A friend said recently that we needn’t give this woman any more attention than she’s already getting because it’s not worth it. I wholeheartedly agree. My only comment is this: I know deep inside my heart that this is like one of those situations where it all just feels like a bad dream. Tomorrow, we’re all going to wake up and on Good Morning America Diane is going to tell us, “Wow, now here’s something you won’t believe… apparently they were just kidding! According to a statement released by the GOP this morning, the mention of her as his Vice Presidential nominee was meant as a joke! Wow, I mean, a lot of us commentators were a bit curious as to how she managed to swing that nomination and I must say, I’m a bit relieved that this was all just an attempt by the GOP to throw us for a loop! Imagine if a man who’d been in politics for that long, surrounded by so many intelligent advisors had really picked that person to run with!” And then they’d all start cracking up, as would we all as we watched. Perhaps they’d interview her and she’d be sitting there with some dead animal and a big ole smile saying, “Well, it was a fun couple of weeks, I must say!”
It’s been interesting to look at all of this from the perspective I have here, usually getting my news a few weeks (or months) late from Newsweek. What’s been even more interesting for me to realize is how very little I care about it. In 2004 I was very charged, prepped to support my man (even buying buttons and a tee-shirt) and inevitably crying when I watched his concession speech, being unable to imagine a world in which prezzy would be allowed to continue for 4 more years. But now… I’m here, and maybe it’s just that my priorities have shifted or that I can’t imagine a world in which our guys don’t win or it’s just a result of being so isolated or I know my vote (as he is my senator and I am voting absentee) won’t be counted or it’s DC withdrawal or something else... Who knows. But I really don’t care nearly as much as I used to. I feel no charge when I get a chance to watch CNN. I feel no anger when the maverick says his shpeal or righteousness when the Senator fights back. Perhaps it’s this: I’ve learned here that although it has to be dealt with, BS gets you nowhere, but in the world of US politics, when it’s coming out of these men (and women) left and right, I’m just too tired. We’re supposed to be educated; we’re supposed to be civil; we’re supposed to be the leaders of the free world. To spend so much time talking about beauty pageants and lipstick and unwed mothers and voting based on sex or race… it’s too tiring. These conversations on TV, the web, the radio, in print, they aren’t any more educated than a room full of pre-teens talking about the latest gossip in their grade.
So, perhaps it’s pretty great to be so isolated, so I can just bypass all of the ridiculousness.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
One Year
The clock has just struck midnight on September 13th. That means that I have been in this country for exactly one year. Wow.
The thing I have to always say about being one year into this is that it is really only a personal thing because as far as my work is concerned, I won’t really be a year in until the end of November which marks a year from being sworn in/going to my site. And even then, I didn’t start my real work here until February once I’d finished my community diagnostic…
But even so, I suppose it’s a milestone. Plus, look how long my hair has gotten!
So, it’s been a year without stepping foot on US soil. I’ve gotten a taste for some of the little things from back home while being here… hot showers at a resort I stayed at with the fam a few weeks ago, CNN just about any time I go to Santiago or to the capital, McDonalds about that often (if I want it), Coca Cola (I could have it on a daily basis if I really wanted)… But still, there are some things I haven’t had in a year. I’m not going to say for each of these if I truly miss them or if it’s just interesting for me (and possibly for you too) to consider going a year without them…
-Lou Malnati’s
-Potbellies
-Chipotle
-Hackney’s
-Starbucks
-the Dairy Bar
-MSNBC
-The Washington Post
-Benny, my puppy
-the metro
-pantyhose
-flowers
-stuffed animals
-Monopoly
-a decent produce department
-my mom’s California roll
-tennis
-floating in an inner tube
-fall
-winter
-spring
-too many birthdays
-high heels
-radio in English
-commuting
-Halloween candy, Thanksgiving leftovers, Christmas shopping, Valentine’s silliness, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter eggs, July 4th fireworks
-standardized tests
-coats during the day
-blankets at bedtime
-bratwurst
-Target
-Old Navy
-warm laundry
-Border’s
-coupons and discount cards
-throw pillows on couches
-fireplaces
-mini golf
-celebrity sightings (except the American Ambassador and the former DR VP)
-AIM
-Frango Mints
And now, an interesting quote from a song I happened to be listening to while I wrote this blog:
“I miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms. I miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world. I miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog, and my home.”
(I also miss my brothers, and friends.)
And now that day has ended. It was a great day. Let me tell you all about it.
Well, I slept in until 10 because I couldn’t get to sleep last night… I typed my blog and listened to music and rolled around in bed a bit because of the Coca Cola I had much too close to bed time. I cleaned my cabinets which were a mess (termites, rat poop, bits of plastic from food containers that had been chewed open while I was away on storm time), then took Lina for a walk of the community. We stopped at the house where I leave her when I’m away, one of her favorite hangouts. Well, it became one of mine too. I hadn’t known it before today but the woman who lives there is a fabulous conversationalist and we spent a few hours just chatting, which was lovely. She informed me that the cell phone tower that they are building a town over from me is scheduled to be completed in 2 days! I couldn’t believe it and am trying hard not to get my hopes up. It’s hard though… you all know how badly I wish I had signal.
After that I cooked lunch for myself (teriyaki rice with corn, very yummy-thanks Stephanie for showing me how) and watched DVDs for a bit. Before long I was summoned by some little girls (ages 5-9) who invited me to the evangelical church where they were going to put on skits about drugs and HIV. They were adorable, getting all dramatic with their “drug use” and then seeing the light as soon as someone suggested they follow Jesus and stop using drugs. They danced around singing about how happy they were to be “born again.” The one about HIV was interesting… apparently the girl with HIV didn’t have enough money for the “operation” so the other girls went to prostitute themselves for the money. Well all their effort was for nothing because she died of shock after learning what they had done. A bit more of a downer, but it still worked.
Bucket bath (though if I’d gotten in there around 4!! it could have been with the tap, [yeah storms bringing tons of water to the aqueduct!] which I found out was built by Trujillo as a thank you for using the beach town near me as a base L) and then some visitors. Four of the kids from my youth group came over to talk about the new group we’re going to form in the town nearby. They are thrilled and totally prepared to give the sessions, even the one on body parts! They are so mature and grown up. I told them it was my one year anniversary of getting here and after cheering for me they asked me if they ever did anything that bothered me. It was unnecessary to ask (I would never single anyone out, obviously) but it was nice to know that they are aware that being here and doing this isn’t always the easiest job. It was nice to just sit around and shoot the shit with them… I wish it was the only thing I ever had to do here.
Then a little girl came over to play and ended up being adorable and looking at books with me. She is so curious and really wants to learn about everything (she seriously spent the entire time she was here asking me questions, which amazingly didn’t get annoying.) While she was getting ready to leave just after the lights went out for the first time in about 3 days(!!!!), some other kids came over to buy condoms, one more reminder that I serve a purpose here, and I’m thrilled.
All in all, it was a fantastic one year anniversary.
The thing I have to always say about being one year into this is that it is really only a personal thing because as far as my work is concerned, I won’t really be a year in until the end of November which marks a year from being sworn in/going to my site. And even then, I didn’t start my real work here until February once I’d finished my community diagnostic…
But even so, I suppose it’s a milestone. Plus, look how long my hair has gotten!
So, it’s been a year without stepping foot on US soil. I’ve gotten a taste for some of the little things from back home while being here… hot showers at a resort I stayed at with the fam a few weeks ago, CNN just about any time I go to Santiago or to the capital, McDonalds about that often (if I want it), Coca Cola (I could have it on a daily basis if I really wanted)… But still, there are some things I haven’t had in a year. I’m not going to say for each of these if I truly miss them or if it’s just interesting for me (and possibly for you too) to consider going a year without them…
-Lou Malnati’s
-Potbellies
-Chipotle
-Hackney’s
-Starbucks
-the Dairy Bar
-MSNBC
-The Washington Post
-Benny, my puppy
-the metro
-pantyhose
-flowers
-stuffed animals
-Monopoly
-a decent produce department
-my mom’s California roll
-tennis
-floating in an inner tube
-fall
-winter
-spring
-too many birthdays
-high heels
-radio in English
-commuting
-Halloween candy, Thanksgiving leftovers, Christmas shopping, Valentine’s silliness, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter eggs, July 4th fireworks
-standardized tests
-coats during the day
-blankets at bedtime
-bratwurst
-Target
-Old Navy
-warm laundry
-Border’s
-coupons and discount cards
-throw pillows on couches
-fireplaces
-mini golf
-celebrity sightings (except the American Ambassador and the former DR VP)
-AIM
-Frango Mints
And now, an interesting quote from a song I happened to be listening to while I wrote this blog:
“I miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms. I miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world. I miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog, and my home.”
(I also miss my brothers, and friends.)
And now that day has ended. It was a great day. Let me tell you all about it.
Well, I slept in until 10 because I couldn’t get to sleep last night… I typed my blog and listened to music and rolled around in bed a bit because of the Coca Cola I had much too close to bed time. I cleaned my cabinets which were a mess (termites, rat poop, bits of plastic from food containers that had been chewed open while I was away on storm time), then took Lina for a walk of the community. We stopped at the house where I leave her when I’m away, one of her favorite hangouts. Well, it became one of mine too. I hadn’t known it before today but the woman who lives there is a fabulous conversationalist and we spent a few hours just chatting, which was lovely. She informed me that the cell phone tower that they are building a town over from me is scheduled to be completed in 2 days! I couldn’t believe it and am trying hard not to get my hopes up. It’s hard though… you all know how badly I wish I had signal.
After that I cooked lunch for myself (teriyaki rice with corn, very yummy-thanks Stephanie for showing me how) and watched DVDs for a bit. Before long I was summoned by some little girls (ages 5-9) who invited me to the evangelical church where they were going to put on skits about drugs and HIV. They were adorable, getting all dramatic with their “drug use” and then seeing the light as soon as someone suggested they follow Jesus and stop using drugs. They danced around singing about how happy they were to be “born again.” The one about HIV was interesting… apparently the girl with HIV didn’t have enough money for the “operation” so the other girls went to prostitute themselves for the money. Well all their effort was for nothing because she died of shock after learning what they had done. A bit more of a downer, but it still worked.
Bucket bath (though if I’d gotten in there around 4!! it could have been with the tap, [yeah storms bringing tons of water to the aqueduct!] which I found out was built by Trujillo as a thank you for using the beach town near me as a base L) and then some visitors. Four of the kids from my youth group came over to talk about the new group we’re going to form in the town nearby. They are thrilled and totally prepared to give the sessions, even the one on body parts! They are so mature and grown up. I told them it was my one year anniversary of getting here and after cheering for me they asked me if they ever did anything that bothered me. It was unnecessary to ask (I would never single anyone out, obviously) but it was nice to know that they are aware that being here and doing this isn’t always the easiest job. It was nice to just sit around and shoot the shit with them… I wish it was the only thing I ever had to do here.
Then a little girl came over to play and ended up being adorable and looking at books with me. She is so curious and really wants to learn about everything (she seriously spent the entire time she was here asking me questions, which amazingly didn’t get annoying.) While she was getting ready to leave just after the lights went out for the first time in about 3 days(!!!!), some other kids came over to buy condoms, one more reminder that I serve a purpose here, and I’m thrilled.
All in all, it was a fantastic one year anniversary.
Lucky
Obviously Chicago is good for me. But, I’m pretty sure I’m good for it too.
Now, I’m not going to say that I’m inherently lucky and write a blog all about how I know that it’s true. What I am going to do is present a theory. You see, a few weeks ago I watched a football game of the Bears vs. the Colts, their challengers in Super Bowl 2007. The Bears won.
Today I heard something playing (in English!) at my neighbors as I walked by while doing errands. I thought it sounded like a Cubs game and went to check; the Cubs were losing to the Milwaukee Brewers, in the bottom of the 9th 6-3. Well, I knew it wasn’t over, though my neighbor told me “they’re losing,” with the tone like he was warning me not to get my hopes up. Of course, Soto went and scored a home run, getting 3 more runs for the Cubbies. Was it a miracle? Or was it a direct result of the fact that I had sat down to watch the game not moments before?
So, into a 10th, 11th and 12th inning the game went. No runs followed by more no runs. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, another miracle: Cubbies win!
Except, it’s not a miracle. After 100 years of waiting for it, Cubs fans are going to get theirs. I feel it. It’s coming. And if it doesn’t, we can blame a new curse, the curse of President Bush.
And just like in the fall of 2005 (when the White Sox won), I won’t be in the country to celebrate.
In work related news, we had our first meeting for the new youth group in the town one over from us, last night. It went really well. 3 kids from here gave the whole talk, activities, teaching, all of it and they did a pretty solid job. They were very valiant to be the first to do it, but everyone else is thrilled for their opportunities. (They can’t believe that some of them have to wait a few weeks to give their talks! Success!) I was expecting a lot more kids to show up than did, we had around 30 (which is the size of the group in my town of about 450 people, whereas this other town is probably a few thousand people) but I’m sure more will come as word of mouth spreads how awesome it is. And that’s just the thing, I’m SO positive that I’m not the only one who thinks this group is awesome… these kids are thrilled to be involved, so enthusiastic and I love that! It warms my soul. My biggest hope (and thing I’m most sure of as well) is that this will be my most sustainable project I work on here. The English classes were obviously a huge failure, and the classes with the women (nutrition and now First Aid) aren’t going nearly as well, mostly because the women aren’t as enthusiastic or dedicated. So, way to go kids!
Now, I’m not going to say that I’m inherently lucky and write a blog all about how I know that it’s true. What I am going to do is present a theory. You see, a few weeks ago I watched a football game of the Bears vs. the Colts, their challengers in Super Bowl 2007. The Bears won.
Today I heard something playing (in English!) at my neighbors as I walked by while doing errands. I thought it sounded like a Cubs game and went to check; the Cubs were losing to the Milwaukee Brewers, in the bottom of the 9th 6-3. Well, I knew it wasn’t over, though my neighbor told me “they’re losing,” with the tone like he was warning me not to get my hopes up. Of course, Soto went and scored a home run, getting 3 more runs for the Cubbies. Was it a miracle? Or was it a direct result of the fact that I had sat down to watch the game not moments before?
So, into a 10th, 11th and 12th inning the game went. No runs followed by more no runs. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, another miracle: Cubbies win!
Except, it’s not a miracle. After 100 years of waiting for it, Cubs fans are going to get theirs. I feel it. It’s coming. And if it doesn’t, we can blame a new curse, the curse of President Bush.
And just like in the fall of 2005 (when the White Sox won), I won’t be in the country to celebrate.
In work related news, we had our first meeting for the new youth group in the town one over from us, last night. It went really well. 3 kids from here gave the whole talk, activities, teaching, all of it and they did a pretty solid job. They were very valiant to be the first to do it, but everyone else is thrilled for their opportunities. (They can’t believe that some of them have to wait a few weeks to give their talks! Success!) I was expecting a lot more kids to show up than did, we had around 30 (which is the size of the group in my town of about 450 people, whereas this other town is probably a few thousand people) but I’m sure more will come as word of mouth spreads how awesome it is. And that’s just the thing, I’m SO positive that I’m not the only one who thinks this group is awesome… these kids are thrilled to be involved, so enthusiastic and I love that! It warms my soul. My biggest hope (and thing I’m most sure of as well) is that this will be my most sustainable project I work on here. The English classes were obviously a huge failure, and the classes with the women (nutrition and now First Aid) aren’t going nearly as well, mostly because the women aren’t as enthusiastic or dedicated. So, way to go kids!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike
Are the names of the storms that have in some way affected at least the north coast of the DR.
Fay hit on the day before my family flew home and left just about as quickly as it came in.
Gustav was a bit bigger and I was apparently supposed to have stayed in my site (but I was unaware that Peace Corps had even called the "standfast" warning since I was in my site.) I saw lots of lightening and we had some rain off and on for a few days.
Hanna hit hard, and hit twice. I was in the capital for it and predicted it wouldn't be a problem again the day after it first came. But of course, it came back for another whammy. As a result of heavy rains over much of the country and the impending Ike, we were all standfasted in the capital.
Ike is coming, and I got permission to move north to Santiago to be consolidated at a safe hotel instead of being standfasted in the capital. We'll see what it brings but for right now it looks like a very strong storm that will stay pretty far north of the island.
Luckily, none of these storms has done much damage to my site (although the region just 1 town over from my town, Monti Cristi did suffer some damage.) I won't be able to see my site with my own eyes until Monday to see what Hanna and Ike brought.
I am safe and keeping positive! I'll let you know what happens!
Fay hit on the day before my family flew home and left just about as quickly as it came in.
Gustav was a bit bigger and I was apparently supposed to have stayed in my site (but I was unaware that Peace Corps had even called the "standfast" warning since I was in my site.) I saw lots of lightening and we had some rain off and on for a few days.
Hanna hit hard, and hit twice. I was in the capital for it and predicted it wouldn't be a problem again the day after it first came. But of course, it came back for another whammy. As a result of heavy rains over much of the country and the impending Ike, we were all standfasted in the capital.
Ike is coming, and I got permission to move north to Santiago to be consolidated at a safe hotel instead of being standfasted in the capital. We'll see what it brings but for right now it looks like a very strong storm that will stay pretty far north of the island.
Luckily, none of these storms has done much damage to my site (although the region just 1 town over from my town, Monti Cristi did suffer some damage.) I won't be able to see my site with my own eyes until Monday to see what Hanna and Ike brought.
I am safe and keeping positive! I'll let you know what happens!
Monday, September 1, 2008
The E True Hollywood Story of PCV E. Plewa
The day of the 25th of August started out like it would be just like any other day in the site of PCV and Van Morrison enthusiast E. Plewa.
“I remember I’d received some word that it might rain and I was thrilled when it did-it really helps to cool stuff off,” E. Plewa related in an August interview.
But cool off it would not. No, things were about to get quite hot in the town where she lived.
“I was scheduled to give a talk to my youth group about violence. I had no intentions of giving them a live demonstration.”
But despite her best intentions, at the end of the meeting, a civilized, very well-organized activity to keep the teens busy and having fun went terribly wrong. Some teens began the activity indoors while others waited outside. Some of the ones inside were circling the room stopping every once in a while to go down the “Love Train” (the name of the activity) passing a kiss on the cheek to the next participant until they reached the last person who simply got a little slap on the cheek. The activity was meant to be funny; a person leans in for a kiss and unexpectedly gets a quick slap to the face.
“What I didn’t realize before trying the activity in my town was that the whole reason the activity worked when I saw it performed quite successfully at a youth conference a few months earlier was because the kids there hardly knew one another and as a result weren’t about to slap one another with any force.”
But as the activity continued, the teens really started to get into it. One girl slapped a teen we’ll call Alfie to protect his identity, with a bit of force which this PCV took as a just one more example of Alfie’s tendency to get picked on. But she wasn’t too worried-
“When *** slapped Alfie with so much force I was of course startled a bit, but since *** is such good friends with Alfie and he tends to be the one to get lovingly made fun of, I didn’t take it too seriously.”
That, she would later look back on, as her biggest mistake of this ordeal.
“I should have told *** she shouldn’t have slapped Alfie so hard and told Alfie not to do the same to the next participant.”
Meanwhile, an unsuspecting teen girl waited in the doorway to be called in to participate. She assumed her position at the end of the line and when it came time for her “kiss” she leaned in and got an extremely powerful slap from the hand of a friend of hers, Alfie.
“I couldn’t believe what had just happened in front of my eyes, under my supervision.”
The teen girl bent over in pain, putting her hand to her face, covering her eye very delicately.
“In a situation like that, when fire just breaks out, and no one knows what to do, and you’re the one in charge, it can take a minute to react. I went to her side and started to stroke her back and head, asking if she was alright. I was obviously concerned for her, turning my back momentarily to Alfie and the rest of the group.”
With her back turned, the situation soon turned chaotic. Teens went off to different places all around the meeting room, some concerned for the girl, others reacting to themselves or with their friends, and a few even chasing after Alfie with hands waving wildly, some even began striking him.
“I left her side as soon as I saw what was happening to him. My worst nightmares of what could happen to him because of his sexuality and other differences came to mind and I flew to his side immediately.”
If things hadn’t steamed up enough, the PCV then screamed at everyone to sit down, trying to get a hold on the group.
“I just wanted everyone to sit down and give me their attention. I was sure she was going to be fine; it was probably more shock at being hit so hard by her friend than pain that she was feeling. I just knew if I could get everyone to sit, I’d come up with some way to handle this.”
While she thought it over, eventually the group settled down. Finally she knew what she was going to do.
“I told them that I was guilty for something and needed a chance to explain myself. I explained to the teenagers why I thought the activity worked at the conference and not here was because people were too shy to really make the slap hurt at all. Then I explained that it was my fault that I let the slaps escalate among the participants to get to be so strong to where it hurt. I apologized to her and turned to Alfie saying, obviously she is one of Alfie’s best friends and this was just an accident.”
But then the night took a very interesting turn. Alfie didn’t respond to the comment when PCV Plewa addressed him.
“I couldn’t believe he wasn’t saying anything. He is one of my closest friends here and I was standing there taking the heat for that and he wasn’t agreeing with me that she is one of his closest friends! Before I could even contemplate that maybe they aren’t as good friends as I thought, I turned again to the group and assured them that he’d agreed with what I’d said. I apologized once again and moved on to another topic. Then I gave her a huge handful of candy.”
Luckily, Alfie later approached the girl to apologize and she forgave him.
So, seriously now, this was a shocking night. I couldn’t believe he did it and spent a lot of time thinking over what could have motivated him to do something so reckless in front of a crowd of his peers, any one of whom could kick his ass, and most importantly, to one of his closest friends. The fact that this is “Alfie” I’m talking about here I decided has everything do with it. He gets hassled by everyone here, all the time, even his close friends for being different. No one has come out and said it, but I’m pretty sure Alfie is gay, and I think that most of the community thinks so too. In another activity I did with them a few weeks ago where everyone had to sit on each other’s laps to form a big, seated circle, no one would stand next to him so they didn’t have to have him on their lap or sit on his. That was when it first became blaringly obvious to me how badly they mistreat him.
After this whole incident with the slapping, my project partner, at whose home we hang out a lot (and were at last night) told me another story. Apparently after I went home last night all of the kids still there left Alfie laying sound asleep on a bed outside of the house, removing the light bulb from the socket above the bed. When my project partner came home later that evening she couldn’t see over to the bed (because the light was out) and so went to bed not knowing he was there. He apparently woke up around 3AM and went home getting into an extreme amount of trouble.
So, was he just fed up and saw a chance to blow off some steam and took it with a vengeance? I think so. So, what do I do.
“I remember I’d received some word that it might rain and I was thrilled when it did-it really helps to cool stuff off,” E. Plewa related in an August interview.
But cool off it would not. No, things were about to get quite hot in the town where she lived.
“I was scheduled to give a talk to my youth group about violence. I had no intentions of giving them a live demonstration.”
But despite her best intentions, at the end of the meeting, a civilized, very well-organized activity to keep the teens busy and having fun went terribly wrong. Some teens began the activity indoors while others waited outside. Some of the ones inside were circling the room stopping every once in a while to go down the “Love Train” (the name of the activity) passing a kiss on the cheek to the next participant until they reached the last person who simply got a little slap on the cheek. The activity was meant to be funny; a person leans in for a kiss and unexpectedly gets a quick slap to the face.
“What I didn’t realize before trying the activity in my town was that the whole reason the activity worked when I saw it performed quite successfully at a youth conference a few months earlier was because the kids there hardly knew one another and as a result weren’t about to slap one another with any force.”
But as the activity continued, the teens really started to get into it. One girl slapped a teen we’ll call Alfie to protect his identity, with a bit of force which this PCV took as a just one more example of Alfie’s tendency to get picked on. But she wasn’t too worried-
“When *** slapped Alfie with so much force I was of course startled a bit, but since *** is such good friends with Alfie and he tends to be the one to get lovingly made fun of, I didn’t take it too seriously.”
That, she would later look back on, as her biggest mistake of this ordeal.
“I should have told *** she shouldn’t have slapped Alfie so hard and told Alfie not to do the same to the next participant.”
Meanwhile, an unsuspecting teen girl waited in the doorway to be called in to participate. She assumed her position at the end of the line and when it came time for her “kiss” she leaned in and got an extremely powerful slap from the hand of a friend of hers, Alfie.
“I couldn’t believe what had just happened in front of my eyes, under my supervision.”
The teen girl bent over in pain, putting her hand to her face, covering her eye very delicately.
“In a situation like that, when fire just breaks out, and no one knows what to do, and you’re the one in charge, it can take a minute to react. I went to her side and started to stroke her back and head, asking if she was alright. I was obviously concerned for her, turning my back momentarily to Alfie and the rest of the group.”
With her back turned, the situation soon turned chaotic. Teens went off to different places all around the meeting room, some concerned for the girl, others reacting to themselves or with their friends, and a few even chasing after Alfie with hands waving wildly, some even began striking him.
“I left her side as soon as I saw what was happening to him. My worst nightmares of what could happen to him because of his sexuality and other differences came to mind and I flew to his side immediately.”
If things hadn’t steamed up enough, the PCV then screamed at everyone to sit down, trying to get a hold on the group.
“I just wanted everyone to sit down and give me their attention. I was sure she was going to be fine; it was probably more shock at being hit so hard by her friend than pain that she was feeling. I just knew if I could get everyone to sit, I’d come up with some way to handle this.”
While she thought it over, eventually the group settled down. Finally she knew what she was going to do.
“I told them that I was guilty for something and needed a chance to explain myself. I explained to the teenagers why I thought the activity worked at the conference and not here was because people were too shy to really make the slap hurt at all. Then I explained that it was my fault that I let the slaps escalate among the participants to get to be so strong to where it hurt. I apologized to her and turned to Alfie saying, obviously she is one of Alfie’s best friends and this was just an accident.”
But then the night took a very interesting turn. Alfie didn’t respond to the comment when PCV Plewa addressed him.
“I couldn’t believe he wasn’t saying anything. He is one of my closest friends here and I was standing there taking the heat for that and he wasn’t agreeing with me that she is one of his closest friends! Before I could even contemplate that maybe they aren’t as good friends as I thought, I turned again to the group and assured them that he’d agreed with what I’d said. I apologized once again and moved on to another topic. Then I gave her a huge handful of candy.”
Luckily, Alfie later approached the girl to apologize and she forgave him.
So, seriously now, this was a shocking night. I couldn’t believe he did it and spent a lot of time thinking over what could have motivated him to do something so reckless in front of a crowd of his peers, any one of whom could kick his ass, and most importantly, to one of his closest friends. The fact that this is “Alfie” I’m talking about here I decided has everything do with it. He gets hassled by everyone here, all the time, even his close friends for being different. No one has come out and said it, but I’m pretty sure Alfie is gay, and I think that most of the community thinks so too. In another activity I did with them a few weeks ago where everyone had to sit on each other’s laps to form a big, seated circle, no one would stand next to him so they didn’t have to have him on their lap or sit on his. That was when it first became blaringly obvious to me how badly they mistreat him.
After this whole incident with the slapping, my project partner, at whose home we hang out a lot (and were at last night) told me another story. Apparently after I went home last night all of the kids still there left Alfie laying sound asleep on a bed outside of the house, removing the light bulb from the socket above the bed. When my project partner came home later that evening she couldn’t see over to the bed (because the light was out) and so went to bed not knowing he was there. He apparently woke up around 3AM and went home getting into an extreme amount of trouble.
So, was he just fed up and saw a chance to blow off some steam and took it with a vengeance? I think so. So, what do I do.
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