I am acutally alone in La Casa Hogar-it is never this quiet! I'm just sitting here listening to some Christmas music & working on finishing a Washington Mutual Grant. I'm excited for Christmas & even more excited for New Year's! I'm spending Christmas with my family & then going to Las Vegas to celebrate the new year! I used to go to school in Flagstaff (which is very close to Vegas), so a few of my friends & I are meeting in Vegas.
Yesterday, I went to a lunch for "women of color". I found this amusing because I am very white & blonde. It was just a lunch to promote diversity & the proceeds went to La Casa Hogar. We also sang Away in a Manger & Feliz Navidad for everyone. It was fun, and once again the food was very good.
We got to help several families & individuals out with Christmas at La Casa. We helped an 87 year-old man who has a 13 year-old disabled son. Can you even imagine? It's easy to feel bad about being VISTA poor at Christmas time until you talk to individuals that are living in their cars or have 6 kids and no way of buying presents for them. Anyway, it's nice to have a change of pace around here. We have plenty of things to prepare for next trimester-end of the year appeals, grants, brochures, etc. But right now it's time to celebrate Christmas!
I haven't written and entry for awhile-I've been very busy. I just cannot believe how much work needs to get done around her sometimes. In addition, one of our employees is leaving. She is one of the people that holds things together, and I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she leaves. Anyway, I've been slightly stressed out lately & last week was very busy.
On a more positive note, I feel like I'm getting closer to a lot of the women I work with here. I got my first Christmas card ever in Spanish! Yes, I had to look up 2 words that I didn't know, but I really enjoyed the card. I want to write about a few of the women I am working with because they are providing me with new perspectives on my own life.
First, there is Marisol. This woman has no English skills, a 7th grade education, no family in Yakima, two kids, her husband beats her, and she is possibly pregnant again. She has no friends except Janeel (other computer teacher) and I. We are trying to get her involved with different agencies or organizations. For example, we took her to a women's support group called Amigas Unidas this weekend. I feel so bad about everything she tells me, but I really don't know what to say. This is partly because I have limited Spanish skills & partly because she really doesn't have many options. Regardless, I feel that providing my friendship is helping her, and it makes me feel good about the work I am doing.
I have met other women that work long hours at dangerous jobs and then come to classes to learn English or other basic skills. These women have a strong work ethic & beautiful dreams. They have had very different life experiences than me, and it makes me thankful for everything I've been given.
Overall, the good & the bad means that this job is frusturating, but also rewarding.
Yesterday was an eventful day at Casa Hogar. My boss took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden (a treat for this VISTA), and we came back to find an ambulance in front of Casa Hogar. One of our students had an extreme panic attack and basically collapsed. We had to call an ambulance because she was turning blue. It was also scary because she is 6 months pregnant, but the good news is that she is o.k. now.
This women has not lived in the United States for long, and has very limited English skills. She went into a store and left her 2 or 3 year old daughter in the car for a short time. When she returned to her car, a man was trying to warn her about leaving her child in the car, but the only part she understood was "they will take your child away from you". She was freaked-out and came to Casa Hogar to share the story with one of our employees (a close friend). After she shared the story she shut-down and would not respond to anyone.
This provides a perfect example of the cultural clash between Latino and American culture. For example, in Mexico it is perfectly acceptable to leave a 8 year old child to take care of their younger siblings. However, in the U.S. this is not viewed as acceptable. There is often a clash between police officers, CPS workers, and Latinos. Many immigrants come to this country without knowing the full extent of their rights or U.S. laws. The language barrier combined with cultural differences create many problems among these people.
The important thing is the woman is doing fine. It was a terrible thing to happen at Casa Hogar, but I think it can be used as a learning experience for all of the women in our education program.