I finally quote Nouwen!

As some of you now, I brought with me the book Gracias by the Dutch priest Henri Nouwen, which is a journal of his reflections as he traveled for six months through Bolivia and Peru in 1980-81 trying to decide if God was calling him to live in that part of the world. I LOVE this book because he describes and analyzes the places he visits from not only political, social, and economic perspectives, but from a spiritual perspective as well, which I think is often overlooked by many. Anyway, I find his writing on these countries penetrating and true, and I would like to share some thoughts on it. Here is a quote from my friend Anna, who is serving for a year in Peru through the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Young Adult Volunteer program, of her thoughts on a passage from him:

The other day a new found friend asked me whether I felt uncomfortable walking around the city because of the unwanted attention. I told her that for me, uncomfortable was just the new comfortable. The truth is, in just one year of living here, I won’t manage to blend in – I look different, I sound different, and I have different cultural norms. The beauty of this, however, is that it’s okay. The common bind of humanity is far greater than our differences. In the words of Dutch priest Henri Nouwen, “it is good to be and especially to be one of many. What counts are not the special and unique accomplishments in life that make me different from others, but the basic experiences of sadness and joy, pain and healing, which make me a part of humanity.” He wrote these words while living Peru. Here in Peru, I, too, have found people with whom I can laugh, tell secrets, contemplate the state of the world and of God, and share dreams.

These words, both Nouwen's and Anna's, resonated deeply with me the first time I read them. I seem to always go through a period at the start of a journey in a new place where "sticking out" bothers me, and I want to fit in. After a while, though, I learn to ignore the stares and accept my "difference." Of course, it is possible to recognize in any country, including one's own, that "what counts" are the parts of ourselves that we share with all human beings, but it is easier to recognize this when you are in a foreign setting where a common culture is absent and those deeper threads of humanity are the only things that you share with the people around you. I think back to an interview with the lead singer of the group Rupa and the April Fishes who said, when talking about patients she saw in the hospital, that she recognized the similarities she shared with them: "we all bleed, we all grieve, we all cry [paraphrased]." Though people appear very different in other parts of the world, everyone shares some basic human traits.

Short blog post today. Tomorrow morning I am off to the airport after a last-minute change of plans to try to get a ticket to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. A cousin of one of Katie's housemates is also going there on her way to Argentina, which provoked my decision. I will stay there for a few days, see my friend Allyn (who was at the congress) and then come back through Cochabamba to La Paz.

Also: my pictures have captions, now! Click on the link under "About Me" on the right.