granddaughter, Odelis, who doesn’t live with her, but she’s always at the house. She’s 10, and she’s really sweet. She loves to talk, which is good for me as far as learning Spanish goes. She also has a beautiful singing voice (which I'm discovering is kind of rare here) – she’s sung a couple songs for me so I can learn them on the violin, so we can play and sing them together.
Speaking of the violin, 3 of the 16 violins that Mrs. Cotter arranged to have donated to the mission arrived last week with Fr. Jack. I’ve already started lessons with Yunior, Odelis, and another little boy named Gelinson. There are a lot of others who say they want to learn, too. We’ll see how it goes – I think a lot of the ones who say they want to learn, especially the older ones, will end up losing interest when they realize it takes more than a week to learn to play the violin. One of my friends, Esteban, came up to me last week and says, “María, I want you to teach me to play the violin. What time can I come by this afternoon?” I ask him, “You want to start today?” “Of course,” he says, “I’m leaving Monday for the capital, so that only leaves us 4 days.” He did learn a good amount before he left, but we didn’t quite get to cover everything.
August 31st, 2006
Fr. Jack left on Sunday. I really enjoyed his visit. The Saturday before he left I went with him to one of the farthest campos when he went to say Mass. The drive there was so beautiful – I’ll try to get some pictures up, even though they really can’t compare to what the views are like in real life. There were a couple “exciting” parts along the way, too – places where the road was, shall we say, a little rough. I admit, there were a couple spots that did make me a little nervous. We were kind of high up, and it’s not like there are guardrails or anything. But our Dominican friends just jump out of the truck, place some rocks just so, and we’re on our way again.
We also stopped in Las Matas, a city about 40 minute’s drive from Bánica, to visit the Missionaries of Charity who have a convent there. The sisters there run a nutrition center for children who are sick, under- or malnourished, dehydrated, etc. The children come and stay until they’re healthy, and then they return to their families. Or, if they don’t have families to return to, they’re sent to an orphanage in another city. Fr. Jack thought it would be good for me to get to know the sisters, in case I meet some children who might need to spend some time at the nutrition center.
posted by maire at 11:16 AM
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