Celebration

Over the past few weeks there have been a number of celebratory occasions that have added life to the weekly routines.
The Sunday after returning from Mendoza we had a birthday party for our friends' youngest child who turned 1. I've previously mentioned Mary (whose actual name I have chosen not use) who has three children and works most days, many hours a day asking for money at a local train station. Mary had been working extra hours in order to save up for the occassion- she has been a beautiful example of humility and sacrifice.
We traveled by train, a good two hour trip, to their home. Though their home is quite small (the size of a small room) it was very homey, filled with pictures, a newly received stove, a few trinkets and toys, one large bed that all sleep on, and a towering , though neatly folded, stack of clothes. Out front is a small a yard where tables were set up for the occassion and an asado grille was made from a spring rack. Many of Brandon's (Mary's ¨husband¨ whose name I am not using for his privacy) family came along with all of the WMF staff. We played soccer in the street with the kids, including some half naked neighbor kids, ate choripan (like a big sausage) from the grille and empanadas, drank lots of soda, and danced salsa- some of us being put on the spot to dance (I found my out from pure embarassment by dancing with the birthday boy or his 3 year old sister). The kids enjoyed a piñata that not only produced candy but flour as well when opened.
After a long day of traveling and partying, many of us fell asleep on the train ride back. It put into perspective the task that they go through often daily when traveling either to work or an event that WMF hosts. A few days later when I saw Mary again she asked what I thought about the party. I was able to honestly tell her that it was fun and I wanted to visit her home again.
Less than a week later we celebrated the Deans' daughter Selah's birthday. We helped the night before with some preparations, including, and quite importantly, cheering on Jen and Jer as they stressed over creating the skirt of a dress out of a cupcake for the princess cake topper. They succeeded in throwing a grand party with plenty of food- Jer's barbecue chicken empanadas, and confetti cake topped by princess cupcake dress- a blow-up castle that got plenty of play time by the kids... OK and some of us adults, a piñata, and an improv carnival activity by STM Mateo.
And as a perfect segue, Monday we celebrated Mateo's birthday. We went over to the Dean's in the evening for a thai meal of curry and coconut milk rice and enjoyed a once in a lifetime unique, unlike no other experienced hot tub on the terrace of the Dean's house created by a blow up pool and hose hooked up to the hot water. What it actually turned out to be was a luke warm tub in which we played random water sports, thought up by no one other than Jen Dean who is always looking for fun and randomness. Leave it to the Deans to come up with some ingenius and completely random activity. Amanda helped the situation of the lukewarm water by pouring boilied hot water into the pool. We ended the night with a team favorite activity of playing cards.
Last week was a busy one for me, with alot of preparations for Wednesday's celebration. This past Sunday was mother's day in Argentina so we chose to celebrate with our friends from Retiro who are mothers on Wednesday in a local park. Amanda and I were in charge of a lot of the details and spent the past couple weeks planning and buying little gifts to put together in gift bags. Jen, Adriana Amanda, and I met the girls at the park and passed the kids off to the guys- Mateo, Jason, and David- to keep occupied on the playground while we hung out with the women. We started by singing a few songs on the guitar, which many of the girls have been anxious to do since they found out that many of us can play the guitar. Then we had a time sharing mate and showing off our tattoos before moving on to a time of foot washing and manicures and pedicures. Many of the girls were insistent on washing either Amanda's or my feet and/or painting our fingernails or toenails before we were even able to offer our services to them. We then handed out their gift bags which contained, with other little gifts, a notebook we thought useful for writing down thoughts. They spent their time decorating their notebooks with some crafts we provided for them while we all ate brownies, strawberries, and chips. Certainly we had to make a lot of improvisations with such a group of eager women and jealous dads, who we had to chase off a few times, but more than anything I remember most lots of laughter, smiles, sharing, and the eagerness to serve.
In all of these events I experienced the various aspects of community. Community has been an idea that I had romanticized in the past. Since living here I have seen that while community is a good thing it is also very hard. And yet in the midst of its hardships it reveals itself to be a beautiful lifestyle practice. I share in life with those who have children, with those whose interests are starkly different from mine, with those who have enormously less materially than I have. This community yields celebration as itself is a celebration!