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| Erika, me, and Lilly "singing" karaoke at our community night. Notice how the word singing is written. |
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| I had the kids make ice cream at the program! The middle and high schoolers helping |
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| I love this little guy. He is so cute! |
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| Cutie!!!!!!!! |
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| The ice cream chaos was fun and delicious |
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| The elementary kids made puppets on Wednesday. This picture is so great! :) |
If anything, these people have taught me that you do not need to be able to speak the same language in order to be friends. There is so much joy that comes with smiling and being in each other's company. These feelings have been particularly emphasized while here in El Paso because I am not sure when I will next see these people. I have been making the most out of my time with them, and have put more energy into being happy, optimistic, and trying to show that I am in a good place in life. Which I am! Coming down here has been very impacting. However, just because there is a limited time with people does not mean that I want El Paso to be the only place where I put human connection into perspective. I hope to always be putting this feeling into action, but without thinking about it too much. There is nothing enjoyable that is forced practice. Simply sitting in silence with people is one of the best ways to show someone that you care.
One of the best relationships that has been built this summer has been with the middle and high schoolers in the program. It was definitely a gradual relationship, but I am very pleased with how it has turned out with the program coming to an end. I always thought that middle and high schoolers intimidated me, when in reality they just annoyed me because I had a hard time relating. Let's be real here, middle and high school is an overall awkward, not prime moment in a person's life. Some people enjoy it, but a majority would most likely say that those years were rough. I remember absolutely loathing my junior high and high school years. However, my loathing has brought much sympathy and empathy, putting myself in the shoes of teenagers became easier. The middle and high schoolers in the program are FANTASTIC young adults! I love every single one of them! There are those days when they test my patience, and when I have to be stricter than how I would like, but I still care a great deal about them. On those days when they are testing me, I'm strict because I care about them a ton, and want them to reach their full potential in the long run. It is a fact that a majority of these young adults do not receive enough discipline at home due to unstructured family situations. If one of the boys starts hitting someone or mouthing off, of course I am going to be firm. Hitting people and mouthing off will hurt THEM in the future. However, I make sure to always balance my firmness with positive reinforcement, letting them know that I care greatly about them. These young adults are truly phenomenal, intelligent, kind-hearted individuals. I hope they always know how fantastic they are, and all of their potential. They all have amazing potential for the future!
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Last Saturday the Border Servant interns had a community night that was very memorable! It was actually the first late night out the four of us shared together, other than White Sands trip. During the weeks we are usually in bed by 10, so it was a fun change :) We started off the night by going to the Border Servant house. Lilly made margaritas, and we all had the best conversations about social justice topics. These topics have become a norm while being down in El Paso, which I'm quite a fan of now! We discussed issues such as racism, the Trayvon Martin case, economic status, immigration, education, studying abroad, topics dealing with college and finding out where we're suppose to end up in the world, and other deep topics. It's so wonderful when you can sit down and have these conversations with people who share the same passions as you. We all brought very different perspectives about each topic due to our majors and experiences, but that is what made the conversations so well-rounded and interesting. One topic that we all agreed on with the exact same perspective was studying abroad and doing volunteer work either during or right after college. I mean, obviously we would agree, but we all discussed how important it is to integrate yourself into a time period of service and community. Not as to act as the "white savior" (in their case), but to just do something different and be a part of something greater than yourself. I personally feel like it is necessary for everyone to feel as though they contribute to society in some way. I know that I would like to share about my time down in El Paso with my future students, and stress the importance of doing something that contributes to a greater cause and bigger picture. We as individuals can only do so much to make a difference, but what we do will have a lasting impression wherever we go.
One of the other conversation topics that we talked about was what does it mean to be wealthy. We all know that there are various kinds of wealth: material possessions, family, friends, faith, etc etc. One topic of wealth we discussed related to our time in Border Servant, and that is the freedom of space. Most of the families who come to the places we are interning are either residing in the following living situations: a house that has been turned into 4 small apartments, an apt complex, or a large house with about 10-20 other people. While the chances of you feeling alone are very, very slim, it also has the potential of feeling uncomfortable. People who live in these types of buildings could potentially feel more comfortable and safer, especially if that's all they've known. However, there is a boundary line between comfortable living in claustrophobic living. Think about this, in the U.S. we absolutely adore our own time and private properties and personal possessions. We say much of the time, "I finally have time for myself" or "I have a free day, so I'm going to use my day how I want to." Think about how we would feel or think once this time was taken away. We look at it as time given to us, and anything given to us is "ours." What about the personal time that isn't given to people? Yes, this time is more cultural in the U.S., but it's definitely a type of wealth. Being in El Paso has taught me that alone time is rare in most cultures, and that most cultures are very much community-based and have zero personal time given. We are wealthy in that case. I was thinking about this the other day, and how challenging it would be to live with 10-20 other people in a house. Some of these other residents could be small children or babies. In the middle of the night, babies still need attention and they cry and act up like all babies do, but with zero personal time and no sense of privacy and living in those types of structures would be challenging. It has given me a whole new appreciation of freedom of space. We are very wealthy and privileged in that sense.
We played a few rounds of Taboo, which was...interesting after margaritas... One of the best conversations during the game still stands out to me:
"It's the type of dog that is in the movie Beethoven!"
"Uhh...ohh...crap! I know this I swear I do!"
"Uhh... holy holy holy! I am a...?!"
"VIRGIN!"
(The answer is Saint Bernard. But hey, you were close.)
The four of us then went to King X Bar for karaoke. Some videos were taken of our "singing" and, let's just say, that I hope no one ever gets ahold of those. It was so much fun having this time with my roommates. We did a quick midnight Micky D's run and went back home to sit in the kitchen, eat our food, talk, and feel ashamed of the videos from karaoke. I will never forget that community night, and how pretty El Paso looked. (Erika, Erin, and Lilly, if any of you are reading this, I'm so glad we shared that night together! Love you ladies!)
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My time in El Paso is sadly coming to an end. I have only 10 days remaining down here, and I've unintentionally been more emotional about this. Most moments I'm very happy, and sometimes I'm very sad. Justin and I have shared more office talks, and he continues to open my eyes and heart to new insights. I'm going to miss our Cristo Rey office talks. I've also had more in-depth, personable talks with the middle and high schoolers, have continued to laugh on an hourly basis due to the cuteness of the children, and have loved every minute with my roommates. Subconsciously I am very much aware of my time remaining, but on the surface I continue to live during the days and not just exist. We had our final pool day of the summer program yesterday, which was surprisingly cold and rainy! (and by cold I mean 75 degrees) It rained all day and it was very comforting! The mountains looked beautiful with the clouds resting on the top. Life here is a wondrous adventure, and everyday brings a new surprise.
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| I was leading the web activity with the middle and high schoolers during the program this past Wednesday. If you haven't heard of the web activity before, look it up! It's amazing what conversations are brought to the surface. I love these young adults. |
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| The elementary kids made puppets on Wednesday! These are the ones that we made to show as examples. Erin's name is Jesus, and he has a gold tooth. Mine is Margarita, and she has a cat sweater. Silly times at Cristo Rey |
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