Here are some initial pictures, three at a time. Stories later.
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.
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