Hi everybody. I know it's been a while since I've posted. I know this because it's apparently been so long that mom felt the need to text me a ladybug emoji to "bug" me to update. When mom breaks out a ladybug, you know I must be late. It's only been, what, a week, almost two. Wait, two full weeks? Really? Oops, that's longer than I meant. So basically, sorry it's been awhile, but I'm fine, and I'm back. So, on with the blogging!
First of all, we are all officially back at helping hands. Some of went back Faros today as a Thursday, our flexible day, but most of the time we are back in the groove, working at helping hands all week and exploring Greece over the weekends. This weekend was actually kind of quiet for me because I wasn't feeling super well, but I also wasn't feeling super miserable, so I stayed home and did nothing but rest all afternoon on Sunday, and that helped a lot. Then Monday of course was the Fourth of July. (Speaking of which, happy belated Independence Day to everyone back in the states!) Monday is already a helping hands meeting/fellowship day, so the entire team went to Kenn and Lisa's apartment for meeting first, and the proud tradition of burgers, pitch in, and chitchat afterwards. It's actually rather funny, since at least half of the team are Finnish, Greek, or some other nationality, and many have never even set foot in the states! They were all wonderful sports, and tagged along for the fun. Some of the Finnish kids were probably the most patriotic people there, playing around with the small American flags and singing along to pandora patriotic radio.
The interns contributed by bringing desserts. Bri, Danae, and Kayla all got up Monday morning (earlier than me, but that's not saying much!) and made one pan of brownies and a couple of containers worth of red and blue cupcakes with white icing. The cupcakes were even gluten-free, so that Bri could enjoy them. The results were lovely, and pretty tasty too! The brownies were darker, rather than super sweet, but they were rich, and went great with Lisa's home-made ice cream. Yay! The cupcakes on the other hand were so sweet that they were hard to finish, but good enough that you wanted to try. They tasted just like sugar cookies in cake form.
After dinner we went up to the roof to enjoy the view. We didn't have any fireworks, alas, but we did have he natural beauty of God's splendid sunset to enjoy.
It's so funny to celebrate the Fourth of July, the American holiday of all holidays, when I'm in a completely different country, but it also feels kind of appropriate. I may be far from home, but my freedoms and heritage as an American absolutely came with me. For one thing, my perspective on all the new cultures I'm experiencing, both greek and middle eastern, is intrinsically shaped and shaded by my past experiences in America. Discovery of something new by default seems to imply comparison, if only to establish that this is something new. It is not the same as anything discovered in the past. For example, I've had chicken, and pita bread, and French fries, and lettuce before, but I never had a real greek chicken gyro until I arrived here. New experience, but one that I can also compare by noticing that gyros serve the purpose of burgers or fast food in the states. They are everywhere, cheap, and portable, while McDonalds is is a relatively rare sight. Comparison. I think that it's interesting, without ruining the interest or excitement of discovery. "What is different?" seems like the most fascinating and enjoyable questions for a traveler, arriving or returning, and it is a question that bridges countries rather than separates them. This is the beautiful country I come from. This is the beautiful country that I get to visit. ISN'T IT COOL!!!
Ok, past the philosophy and on to a completely different topic, I did try something new this week at helping hands. I finally worked in the kitchen. I've popped into the kitchen to help on different days, but this past Tuesday was the first day that I specifically volunteered for the kitchen to be there all day. Usually I've been with the kids, the babies, or just a floater, so kitchen was change. First observation: it's a lot less social. Kind of a nice break. Second observation: it's a lot of work.
Tuesday is a meal day, so I was helping regular cook Donna and her regular helpers Kristi (Finnish, staff person) and Ella (Greek, volunteers weekly) dish up a full meal. The oven is out, so we were serving "sandwiches", fries, feta, and two hard boiled eggs with the normal non bread and greek salad (aka, veggies). Not what I would call a typical sandwich, but tasty all the same. That meant boiling something like 300 eggs, frying a huge mountain of fries, and once things were cooked, dishing three different components onto 130 plates and topping them with the equivalent of a soft taco shell. My assistance with the hot cooking part was limited with so many experts around, but dishing up was a little hectic. In a lot of ways I just asked for a job and then did it, weather that was dishing out bread, sweeping the floor, or chasing Ella away so that I could carry the heavy rack of plates from dishwasher to table to dry, because she apparently has a bad back and those plates are heavy! It was exactly the sort of meaningful grunt work that I enjoy doing, and it was fun, but it was definitely strange to be so secluded. I saw the whole group of refugees at a glance maybe twice when I stepped out of the kitchen for something. By the end of the day when we were finished cleaning, there were only a few families and maybe half an hour left. The biggest interaction I had was picking a 2-year old girl up so that she could look over the balcony railing at the cats down in the alley with me. It was cute. It was also maybe five minutes of complete seclusion with the two of us and a lot of cat noises. Fun times.
Overall, different is the word I keep applying to my day in the kitchen. I enjoyed it a lot, and will probably do it again, but I also probably won't do it every day for the rest of the trip. After all, I came to both help, and learn, and I also like being out and about where I can meet new people and learn their lives a little bit better every day.
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