It's a Wild World

Now that I've lost everything to you
You say you wanna start something new
And it's breakin' my heart you're leavin'
Baby, I'm grievin'
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
and I'll always remember you like a child, girl

You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
And it's breakin' my heart in two
Because I never wanna see you sad, girl
Don't be a bad girl
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware

-Cat Stevens

________________________________________

So here I am, finally in the big NYC.
I spent my first week in Nyack, NY at orientation and though it was a good week, I was very ready for the transition into my new home.

Even so, training was wonderful. Immediately (or immediately after I got over my initial social awkwardness) I was put at ease by the fact that the people I am surrounded by are extremely genuine, good people. They are not the over the top RA type, just good, wonderful, passionate people who are here to do good. There were 16 of us at training, 7 of us who are serving in NYC, 3 in New Jersey, 2 in Los Angeles, 1 in Cusco, Peru and 3 other from an organization called Cabrini Mission Corps. GSVolunteers 2008-2009


We spent the week talking about many things, but much of our time was spent on the four tenets of Good Shepherd Volunteers: social justice, spirituality, community and simplicity.

When it comes to social justice, I think this is a no brainer. This is everyday. This is going to be life here. I will be working with Handcrafting Justice and living this...for me, this is the most simple of the four tenets.

Spirituality: Well, this is a Catholic organization, and the good news is that they certainly have their shit together. The handful of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd that I have met are some of the most wonderful, open minded passionate people I have ever met. This order is dedicated to serving internationally to women and children who are marginalized. They are in 70 some nations and they just seem to "get it." As for our daily life, committing to this tenet means exploring not only our faith, but others and learning and sharing that with each other.

Community: 7 people, 6 of them women...this may be interesting. The good news is that we have plenty of room here....Part of the commitment we made was to live in intentional community. This means that these are not just people who I say "hey" to when I see them in the kitchen in the morning, but people who I share my life with and who I support and who support me. It may be interesting, but when else will I have 6 people who have to deal with me, regardless of how nutso I go?

Simplicity: This may be the most challenging of the four tenets. $100/month for food. $100 a month for personal use. That breaks down to $6 a day....In New York City. Interesting though it may be, I am excited for the challenge and the opportunity to live in solidarity with those who struggle to make ends meet, because in my own fortunate circumstances, I have never had to worry about such things.

So, those are the four tenets for this year...for those of you on the outside looking into this experience, I ask that you support me in these because it may be a challenge. This may mean listening to me complain about the difficulties of community life or buying something from the Handcrafting Justice website. It may mean buying fair trade coffee and if you are one of the few who will make the trip to the big city, it will mean keeping in mind that I will not be able to afford many things you may want to do around the city, and maybe treating me to dinner ;).

So here I am, at the beginning of another adventure, and if there is one thing that I am sure of, it's that it is a wild world, and though a lot of things are bad, I am going to get by on a
smile....and a whole lot of love.















City Buildings from Bryant Park







Hannah and I in Central Park