Home for the Holidays

My break from training got off to a very unwanted but eventful 5 hour delay. With snow flurries in Albuquerque, you might think that was the reason for my delay. Instead, it was because someone on our plane decided to say the “b-word” or “bomb.” I was actually reading a magazine and not really paying attention as our plane backed away from the terminal, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw several policemen board our plane and escort a high school student off.  I’m not sure how he said it, but I’m guessing it must have been more than a mere mention of the word. Eventually the rest of us had to get off the plane with our carry-on luggage, have our bags sniffed by a bomb dog, and spend about an hour or more inside the terminal while we waited for the FBI to arrive to check our plane. I wish I could have taken some photos, but it didn’t really seem appropriate after our pilot said that if he saw any electronic devices out we would be arrested. Definitely not as funny as the Ben Stiller bomb moment in Meet the Parents, but good to know they take those things seriously.

Despite the delay, I had an absolutely wonderful trip in Missouri with family and friends. Before Christmas, I took the train to St. Louis for a visit with friends from college. It was filled with St. Louisy things including the Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour, Imo’s pizza, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, Gus’ Pretzels and a night out in Soulard. Obviously not the most healthy trip, but the fun we had was definitely worth the calories! 

The rest of my break was filled with family time split between Concordia and Kansas City. It was so nice to see my parents, sisters, brother, brother-in-law, future sister-in-law, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and nephew one last time before I leave. Knowing I won’t see most of them for almost a year, definitely made for some teary goodbyes. I love you all so much, and thank you everyone for the amazing gifts and for the time you spent with me. Both are much appreciated!!

 

The fam after Christmas Eve Mass.

Family bowling night!

 Skipping the bar scene this year, Matt and I started the night with a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Parks’ house, then a party with my best friends complete with a champagne toast at midnight, and we ended the night with my cousins at the Rellihan’s house.  Thank you to everyone who helped me start 2012 off right.

Matt and I on NYE

The girls

Now that I’m back in Albuquerque, it’s serious formation time. Caitlin (she finally arrives on Thursday!!!) and I will be departing for Paraguay between February 12 and 15, so the next 6 weeks will be filled with focusing on learning more Spanish, preparing things to help with kindergarten, exploring New Mexico on the weekends, buying our plane tickets, getting vaccinated (which is unfortunately going to cost me a pretty penny), applying for our visas, getting items and supplies for the students in Paraguay, finalizing arrangements for things back in the States while I’m gone, and packing and repacking so that I actually bring the things I’ll need. 

My toiletries for the next year! Thank you very much for my Christmas presents everyone!

Breakfast with Santa

Mary's back in town for the weekend. Thank goodness! I needed to have some "20 somethings" conversations. Being around people my own age is definitely one of the things I miss the most about formation, and I'm guessing it's also one of the reasons that VOICA likes to send at least two volunteers into the mission. Luckily, Caitlin will be here in one month!

Mary, Sr. Angela and me posing in the backyard with the first snow of winter.

 
This morning we went to "Breakfast with Santa," a fundraiser for Casa Angelica. It was a wonderful event filled with delicious food, friendly people and fun activities for the "kids." Too bad I didn't actually take a picture of Santa. That probably would have been a nice touch.

Kids making Christmas cards. The boys was so cute--it was this long note to Jesus about how he hoped he had a great birthday.

Orbit, the Isotopes (minor league baseball team in Albuquerque) mascot.

Sr. Angela and Sr. Kay enjoying breakfast.

Mary making her card.

Kindred Spirits

Last weekend was just what I needed. Mary, a past VOICA volunteer that served in Indonesia, came to visit me and packed my weekend with tips, new ideas, travel talk, reality checks and Albuquerque knowledge. And, I got to feel a little bit more my age when we went downtown to play pool and get a few drinks with her brother and his girlfriend who live in Albuquerque and who, like Mary and me, love to travel!

From the minute she walked through the door, Mary boosted my level of excitement by like a hundred. She told me stories about what her training was like in Rome, which was nice to hear since I’m here by myself and sometimes don’t have a clear idea of what I can be doing.  More importantly, she shared what it was like serving in Indonesia. She lived in a small village on the Indonesian part (west) of the Island of Timor teaching English to people of all ages and helping out in a health clinic for almost one year. Although a very different culture than Paraguay, it was great to learn about what she did, the challenges she faced and what it was like living in a hot, humid climate. Her stories about her mission are the best preparation I’ve received so far! Hearing about how she perfected taking showers down to only using two scoops of cold water and actually getting clean was just the reality check I needed. She told me about the wonderful friends she made, the beautiful things she saw, the inspiration and confusion she got from a different way of life, the things she witnessed and heard stories about that made her realize how much we take our freedoms, safety and health care for granted, the struggles she had with learning a new language and not being fluent when thrown into a world where English isn’t common, the foods she ate, how she dealt with missing friends and family back home, the things she wished she would have brought,  and that it’s OK to want to look somewhat presentable and not frumpy all the time.

In addition to sharing about her experience, Mary really took it upon herself to help me with my mission and will be back multiple times before I leave. She brought me a Spanish book and is giving me homework, helped me get books about South America and Paraguay and even helped me go through my clothes and downsize yet again.

The Bad News of Talking with Mary: I’m pretty sure I will get sick. Mary got Dengue Fever and the other volunteer living with her got malaria, and from what she told me about other VOICA volunteers, sickness and disease seem to be a common experience. Yikes! According to the CDC, malaria isn’t in the area of Paraguay I’m serving in, but none of the symptoms associated with any of the diseases volunteers have experienced sound good, so I’m definitely splurging on the best mosquito repellant I can get before leaving!

Some pictures from our weekend...

Disbursing of Thanksgiving meals at Annunciation Parish (the church we go to). The parish collected supplies and money for meals to feed 200 families and more than 1,000 mouths. 

One of the 3 U-Haul trucks filled with Thanksgiving dinner supplies. Most of the meals didn't even go to members of Annunciation parish. 

Pick up site for families from St. Vincent de Paul parish.

San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque.

San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque.

5 Reasons Why This Week is Great!

1. Caitlin officially decided to volunteer in Paraguay with me! She’ll be coming to Albuquerque sometime in January for formation, and we’ll leave for Paraguay in the middle of February. She can only stay until May, so please pray that someone else will want to replace her!

2. I can see progress in my Spanish! After feeling frustrated with not being able to understand or speak Spanish, I could actually see improvement in my comprehension last night at the youth group and young adult sessions at San Jose. Gracias, Señor! Plus, I spoke to the kindergarteners in Spanish on Monday and they understood. Granted, while trying to teach me some of the body parts they told me I had a big nose like a witch, but they’re kindergartners so it was cute.

3. I stayed out past 10 p.m.! Last night, Christina and the group she’s going on a service trip with to the Dominican Republic this summer cleaned The Pit (University of New Mexico’s basketball arena) to raise money for their trip, so I tagged along to help. I finally have people I can talk to about things 20 somethings talk about. Gradually I’m building a social life.

4. I have weekend plans! Mary, a past VOICA volunteer that served in Indonesia, is coming to spend the weekend with me. Sr. Angela is out of town at a conference (in Kansas City of all places), so Mary is coming to Albuquerque to show me around and tell me about her mission experience.

5. My ticket home for Christmas is booked! I’ll be back in Missouri for two weeks beginning December 19.

First Night at San Jose Parish

I am so thankful for last night and that I get to keep going to San Jose Parish until February. I’ll be going to four times a week, three for youth and young adult activities and one for choir.  I met great people, and I’m more motivated than ever to learn Spanish!

From 6 to 8:30 each Wednesday night there is youth group and catechism for junior high/high schoolers. Their participation is amazing, and a lot of it is because of Sr. Marisa. Three years ago before she came, it was only a very small group that barely filled a room. Now, the group fills the entire chapel that is probably at least 1.5 times the size of St. Mary’s.

Then, from 8:30 to 10:30 there is a meeting for young adults. As a first timer, I had to introduce myself to the group. I am the only person that doesn’t speak Spanish, and it was kind of difficult to follow along, but luckily people acted as translators for a lot of it. Regardless of if I could understand everything, it was great to be around people my age again, and nice to talk to other people that are wanting to strengthen their faith.

When I first arrived, Sr. Marisa introduced me to Christina. She’s a sophomore in college, already knows that she wants to be a missionary and is planning on going to medical school. Her family is from Mexico, and she moved to Albuquerque when she was about three. She is my new inspiration and tutor. She has so much passion towards missionary work and is involved in nearly everything at the Parish. I’ll be her shadow until February and am so excited to learn from her. On Wednesday nights she works with the youth group and is helping them practice a play that they’ll perform in December. One of her other duties is a kindergarten teacher for catechism, so she has already given me songs that I can use in Paraguay. Her help and friendship is a huge gift! 

Gracias Señor

Two Weeks!

Ahhhh two weeks til go time! Even with all of my excitement, I’ll admit that I’m a little bit nervous. Not really about moving to Albuquerque and being away from family and friends, just nervous that I won’t be good at being a volunteer. Currently I know about 15 words in Spanish. This is not an exaggeration! Sadly, it’s the truth, and 10 of those words are numbers. But, I got my Spanish-English dictionary in the mail yesterday. It’s not that I don’t want to learn, it’s just hard to start by myself. I was on the fence on if I should do a program like Rosetta Stone, and after two weeks of doing nothing without it, I think it’s probably a good idea. Intensive self taught course begins now!

I found out that I’ll for sure be working in Encarnación, Paraguay. Like usual, I’m a little confused by what Sr. Angela has told me, but it seems like they are kind of an offshoot of a larger group of nuns in Posadas, Argentina, which is right across the river and border from Encarnación.

It’s now down to possibly one companion volunteer. She’s still deciding if she wants to do it or not, so I hope to hear from her soon. Not that I don’t want it to just be me and the nuns, but please pray she comes!! I should be getting my schedule of what I’ll be doing during training soon, and Sr. Angela said she’s already working on my flight and insurance for Paraguay.

The past month or so has been filled with a lot of goodbyes, but I’ve gotten so much support, that none of them have really been that sad. I got to spend time with friends from St. Louis, friends from home, friends from Church, family, and I even made it to Chicago to see some of my friends from studying in Ireland, who probably understand my travel addiction better than anyone. I still have two weeks to spend time with family, and I’ve kind of started to go into more of a hermit mode than I was already in. Sorry friends!

I know that all of these people will be thinking about me the whole way through, and will be a part of my life regardless of if I take a one year break from seeing them, so goodbyes have been better than expected! I’ve been blessed with great friends and family! Plus, there’s always Skype.

I’ll officially be leaving home on Wednesday, October 26. I’m going to take the scenic route, flying first to Denver for five days with my oldest sister, Nicki, and her husband, Jason, and my nephew, Oliver. I’m pumped for this bonding time since we’ll be coming off of my cousin’s wedding weekend and Oliver might actually remember who I am. I’ll be spending the next five days in Flagstaff for one last visit with the BF, Matt. Then I’m off to the train station for my journey to Albuquerque at 5:41 a.m. on Sunday, November 6. So early, but I guess it’s kind of symbolic of and literally the end of my leisurely life the past few months of getting up at 8 a.m.

One More Month

I've got a departure date!! And, for the first time, I actually spoke with Sr. Angela! Before this, it was strictly e-mail, which is pretty crazy considering she's basically in charge of the next 15 months of my life. After weeks of wondering when I’d actually get to start my training, I finally learned that I can arrive to formation on November 1. So, it looks like I’ll be leaving Concordia around October 23 or 24, stopping in Flagstaff for a few days, flying to Denver to celebrate Halloween with my favorite nephew and then Albuquerque bound! There should be two other volunteers, both women, that will be going through formation with me. Can’t wait to meet my new friends for the next 15 months!