Spanish lessons are more fun for me everyday. I am finding it much easier to converse with my teacher, so we spend a lot of time getting to know each other while practicing the parts of speech. After school today, I went with Joy to the hospital to volunteer. Joy has been working in the section for Abuelitas or little grandmothers. I would have preferred to go to the infant or child section, but figured I might as well jump right into being uncomfortable so I could get over my fears more quickly.
Joy is amazing with the Abuelitas. She draws pictures of the women while talking to them and communicating through very broken Spanish. I really enjoyed watching her weave around the women interacting with each one adeptly. Usually her ability and comfort with the women would make me feel inadequate and uncomfortable, but instead in her I found peace and confidence. Joy had suggested we bring nail polish to paint the women’s nails. I asked one woman if she would like her nails painted. She smiled demurely and shook her head yes. With her hand in mine I started painting the pink frost polish on her short but manicured nails. I talked as I painted until I looked up and saw that she had fallen asleep. So I quietly finished then moved on to the next Abuelita. After receiving permission I started to paint her nails too, until she fell asleep. I finally moved on to Margarita. He eyes shone when I asked if she would like to have painted nails. He hands were crumpled and bent; her fingers came to rest on her wrists. In order to paint her nails I had to paint upside down, but Margarita was so proud when I finished. She held her hands out delicately to dry. I spent the rest of the time making some origami and chatting with the women. When it came time to leave one of the women asked us to return the next day.
On the way back from the hospital I stopped by a tienda to buy two Coca-Cola’s, because I had promised to visit Angelica. She greeted me with a big smile and twinkle in her eye. I entered the store and we talked about the weekend and she told me she spent her day off playing Basketball. Customers walked by, some came in, and some bought items. For the English speaking customers I served as a translator for Angelica. She loved that I could communicate with them and I think they appreciated the facilitated communication also. At one point she was busy with some customers and a woman wanted to see a vest. I used the long stick to retrieve the vest from high off of the wall as I had seen Angelica do many times before. Angelica looked over, saw me with the stick, and just started cracking up. The customers would ask me if the price was good and of course I would say yes.
The store started to quiet down a little so Angelica invited me to sit with her and she started to tell me a story. One day she was walking through town when she heard music coming from a Nazarene church. She was forbidden from going into the church because her family was very Catholic, but she decided to go in just to listen to the music. She sat in the back of the church and enjoyed the music until the pastor started giving the message, “There is someone here tonight that would get into trouble if their parents found out they were here and that person needs to come up front to ask Jesus into their heart.” Angelica said she just ignored his comment, but then he was looking right at her. She said she did not want to go up front, but before she knew it she was walking up the aisle to the pastor. Through tears she acknowledged that she was not living the way she should and asked God to forgive her and come into her life.
She returned to her seat as a Christian and started to join in singing the songs. All of the sudden someone punched her back; she turned to see her mother. Through anger, her mother yelled at her for coming in the church and told her she would receive a beating when she returned to the house and she was no longer her daughter and she would go to hell. Angelica went out through a back door and spent the next two weeks living in different houses. She said her whole personality changed; she no longer went to dance clubs, she no longer cursed her friends, and her mean spirit had disappeared. She was sad and afraid because her mother rejected her, but she said her new life was worth the rejection.
After two weeks she decided to return to her house to retrieve her things, so she could move into her sister’s house. She expected her mother to beat her when she entered the house, so she was not surprised by her mother’s enraged expression. Her mother raised her hand to start to beat her when she called out to her mother, “I used to stay out going to clubs and I used to curse at you and you never beat me, why would you beat me for growing closer to God?” Her mother dropped her hand and refrained from beating her. That is where the story ends for now, because a tour bus full of Dutch customers came into the store and I had to leave. Angelica promised to continue the rest of the story during my next visit.
Tonight Genny from the Higher Grounds Coffee House invited us to her apartment for dinner. We sat up on the top patio enjoying a beautiful view of the city and the sunset. Our simple meal of spaghetti, green beans, and bread tasted better than I ever would have thought possible.
