Mountains.
I’m amazed at the strong emotional reaction that mere terrain can elicit in me. Over the years I have formed such a strong connection between myself, service and the mountains. I was born in the mountains, Pittsburgh, PA, the foothills of the Appalachians. I’ve always claimed its in my blood, even if I did spend my “formative years” in the flatlands of Iowa. Once again that fact has been proven to me.
Today we have split the large group up into four “Hub Sties," one heading to each major region we will be working in: Northern and Southern Luzon, and Eastern and Western Visayas. So my group got the joy of taking the 8 hour bus ride to Northern Luzon, ending up in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. This is not the ending destination though. From here we split up into 5 “Cluster Sites” which will truly be home for the next two months. These sites consist of approximately 4 volunteers and our LCF (Language and Culture Facilitator). Here we stay with host families and have language lessons every morning from 8-12. In the afternoons we are free to explore the community, hang out with our host family and take naps! Every 7-10 days everyone returns to the Hub Site for further training as a large group. But for the next three days we will be in Bayombong having sessions covering all kinds of topics, from Community Entry tools to cultural sensitivity. Tomorrow (Friday the 8th) they will tell us our cluster sites and the people we will be spending the next two months living and learning with.
Right now though, I’m still overawed by the mountains. On the way up we stopped at a look out point situated at the highest spot in the province. The view was breathtaking, it wasn’t the physical beauty that brought me to tears, it was a feeling of being home. Every time I’ve gone back to the mountains I have been working with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP, www.asphome.org) in various parts of rural Appalachia. I’ve spent three summers there becoming part of amazing, loving communities that took us in and made us one of their own and at the end of the season had to leave. I’m reminded of all the awe inspiring people I have met and worked with, both the families we served and the volunteers that came to work. And here I am once again, Mind, Body & Soul reminded of all the other mountains I’ve inhabited, and all the people who have given so much of themselves to get me to where I am today. Today I am ready to immerse myself in yet another place, this time half way around the world.
~ghn
Today we have split the large group up into four “Hub Sties," one heading to each major region we will be working in: Northern and Southern Luzon, and Eastern and Western Visayas. So my group got the joy of taking the 8 hour bus ride to Northern Luzon, ending up in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. This is not the ending destination though. From here we split up into 5 “Cluster Sites” which will truly be home for the next two months. These sites consist of approximately 4 volunteers and our LCF (Language and Culture Facilitator). Here we stay with host families and have language lessons every morning from 8-12. In the afternoons we are free to explore the community, hang out with our host family and take naps! Every 7-10 days everyone returns to the Hub Site for further training as a large group. But for the next three days we will be in Bayombong having sessions covering all kinds of topics, from Community Entry tools to cultural sensitivity. Tomorrow (Friday the 8th) they will tell us our cluster sites and the people we will be spending the next two months living and learning with.
Right now though, I’m still overawed by the mountains. On the way up we stopped at a look out point situated at the highest spot in the province. The view was breathtaking, it wasn’t the physical beauty that brought me to tears, it was a feeling of being home. Every time I’ve gone back to the mountains I have been working with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP, www.asphome.org) in various parts of rural Appalachia. I’ve spent three summers there becoming part of amazing, loving communities that took us in and made us one of their own and at the end of the season had to leave. I’m reminded of all the awe inspiring people I have met and worked with, both the families we served and the volunteers that came to work. And here I am once again, Mind, Body & Soul reminded of all the other mountains I’ve inhabited, and all the people who have given so much of themselves to get me to where I am today. Today I am ready to immerse myself in yet another place, this time half way around the world.
~ghn
posted by george at 3:42 PM
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