If there’s one thing I seem to constantly need to remind myself of in life, it is of perspective.
Last week I was up just after dawn and out until late afternoon, helping teaching swimming lessons in La Boquilla (a beach-locale volunteer site), in the ocean. Friday I accompanied my future teachers to the white sand beaches of Playa Blanca, which ended up being a truly all-day affair. And Saturday Blanca, Sarah, and I visited Paul and Mike D on the island site, Caño del Oro. I was so ready for Sunday and the chance to have nothing to do.
And then the nothing to do didn’t end. And Christmas was suddenly almost here. And everyone seemed busy with their own lives. And I was able to get away without washing my hair almost the whole week because I had nothing to leave the house for. Basically I was bored and feeling pitiful and lonely during my favorite holiday, which I was hoping to let pass with little pomp or circumstance.
Team Tiburones (Sharks)!
Playa Blanca
Blanca, Paul, and Sarah, at the island.
Exploring the old buildings/former leper colony.
Catching alternate transportation home.
And then I was reminded that life is life. It’s easy to get wrapped up in our own problems and forget the world outside – to forget that both the people we love most and the strangers in the street are dealing with the ups and downs as well. Our stresses, failures, heartaches, joys, they might look different, but the feelings are the same.
I finally got out of the house today. Blanca and I went to a gift-giving/information session put on by the organization Amigos Positivos and the Cruz Roja. I learned more about the organization, which works to inform the population on safe sex practices, creating safe spaces for the LGBT community, and healthy choices for people living with HIV/AIDS, and education in general. So I spent my morning with a group of mothers and their children, all HIV+.
A reminder on perspective.
Children receiving gifts from Amigos Positivos.
And then, while we were waiting to meet up with other volunteers in the Centro to get lunch, I saw a man almost jump from the roof of a building. Luckily the fire department/police tackled him down and drug him off the roof.
A double dose of perspective. In the face of children who will live their lives with the stigma of HIV/AIDS and a person who, for whatever reason, was ready to end their own life, I really haven’t much to cry about.
Because I seem to have an over-abundance of love in my life (even when I hit the bumps in the road and everything makes me miserable), I bought a string of lights and turned on the Christmas music. A forced change of perspective.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Colombia –
Sarah
From Colombia with Love 