Sunday, May 23, 2010
Evil Spirits and cat-like beasts
"There's an evil spirit inside of that young lady just over there... the evil spirit told her to give me that roasted chicken. This makes me angry. That young lady is starving and that evil spirit told her to give me that roasted chicken."
This is what the 60ish year old homeless man said to me when I was out at St. Vinnies night patrol van. A young lady who was probably in her mid 20's came up to the van and said "I just got off of work and I was given this roasted chicken... but I don't really want it. Can I just drop it off here, can you guys use it cause I was just going to chuck it into the rubbish bin." We said "yeah, yeah... someone will take it. Thank you!" and indeed it was taken. It may have been sitting on that table for 5 minutes before someone asked if they could have it. But that man was convinced that an evil spirit possesed that young girl to give that chicken to us.
Then the man proceeded to tell a story. Apparently he was plagued with Cancer and was on his death bed in his tent. Well, he came out of his tent and this beast came out of his chest. The beast was probably the size of a full grown tabby cat, but this creature was dark with huge eyes. The beast looked up at this man and it said "I am Isaiah, the Lord has sent me here to tell you that you are coming home soon." Instantaniously the cancer left his body and he was completely healed.
Oh, the people I meet, and the things they say. Australia.
This is what the 60ish year old homeless man said to me when I was out at St. Vinnies night patrol van. A young lady who was probably in her mid 20's came up to the van and said "I just got off of work and I was given this roasted chicken... but I don't really want it. Can I just drop it off here, can you guys use it cause I was just going to chuck it into the rubbish bin." We said "yeah, yeah... someone will take it. Thank you!" and indeed it was taken. It may have been sitting on that table for 5 minutes before someone asked if they could have it. But that man was convinced that an evil spirit possesed that young girl to give that chicken to us.
Then the man proceeded to tell a story. Apparently he was plagued with Cancer and was on his death bed in his tent. Well, he came out of his tent and this beast came out of his chest. The beast was probably the size of a full grown tabby cat, but this creature was dark with huge eyes. The beast looked up at this man and it said "I am Isaiah, the Lord has sent me here to tell you that you are coming home soon." Instantaniously the cancer left his body and he was completely healed.
Oh, the people I meet, and the things they say. Australia.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Australia
I volunteer places...
it's cold...
I live in community (aka minimal personal space and pms-ing)...
I feel like it should be Thanksgiving soon...
Becca...
~It's Life~
it's cold...
I live in community (aka minimal personal space and pms-ing)...
I feel like it should be Thanksgiving soon...
Becca...
~It's Life~
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Schizophrenic Conversations
This story is too good to not tell.
Bus Interchange: I'm standing, "patiantly" waiting for my bus that happens to be running late (what a surprise) and this woman in her mid 40's plops down on the bench in front of me. She was a jolly woman, happily rolling up handmade cigarettes and offering them to anyone who passed. With the new law in place, raising cigarette prices from $6.50 to $20.00, people were graciously accepting them, to my surprise. Oh, but this woman was just soooo happy saying "here ya go son!" while juggling a rather large bag of tabacco in one hand, pieces of paper on her lap, and handing off freshly prepared cigarettes in the other hand. All the while having conversations to what seemed to be an empty space beside her.
On the Bus: Sitting Diagonal from me, the woman continues to roll cigarettes but struggles because of all the stopping and starting of the traffic. I watch as slowly she becomes agitated with her invisible companion saying "This bus is only going 20 miles per hour!" when clearly we were going faster at that point. I watched as she became even more aggrivated when the bus stopped to pick up more people... and then as the people coming on the bus became victims of verbal abuse as the woman starting hallering at them. 20 minutes into the bus ride she started yelling at the bus driver "We've been on this thing for an hour and a half! Can't you go any faster man! I'm in a HURRY!" then would quietly tell her invisable companion "I know we're in a hurry but this bus is going as fast as it can." Now this was quite a sight because she still had the bag of tobacco in her one hand, rolled up cigarettes in the other, and the paper between her fingers. About 5 minutes later she was able to calm herself down and started to ask every person who came onto the bus if they had any money. As a thank-you for the money, she would offer a cigarette. Finally, she pushed the button, signaling the bus to stop and leisurely walked to the front of the bus. This is what amazes me... this woman, who has just been hallering and in complete chaos minutes before, stops and says to the bus driver "Sorry for all that, I have schizophrenia and it's just been effecting me back there."
Government Flatt: From the bus I watched as the woman calmly stepped off the bus, light a cigarette, and simply walk slowly toward the government flatts. It seemed as if she didn't have a care in the world as she strolled along.
That's my story.
Bus Interchange: I'm standing, "patiantly" waiting for my bus that happens to be running late (what a surprise) and this woman in her mid 40's plops down on the bench in front of me. She was a jolly woman, happily rolling up handmade cigarettes and offering them to anyone who passed. With the new law in place, raising cigarette prices from $6.50 to $20.00, people were graciously accepting them, to my surprise. Oh, but this woman was just soooo happy saying "here ya go son!" while juggling a rather large bag of tabacco in one hand, pieces of paper on her lap, and handing off freshly prepared cigarettes in the other hand. All the while having conversations to what seemed to be an empty space beside her.
On the Bus: Sitting Diagonal from me, the woman continues to roll cigarettes but struggles because of all the stopping and starting of the traffic. I watch as slowly she becomes agitated with her invisible companion saying "This bus is only going 20 miles per hour!" when clearly we were going faster at that point. I watched as she became even more aggrivated when the bus stopped to pick up more people... and then as the people coming on the bus became victims of verbal abuse as the woman starting hallering at them. 20 minutes into the bus ride she started yelling at the bus driver "We've been on this thing for an hour and a half! Can't you go any faster man! I'm in a HURRY!" then would quietly tell her invisable companion "I know we're in a hurry but this bus is going as fast as it can." Now this was quite a sight because she still had the bag of tobacco in her one hand, rolled up cigarettes in the other, and the paper between her fingers. About 5 minutes later she was able to calm herself down and started to ask every person who came onto the bus if they had any money. As a thank-you for the money, she would offer a cigarette. Finally, she pushed the button, signaling the bus to stop and leisurely walked to the front of the bus. This is what amazes me... this woman, who has just been hallering and in complete chaos minutes before, stops and says to the bus driver "Sorry for all that, I have schizophrenia and it's just been effecting me back there."
Government Flatt: From the bus I watched as the woman calmly stepped off the bus, light a cigarette, and simply walk slowly toward the government flatts. It seemed as if she didn't have a care in the world as she strolled along.
That's my story.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Do You Have A Cigarette?
Wanna know something interesting? In an attempt to discourage people from smoking, the Australian Government has raised the price of cigarettes from around $6.50 to $20.00. Hmm... interesting... Making cigarettes unafforable to the poorer population, and making money off the people who can afford it. huh.
yup, that's all I have.
yup, that's all I have.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Who Can You Trust? Who Will Listen?
Hey everyone,
It's been awhile, but now I'm back and better than ever! So, it's march... and, where to begin. Well, let me just start off by telling you that I have a new volunteer placement at Saint Vincent de Paul Society. I go out on a night van to various places and I get to talk to all sorts of people who come to get food and something to drink. I will now proceed to tell you about one particular encounter that you will find amusing. I like to call this man "the white 'black' man."
So the van was stationed in Civic (which is the city part of Canberra) and I'm attending to this 20 year old man who asked me if we had a superman costume (that is another story for another time). Well, out of no where this man shouts out to me "ARE YOU ABORIGINAL!?!" Startled, I look around and see this caucasian man in his late 40's with wild looking eyes. I can tell that he'd been smoking somthing so i was careful in saying "no, i'm African American." At this point my heart was pounding cause he was pointing to his shirt which had a symbol on it. I had no idea what the symbol meant but I was thinking "O, lord, please don't let him be a racist man who is high right now, this could go horribly wrong!" Well, this man just looks at me and shouts out "ME TOO!" I would have laughed if I wouldn't have been so relieved. Then he procedes to tell me that his "people" have been on this land for 250,000 years! He hates all the "English" people and proceeded to tell me that all Americans were dumb because we still use "feet and inches." "I mean how dumb can you Americans be!?!" I think were his direct words. I would have been offended if I thought he was coherent, but seeing as he had just told me that he once drove from Wyoming to Brooklyn in 45 minutes... and the fact that he was calling himself African American, when he just said that his family was from Australia and can date back 250,000 years ago PLUS it was quite evident that he was caucasian... I didn't take anything he said personally (did I forget to mention that he asked me if I was smoking weed, and then admitted to having a few joints on him and wanted to share the love with his black sista?). His parting words were "Now, you be careful, my sista, cause these white people out here cannot be trusted. We have to have each other's back, cause I'm your brotha... I'll be seeing you around now, and you remember what I just told you... trust no one!" He said his name was Jason, but honestly, I don't know if I can even trust that as a true fact.
This man is only one of many that i have met and talked to for the past 3 months since I last updated. I also have on record a man who believes he's an angel, a woman who believes every man on the south side of the lake wants to rape her, and not to mention the woman who believes the machines in the dentist, police cars, ambulences, and taxis make your teeth fall out and is being forced to write an obituary for a friend who committed suicide about a year or two ago. The people I meet, and the stories I hear are not for the faint of heart, but I feel as though I am growing from this experience. Listening is key to a relationship, however messed up it may be. Sometimes it's not what you say/respond that is important, but it's just your presence that makes the impact... and that's my goal.
It's been awhile, but now I'm back and better than ever! So, it's march... and, where to begin. Well, let me just start off by telling you that I have a new volunteer placement at Saint Vincent de Paul Society. I go out on a night van to various places and I get to talk to all sorts of people who come to get food and something to drink. I will now proceed to tell you about one particular encounter that you will find amusing. I like to call this man "the white 'black' man."
So the van was stationed in Civic (which is the city part of Canberra) and I'm attending to this 20 year old man who asked me if we had a superman costume (that is another story for another time). Well, out of no where this man shouts out to me "ARE YOU ABORIGINAL!?!" Startled, I look around and see this caucasian man in his late 40's with wild looking eyes. I can tell that he'd been smoking somthing so i was careful in saying "no, i'm African American." At this point my heart was pounding cause he was pointing to his shirt which had a symbol on it. I had no idea what the symbol meant but I was thinking "O, lord, please don't let him be a racist man who is high right now, this could go horribly wrong!" Well, this man just looks at me and shouts out "ME TOO!" I would have laughed if I wouldn't have been so relieved. Then he procedes to tell me that his "people" have been on this land for 250,000 years! He hates all the "English" people and proceeded to tell me that all Americans were dumb because we still use "feet and inches." "I mean how dumb can you Americans be!?!" I think were his direct words. I would have been offended if I thought he was coherent, but seeing as he had just told me that he once drove from Wyoming to Brooklyn in 45 minutes... and the fact that he was calling himself African American, when he just said that his family was from Australia and can date back 250,000 years ago PLUS it was quite evident that he was caucasian... I didn't take anything he said personally (did I forget to mention that he asked me if I was smoking weed, and then admitted to having a few joints on him and wanted to share the love with his black sista?). His parting words were "Now, you be careful, my sista, cause these white people out here cannot be trusted. We have to have each other's back, cause I'm your brotha... I'll be seeing you around now, and you remember what I just told you... trust no one!" He said his name was Jason, but honestly, I don't know if I can even trust that as a true fact.
This man is only one of many that i have met and talked to for the past 3 months since I last updated. I also have on record a man who believes he's an angel, a woman who believes every man on the south side of the lake wants to rape her, and not to mention the woman who believes the machines in the dentist, police cars, ambulences, and taxis make your teeth fall out and is being forced to write an obituary for a friend who committed suicide about a year or two ago. The people I meet, and the stories I hear are not for the faint of heart, but I feel as though I am growing from this experience. Listening is key to a relationship, however messed up it may be. Sometimes it's not what you say/respond that is important, but it's just your presence that makes the impact... and that's my goal.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Lost on Foot
So, this is the account of the first time I got stuck in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, in the dry Australian dessert air with no water, no sun shelter, and no transportation but my own two feet.
So I was going to my volunteer location at the prison that hot, dry, and strenuating afternoon and had no way to get there but the bus. Now let me explain this "transportation issue" involving prisoners aid. At this point I only need to be at the prison for about 15-30 minutes... depending on when I get there. The problem is that the prison is in the middle of nowhere. It's about 8 kilos to get there (about 5 miles) and to take a bus, it takes about an hour. Plus, if I took the bus then I would have to take 2 buses, and I'm done at the prison by 1:15 but the bus doesn't come til 4:50, so I'm waiting there for over 3 hrs at the bus stop. It's just so much easier for someone to take me there, but on this particuarly hot, dry day I didn't have a ride.
What was a girl to do... needing to be at the prison with no one to take her? Well, the solution I came up with was to take the bus. So I took a total of 2 buses, it took over an hour because of traffic, and eventually got to the prison. I did my 15 minute duty of introducing myself to the visitors of the prison and telling them about prisoners aid. Then the gaurds brought in the dogs and everyone went into the visitors center which left me alone in the waiting room with one police officer. It was awkward just sitting there... doing nothing, looking pretty stupid. And I had over 3 more hours to go until the bus came. I waited about 20 minutes and thought to myself "forget this, i'm walking!" Stupid, stupid girl. What was I thinking?
So I walked out of the nice air conditioned prison and into the hot, dry heat and it seemed like immediately Ii was drenched in sweat. You would think that would have made me think twice, but no. So i'm walking, and walking, and walking, and walking. I'm walking a long time, just me, walking along the highway and on the other side of me just plain feilds which is too dry to grow anything so it's just dead grass all around me. Nothing but brown. No water, or shelter. The best part about that was that I knew what it was like out there before I left the prison since I had biked there two weeks before that. That was a failed mission may I add, but I wont tell that story, my mom might be reading this (Hi mom). Eventually a car pulls over and offers me a ride. I look into the car and see that it's two men, and there are at least four beer cans in the car. As tempted as I was, I used my better judgment and lied, "no, I'm alright. Thanks for the offer!" As they drove away, I was thinking to myself "stupid, stupid girl!" Anyways, I eventually make it home. It was a 5 mile walk that I will never be walking again. Next time I'll wait for the bus.
So I was going to my volunteer location at the prison that hot, dry, and strenuating afternoon and had no way to get there but the bus. Now let me explain this "transportation issue" involving prisoners aid. At this point I only need to be at the prison for about 15-30 minutes... depending on when I get there. The problem is that the prison is in the middle of nowhere. It's about 8 kilos to get there (about 5 miles) and to take a bus, it takes about an hour. Plus, if I took the bus then I would have to take 2 buses, and I'm done at the prison by 1:15 but the bus doesn't come til 4:50, so I'm waiting there for over 3 hrs at the bus stop. It's just so much easier for someone to take me there, but on this particuarly hot, dry day I didn't have a ride.
What was a girl to do... needing to be at the prison with no one to take her? Well, the solution I came up with was to take the bus. So I took a total of 2 buses, it took over an hour because of traffic, and eventually got to the prison. I did my 15 minute duty of introducing myself to the visitors of the prison and telling them about prisoners aid. Then the gaurds brought in the dogs and everyone went into the visitors center which left me alone in the waiting room with one police officer. It was awkward just sitting there... doing nothing, looking pretty stupid. And I had over 3 more hours to go until the bus came. I waited about 20 minutes and thought to myself "forget this, i'm walking!" Stupid, stupid girl. What was I thinking?
So I walked out of the nice air conditioned prison and into the hot, dry heat and it seemed like immediately Ii was drenched in sweat. You would think that would have made me think twice, but no. So i'm walking, and walking, and walking, and walking. I'm walking a long time, just me, walking along the highway and on the other side of me just plain feilds which is too dry to grow anything so it's just dead grass all around me. Nothing but brown. No water, or shelter. The best part about that was that I knew what it was like out there before I left the prison since I had biked there two weeks before that. That was a failed mission may I add, but I wont tell that story, my mom might be reading this (Hi mom). Eventually a car pulls over and offers me a ride. I look into the car and see that it's two men, and there are at least four beer cans in the car. As tempted as I was, I used my better judgment and lied, "no, I'm alright. Thanks for the offer!" As they drove away, I was thinking to myself "stupid, stupid girl!" Anyways, I eventually make it home. It was a 5 mile walk that I will never be walking again. Next time I'll wait for the bus.
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