Orientation in Boston

Hello Everyone!

 I have been at orientation at Boston College for over a week now. Overall, it has been great. It definitely has been an emotional rollercoaster though. Sometimes I have felt like I’m on an awesome retreat – talks on spirituality, communal prayer, daily Mass, personal reflections and time to hang out with amazing people. Other times, however, I have found myself in moments of extreme anxiety and panic  - What am I doing! How am I going to survive next year! And then there are the stories and talks that all seem imply that it’s almost inevitable that at some point we  will feel lonely, isolated, hopeless, overwhelmed, etc. Great! This is exactly what I was imagining my year to be like! I definitely have gotten some reality checks the last couple of days. The info sessions on safety and healthcare were pretty unsettling as well. These are the times I start to panic, but other times I am completely at peace with all of these worries. Even with all my anxiety, I have never doubted my decision to go to Ecuador. I truly do believe this is my calling for next year. I’m really excited for my experience, despite its challenges.

Maybe it will help to describe what a typical orientation day looks like…

We have breakfast at 7:45am every day. This was very hard for me at first since I had been sleeping in all summer. Also, Boston has been incredibly hot and humid which was very hard for me to adjust to since the week before I left, Portland’s weather was in the high 60s with rain and no humidity.  We are staying in BC dorms and our rooms are NOT air conditioned! The first 4 days I didn’t sleep well at all due to the heat. I think they are trying to get us ready for Ecuador! I am so glad my mom suggested I bring a small fan. I set it on my bed and keep it on all night. Sorry to side track. Anyway…breakfast is silent. This was also hard for me to get used to. I’m not a morning person but I do like to chat to the people I’m sitting next to. I’ve gotten used to it now and it’s actually pretty nice. It’s supposed to help us center ourselves in preparation for the day.  After breakfast we have morning prayer. This has been different every day which is cool because I like learning different forms of prayer. 

9-10:15am – first session

10:30 – 11:45am – second session

12:00 – optional daily Mass

12:45 – lunch (the food has been great! It’s also nice how long we get for meals because we can spend the time getting to know the other volunteers)

2-3:3pm third session

3:30-6:15pm – free time (It’s been nice having free time. I usually run, play basketball, journal, check email or hang out)

6:15pm – Dinner

7:30 – 9pm fourth session

9pm – evening prayer

9:30pm – social time

So they definitely have been keeping us busy, but it’s nice that they give us free time every day. The sessions have been on a variety of different subjects – spirituality, transitions, intercultural context, communication styles, counseling techniques, relationships, teaching strategies, etc. Most of the speakers have been really good so hopefully I will be somewhat prepared when I go down there. A lot of the things I need to learn though I can only learn on a first-hand basis.

Orientation has also given me an opportunity to adjust to the lack of communication I will have in Ecuador. It has been very hard for me to not talk to friends and family on a more regular basis. Several times throughout orientation I have wanted to text friends about something funny that happened or something that reminded me of them, etc. I also have not been able to go online very much which has made me realize how disconnected I have been to the outside world. I, unfortunately, did not find out about the Norway massacre until our priest said a separate prayer for the family and friends of the victims in Mass the other day. I was in shock when I heard about it. I really hope we have access to the Guayaquil newspaper so I can keep on top of current events.

One of the topics we have been discussing a lot about during orientation is the difference between “doing” and “being with.” We come from a very goal-oriented culture where we want to be able to assess tangible results. For example, a lot of non-profits focus on what they “do” – how many schools do they build? How many pairs of shoes do they donate? How many patients do they treat? Etc. These are all very important accomplishments. However, RdC does not focus on these types of tangible results/accomplishments. Instead, RdC puts a strong emphasis on forming close relationships with the local community members. Like the Jesuits, RdC strongly believes in “accompaniment” - “being with” a person, to be a companion, fully present to the individual and his/her circumstances. What will be important about my year in Ecuador is not what I’m “doing” per say, but what relationships I’m building and the people I’m spending time with (I know it’s “with whom” but it always sounds so proper when you say it outloud).  When I’m not at my worksite, I am expected to spend time getting to know the neighbors and being in solidarity with them. I am really excited about the relationships I will have with the Duran residents. Volunteers say this is one the most fulfilling aspects of their experience.

Now news about my fellow volunteers…all the volunteers in my group are really friendly and I am having fun getting to know them!  We have a great group which is really exciting. I was delighted to find out that a good majority of the other volunteers like: 1. playing games and 2. giving hugs…anyone who knows me well know that these are two “musts” for me. = )

One of the things I was anxious about before coming to orientation was my housing placement and who I was going to be assigned to live with. We found out our houses on Saturday. I will be living in…drum roll please… the Arbolito community in Duran!!! I’m super excited. I told myself I would be open and happy in any of the three houses, but I was hoping to live in one of the Duran houses since the other Duran house is only 15-20min away. The Mount Sinai community is 1.5-2hrs away from Duran. I will be living in a house with 4 girls and 2 guys. My housemates are Ali, Molly, Lindsay, Billy, and Chris. It’s a great group of people and I’m really excited. Former volunteers say there will be times when we can’t stand each other. I can’t even imagine that right now because I like my community-mates so much. The other Duran house in AJS only has 4 girls (I was relieved that I was living with at least some guys) and the Mount Sinai house has 4 girls and 2 guys. Now I just have to see what my worksite placement will be.

Many of you know that I was considering doing Jesuit Volunteer Corps before I found the Rostro program. We have a joint orientation with the JVC volunteers and I admire them so much for committing to a 2-year volunteer term. Orientation has definitely made me realize that I was not ready for a 2-year commitment (who knows maybe I will be in the future) and I am very happy with choosing Rostro. I also can’t even imagine how much more challenging some of their experiences are going to be – many of them are going to very remote places and are having to learn a new language on top of that! I really admire all of them. I wish I was that courageous. It’s going to be hard to say good bye to them at the end of the week since I’ve gotten to know a lot of them pretty well.

There are so many more things I can write about, but I think I should probably wrap this up. Overall, orientation has been great so far. I can’t believe I will be in Ecuador in less than a week! It’s crazy to think about. I’m definitely still really nervous. I guess the hardest thing I’m dealing with right now is trying to process that I’m about to start the most challenging year of my life so far. It will be an incredibly challenging year, but also hopefully a very rich and fulfilling one.

I almost forgot! I am so close to my fundraising goal of $2,500. I’m just $400 short! Please donate if you feel called to. Even $5 or $10 is a huge help. I think I’m the only volunteer who hasn’t raised the full $2500 so it would be great if you could help me out. You can click the link “Donate to RdC” to see the Rostro address if you want to send a check. Clicking the link will also show you how to donate online.  Thank you to all of you who have already donated. I appreciate the support.

I’m late for dinner…

Hope you are all doing well!