Adios Coachella!

Half-way done

Wow. Round 2 is done and over. We said our goodbyes to Coachella Valley last week Thursday and left early Friday morning.

This time “Goodbye” was harder than Round 1 I believe. We had three more weeks than last round to invest ourselves in our service, they people we worked for and with, and to become a part of the community. By living in Mecca, working in Coachella and enjoying Indio, our team really connected ourselves to Coachella Valley. We sought out opportunities for extra service projects on weekends at homeless shelters, a pet rescue center, and the historical society. We studied Spanish weekly and used it daily on the construction site, at the after school programs, with our neighbors and at the grocery store. From the start of our project to the end our team vastly improved in their Spanish language ability, construction expertise, leadership, and familiarity with children.

I would love to share just a few moments of why Coachella was so special to me:

Waking up was HARD. No one can be really happy about waking up before the hour of 5am has hit for physical training, however…the benefits far outweighed the discomfort. Running under the stars and moon before the rest of the world is awake is exhilarating. After eating some breakfast and dressing for work, tying up my steel toed boots and praying that my shoe-laces hold one more day, we walk to the van. Everyone walks slowly with their head turned to the east, for at this exact moment the sun is starting to rise over the mountains. When we first started in Coachella, the sun wouldn’t emerge until we arrived at the construction site, but the sun rise was still magnificent. By our last week the sun was already greeting us above the mountains as we entered Kuna (our van). The pinks, purples, oranges all painted in a vast array, the mountains completely surrounding us constantly changing depending on how the sun hit them, the fields of date palm trees we passed on our way to work; all these things combined to create the most stunning sunrise I could imagine. EVERY MORNING. These are good things about waking up early.

Once our safety talk and stretch circle are complete, we get to work! I particularly loved the mornings on the roofs. It consisted of a perfect view of the sunrise, and the adrenaline rush of being high than humans normally are. At least one to two mornings a week there would be a special treat for us in the sky: Hot Air Balloons! Some days just one or two, and some days there were 10 or more colorful hot air balloons floating in front of the mountains, landing on the soccer field next to our build site! Life didn’t seem real, it was too beautiful. But then there would be another tile to lay or hammer and we continued on with the work.

There were a few special moments when we were able to work with the families whose homes we were building. The stories they told and the appreciation in their voices really brought meaning to the work we were doing. One Saturday we all had a Carne Asada (barbeque) together! Everyone brought something (I baked cookies) and we ate and talked and shared about what our program was about.

Another thing I liked about Coachella: SIESTA!! No further explanation necessary.

About once a week our neighbors, who are migrant farm workers farming in the area, would bring us food! Red, yellow, green bell peppers! Dates! Avocados! Strawberries! They know what we are doing and want to show their support in any way they can. We come from different backgrounds and languages, but we are neighbors who care for each other, and that is the only thing that really matters. I absolutely loved every time I was walking and ended up having a (very broken) conversation in Spanish, but still being able to communicate.

My favorite moments, at no surprise to those of you who know me, were spent with the children at the after school programs. Struggling through homework problems and seeing a child’s eyes light up when they finally get it. Playing hang-man and having the phrase be “You’re the best teacher” and “I will miss you so much”. Playing “teacher: and having a 6^th grader re-teach me long division. Piggy Back rides. A new game called “Banana Split”. Playing cops and robbers. Having many many pictures drawn for me to put on my wall. Getting a knock on the door while making dinner to see a group of young boys standing awkwardly to give me another picture. Each and every one of these moments with the kids was special to me. They also made is especially hard when the time came to say goodbye. The question I ALWAYS dread, every single time I leave children who I’ve grown to love, children I’ve invested energy and compassion and care into, they ask me “When are you coming back?” I’m reminded of all the kids I’ve had to say goodbye to: the kids I tutored in when I was in high school, my neighbors, my little brother, children from the Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico, and South Africa. Realistically, I probably wont come back here, and if I do these children will probably be gone. Its easier when I have an answer, I could tell my neighbors and little brother “I’ll be back the end of next summer! I’ll see you all then!” But to these children I couldn’t give a happy answer. “Maybe I’ll come back someday, but probably not?” What kind of answer is that?

Saying goodbye to our construction supervisors was just as hard. They had become like family to us, and taught us so very much about their culture, in addition to construction and Spanish skills.

Whenever I or any of my fellow teammates speak on Coachella, we inadvertently place our hand over our hearts. I know for me I have found yet another home. (Except don't expect me to ever be there in the summer, temperatures average around 120 degrees!!)

I'll leave you with a few more pictures: