Friday afternoon I experienced a brief but meaningful
encounter. I had lost my voice and was
feeling a bit under the weather, so I left El Arca a few hours early. When I got home, it occurred to me that I
could prepare myself chamomile tea with honey and lemon to help my throat
heal. Fortuitously, I had bought honey
the day before, and although I had not bought lemons, one of the perks of
volunteering at Santo Sacramento is access to the lemon tree in the
courtyard. Fortunately, the lemons are
currently at the end of their semiannual cycle and are thus ripe for
picking!
I climbed the tree in my quest for the perfect lemon, and as I perused the selection, I saw Claudio
(member of Santo Sacramento and friend of El Arca) come out of one of the
classrooms where alternative primary school sessions take place during the week
(Santo Sacramento provides space for government-paid classes
directed toward students who could not finish primary school the first time around). I waved to him and got down
to say hi. He asked me “what were you
doing up there?” and gave me a big bear hug.
I explained that I was picking out a lemon, and when he heard me talk he
asked “what happened to your voice?” I
laughed, because he was the third person to make fun of my silly laryngitis
voice that day, but of course in good sport.
I told Claudio that his friends at El Arca sent him greetings as always
and had just asked me if he was doing well.
He responded in the affirmative, so I have good news to bring back to El
Arca on Monday.
Claudio
then returned to his studies and I went off to make my tea. It was a brief encounter, but so delightful
and unexpected, as if it were a surprise arranged for Claudio and me by
God. I think the simple moments such as
this one will be among the most memorable when I look back on my year as a
YAGM.
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