Doing and being
A friend e-mailed and asked in a very polite way about something I, myself, have been wrestling with (my blog, my prerogative to end sentence with preposition! :)
He basically wanted to know exactly what I am doing in my capacity as a volunteer--just being a general helper, or do I have specific duties and responsibilities? That's been an interesting lesson for me to learn--how to just be and not feel like a failure. Particularly as a native of the U.S., I am used to thinking of my "work" in terms of goals, duties, responsibilities, etc. It is quite a change to learn how to show up, build relationships and try to figure out how to make a positive contribution.
I'd already been thinking, "If somebody was reading my blog, they would not understand how I am doing any 'mission work' here." Right now, I am working two days a week at the Methodist Foundation for Social and Cultural Action (http://methodistfoundation.org.br), two days a week at the Liberdade Community Center, and one day a week at the São Gabriel Community Center. At the Foundation, I am helping with the content of the new Web site as well as helping research donors and communicate with U.S. churches. Thus far, this has been the only role with clear "duties" for me to accomplish. At the community centers, it's more a matter of helping with some of the kids' classes, getting to know them, and answering their questions about English and the U.S. When I first was introduced to a group of children at the Liberdade Community Center, one of the more expressive children blurted out, "I've never seen an American that color!", to which I replied "Don't you have a mirror? You live in South America." My coordinator had already told me before I arrived that she thought it would be a very good thing that I was African-American because the kids had not been exposed too much to brown foreigners and tended to think that all Americans were Anglo.
I just wanted to add one thing to lighten things up a bit before I go watch something on TV that's actually supposed to be worth watching, unlike the nightly soap operas, or "novelas," to which the entire country seems addicted (only second to soccer games). The money changers/ticket takers on the buses seem to be a hybrid of gymnasts, reference librarians and talk show commentators. Gymnasts because they vault over the turnstile several times a day to open and close windows, collect money from people that are in the front, or on longer bus rides, they wait until a few minutes into the ride to collect the money from all of the passengers. Reference librarians because everybody asks them questions, particularly for directions but also other information. And commentators because many will strike up a conversation with any passenger on the bus, adding their thoughts on the current state of affairs in the city, state, country and/or world.
Coming soon to a blog near you--smells, economy and more!
He basically wanted to know exactly what I am doing in my capacity as a volunteer--just being a general helper, or do I have specific duties and responsibilities? That's been an interesting lesson for me to learn--how to just be and not feel like a failure. Particularly as a native of the U.S., I am used to thinking of my "work" in terms of goals, duties, responsibilities, etc. It is quite a change to learn how to show up, build relationships and try to figure out how to make a positive contribution.
I'd already been thinking, "If somebody was reading my blog, they would not understand how I am doing any 'mission work' here." Right now, I am working two days a week at the Methodist Foundation for Social and Cultural Action (http://methodistfoundation.org.br), two days a week at the Liberdade Community Center, and one day a week at the São Gabriel Community Center. At the Foundation, I am helping with the content of the new Web site as well as helping research donors and communicate with U.S. churches. Thus far, this has been the only role with clear "duties" for me to accomplish. At the community centers, it's more a matter of helping with some of the kids' classes, getting to know them, and answering their questions about English and the U.S. When I first was introduced to a group of children at the Liberdade Community Center, one of the more expressive children blurted out, "I've never seen an American that color!", to which I replied "Don't you have a mirror? You live in South America." My coordinator had already told me before I arrived that she thought it would be a very good thing that I was African-American because the kids had not been exposed too much to brown foreigners and tended to think that all Americans were Anglo.
I just wanted to add one thing to lighten things up a bit before I go watch something on TV that's actually supposed to be worth watching, unlike the nightly soap operas, or "novelas," to which the entire country seems addicted (only second to soccer games). The money changers/ticket takers on the buses seem to be a hybrid of gymnasts, reference librarians and talk show commentators. Gymnasts because they vault over the turnstile several times a day to open and close windows, collect money from people that are in the front, or on longer bus rides, they wait until a few minutes into the ride to collect the money from all of the passengers. Reference librarians because everybody asks them questions, particularly for directions but also other information. And commentators because many will strike up a conversation with any passenger on the bus, adding their thoughts on the current state of affairs in the city, state, country and/or world.
Coming soon to a blog near you--smells, economy and more!
posted by Christine Piggee at
5:30 PM
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