eh doe say, mu ta gay, maung nay sar, and joseph hla...the cornerstone of the children's male representation.
the sadness indeed
all the kids together for say meh's birthday!
Maung Nay Sar and Nan Yae Aye, two kids from my class who have been here since before i came, left last week to go live in Atlanta. All the families eventually leave, most after a period of 2 months. Their family ended up staying a couple weeks extra, and every day was a savored blessing. I miss them so much, and I don't think that feeling will go away ever, maybe just get crowded by other things and emotions that happen while I'm here. Talking to Leslie, we agreed that it would be so hard to live here longterm as a partner, because of the heavy flow of people in and out. How can one person take that kind of emotional beating? Emily, one of the partner kids who grew up here, got very emotionally attached to that family, as it seems she does with all the people who come here, and that's what she's known her whole life...this amazing time to be with people and then to have them ripped away right when you're starting to dig deeper into each other's lives.
And what of the refugees themselves, who come from the country they know and have lived in most of their lives, suddenly thrust into turmoil and forced out, staying in the camps for God knows how long (up to 25 years for some) and then come here to Jubilee--what of them and their emotions? To stay for this time of 2 months, surrounded by people who love them and care about them, only to have their time run out and be placed back in Atlanta big city no time no space to breathe city, where they get jobs in chicken plants and spend their days around the stench of death...I wish they could all just stay here, that we could keep building houses and make a city of Karen and Karenni right here in Comer, a city where everybody knows everybody and nobody gets ignored and nobody has to be alone.
Pray for Mah Chaw, Maung Nay Sar, Nan Yae Aye, and little Kyaw San Lay as they make their way in the metal city.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
happy
I figured out how to put a bunch up at once, so here are a few pictures off of Flickr. If you want to see more, you should click on one of them, and go look at my flickr page. the end.
caleb, kyaw san lay, and maung nay sar by the volleyball net after a day of fun.
jump roping by the school, from left to right, eh doe say, nan yae aye, kyaw san lay, and joseph hla.
hanging out with little roberto at his house, eating popcorn.
also from a while ago...we held a feast in Htun Hla's honor because he can finally eat solid food again after a long struggle with cancer. So we slaughtered a goat and everyone made a dish and the Karen and Karenni made their amazingly spicy food, and we ate.
our resident toddler, jacob, and a hat familiar to some.
older picture, back in january. wonderful place, wonderfuller people
caleb, kyaw san lay, and maung nay sar by the volleyball net after a day of fun.
jump roping by the school, from left to right, eh doe say, nan yae aye, kyaw san lay, and joseph hla.
hanging out with little roberto at his house, eating popcorn.
also from a while ago...we held a feast in Htun Hla's honor because he can finally eat solid food again after a long struggle with cancer. So we slaughtered a goat and everyone made a dish and the Karen and Karenni made their amazingly spicy food, and we ate.
our resident toddler, jacob, and a hat familiar to some.
older picture, back in january. wonderful place, wonderfuller people
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
work/play
Another week, bringing another bunch of stories and memories with it. I feel more settled than I did a week ago. The town is more familiar, I know my way around the land, and I've actually been off property now a couple times, which is such a stress relief. And I'm realizing now for the first time that I will certainly miss these folks once I'm gone.
Ok, stories. Last Saturday, we all finally got off the land and into the busy streets of Comer, busy like one stoplight in the whole town busy. But we did find some cultural nightlife at Carmine's Pizza, where we discovered there was a karaoke contest happening, so of course we had to stay for that. I braved the crowds of cowboy hats and big hairdos, every person singing something with a little to a lot of twang thrown in, to get up and sing some Hall & Oates disco music. Lots of Georgia eyes looking at me under hat brims, wondering if I was flamboyant or just a little "special." But I denied them all, and had fun too. And I'm pretty sure we're going back next weekend.
Sunday all the refugees came up to the K-house for dinner and worship, and then we started another work week. I taught my first class on Monday, which was predictably stressful but lessened by my class being the children's class. I teach three kids from Burma (Joseph Hla, Maung Nay Sar, and Nan Yae Aye), and we have fun every class reading dr seuss books or playing games with prepositions. They especially love their times tables, oddly enough.
And I work in the garden and do random maintenance jobs around the land, or work in the childcare building hanging out with the littler kids of the bunch. I also found out that I'm going to tutor Joseph in addition to his classwork, because he's been here a while now and will be missing out on a year of public school, and needs to catch up. He's a lot of fun, and is quite the calm 10 year-old. And I play ping pong after class with all three, which is nice to be a friend as well as a teacher.
It's getting warmer here, which is incredible for January. I might get addicted to Southern weather by the time I leave. Also, it has been brought to my attention that I may be developing an accent/using the word "folks" excessively, and thus proving myself to be going native. Well, for those doubtful folks who say so, such statements are true and by gum I'll keep on staying true to them :o) A little Southern charm never did no harm.
On Thursday, we gathered in the library to have two of the volunteers share their spiritual journeys, which everyone will do eventually. I was one of the two this week, and so I got to talk for a half hour about my life and what I've been through faithwise and what I'm going through now. After, I felt more connected to the people here, especially the Partners, who all came up and hugged me when we were done talking. Sam also shared her story, and that was nice to find out more about her life just by listening. I'm excited for the next two people to share.
Then yesterday, in spite of the rain, most of the volunteers went out for drinks in Athens, a larger city nearby. We went to a nice pub/coffee bar with about 30 taps of fine beers, and sat in the big booth playing table games and talking. Some of us wanted to go out dancing after the night wore on a little more, so Liz, Leslie and I split off from the group to head to the Loft to dance the night away! It was very reminiscent for me of the November roadtrip and dancing in Cory's house in Boone, not caring what it looked like, just feeling the music pounding my blood and my heart beating my body black and blue. Plus, this time we had fun observing a lonely cowboy, boots, hat and all, trying to dance his cowboy heart out to hip-hop. Quite the spectacle.
Finally, today I went with Bernard to Springfield Baptist Church in Comer, where he and I were the only white guys and were welcomed by everyone there. I think I'll keep going back, even though the services last usually till 1:30 or 2. It seems like the sort of place where you can learn everyone's name really fast, because all the people introduce themselves.
And there's the dinner bell, so I'll head up now for another Sunday meal with the refugee families, good cookin' and warm hearts. Love to you all,
-Caleb-
Ok, stories. Last Saturday, we all finally got off the land and into the busy streets of Comer, busy like one stoplight in the whole town busy. But we did find some cultural nightlife at Carmine's Pizza, where we discovered there was a karaoke contest happening, so of course we had to stay for that. I braved the crowds of cowboy hats and big hairdos, every person singing something with a little to a lot of twang thrown in, to get up and sing some Hall & Oates disco music. Lots of Georgia eyes looking at me under hat brims, wondering if I was flamboyant or just a little "special." But I denied them all, and had fun too. And I'm pretty sure we're going back next weekend.
Sunday all the refugees came up to the K-house for dinner and worship, and then we started another work week. I taught my first class on Monday, which was predictably stressful but lessened by my class being the children's class. I teach three kids from Burma (Joseph Hla, Maung Nay Sar, and Nan Yae Aye), and we have fun every class reading dr seuss books or playing games with prepositions. They especially love their times tables, oddly enough.
And I work in the garden and do random maintenance jobs around the land, or work in the childcare building hanging out with the littler kids of the bunch. I also found out that I'm going to tutor Joseph in addition to his classwork, because he's been here a while now and will be missing out on a year of public school, and needs to catch up. He's a lot of fun, and is quite the calm 10 year-old. And I play ping pong after class with all three, which is nice to be a friend as well as a teacher.
It's getting warmer here, which is incredible for January. I might get addicted to Southern weather by the time I leave. Also, it has been brought to my attention that I may be developing an accent/using the word "folks" excessively, and thus proving myself to be going native. Well, for those doubtful folks who say so, such statements are true and by gum I'll keep on staying true to them :o) A little Southern charm never did no harm.
On Thursday, we gathered in the library to have two of the volunteers share their spiritual journeys, which everyone will do eventually. I was one of the two this week, and so I got to talk for a half hour about my life and what I've been through faithwise and what I'm going through now. After, I felt more connected to the people here, especially the Partners, who all came up and hugged me when we were done talking. Sam also shared her story, and that was nice to find out more about her life just by listening. I'm excited for the next two people to share.
Then yesterday, in spite of the rain, most of the volunteers went out for drinks in Athens, a larger city nearby. We went to a nice pub/coffee bar with about 30 taps of fine beers, and sat in the big booth playing table games and talking. Some of us wanted to go out dancing after the night wore on a little more, so Liz, Leslie and I split off from the group to head to the Loft to dance the night away! It was very reminiscent for me of the November roadtrip and dancing in Cory's house in Boone, not caring what it looked like, just feeling the music pounding my blood and my heart beating my body black and blue. Plus, this time we had fun observing a lonely cowboy, boots, hat and all, trying to dance his cowboy heart out to hip-hop. Quite the spectacle.
Finally, today I went with Bernard to Springfield Baptist Church in Comer, where he and I were the only white guys and were welcomed by everyone there. I think I'll keep going back, even though the services last usually till 1:30 or 2. It seems like the sort of place where you can learn everyone's name really fast, because all the people introduce themselves.
And there's the dinner bell, so I'll head up now for another Sunday meal with the refugee families, good cookin' and warm hearts. Love to you all,
-Caleb-
Saturday, January 9, 2010
First Week at Jubilee
Wow, what a blur of events has passed me by since I last wrote.
I was struggling to decide whether to continue this, and I ended up doing so because I'm only writing letters to the amount of people I can handle, and so this seems like a good way to keep in touch with anyone else.
To catch up:
I ended up having a wonderful rest of the roadtrip with Meira, going from Boone, to her brother's place in Savannah GA, to a few days at her house in Gainesville FL (where we went to the prairie, visited friends, played an intense set of raquetball with her dad, and walked down the Devil's Millhopper), then up through the night to Wisconsin (complete with in-car dance parties and too many energy drinks and creepy Tennessee gas stations in the middle of the night), and we spent a couple days with my family and around town in Madison.
Then there was Thanksgiving and a couple weeks at home with mom and dad. In mid December, I went down to Chicago to pick up Verena from the airport, come all the way from Germany to stay with my fam for Christmas. We spent a week in Chicago seeing the sights (German xmas market, lincoln park zoo, museums, chinatown, Wheaton) and then headed home for Christmas in snowy Wisconsin.
We spent two weeks there, taking time to go to Madison and to Lafayette IN to visit the gramps. And we had a wonderful time through all of it, baking things, reading to each other in German (Der Kleine Prinz, poetry, kid's books), and talking talking to fill up all the time from the 5 months we had apart.
Then on January 2nd, we both said goodbye to the rest of the Warners and took the Greyhound down to Chicago (verena for the airport, I for another busride). We said our goodbyes in a crowded bus station, waiting way too long for the bus to arrive. Then I got on the bus headed south, straight to Atlanta. Then another bus to Athens. Altogether the trip took me about 24 hours.
And now I'm here, after lots of waiting and letters and phone calls...I'm here, just outside of Comer, GA, at the Jubilee Partners community as a five-month volunteer. I unpacked my overalls (just for you Meira :o) and some sweaters and probably not enough underwear and settled into my tiny room in the Koinonia House. It's the biggest building on the land, where the kitchen and the dining hall are, but also housing 6 volunteers, four women and two men. Those are the single volunteers, and then the married ones live in various houses on the 260 acres Jubilee owns. Altogether we make 14.
Then there are the partners, the long-term, committed folks, who also live in the houses. Most houses have more than one apartment, and some families have kids, so they really live with only the essential amount of space. I think there are twelve partners...something like that.
And then there are the refugees, living in another cluster of houses about a half mile down the road from the K-house. They live over there to maintain their own community and culture, but the volunteers and partners are down there all the time. We teach English classes, have childcare so the parents can go to class, and have class for their children too (that's what I will teach). There are five families here right now, but two of them will finish their 2-month stay in about 2 weeks, so that will change the dynamic here soon. And everybody comes over to the K-house for dinner on Sunday nights, so it's a packed house and we play music and sing too.
Ok.
I just finished my day of work today, so I have the rest of the day today and tomorrow off. I've been here 7 days now, and there's still so much that I haven't written about. It'll all come out eventually. Anyway, just wanted to let people know that I do have some internet here, but I don't really have time to be on it all the time, so things like facebook kinda go out the window with that. shoo, I'm tired. I think I'll go make some tea and read a book or something. This'll probably get written on about once a week. And that's that for now. Love to you all.
-Caleb-
I was struggling to decide whether to continue this, and I ended up doing so because I'm only writing letters to the amount of people I can handle, and so this seems like a good way to keep in touch with anyone else.
To catch up:
I ended up having a wonderful rest of the roadtrip with Meira, going from Boone, to her brother's place in Savannah GA, to a few days at her house in Gainesville FL (where we went to the prairie, visited friends, played an intense set of raquetball with her dad, and walked down the Devil's Millhopper), then up through the night to Wisconsin (complete with in-car dance parties and too many energy drinks and creepy Tennessee gas stations in the middle of the night), and we spent a couple days with my family and around town in Madison.
Then there was Thanksgiving and a couple weeks at home with mom and dad. In mid December, I went down to Chicago to pick up Verena from the airport, come all the way from Germany to stay with my fam for Christmas. We spent a week in Chicago seeing the sights (German xmas market, lincoln park zoo, museums, chinatown, Wheaton) and then headed home for Christmas in snowy Wisconsin.
We spent two weeks there, taking time to go to Madison and to Lafayette IN to visit the gramps. And we had a wonderful time through all of it, baking things, reading to each other in German (Der Kleine Prinz, poetry, kid's books), and talking talking to fill up all the time from the 5 months we had apart.
Then on January 2nd, we both said goodbye to the rest of the Warners and took the Greyhound down to Chicago (verena for the airport, I for another busride). We said our goodbyes in a crowded bus station, waiting way too long for the bus to arrive. Then I got on the bus headed south, straight to Atlanta. Then another bus to Athens. Altogether the trip took me about 24 hours.
And now I'm here, after lots of waiting and letters and phone calls...I'm here, just outside of Comer, GA, at the Jubilee Partners community as a five-month volunteer. I unpacked my overalls (just for you Meira :o) and some sweaters and probably not enough underwear and settled into my tiny room in the Koinonia House. It's the biggest building on the land, where the kitchen and the dining hall are, but also housing 6 volunteers, four women and two men. Those are the single volunteers, and then the married ones live in various houses on the 260 acres Jubilee owns. Altogether we make 14.
Then there are the partners, the long-term, committed folks, who also live in the houses. Most houses have more than one apartment, and some families have kids, so they really live with only the essential amount of space. I think there are twelve partners...something like that.
And then there are the refugees, living in another cluster of houses about a half mile down the road from the K-house. They live over there to maintain their own community and culture, but the volunteers and partners are down there all the time. We teach English classes, have childcare so the parents can go to class, and have class for their children too (that's what I will teach). There are five families here right now, but two of them will finish their 2-month stay in about 2 weeks, so that will change the dynamic here soon. And everybody comes over to the K-house for dinner on Sunday nights, so it's a packed house and we play music and sing too.
Ok.
I just finished my day of work today, so I have the rest of the day today and tomorrow off. I've been here 7 days now, and there's still so much that I haven't written about. It'll all come out eventually. Anyway, just wanted to let people know that I do have some internet here, but I don't really have time to be on it all the time, so things like facebook kinda go out the window with that. shoo, I'm tired. I think I'll go make some tea and read a book or something. This'll probably get written on about once a week. And that's that for now. Love to you all.
-Caleb-
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
hello again
so the bridge is underway, i can hear them using the skill saw outside, and we leave tomorrow for north carolina. hopefully i can let you see pictures from the working sometime later today, because it's amazing just how fast this bridge has come together.
so first we go to boone, and stay for a few days, hiking around and staying with wonderful people. then to asheville to hopefully hear some good music. then down to savannah, then maybe shoot down to gainesville where meira lives to check out her town. then after that, we'll probably come back to G! and see the completed bridge. if there's time left, we'll go to wisconsin to my house and then finally part ways for thanksgiving.
i'll write yall later once i'm on the road, hopefully with some better stories.
so first we go to boone, and stay for a few days, hiking around and staying with wonderful people. then to asheville to hopefully hear some good music. then down to savannah, then maybe shoot down to gainesville where meira lives to check out her town. then after that, we'll probably come back to G! and see the completed bridge. if there's time left, we'll go to wisconsin to my house and then finally part ways for thanksgiving.
i'll write yall later once i'm on the road, hopefully with some better stories.
Monday, November 9, 2009
gesundheit work
dear Friends,
i have been at the gesundheit! institute for a couple days now, wiht the ever-intermitant internet sputtering along. so this might appear to You in several days, sadly, instead of maintaining fresh information. so i give You the date today, so You may not be confused.
november 9 2009
the drive up here was really nice and relaxing. i got to listen to books and music, and stopped over in lafayette at my grandparents house. quite nice. this hill country astounds me every day.
Meira and i have been helping two other guys build a new bridge on the land, because the old one is falling apart after many years of love and use. it is really rewarding to work on something that will be around for a long time after, and see it come together day by day.
but it hasn't been all work and no play. the first night, we went bowling in lewisburg around 11 at night, till 1, wearing tie-dye pants and clown noses, speaking with the local color at the greenbriar alley.
and we have been discussing our trip, which will be kind of short now that we want to stay to possibly pour the concrete in the bridge. that's the issue with enjoying a place, if you have other places you want to see, it's hard to leave because you don't want to rush away. this is a magnet.
but we should start soon, and i'll write all about it. love you
caleb
i have been at the gesundheit! institute for a couple days now, wiht the ever-intermitant internet sputtering along. so this might appear to You in several days, sadly, instead of maintaining fresh information. so i give You the date today, so You may not be confused.
november 9 2009
the drive up here was really nice and relaxing. i got to listen to books and music, and stopped over in lafayette at my grandparents house. quite nice. this hill country astounds me every day.
Meira and i have been helping two other guys build a new bridge on the land, because the old one is falling apart after many years of love and use. it is really rewarding to work on something that will be around for a long time after, and see it come together day by day.
but it hasn't been all work and no play. the first night, we went bowling in lewisburg around 11 at night, till 1, wearing tie-dye pants and clown noses, speaking with the local color at the greenbriar alley.
and we have been discussing our trip, which will be kind of short now that we want to stay to possibly pour the concrete in the bridge. that's the issue with enjoying a place, if you have other places you want to see, it's hard to leave because you don't want to rush away. this is a magnet.
but we should start soon, and i'll write all about it. love you
caleb
Friday, November 6, 2009
update/mashup
well friends, time has happened.
and now, i come back to writing these words, from a different place/time, from indiana. the house of the parents of my parent. are they me in part, or me less diluted?
anyway, enough of questions i don't need to ask. i have left gesundheit! for a time, but i hope to go back. that hope will be fulfilled tomorrow. while there in october, i talked with Meira about a possible road trip to anywhere, and so, here i am, about to begin it.
(by the way, gesundheit! was incredible and there are pictures on facebook as well as flickr, for anyone who seeks them. email me if You want more stories of the time, and more stories than i have given You here.)
we wanted to take a trip to see beautiful places and talk with beautiful people, and november is a free month for us. so we are going.
first i'll return to gesundheit! to pick Meira up, and stay for a couple days to help work on the new and much-needed bridge or any other projects (i'm not sure). and then She and i will go down to boone nc to visit the school there, and then to asheville and after that we have slighter notions. maybe ga, fl, wi, anywhere we have the money and the time to go. thanksgiving comes soon, so that marks the sortof end to our trip. maybe we will pick it up later on sometime, 5 months or 5 years from now who knows.
so
,
that
is that
internets will be infrequent maybes for a while at least for november. so don't get mad at me if i don't write back to Your wall post on facebook or somethng banal like that. You can write me patient waiting letters too if You like.
Loves,
-caleb-
i'd like to end this time we've had together, albeit delayed and electronic, with some lyrics from John Denver/James Taylor that seem appropriate for the occasion:
take country roads, lend me the highway home.
your name, the place i belong--
your west virginia, my mountain mama, and the
way home.
the country roads seem to be the same
mountain mama, don't. understand, it's been
a fool way, natural, i can feel it.
where i've been,
i reckon, all you good girls and feet
know where you want to go.
the heavenly band pass that way.
the heavenly band pass that way again.
why or when, it's bound to be
one and the same.
and now, i come back to writing these words, from a different place/time, from indiana. the house of the parents of my parent. are they me in part, or me less diluted?
anyway, enough of questions i don't need to ask. i have left gesundheit! for a time, but i hope to go back. that hope will be fulfilled tomorrow. while there in october, i talked with Meira about a possible road trip to anywhere, and so, here i am, about to begin it.
(by the way, gesundheit! was incredible and there are pictures on facebook as well as flickr, for anyone who seeks them. email me if You want more stories of the time, and more stories than i have given You here.)
we wanted to take a trip to see beautiful places and talk with beautiful people, and november is a free month for us. so we are going.
first i'll return to gesundheit! to pick Meira up, and stay for a couple days to help work on the new and much-needed bridge or any other projects (i'm not sure). and then She and i will go down to boone nc to visit the school there, and then to asheville and after that we have slighter notions. maybe ga, fl, wi, anywhere we have the money and the time to go. thanksgiving comes soon, so that marks the sortof end to our trip. maybe we will pick it up later on sometime, 5 months or 5 years from now who knows.
so
,
that
is that
internets will be infrequent maybes for a while at least for november. so don't get mad at me if i don't write back to Your wall post on facebook or somethng banal like that. You can write me patient waiting letters too if You like.
Loves,
-caleb-
i'd like to end this time we've had together, albeit delayed and electronic, with some lyrics from John Denver/James Taylor that seem appropriate for the occasion:
take country roads, lend me the highway home.
your name, the place i belong--
your west virginia, my mountain mama, and the
way home.
the country roads seem to be the same
mountain mama, don't. understand, it's been
a fool way, natural, i can feel it.
where i've been,
i reckon, all you good girls and feet
know where you want to go.
the heavenly band pass that way.
the heavenly band pass that way again.
why or when, it's bound to be
one and the same.
Monday, October 19, 2009
frost outside, love inside.
Farmhouse, October 19, 2009
Patch arrived yesterday, and the place becomes charged with energy. At the same time, what he says makes me feel like I haven't done anything since I've been here. He acts, and nothing else. Everything is intention, is purpose, is sincerity--even the humor. His presence urges me to live intentionally, and talk through the night with the people I love and the people I don't know.
---
frost has come to have his way with the Earth. these are the latter days of the year, the death-throes of beauty. i can feel the ground beginning to seize up beneath me, like a lover whose heart has burst from love-making and is now clenching and twitching either in ecstasy or death. but who can tell the difference?
the leaves are finishing their falling. the air is thinner, and so there seems to be more of it passing through my lungs and mouth. leaves again - it's the same sound as a soft rain, larger branches hitting the canvas of the yurt like larger drops from the trees. and the sun chooses to come out, on the coldest day yet.
here, there are no days, nor hours, nor any other made-up divisions of time. time is present, but it moves unpredictably, in a new dance. this is Time: when the smoke from a chimney brings comfort, when i can't tell the difference between the fire-smoke and the mist still hovering, when shadows are a welcome sign of sunlight and yet bringers of cold. This is the when i live in. This is the when i want to be in, more than any other, more than yesterday And tomorrow! No, i don't want to talk! i want to catch a leaf and make a wish.
and i know it is Time when the cold seeps through my jacket, and i head for the smoke.
Patch arrived yesterday, and the place becomes charged with energy. At the same time, what he says makes me feel like I haven't done anything since I've been here. He acts, and nothing else. Everything is intention, is purpose, is sincerity--even the humor. His presence urges me to live intentionally, and talk through the night with the people I love and the people I don't know.
---
frost has come to have his way with the Earth. these are the latter days of the year, the death-throes of beauty. i can feel the ground beginning to seize up beneath me, like a lover whose heart has burst from love-making and is now clenching and twitching either in ecstasy or death. but who can tell the difference?
the leaves are finishing their falling. the air is thinner, and so there seems to be more of it passing through my lungs and mouth. leaves again - it's the same sound as a soft rain, larger branches hitting the canvas of the yurt like larger drops from the trees. and the sun chooses to come out, on the coldest day yet.
here, there are no days, nor hours, nor any other made-up divisions of time. time is present, but it moves unpredictably, in a new dance. this is Time: when the smoke from a chimney brings comfort, when i can't tell the difference between the fire-smoke and the mist still hovering, when shadows are a welcome sign of sunlight and yet bringers of cold. This is the when i live in. This is the when i want to be in, more than any other, more than yesterday And tomorrow! No, i don't want to talk! i want to catch a leaf and make a wish.
and i know it is Time when the cold seeps through my jacket, and i head for the smoke.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Delaydlaydlaydlydyy
Farmhouse, October 16, 2009
Internet make slow my words.
Apology.
Reiterate until recipient feel plus guilty than sender.
Marvel at this.
NEWS: It has been raining most of the week. I have been rained on. I have been the misser of many people, notwithstanding beautiful Verena in Deutschland. Being back here for so long lets me swap places with her, to stay for a month and see the changes in people and get attached to all these people that will leave eventually, to get to know Meira and Wildman so well, and then leave in the middle. This is difficult. I start long-distance relationships with all of them after, to keep our love breathing that we have birthed here.
But at the same time in my head as these thoughts, I feel and think about how I am becoming a part of this place, a limb on the Gesundheit! tree. Being able to paint anywhere, to leave trace after trace--this is a great freedom given to us here.
In other aspects of news-related items, we made our own juggling balls yesterday and I learned how to juggle. A few days ago we had a tie-dye workshop, also wonderful. Last week there was a talent show, where Meira, Erin, Laurel and I did the body percussion and singing to "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy," among face-painting, children's stories, animal noises, and the Hot Shit Fart Orchestra performance. Today, we visited the Marlinton hospital as clowns, and got a chance to entertain and have fun with the people there, staff and patient alike.
For people who asked, there will be pictures of all this on Facebook at the end, once I have better internets. Limited stuff on Flickr because of posting limits. For now, enjoy the slow steady stream of words and photo, as long as I remember to write.
Entering the last week with everyone is hard. I feel I have not talked to people here enough, and that the time has blurred together. It's hard to believe we've been here this long. But the time is not over yet, and friendships don't end with a loss a proximity. At least they don't have to.
Love,
-Caleb-
Internet make slow my words.
Apology.
Reiterate until recipient feel plus guilty than sender.
Marvel at this.
NEWS: It has been raining most of the week. I have been rained on. I have been the misser of many people, notwithstanding beautiful Verena in Deutschland. Being back here for so long lets me swap places with her, to stay for a month and see the changes in people and get attached to all these people that will leave eventually, to get to know Meira and Wildman so well, and then leave in the middle. This is difficult. I start long-distance relationships with all of them after, to keep our love breathing that we have birthed here.
But at the same time in my head as these thoughts, I feel and think about how I am becoming a part of this place, a limb on the Gesundheit! tree. Being able to paint anywhere, to leave trace after trace--this is a great freedom given to us here.
In other aspects of news-related items, we made our own juggling balls yesterday and I learned how to juggle. A few days ago we had a tie-dye workshop, also wonderful. Last week there was a talent show, where Meira, Erin, Laurel and I did the body percussion and singing to "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy," among face-painting, children's stories, animal noises, and the Hot Shit Fart Orchestra performance. Today, we visited the Marlinton hospital as clowns, and got a chance to entertain and have fun with the people there, staff and patient alike.
For people who asked, there will be pictures of all this on Facebook at the end, once I have better internets. Limited stuff on Flickr because of posting limits. For now, enjoy the slow steady stream of words and photo, as long as I remember to write.
Entering the last week with everyone is hard. I feel I have not talked to people here enough, and that the time has blurred together. It's hard to believe we've been here this long. But the time is not over yet, and friendships don't end with a loss a proximity. At least they don't have to.
Love,
-Caleb-
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
the group at joel's place
Going to joel's across the river. He runs a private animal sanctuary, and we helped him build a shelter.
Also, this is almost our complete group. Gives you a sense of the bonds that we hope to keep after our time here...
Also, this is almost our complete group. Gives you a sense of the bonds that we hope to keep after our time here...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I'll Repeat: Excellent.
Farmhouse, October 1, 2009
Today was excellent. The sun cam out near the end of the morning, and the blue skies stayed out all day long. We took the dogs out for another romp today on the grass, and played fetch. We set up the volleyball net and played around a little. Matt and I got far too excited about our plans for the Just Desserts Dinner, where dinner would be an array of delicious and beautifully crafted desserts—and nothing else! And we baked pumpkin bars with an extreme amount of homemade caramel on top, and tried to build sugar sculptures with a blowtorch.
= Excellent day.
By the way, here are some links to Patch Adams’ book “Gesundheit!”, the Gesundheit! Institute wiki page, and my Flickr page, where you can see many more pictures from the time here. Also there are pictures there from this summer as well—the first time I came here.
Gesundheit! Institute wikipedia
Love,
-Caleb-
my room
This is where I sleep and dream. And that door only comes up to the middle of my chest...tiny! It's a wonderful place to fall asleep.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
First Week back in NeverNeverland
Dacha, September 30, 2009
Friends,
It's been almost a week since I've been here at the Gesundheit! Institute, and what a whirlwind of a week! Where should I even begin?
How about this, my address?
Caleb Warner
c/o Gesundheit! Institute
H C 64 Box 167
Hillsboro, WV 24946
If you like, you can send mail here, until I’m gone on October 28. I would love to hear from any and all of you if you can find the time to sit down and write a letter, and what you have been up to lately. And I will write back!
So, I got here last Friday, and I was the first volunteer to arrive. I stayed the only one for two days because of some mixups with rides and trains and things. But it was a great chance to get to know the land manager and his beautiful family.
Wildman (yes, that’s his name, I didn’t make it up) is a great guy, full of wonderful ideas and philosophy about how to live in peace with nature. His wife Elisa is originally from Italy, and is sweet and funny too. Their daughter Annamaria, however, contains the most energy and silliness and craziness I ever thought a four-year-old could have in them. She latched onto me right when I walked in the door, and told me promptly that I would be doing her princess puzzle with her. The family dynamic works so well with them, and they have been generous beyond measure to me. I am so grateful that they are here and not some mean-spirited person.
So, what did we do? Waiting for the other volunteers to show up was hard, because we would all get excited whenever the phone rang or a car went by on the road, and then get let down. But we did a lot of hard work to pass the time. Saturday we cleaned out the entire Workshop, a big three-story building with a clown room, woodworking supplies, and art stuff.
Sunday, more people started showing up, like students and teachers for the class, and Meira, our wonderful volunteer and helping hand! So far, she and I are the only volunteers here, even though another comes tonight, and the last on October 6. So we have been doing a ton of cooking in the kitchen for 25 people.
Monday, we picked up Anna from school wearing clown costumes, and goofed off all day waiting for more people to arrive. I tried to use the stilts, but I think I’ll need several more tries to start walking. Also, the dogs came back! They were away being quarantined because they attacked a rabid raccoon the other day. But now they’re here, Black Dog and Sway (I’m not sure how to spell it).
Did I mention that Annamaria is bilingual? Her mother speaks Italian to her, and both parents speak English, so Anna will save Italian as a secret language with her mom, complete with a good accent and everything. So I’ve been learning some Italian vocab, like the word for fart and poop and butt, all the words essential to a four-year-old :o).
There are chances to hike around, and perhaps explore one of the caves behind the waterfall. We’re already busy planning the meals for the week, and other fun things like Love Day or Song Day or Crazy No-Talent Show. I love it here, and I feel like a part of Wildman’s family. If I ever come back here (which I would love to again and again), it will be nice to return to a familiar face.
All in all, I’m in NeverNeverland.
Love,
-Caleb-
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