So, I went right back to work (I am a nanny, part time during the school year). It was good to see the kids and get back into the routine. Thanks to a 9 to 2 PM time of not taking care of kids--they are in school--I went to the store first thing and got groceries. That was a good thing, since snow came on Thursday. I did get extra work hours since the kids I nanny were out of school at 1 PM on Thursday and snow days Friday and Monday.
I have been working on this blog as a way to process my experiences. Meeting the rest of the team on night of the 12th to attempt to put together what we will share on the 23rd at Gateway was a great time of laughing and remembering and sharing more stories!!
Jet lag has not seemed to be a huge issue. A couple of nights of lousy sleep. I reckon the enforced time at home because of the snow helped--got to sleep in!
The other day enroute to gas up the car, I was pondering: "What if I had never been to Portland, OR in my life? How would I 'see' the things I was seeing as I drove? Would I be taking pictures of everything? Would I be 'classifying' what I saw: rich, poor, weird, dirty, clean, never seen before, etc.??"
I guess it is a matter of perspective....how I/we saw things while in the Philippines was definitely 'colored' by who we are, where we came from, and such. So perhaps what I called 'real poor' in my mind was only middle class to Filipinos?
Yes, because of the opportunity I had to be in the Philippines, the needs of the people are currently on my heart. They are more personal because I got to meet and get to know and work along side people. This doesn't negate the fact that people in the US are poor and go hungry and homeless. Or that there aren't millions of people in many other countries with needs just as huge. So I can't meet the needs of all people everywhere, but I need to be aware of those needs and do what I can, when I can.
I am thankful for all who made this trip a possibility for me and for all that was accomplished through it.
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