Last week
the “YAGM 5” (Kjerstin, Andrea, Emery, Kevin and me) and our country
coordinator Krystle had our first of three retreats that will take place during
the year.
Our destination was Colonia
Valdense, Uruguay, a small town in southwestern Uruguay, close to the river
that separates Uruguay and Argentina (El Rio de la Plata).
On Sunday morning (Nov. 18
th) we
took a ferry to Colonia, a city right on the shore of the river.
We wandered around the city for a few hours,
struggling to haul our suit cases along the beautiful cobblestone streets and
drinking up the breathtaking views of the river, palm trees and colonial
architecture.
Here are some photos of the ferry ride and Colonia:
El Rio de la Plata (The River of Silver): The border between Argentina and Uruguay
View from the Shore in Colonia
Kevin and me hanging out on top of a colonial fortress
More colonial remains
A cute picture of fellow YAGM Kjerstin!
We enjoyed lunch together at
a restaurant in Colonia and then boarded a bus headed toward Colonia Valdense. About an hour later, we groggily made our way
off the bus and into a taxi that took us to our final destination: Centro
Emmanuel.
Centro
Emmanuel is an ecumenical (Protestant) retreat center focused on spirituality
and sustainable agricultural practices.
It’s essentially a small farm with cabins for lodging. After experiencing the hustle and bustle of
Buenos Aires for three months, Centro Emmanuel felt like an oasis of calm and
natural beauty. It was amazing to see
gently rolling green hills, cows, trees, and crops in every direction. The other YAGMs and I noted that in many
ways, the countryside of southwestern Uruguay is similar to the countryside in
the Midwest, so Centro Emmanuel felt like a piece of home in a far away
place. Nevertheless, there were little
clues, such as the palm trees, exotic flowers, and bamboo, which told us we
“weren’t in Kansas anymore.”
Here are some photos of the natural beauty I am describing:
An adorable calf that I bonded with!
Kjerstin, Andrea, Kevin and Emery enjoying some oranges fresh from the tree! Another reminder that we weren't in the Midwest . . .
Our first
night in Colonia Valdense, we walked into town for the annual “Fiesta Valdense”
festival.
We watched a really long
parade featuring candombe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombe, carnaval-style
dancing, Olympics-themed floats and displays of athleticism, local “royalty”,
old agricultural vehicles, and “gaucho” impersonators wearing berets, capes,
and riding horses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guacho.
Apart from the clearly Uruguayan elements of
the parade, we felt like we could easily be back home enjoying a summer
parade.
The rest of
the week we spent entirely at Centro Emmanuel.
In order to facilitate my reflection on the experience, I have divided
my thoughts into the following categories: food, music, prayer, silence, and learning and sharing.
Food
We were
spoiled rotten at Centro Emmanuel by the two cooks, David and Rosita. They prepared breakfast, lunch, “merienda”
(tea time) and dinner for us everyday, always involving gourmet dishes that
used fresh, organic ingredients from the farm.
I was especially enchanted by the organic milk and the home-made dulce
de leche (much better than my attempt).
I also enjoyed the plum jam, cheese, quinoa lasagna with basil and
squash, ravioli, and canelonis.
On Thursday
the 22
nd, Thanksgiving Day, Centro Emmanuel opened its kitchen doors
to us so we could prepare a traditional thanksgiving meal, Uruguay-style.
With David’s kind and patient help, we made
roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, Hawaiian fruit
salad, butternut squash pie (no pumpkins to be found), and mashed squash with
brown sugar and pecans.
Somehow we ended
up using a ton of cream and butter courtesy of the Centro Emmanuel cows, so we
created an incredibly rich meal.
Many of
the dishes certainly were not prepared in the conventional style, but they were
still delicious.
Sharing our favorite
Thanksgiving recipes with each other was a meaningful way of celebrating the
holiday and giving thanks far from home.
Photos of the Thanksgiving meal:
My homemade butternut squash (instead of pumpkin) pie! If you can't tell, I "drew" a handprint turkey with whipped cream (cream fresh from the cows . . . yummmm)
Prayer
We spent a
lot of time praying during the week.
Praying before meals, sharing devotions, and praying individually in
silence. In our prayers we gave thanks
and prayed for healing and guidance for ourselves, our loved ones back home,
and our placement communities. Andrea
led a devotion that focused on human vulnerability based on a Ted Talk by
social worker (yay!) Brene Brown. The
gist of the talk was that it is both important and scary to accept
vulnerability, because although being vulnerable can result in getting hurt, it
can also lead to joy, love, and understanding.
Being vulnerable means allowing ourselves to be seen, really seen (aka,
being ourselves) and letting go of our desire for control over every aspect of
our lives. Brene explains the concept
much more thoroughly and eloquently, so I recommend that you watch the video if
you’re interested in learning more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o
In another devotion, Kevin
introduced an alternative method for prayer called “praying in color.” Praying
in color means praying by drawing, and can be used as a technique for focusing
and expressing oneself in prayer. It doesn’t work for everyone, but for visual
people who may get easily distracted when praying in silence (e.g. me), drawing
can be an effective channel for expression.
I personally found it relaxing and pleasant.
Silence
From Wednesday
evening at 7 pm until Thursday morning at 11 am, we participated in a “silent
retreat,” meaning that we did not speak to each other or listen to music during
those 16 hours. The general purpose of
this period of silence was to spend time seeking internal peace, talking with
God, and getting to know our authentic selves.
Each person had his or her own unique approach and his or her own
goals. I personally spent a lot of time
relaxing outside, journaling, and knitting.
I used journaling as a way of praying, writing to God about all of the
people in my life, nature, and my own thoughts and concerns. I noticed that I became so much more
observant of my surroundings in silence.
Free of intrusive distractions, I marveled at the natural beauty that
surrounded me, noticing every detail in the sounds of the birds and insects,
the colors of the trees and flowers, and the characteristics of the
landscape. I felt so grateful to be able
to rest in that beautiful place.
Learning and Sharing
Krystle led
an art activity in which she asked us each to create artwork representing four
time periods: the first half of our lives, the second half our lives, our YAGM
experience so far, and our hopes for the future. We used mixed medium including pipe cleaners,
bottle caps, cardboard, a glue gun and paints.
Then, one by one, we shared abbreviated versions of our life stories,
using our art as guides. It was a
meaningful opportunity for us to open up to each other about the journeys that
led us here and the people and things that really matter to us. We all felt like we got to know each other
better as a result.
Another
learning experience was the workshop Krystle led about models of social
change. Some of the models were familiar
to me from my social work education, and others were new. The models are “Bandage” (meeting basic needs
through material help, really important but often a temporary solution that
does not address the roots of social problems), “Ladder” (providing tools and
knowledge to come out of poverty, e.g. a Peace Corps volunteer teaching
agricultural techniques), “Patchwork” (grassroots movements in which people get
together to help themselves), “Beehive” (accompanying community groups in
social struggles) and “Lighthouse” (examining causes and challenging
structures, committing to favoring the poor and working together toward a new
base and direction for society). We
learned that each model has advantages and limitations, and that no one model
can address the world’s problems alone.
Rather, each serves a unique function that complements the functions of
the other models. Krystle’s workshop
gave us the tools to reflect on and contribute to the social change efforts carried
out at our volunteer placements.
The week we
spent together at Centro Emmanuel provided much needed rest. It was a relief to be able to speak in
English again, rest our bodies, and share our experiences. It was sad to leave beautiful Centro Emmanuel
and my fellow YAGMs, but I returned to Buenos Aires last night refreshed and ready
to dig back into my work. I’m excited to
see what the next 8 months bring!
