Wednesday, Day 18: Liberation Theology

Not as much to say about the morning. Sothida and I worked at cafes most of the day but tried a new spot for the AM with a delightful taro bubble tea and a place in the afternoon with a great salad and a wrap made from a starchy root vegetable... delicious and wheat free! Then... we went to mass. yes, Catholic mass. There is an international missionary group called Maryknowll and they have a mission here in PP. Sister Louise has been instrumental in helping build the Social Work Department here and even spoke at graduation. Today was the feast of St. Benedict. After sharing some words from the Gospel and some reflections on the St de jour, the group spent time sharing thoughts on the readings and how it relates to their lives and work. It was amazing to hear how progressive this group of Catholics is... they were all about the salvation of all, not just Christians, and spoke of social justice as the real mission of sharing the living love of God now and finding heaven here and now, not after life. I kept thinking about my research for the day on elements of community empowerment... one research spoke of the need 'not just to create outcomes but to change hearts and minds' - he also used a scale measuring Hope to assess community empowerment which I found to be quite beautiful. It was also good to be in a group of people who were singing. I didn't know any of the songs... but that didn't stop me... surprised?! My teammates lovingly joke about my constant singing here - in the room, in tuk tuks (always in the tuk tuk)... but they also ask me to sing lullabies at night too and compliment my voice which creates a nice balance to the teasing. I realize how much I use my singing to process my feelings and to feel myself breathe and to access my emotions... it's hard being in a place where I don't have a car or an insulated condo to occasionally let myself really belt out (I promise, many of you haven't "really" heard me sing yet...) - it's like there is a bit of my heart that doesn't get to beat. sign... 

So, after dinner... we spoke to James fro Brisbon AU who is an admin for a school for disabled children... over good home cooking incliuding mashed potatoes... oh, and an open bar... WTF?! So, I drank a vodka tonic with a nun who drank her whiskey neat... I love this place. I think we'll be going back every Wednesday from now on. I also made a new friend, Kevin. He's from Livermore, CA and is the ministry of music (shocking that we make friends). We had a great conversation about building relationships before creating project outcomes and the importance of being present in our lives, work, and relationships. It was very sweet. After, we went with Tracy and Dr. Jim (former Medical Director for Harborview Hospital in Seattle) to a Mediterrainian restaurant for mojitos and chocolate mouse and creme caramel. We laughed about everything and thanked the owner for a lovely place to dine. We walked home to connect with Borpha and Shelby who had spent their first day at HOPE and it was a crazy one!!! Highlights: they got to push their tuk tuk up an overpass and to a gas station after it ran out of fuel. They also has some pretty touching patient interactions and confirmed our impressions that the Home Care Team is well respected in the hospital and the community. 

What a long day for all of us... it was full and productive and tiring... So, I went out for drinks with drinks with Devo to round it out. Side note: I know it sounds like I am drinking a lot in PP... and you're right, I am. Actually, I have had more drinks here than I have in months prior! But, I'm never drunk and always safe... I'm with a group of social workers - they will intervene if they think it's a problem :) Anyway, Devo and I met at Equinox (makes me think of you, Robin - my solstice buddy) and hung out NeNe. It was funny because he was a little nervous to be seen out... maybe with a guy? maybe in general? Funny though that one of his volunteers showed up at the bar and we did a bit of ducking her attention. He relaxed a bit though and we had a nice chat. I realized that he might be one of the few people I've met that I feel is kind of a "hang out" friend - a casual buddy. It feels nice to have a pal outside of our group - someone to just chill with who doesn't have anything to say about RUPP or HOPE or anything else I'm doing if I don't want to talk about it. AND, we might go see the new Batman movie - that's right, Skiena - we get movies here about a week after you! Won't miss a thing! If, I can make the time to do it... that's the trick :)


Random sunset: