Day 2 CR – Church, interactions and architecture

I loved that the center of town had a large church with open aired doors that hung open from 3 sides.  The ceiling was made of 12 precious woods all collected, hand cut and varnished by our host Edwin’s family. They had many years ago donated the wood and over time the ceiling had began to wear down and Edwin’s grandfather made him promise to replace the ceiling.  His father passed away in 1991 and by 1995 he fulfilled his promise and once again his family replaced the ceiling of the church.  The service reminded me of a similar service you would see in a catholic mass in Canada with many of the same rituals.  I enjoyed the beautiful music that was sometimes sung by an individual and other times a group or by the congregation.  There were no hymnals so they must have learned these hymns by heart.  I found myself in my own prayer during the time of the actual sermon, somewhat lulled by the intonations of the Spanish tongue.  I prayed for my family, this experience in life and for reconfirming my faith in the path my life and those closest to me were taking. I hoped to come out of this experience with some new ideas, thoughts, views and openness to the world. Following the service we headed over to Edwin’s house for a lunch which some of our class assisted in making. During the preparation some of us lounged in his living room area and others on the porch. It was a slow and relaxed pace that involved some laughs and reflections.  Lunch was bbq chicken, zucchini dish, salad with beans and rice.  I was very happy to sit with Edwin for lunch and a classmate Andrew.  He spoke of his life as an ambassador to Canada with me.  He cherished these years in Ottawa and had made many good friends.  He lived for a period in a building for diplomats and then made friends with one from Quebec who owned a beautiful house in a very prestigious neighbourhood in Gatineau and who gave him the rental for next to nothing.  The minute he moved in, the neighbours came to him and said they were having a party with him at his house or one of the neighbours houses and that he could bring the wine.  With his connections he was able to get the wine at a very discounted rate and so he had been nominated to bring the wine to every party.  One such party involved his birthday and he decided to bring something special and showed up with 20 bottles of Dom Perignon.  That was a birthday to remember.  After his 4 year stay in Canada, he still remained friends with a few of the neighbours he spent a lot of time with. Edwin also reflected on one of his adopted sons who lives currently in Vancouver with his wife. Edwin started an organization with professionals that created hubs of foster care that eventually spread across the country with people with more means supporting these children.  That is how he met his son. He had a difficult time in his adoption with his son as the father wouldn’t relinquish his rights to the child even though he didn’t have anything to do with him.  Edwin refused to buy a child and so asked the government how he could adopt him with his papers.  Through much efforts he was able to adopt his son. Edwin saw the needs and created solutions.  

I found Edwin’s values of compassion, caring for the less fortunate, giving back to organizations that mattered to the people and building economies from the ground up that reflect local values and needs resonated with all his stories and experiences.  I have found people to be friendly, happy and welcoming.  The architecture reflects the environment and resources that are available.  At first, some of the homes looked poor but as we moved through the neighbourhoods a few times, I have come to realize that they are not necessarily poor but a reflection of the environment and it fills the needs that they have.  One example is much of the outdoor structure of a home.  The homes are not closed up and much of it appears to be additions that are open and less built out.  This open structure fills the needs of the weather and likely keeps the rooms cool.  I am looking forward to the home visits in the poorer area of Athenas and to reflect on what differences I will see there.