Surprised by Grace in a Fifth Grade Classrom

Last Thursday, I entered the 5A classroom to find out that they hadn't had a teacher all day. Their profesora was absent, in Cusco with her sick father. She had left worksheet, but there was no sub. A sixth grade teacher had been checking in on them, but they had been pretty much on their own all day. Coming from a world where there was always a sub, I was shocked. Unfortunately, the reality is that this school doesn't have the resources for on-call substitute teachers.

We're doing a unit on prayer in the 5^th and 6^th grade classes. The students copied down notes from the whiteboard about why we pray. We discussed how talking to God is different from talking to people. People generally talk back, God is more of the omnipotent and silent type. We discussed how there are different types of prayers. I was trying to transition the class into analyzing the Our Father line by line when one boy raised his hand.

“Yes?” I asked, weary of interruptions after spending a day with children more interested in their own thoughts than my lesson.

“Can we pray for the profesora's father and her family?”

I was stunned for a moment. Suddenly I, too, was more interested in his thoughts than my lesson. “Yes, of course. I think that's a wonderful idea, let's all stand up and say a prayer for them.”

The kids stood up and we prayed an Our Father and a Hail Mary. Then the boy who had suggested the prayer gave a petition for the profesora's father. I asked if there were any more petitions. A number of hands went up. One by one they each made their petitions, mostly for their teacher and for her family. In their prayers I heard their fears - one boy prayed that the teacher wouldn't get into an accident on the car ride back from Cusco. But more than that, I heard their love for the teacher and their generosity extended towards this man that none of them knew. I heard God's agape love in their voices.

After we finished praying, a different boy asked if they could write their petitions down and leave them on the desk for the teacher to find on Friday morning. “Of course,” I said. So we spent the rest of the class time writing out get well/prayer cards and decorating them. When I locked the room up at 2:10, there was a stack of messages on the desk.

The next morning when I saw the teacher I told “You have the kindest class. The students were so thoughtful yesterday and wanted to make sure we prayed for you father.” She smiled and said she was happy to see their notes on her desk.

When Sr. Helen Hunt spoke at Brandeis last year, she used a phrase that stuck out to me: “Surprised by Grace.” Last Thursday's class was a surprised by Grace moment. We didn't get anywhere near completing the lesson plan for the day, but that doesn't matter. The students showed an intuitive understanding of a key element of prayer and community that goes deeper than anything I could have explained to them with words. We didn't get though my lesson plan. But we sure got through God's. I (lesson) planned, God laughed. Surprised by Grace indeed!

Food Week: Thursday - Double Lunch

I have oatmeal for breakfast every morning. My recipe is 2/3 cup instant oatmeal, one piece of fruit, a spoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, and boiled water (not measured out). If we have milk then I pour some in. If not, I add some chia seeds (this little black bits) to add some protein to my morning meal. On Thursday morning I drank sweetened lemon water with breakfast. That's our dining room table cloth underneath the plates.

Lunch at the school was capchi de habas. It's made with habas (lima beans), potato chunks, and milk. I enjoy the taste and find it to be a satisfying meal without being very heavy.

Then I had a second lunch at the parish. This is actually normal for me. Since I have a higher metabolism and work out more than the rest of my roommates, I need more food. By eating lunch at the school (at noon) and the parish (at 2:30), I fell well fed and don't place a strain on our food budget. 

Lunch on Thursday at the parish was pescado (fish). They fry it and serve it with a "salad" of tomatoes and red onions (I've never seen any other color of onion in Peru) and, of course, rice. The señoras at the parish serve a refresco (soft drink) every day. Last Thursday it was jugo de maracuyá (passion fruit juice), which is one of my favorite drinks in Peru.

We had mass, and therefore dinner, at the Belgians' house. I felt weird about bringing my camera along - didn't want them to feel like I was judging their food - so I don't have pictures. But we ate pasta with a chunky veggie sauce and pear crumble for dessert.

Food Week: Wednesday - Pizza Dinner!

Lunch at the school was matasca. It's a mixture of beef and vegetables that's kind of like a stew. Everything is served with a half-bowl of rice (unless it's a noodle dish). Profe Jesús, the gym teacher, and I usually eat lunch together during recess, thus the two bowls of food.

The teachers shared a special treat after lunch - choclo con queso. The choclo was from the valley. Choclo is the most common crop in this area. You can see in this picture just how big choclo kernels are in comparison to US corn kernels. 

We had the staff of the parish gift shop over for dinner. Theresa made pizza. It came out delicious. We spent half the meal planning the next meal (which is supposed to include cheesecake).

Food Week: Tuesday - Forgot to Take Pictures

I forgot to take pictures of most of my food on Tuesday.

Tuesdays we have Community Breakfast. We rotate who cooks it. It was Erin's turn. She made cinnamon apple oatmeal, which tasted a lot like apple pie. 

I had the real lunch on Tuesday (though a small serving), but I don't remember what it is. I did snack on some toast. That's how all the bread here looks, there are no sliced pullman loaves.

I also had a granedilla, a fruit which I'd never heard of before I lived in Lima. It looks a lot like an orange on the outside, but the inside is full of a pocket of seeds covered in a gel that makes them look like alien eggs, or boogers. There're good for digestions and, once you get over the weird texture, pretty yummy. In case you're wondering based off our chirimoya seed fiasco, these seeds are edible

Food Week: Monday - Feeling Queasy

Probably because of the massive amount of food I consumed on Sunday evening, I woke up Monday feeling off. I tried to have my normal breakfast, but realized pretty quickly that my stomach wasn't interested.* So I just drank the liquids and dropped the rest of the oatmeal into the chancho bucket (to be explained in a future post).

At lunch at school I just asked the señoras in the kitchen for some galletas (the same word that means cookies or crackers). They had my favorite, galletas de quinoa which I took straight home ate in my bed as I read my book. 

I had a mandarina as an afternoon snack.

I forgot to take a picture of dinner. Erin made chickpea fajitas which were delicious. I was glad my stomach felt well enough to eat again because there were no leftovers.

*I think I had food poisoning. I spent some quality time sitting on the toilet clearing something out of the system.

Visitors!

Part of saying Yes to JVC was accepting that I wouldn't see many familiar faces for these two years. But happily, “not many” doesn't mean none at all. The weekend of April 25 and 26 I met up with three friends.

Boston reunion above the plaza in Cusco.

On Saturday, I met up with Trisha B. and Nora C., a mother-daughter pair of family friends who are in Cusco to hike the Inca Trail. Nora is in the midst of a gap year and using her time to travel Latin America. She's been in Nicaragua for a few months working with the anti-canal movement*, and after the Inca Trail is headed to Quito for an intensive course certifying her as an English language teacher. She's a brave, bright young woman. If you're interested in her travels, check out her blog.

Food Week: Sunday - Party Food

Last Sunday was Hermana's birthday party, so we ate rich food. I don't remember what the plate is called, but it contained 3 kinds of potato, yuca, sweet potato, 5 different sauces, a broth, a chicken leg, and a piece of meat that reminded us of beef brisket

First round of appetizers. Lechón sandwiches (tasted like pulled pork)
Cheese, and bread with spread.

Second round of apps, choclo con queso (corn and cheese)
That's a pisco sour in the tiny cup.

The main dish whose name I forget

Dessert. Birthday cake (sadly those are raisins and not chocolate chips) with ice cream.

Feliz Cumple, Hermana Rosario

We've got lots of birthdays in April. Mine was the 11^th, Hermana Rosario's was the 16, and Victoria's is tomorrow. About half the staff of the parish also has a birthday in April. But Hermana Rosario's birthday celebration takes the cake. Actually it takes the cakes – she had four cakes at her birthday party.

Día de la Lectura (Reading Day)

The human book!

Last Friday was Día de la Lectura, or Reading Day at the parish afterschool program. Reading isn't much of a thing here, partly because there aren't lots of books, and partly because so many adults don't know how to read and so can't even develop the habit to pass on to their children.

Being the librarian, Erin had to plan a lot of it. I only caught of bit of it after eating my lunch, but it was going well when I saw it. There was music playing through a speaker and plenty of kids visiting the various stations. At one table I read books that the kids had written - my favorite was about 3 trees who played soccer by the river. At another table kids were encouraged to make their own stories. You can see Erin listening to a story the boy made based off the picture he got when he threw the story cube. There were also signs hanging that extolled the virtues of reading. The cutest part of the whole thing was the little boy walking around in a book costume! I think the hat really completes the outfit.

Follow the jump to see more phtos.

Rest in Power, Sr. Joanne

Saying the final goodbye is always a difficult thing. Funerals are never easy. But as difficult as they are they give us a moment of closure, a moment to reflect, a moment to listen to the life of the loved one. Being away in Peru and unable to attend Sr. Joanne McGovern's funeral today, I have to make my own moment. Otherwise her death could pass without my noticing and I could miss some of the messages that she has sent me throughout the years. So I will take my moment here to find closure, to reflect, to listen to the life of Sr. Joanne.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu revisited

I've placed Turn Right at Machu by Mark Adams on the Recommended Reading/Viewing list. My father recently finished reading it as well. Here's the masscommons take on Mark Adams's work:

In language that viewers of the 1984 hit movie, Romancing The Stone, will understand, middle-aged magazine editor Mark Adams wasn’t living the life of Jack T. Colton (the swashbuckling explorer played by Michael Douglas) or Joan Wilder (the successful romance-adventure novelist who never leaves New York City, played by Kathleen Turner).  He was living the life of Gloria (no last name given), Joan Wilder’s friend who never gets closer to an adventure than editing Wilder’s books.

Or as Adams bluntly puts it in his wry, self-deprecating, informative and engaging travelogue/history, Turn Right At Machu Picchu: Rediscovering The Lost City One Step At A Time, “After years of sitting at a computer in New York and sending writers off on assignment to Kilimanjaro and Katmandu…I wanted an adventure of my own.”

Communion Bread Recipe

If you were interested in making mass bread for your own parish, here's the recipe. I use mostly white flour because it's cheaper and we're on a budget, but it still comes out well.

Weston Jesuit Communion Bread Recipe

4 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

liquid:

1/2 c. oil

3/4 c. water

3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. honey

sift dry ingredients. mix liquids in a microwavable bowl and warm until honey is thin enough to mix well with the other liquids (about 2 minutes),

Add liquids to dry

mix, then turn out onto floured surface and knead until pliable

roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut using a glass or jar

use a knife to make a cross on each host

bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 6-7 minutes at 375 degrees

JV Life: Thursday Masses

We go to mass every weekend on Saturday night. But we have a second mass each week on Thursday night. This mass is a small community mass with the religious and the volunteers of Andahuaylillas. Usual mass attendees are:

• Padre Calilo
• Hermana Rosario
• The 2 Belgian volunteers
• The 5 Jvs
• Lucia, the volunteer from Spain
• The 3 Limeño volunteers who are working at the school until August

We take turns hosting the mass. Whoever is hosting has the option of selecting readings songs. That means that each mass feels a little different.

One of the more powerful moments of the Thursday masses comes at the homily. Everyone is invited to speak, either giving a reflection on the readings or on their experience in the past week. Usually about 3 people give some sort of reflection. It's a powerful moment because the priest is sharing his power with the lay people around him, he is recognizing that people other than priests have valuable things to say, that sometimes God speaks through the laity. It strikes me as a very democratic way of doing mass.

When we host the Thursday mass, I make the communion bread using a variation of a recipe my mother found.

It's nice to have homemade bread instead of factory made crackers for the communion. It feels righter to me. This recipe also tastes better than the usual wafer hosts. But that is as it should be, receiving Jesus should be an enjoyable experience. For these two reasons I began making the bread for mass. My mother makes the bread for the Holy Thursday mass at our parish and I wanted to replicate that feeling. If feels more personal when the sacred offerings were made by people of the community.

But I never considered what it is like to be the person that made the bread. For me, this is is the most powerful aspect of the Thursday masses. Padre Calilo takes the bread that I made hours earlier with my own hands, and he blesses it. God blesses it. And when it is passed to me, it is the body of Christ. Something plain and simple that I made has become something profoundly holy. It is humbling to realize this. It is also a reminder that whatever we give to God will come back to us greater.

After mass we have a dinner. The hosts cook. We usually make something pretty simple because of our budget, but Hermana Rosario and Padre Calilo usually serve up great meals. We sit and talk, sometimes for hours, before the party breaks up and everyone goes home to get some sleep before the end of the week.

PS- Two weeks ago we had a special guest, the provincial of the Jesuits of Peru. For those of you not versed in Jesuit terminology, it means he is the regional boss of all the Jesuits in Peru. He celebrated the mass with us and surprised us at dinner when he was familiar with each of our hometowns. 

The superior is the third from the left.

Noted with Translation: Earth Day Edition

God forgives always
Man, sometimes

Nature, never

Housekeeping: JV Life Series

We've been settled into a routine for a while now. The rhythm of the week feels normal and we're into the nitty-gritty of daily service at our worksites. So I think it's a good time to focus my blogging on what JV Life in Andahuaylillas is like. If you think differently, too bad.

Living in a different country means a lot of differences. Everything, from how you eat to how you poop, is different. These little differences add up to a complicated and constantly new experience. In this series of posts you'll learn how to purify water, which vegetables get bleached, and what we eat on a daily basis. All posts on this topic will carry the new tag “JV Life” along with any other pertinent tags.

I'm most excited for Food Week. For the whole week, I'm going to take a picture of everything I eat. As one of my friends said when we were skyping, “food's a whole dimension of this experience that can be really different.” I'm taking the pictures this week, so they'll be uploaded next week. Get excited. Maybe even think about all the food you eat this week. You can take pics too and we can compare.  

Belleza por Todos Lados: Quinoa

Birthday

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes! There were a number of small celebrations to mark the occasion. 

On Friday we had cake at the parish for me and Milagros, one of the administrators, who was also born on the 11^th. Most of the parish staff was there. The sang happy birthday in English and Spanish. There's a Peruvian tradition where the birthday person has to try to taste the cake without using their hands and someone else tries to get the frosting on the birthday person's face. Jacqueline got both Milagros and I really good. Most of my beard was covered in frosting.

On Saturday we celebrated at the house. Victoria made the Hill-Driscoll family's traditional sour cream and chocolate chip cake. Victor and Martha came down from Ocongate and María came over to celebrate with us. The other JVs gave me a painting as a gift.

At Mass on Thursday Padre Calilo served a coffee liqueur to toast my health. Then Saturday I went to visit my host family. They surprised me with a gift. I don't even know they knew my birthday had passed.

I remember my birthday in Peru two years ago. It was a hard birthday. I was too focused on what I didn't have, on how far I was from home. This year I saw clearly all that I have here. I'm cared about by many people here. There is much to celebrate, not just my continued non-death, but my full life.   

The Business of Education

We interrupt our usual Peru based programming for this special angry message.

In high school, we were told "to dress appropriately for the business of education." It wasn't until a few years after I graduated that I really examined that statement. "The business of educaiton." This was the view of Boston Latin School, one of the most prestigious college prep schools in the country. Education, in this framework, isn't primarily a right, or work, or a duty. It's a business. And businesses are not primarily about goods or services, they're about making money. Reading the Boston Globe last week,* that idea is more obvious than ever.

Prominent Peruvians: Mario Vargas Lloas

If, like Victoria, you've studied Literature, you might recognize Mario Vargas Llosa as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature.

If, like me, you studied Latin America, you might recognize Mario Vargas Llosa as the man who lost the 1990 Peruvian presidential election to Alberto Fujimori, the man who would go on to become Peru's most recent dictator.

If you're like most US Americans, you have no idea who Mario Vargas Llosa is. But that's ok, because I'm going to tell you. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most prestigious novelists and essayists. He first became famous in the 60s and his biggest novel of that era was Conversation in the Cathedral. This native of Arequipa and Lima (the two biggest cities in Peru) has written novels in various genres including historical, murder mystery, political thrillers, and comedies. 

Belleza por Todos Lados: Touch the Sky

Belleza por Todos Lados: Christ's silhouette on our house

Your favorite JV's profile

Last month I wrote a profile for JVC's webpage and it just went up this week. Here it is in full.

Benjamin Moses Hill Andahuaylillas, Peru Teacher, Fe y Alegría Brandeis University 14 Major: Latin American and Latino Studies; Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies, minor Fun Fact: Worked as a baker in college at the neighborhood bakery

What drew you to JVC? God. When you really get to the heart of it, that's the answer. I was drawn by an interest in justice outside of the US. I was drawn by the desire to enter deeper into the Catholic faith, to build an adult relationship with God. I was drawn by the desire to learn what I can live without, to learn how to cut the excesses from my life to live better and have more room for people. What do you like to do in your free time and why do you enjoy doing it? I like to make music. I grew up in a house that appreciates music the way Peruvians appreciate food. I've played violin on and off for 10 years now. It's a great source of fun as well as a good companion in difficult times. My sister and my father also play instruments (viola and guitar) and playing is a fun way to spend the afternoon together. I'm hoping to write some music these next two years and record it when I get home. Who is your role model and why? If I can only answer with one person, then I pick my grandmother Nancy Gilbride Hill. She is one of the strongest women I know (the first female mayor of the town of Waterville, ME). Nannie knows what she believes and defends her beliefs articulately and passionately. She taught me to stand my ground and to speak up. Nannie is loving. She maintains a personal relationship with 10 grandchildren spread across 3 states. One of the things I respect most about her is her ability to apologize when she thinks she is in the wrong, a rare humility. Nannie taught me how to drink, how to eat a lobster, and that it is always the right time for ice cream. I hope that I can emulate Nannie's quick wit, passion, love, energy, and sharp mind in my own adult life. What do you wish other people knew about JVC? I wish people understood simple living better. It's something I'm only coming to a decent understanding of now. Simple living isn't playing at being poor. I think it is more about setting aside distractions that get in the way of a rich and fulfilling life. It's exchanging worldly wealth for spiritual/emotional wealth. Simple living is about being with people instead of being with things.

Go to http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/jvprofiles/ to see profiles of other current JVs. Jason Wolfe and Danny Zawodny are both members of my JVC class who I met last over a year ago at Discernment Weekend. 

Belleza Por Todos Lados: Busy Bee

Holy Week in Andahuaylillas

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday was celebrated the way I´m used to, with a procession and palms. We met down at the chapel on the highway, read some readings, then processed up to the parish for mass.

Palms ready to be distributed

Organizing the procession

Leaving the chapel

Processing on the pista (highway)

Follow the jump to read/see more.

Buenas Nuevas! - Good News!

This is my favorite of the songs we sang for Easter mass. The singer isn't joking around. This isn't a picture of Easter painted with the same pastel colors used to dye eggs. This is a picture of the resurrection painted with the thick, bold strokes of a Diego Rivera painting.

Still Feeling 22 (for one last day)

Just over a year ago I started working on this cover. I'm very proud of how it turned out. It's the most popular track I made last year, and I'm hopeful that it will hit 50,000 plays before it's a year old.

Even though it's got nothing to do with my Peruvian JV experience, I thought I'd post it here since today is the last day I can honestly say I'm feeling 22.



PS - I did bring my violin down here with me and I do play it often. I've embarked on the project of composing some original music to record when I'm back in the Gilbride Music Studios.

Santo Santo Santo (Holy Holy Holy)

Holy Week pictures and descriptions are in the works! But it was a lot to see and a lot to explain. In the meantime, here's a peek into what ordinary masses sound like.

We go to the mass on Saturday nights instead of Sunday mornings. That's because we like to participate in the choir. Sunday morning mass music is played on the oldest organ in Latin America. Saturday night mass is played on guitar and is more upbeat. Here's one of the Santos (Holies) that we often sing.

We don't sing nearly as beautifully, and we don't have a cajón (that box the guy is sitting on), but we do our best.

Belleza por Todos Lados: Proud Cloud at Day's End

The Pope wrote a song!

Pope Francis, former professor of literature, wrote the words and comissioned the song as a hymn for peace. The song was scored by the Argentinan musician Odino Faccia (who is kind of the unofficial songwriter for Popes). The title means "So that all may be one." The English version is in the works.

Belleza Por Todos Lados: Flowers in the way

Photo Dump: Day of Silence and Climbing a Mountain

On March 28, the Saturday before Holy Week began, I took a day of silence.

I first learned about silent retreats at JVC Orientation last July. We had a 2 day silent retreat in the middle of our program. At first I feared it would be dreadfully boring and leave me feeling very lonely. I was suspicious of silence in religious life because I come from a tradition where spirituality it expressed through making noise. But I was surprised as over the course of the two days I felt calm and refreshed. Silent retreats are a big part of Jesuit Spirituality. Jesuits have to go through a 30 day silent retreat called the Spiritual Exercises, which was designed by St. Ignatius himself. Silence helps us to shut up and listen, because God shouts only rarely. In general, Big G prefers to whisper. So by seeking silence, it can become easier to hear that voice.

For me, tiring exercise like long runs or hikes helps me to empty my mind of all the stresses, voices, and distractions. It's a good way for me to get in touch with myself and with God. So my silent retreat on Saturday focused hiking up one of the mountains next to the town. The hike was stunningly beautiful. While I've saved a few pictures for Belleza por Todos Lados posts, I'm putting most of them here to better knit the images together.

Celebrate!

I thought I'd throw back for a minute to the Easter mornings when the Kids in Christ sang:

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

Risen truly as he said.

Alleluia, alleluia!