So, I'm once again nearing the end of another year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps officially I have less than two months left, which is a very scary thought considering I don't have a concrete idea of what I will be doing next, so that'll be the first topic of this post. However, that's, thankfully directly tied to the work I've been doing here so far.
I've begun my job search next year and am essentially looking all over the place. I would prefer not to stay in Albuquerque; although it has been a beautiful experience I don't think I'm cut out for desert living. I miss my water, but more importantly, I miss my family too much to remain here unless I felt a very strong calling to do so. I have been concentrating my search on Houston, TX, Los Angeles, and the midwest, but am now primarily focusing on Chicago for several reasons. It is prime location, less than 3 hours from many people I care about and only about 8 from my parents (not bad considering the several day journey my family will be undertaking to see me next week. (more on this later)). I am flexible as to the positions I'm looking at, but know one thing for sure in order to be truly happy next year I need to be using my Spanish skills. I have a passion for language that will never die and using my Spanish skills every day at NMILC, whether it's just the small task of answering the phones or if it's spending an entire day translating for a client, has been the most life-giving part of my job this year. Even the days that I came home despising the social services part of my job I have felt blessed that I was able to use my skills. That said, my ideal position would either be working with youth or as an immigration paralegal. I've truly thrived in the legal side of my job this year and don't want to be done with the idea of this. I realized this for the first time when I assisted one of our attorneys in preparing for a trial and listened to the asylum applicant's testimony. Watching my supervisor prepare her for what was coming was sincerely empowering and something I want to continue to be a part of.
So, that's the job search bit, but I feel like we skipped a significant amount of the year to get there. Let's go back to Christmas. For the very first time I was not with my family for our biggest holiday celebration. As a group, my community played with the idea of spending the holidays in Albuquerque very early on in the year, but as the time drew closer, four of us decided to commit to staying. This wasn't a forced decision, but one I entered into willingly. As I worked with my clients and my students at the English as a Second Language class I heard so many stories of people who were unable to be reunited with their loved ones: sons, daughters, parents, separated, not just for Christmas, but for who knows how long. One student was unable to visit her family in Mexico for her brother's funeral because then she would risk having no way to return to the United States. To be in solidarity with these clients and with my roommate who had to work on Christmas Eve, I chose to stay despite the fact that the law center was technically on vacation. Christmas Eve dawned very early, more precisely before-dawn. I awoke at 5 in the morning to pick up two of my client from their home in Pajarito Mesa, a neighborhood with no street signs and limited civilization, and bring them to Dental Day, a free dental care day starting at 7 am. As I drove to their house, with nothing more than the directions to their house in hand, I felt like Mary and Joseph voyaging to Bethlehem. It was dark when I entered the pot-hole ridden neighborhood, my two door Chevrolet Cavalier groaning against the uneven terrain. And then I got lost. I hit a dead end and realized I had no idea where these people lived. I called my client and tried to find them and finally worked my way through the dark maze of roads to find them. We made it to the dental clinic with time to spare and then I took them back home; They were so grateful that they'd finally seen a dentist, something many people take for granted, at no cost to them.
The day continued on. Alex had friends in town, so we hung out with them and had a fairly calm evening. Amanda and I watched Love Actually, a movie that my roommate Catherine from last year got me hooked on as a holiday tradition. The time had nearly come for Christmas Eve Mass. Amanda and I were planning on playing music for the morning Mass, so I was super indecisive about going; moreover, my family always goes to Christmas Eve Mass and I wasn't sure how I'd hold up missing them. Long story short I decided to go and, sure enough, I felt more homesick at church than I'd felt up to that point. Wedged comfortably between Alex and Ben's family I felt home enough, though, until the choir started singing "O Holy Night" at communion time. Like it or not, that song has been a familial tradition for the past five years, having listened to someone sing it in a key that was too high for them many times during Christmas Eve Mass and then me insisting on playing it later. I broke down. I hid my head in my folded hands, praying that the boys didn't notice. Afterwards, I dashed back to the house and found Amanda, who had thankfully come back early and we had a girl bonding moment. The rest of the night was awesome. We went over to our support people's house to enjoy cocoa and a hayride seeing the luminaria scenes through Albuquerque. Then we went on to visit one of the board members of Pegasus's house. By the time we returned home it was late, but we stayed up playing games. I was feeling out of it, and played it off as being tired, but one of my housemates saw right through me and called me out on being homesick and, just like he'd done so many times before, pulled me back into the present. We had a heart to heart in the kitchen later that night, talking about being so far away from our families on Christmas and how weird it was. I went to bed that Christmas eve feeling as though it was a truly holy night, even though many of the people I loved were so far away, many of them were nearby too.
The next morning we exchanged gifts. We set a $5.00 maximum and everybody loved it. We then had a huge dinner at our house, making it through the smoke alarm going off several times. The house was full of friends and family.
The following day I made my way up to Los Alamos to spend time with my aunt, uncle, cousin and my relatives who I had only heard stories of before this year. They were so welcoming, I truly felt like I was with family the entire time I was there. The games of pounce and mafia, the watching of Doctor Who and Sherlock for several days gave me the touch of home I needed, not having seen my immediate family in 6 months. Spending time with the wonderful family that I have made me so very humbled and grateful that I have the opportunity to be cared for in such a way. I truly, truly felt blessed this Christmas and I am sorry that it took me so long to write about it.
There is still a lot of the year that has to be covered, but I don't think I have the skill to teleport us from Christmas to June in one evening's worth of writing. There has been a lot to cover and the next two months will take care of themselves. However, I will try to do the rest of the year justice in its own time before the end. It will be a way to give praise for the experiences that have happened and to give closure to the pitfalls.
But, enough for tonight.
