An Alternative to Alternative Spring Break

Today was beach day, a time to relax and reflect. Naturally, we started off the morning with as delicious a breakfast as possible; eggs mixed with peppers, pancakes and fried plantains. Then, we were on our way to Lover's Key, a relaxing resort and quaint state park recommended by our friend, the shelter manager John Bianco. 

And then, the plans changed. After looking for an area with more stores and better access to food, we landed on a busy beach in Florida in the middle of spring break. Music played, a porch with a pool in front became a stage for a show featuring Michael Jackson impersonators, firemen, the village people (a glittery Indian being the my personal favorite) and, of course, large men in thongs. Nothing that we expected happened on this beach. Older women and younger women danced their way into the show as beaded necklaces were thrown to the crowd. It was the mildest and frankly, strangest display of controlled wildness I had ever seen.

In the midst of it all, several of us managed to get some sun on the beach (perhaps too much, some of us are looking a bit red), some rented wave runners (my first time),  some read books and all of us laughed at the spectacles around us. It was more fun than I can say to be there for the day. But imagining being there for a whole week made me cringe. If this is what people consider a stereotypical spring break then I want nothing more than an alternative. 

Beth 

The Only Shelter in Collier County Florida

Sticking to our recent trends, today we again broke into two groups. Both groups met for breakfast and then myself and seven others headed over to Eden Elementary a local public school, that we discovered had opened just this past August. There we were each assigned a classroom (pre-k through first graders) and we worked as teacher's aids, preparing decorations for the classrooms, reading aloud, planning lessons, assisting with the students questions and of course learning as much as we could about the school. 

The remaining nine ASBers went to the Guadalupe Soup Kitchen, a sister organization of the Guatalupe Church and childcare center. The reappearance of the Guadalupe name only served to remind us how closely knit the community of Immokalee is, an understanding that was only reinforced by the trip to the soup kitchen. There, the students had the pleasure of meeting Tricia, a woman who made an appearance in the documentary we saw when we first arrived, Immokalee USA. It was nice to know that the faces of poverty here appear in huge roles for the solution to poverty as well. And, accompanied with an understanding of the dignity and respect that any member of a community deserves, the volunteers at the kitchen served their patrons not in an ordinary assembly line, but instead responding to their needs by running refills over to them and assuring that everyone is well fed and comfortable, for the moment. 

Our service ended at two o'clock, just in time to head over to Saint Mathews House, the umbrella organization that the Immokalee Friendship House partnered with in recent months. The shelter there was very different from what we have come to know. It was larger, with a grassy patch and a heart shaped garden in the middle. The kitchen and pantry were full of food and seemed constantly busy, our group of seventeen ducking around the people staying there and working there while we received a tour of the facilities. Midway through the tour, Emily raised a question, the answer of which was a shocking point for the entire group. And, despite having a say to mull it over, it is still upsetting that as a result of her question we learned that in a county twice the size of Rhode Island we were standing in the only shelter in Collier County Florida. 

Shout out to Mrs. Penny and all other loyal readers of this blog.

Beth 

A strange fruit and some delicious icing

It has been a long day and as the week goes on each day gets progressively longer. Today one group stayed back at the shelter to mop, do some chores and help out at the shelter's thrift store one building over. The remaining 12 of us hopped in our vans and headed over to the Guadalupe Childcare  Center where we did our best to help the teachers there with their lively but loveable students. 

On the dinner menu tonight was some beef, veggies (the highlight being some delicious sweet corn and mashed potatoes!) and, of course a delicious cake made by our very own Sasha Brown. I think the students who were able to help out preparing the dinner found it to be a highlight of the day and perhaps even the week.  

Many more culinary treasures to come, check back tomorrow!

Beth 

Esa nina es roja

Today we woke up in the morning, rolled straight out of bed and got to work planning our day. 

I am starting to associate the mornings here with the faint smell of sunscreen. But today, our group broke into two smaller ones and it was the other group who had to prepare for a day outside raking in the dirt. They went to an elderly community nearby and did yard work to improve the cleanliness and most importantly the aesthetic of the building. For the people living inside, the work seemed much appreciated. The group returned with smiles and the communities requests for more volunteers to plant flowers during the week. 

The group I was with went to the Immokalee Childcare Center just down the street from the shelter. So far, in fact, most of our service has been done within walking distance of the shelter. The proximity seemed a simple convenience at first but after playing with infants, toddlers and kids quickly approaching school age, it became obvious that Immokalee truly understands the old adage, "it takes a village to raise a child." One of the teachers told us she worked at the center for 25 years, long enough to change the diapers of two generations. 

After the service day winded down we spent some time in the park and took a drive just down the street to a farmer's market nearby. I have never bought an apple so large and so yummy as the four I eagerly grabbed at the market for just 2 dollars. What is commendably cheap for us is unaffordable for the workers here and yet without them, the largest and yummiest apples in the world would never come to me, in my bag or in my belly. 

Beth 

It's Always Sunny in Immokalee

    It has officially been 24 hours in Immokalee Florida and it is time for a seven hour snooze fest. We're sleeping in one big room on cots on the floor but they are comfortable and we are tired from a day in the Florida sun. 

    It snowed before we left from Boston? That day seems like a dream in this weather. The sky looks so beautiful. I think Dean put it best when he said, "it looks like a movie poster for No Country for Old Men."

    The only thing more beautiful than the sky is the area around the shelter. There is an eclectic mix of colors, people, shops and bicycles all the time. Last night we could hear car races going on down the street as we fell asleep.  

     In the morning I heard chickens clucking and roosters crowing. They run around the shelter like they own the place. In truth they probably do, most of what we saw of Florida was farmland and so it seems the animals are everywhere. 

     What else did we see?

          row after delicious row of oranges growing right on the trees

          alligators in a lake

          the biggest pig eating snake in the United States

          

     By accident we also stumbled upon Ave Maria, a college and residential complex with a giant church in the center. Only fifteen minutes away from our shelter, the contrast between the poverty in Immokalee and the affluence of the shopping/residential center was shocking.

      After a yummy dinner of pasta and turkey we headed just minutes down the street to Florida State's Medical Center where we watched Immokalee, USA a documentary about the plight of the migrant farmworker in America. The video was all inclusive, the images thought provoking and the wealth of issues covered in the film were full of bitter enjoyment. It was extremely valuabe to learn so much about the people we are serving and yet I find myself feeling broken at the idea that there is still so much we do not know. But, it is not simply my ignorance of the issues that upsets me, instead it is my recent knowledge that with every new day we must be prepared to face the truth as sad as it may be. But I am realizing now more than ever that to face reality is the first step towards changing it and it is a much bigger and more efficacious step that I ever realized. 

   And honestly, the world in Immokalee must be more good than bad because nothing that is all bad could exist under such a beautiful sky.

 B.Haley from Immokalee here, 

we had a good day and goodnight!