First Morning Back In Canada

... and I couldn't be happier.

Listless

Oh, packing, why do you make such a misery of my life? Why is it so hard to start collecting you, dreaded piles of paper and books? Why do you seem so cruel, wardrobe of clothing? Why must you seem to give birth and multiply all around me, knick knacks and receipts? Why must this entire process make me feel so listess and so very inclined to watching videos for sad songs on youtube?

Universe, I ask you these questions in the hope that maybe - just maybe - I'll get this packing DONE and be FREE. Pleasepleaseplease.

Homeward Bound

One month until I fly home, and it's consuming my thoughts.

Saltimbanco

For my birthday a few weeks ago, Jon got me tickets to see Cirque du Soleil in Dublin this weekend. They are a Quebec-based group whose shows have become famous world-wide, and we were very excited about this weekend escapade. The performance we saw was called Saltimbanco. It is one of their earliest shows, and it is still amazing. The whole experience is really wonderful. The costumes are outstanding and full of colour, the music enhances every act, and the skills of the performers are simply outrageous! There are acrobats, drummers, dancers, singers, trapeze artists, clowns, mimes.... it's a fantastic and unique sensory experience.

Kindness and Compassion

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.
Dalai Lama

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been volunteering these last few months with an organization that helps people who are homeless. I have been very impressed by the work they do, so I wanted to write a bit more about it. They are called The Simon Community and they are quite well-known in Ireland.

The Cork Simon Community runs a wide variety of projects. Firstly, they have an emergency shelter with 44 beds. They also have an outreach team working 7 days a week to target those sleeping outdoors, in squats, or in other rough accommodation. Thirdly, a nightly soup run offers hot food and warm clothing at various locations around the city. There are also 5 high-support houses which provide homes to people with physical and mental health needs. Lastly, the team I work with, Housing Plus, oversees people who have moved on to independent-living apartments or semi-independent flats.

Housing Plus is a very small team, currently made up of only a manager, two full-time workers, one new half-time worker, and myself. I am a full-time volunteer, but will be leaving in a few weeks. They also have a Social Work student who comes in one day a week, but she will be leaving soon as well since her practicum hours will be done. Essentially, this is a tiny team and they serve over 100 residents. The majority of our time is spent visiting the residents who live in a few houses around the city centre. We support them in whichever way they may need help. Some need company and someone to talk to, while others need help getting to appointments or assistance with paperwork and bills. Some residents want to be put in touch with other organizations who can help them get a job or take some courses. We also deal with a variety of emergencies that come up in peoples' lives related to mental health issues, addiction, budgeting trouble, etc. There are no boring days at Housing Plus.

I feel like a new and better person since I began doing this work. My coworkers are great. They are my new role models and friends. There is absolutely no better feeling for me than spending my days with people whose values are so similar to mine. It makes me feel a sort of automatic bond and a respect for them. And then there are the residents. Oh, how to describe my feelings about them? They are certainly a colorful bunch, and I would be lying if I said that I find it all easy or all gratifying, but I don't think I have ever learned so much from a group of people in my life. A few of them have made me laugh until I cried, and of course some have just made me cry. Some moments are so sad it is unbearable, and some are so full of hope and beauty that I can hardly believe they are real. Within the chaos, there certainly are moments of clarity.

I have tried to rewrite this post to make it sound less corny, but to be honest my entire volunteer experience at Simon up to this point has been an emotional one, and I can't find any other way to describe it right now, so I'm afraid this will have to do. Such is the life of an under-slept full-time volunteer!

The Final Countdown

I bought my ticket home to Canada.
I'll be flying on August 24th.
Only 7.5 more weeks left in Ireland.
It's strange how time crawls and even seems to stop sometimes, and now it's just flying forward too fast for me to catch up with it. I feel out of breath.

Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat

I've been volunteering with an organization that helps people who are homeless in Cork. Often my work is inspiring, but unfortunately some days I see things that make me very sad and disheartened. Yesterday was one of the sad days.
In the evening, when I was feeling very tired and down about the events of the day, my mother just happened to tell me that she was listening to this song and it reminded her of me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
Thank you, Ima.

Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat - by Georges Brassens
(French with English translation)

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'Auvergnat qui, sans façon,
You the man from the Auvergne who without any fuss,
M'a donné quatre bouts de bois
Gave me four pieces of wood
When it was cold in my life.
Quand dans ma vie il faisait froid.

Toi qui m'a donné du feu quand
You gave me a fire when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the very well meaning people
M'avaient fermés la porte au nez.
Had slammed the door in my face.

Ce n'était rien qu'un feu de bois
It was nothing more than a wood fire
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un feu de joie...
Like a bonfire

Toi, l'Auvergnat quand tu mourras
You, the Auvergnan, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you away
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'hôtesse qui, sans façon,
You the landlady who, without any fuss
M'a donné quatre bouts de pain
Gave me four pieces of bread
Quand dans ma vie il faisait faim.
When in my life there was hunger


Toi qui m'ouvrit ta huche quand
You who opened up your bread box, when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
S'amusaient à me voir jeuner.
Were enjoying seeing me starve.

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de pain
It was nothing but a piece of bread
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un grand festin...
Like a great feast.

Toi, l'hôtesse quand tu mourras
You, the hostess, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'étranger qui, sans façon,
You, the stranger, who, without any fuss
D'un air malheureux m'a sourit
Looking unhappy gave me a smile
Lorsque les gendarmes m'ont pris
When the police picked me up.

Toi qui n'a pas applaudi quand
You didn’t applaud when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
Riaient de me voir rammené.
Laughed at seeing me led away

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de miel
It was nothing but a spot of honey
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un grand soleil...
Like a great sun

Toi, l'étranger quand tu mourras
You, the stranger, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.