A few items worth noting and Thanksgiving recap
Everything is going really well...and it feels fantastic to say it, more than you know. After a challenging and very formational first year, things are great. I am continuing to enjoy work each day and really have come to appreciate and love my life here. The sunshine and summer breeze helps too :-)
At one point here in Chile, I jokingly said "I am humble enough to admit that I am good at this." Haha. Well, joking aside, I am certainly humble enough to admit that I do not write the best blog posts and that there are plenty others in this world that have the ability to truly capture not only what it means to be a volunteer in another country, but life once you have been affected by the experience. Here are three excelent blog posts recently written by past and current associates that are not only worth noting on this blog, but worth you checking them out:
"818" By: Ryan Greenberg
"Volunteering: The Big Reality Break" By: Patrick Furlong
"The Grace of Change" By: Natalie Nathan
I thought about everyone on Thanksgiving and hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Many of you have asked me if Chileans celebrate some type of Thanksgiving holiday throughout the year. The answer is no, but as the cultural centers around family, it seems Chileans do not need a reason to gather the entire family for a meal. Often, entire families eat dinner together each night or get together for tea and bread in the evening.
While last year we had to make an effort in order to celebrate the holiday, this year we received an invitation from the Sisters of Villa María, an order of sisters out of Philadelphia, PA. We were invited along with U.S. priests, brothers, and sisters from our Congregation as well as 8 other young "twenty somethings" from the U.S. who are teaching English at Saint George, the high school I work at two days a week. It was a gringo holiday and we certainly celebrated it U.S. gringo style. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and much much more. We were amazed when we walked into the beautiful patio where dinner was served and saw all the food - many of which had ingredients that were brought from the United States (ex. pumpkin pie filling).
All throughout dinner, I was in a complete daze, eating food that I have not eaten for well over a year, and ate more than I ever thought I could in one sitting. Even more, the dinner was spoken in English (an extra bonus!) with clever quips from two very fiesty nuns from Philly. The only things missing were a football game on the tv and cold weather outside. Otherwise, it was a good ol' American holiday celebrated just the way it should be...this time, it was only 5, 188 miles from home.
me and my pumpkin pie :-)
"Volunteering: The Big Reality Break" By: Patrick Furlong
"The Grace of Change" By: Natalie Nathan
I thought about everyone on Thanksgiving and hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Many of you have asked me if Chileans celebrate some type of Thanksgiving holiday throughout the year. The answer is no, but as the cultural centers around family, it seems Chileans do not need a reason to gather the entire family for a meal. Often, entire families eat dinner together each night or get together for tea and bread in the evening.
While last year we had to make an effort in order to celebrate the holiday, this year we received an invitation from the Sisters of Villa María, an order of sisters out of Philadelphia, PA. We were invited along with U.S. priests, brothers, and sisters from our Congregation as well as 8 other young "twenty somethings" from the U.S. who are teaching English at Saint George, the high school I work at two days a week. It was a gringo holiday and we certainly celebrated it U.S. gringo style. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and much much more. We were amazed when we walked into the beautiful patio where dinner was served and saw all the food - many of which had ingredients that were brought from the United States (ex. pumpkin pie filling).
All throughout dinner, I was in a complete daze, eating food that I have not eaten for well over a year, and ate more than I ever thought I could in one sitting. Even more, the dinner was spoken in English (an extra bonus!) with clever quips from two very fiesty nuns from Philly. The only things missing were a football game on the tv and cold weather outside. Otherwise, it was a good ol' American holiday celebrated just the way it should be...this time, it was only 5, 188 miles from home.
me and my pumpkin pie :-)
posted by Michelle Fitzgerald @ 11/30/2007 01:14:00 PM
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