Time Flies...

Well I have officially been in Majuro for over a month now and I can hardly believe it. The days are all beginning to run together as if I have been here for years. Last Saturday, The JVIs were invited out to dinner by Father Ken. He is the Jesuit Superior for all of Micronesia. He said something that stuck with me while I chowed down my Chinese food. He said, “If you’ve been somewhere a week you can write a book, a month an article, and a year, well you can’t write anything. Same goes for photographers. In the beginning everything is new and interesting, but after a while it becomes routine and everyday.” I hope I remember this and am able to appreciate the small things more often. Last night I also happened to be doing some reading…Men’s Health…and read an article about the 24 top ways to earn respect. Number 8 was my favorite. “Do what you always told people you were going to do” Who thought words of inspiration could come from a media source.
Last week was complete chaos in a way to familiar kind of way. We had offers to go out, a volunteer family to hang out with, dinner plans on Tuesday, a barbeque on Friday, and a whirl-wind of other events to make an appearance at. ( a guy could get used to this!) Thanks to my wonderful up bring and ability to schmooze I had a great time, getting to meet fellow volunteers, local Marshallese, and others. I guess it is in my blood. Well, as for the rest of the house, they were kind of beat and were a bit overwhelmed by the weeks festivities. They found it to be to busy and not “simple” .
Ah, simple you say…Well that leads me to my next topic. “Simple Living” is one of the four values that sets JVI apart from the other run of the mill, leave your family and friends behind, after graduation, volunteer opportunities…lol. The other three are Living in community…CHECK. Doing works of justice…CHECK, and Practicing your faith Double CHECK. These three values, while not a walk in the park, by any standard are, I feel, better defined universally. Living Simply, however, can mean something different to everyone…( which can be problematic for attempting to Live in Community). So on Sunday as usual we had our community meeting. Where we all gathered around the dinner table and shared how we were doing, who was going to be doing what, what has been going well, are things being kept clean…typical roommate-ish questions and concerns, but then we introduced the topic of simple living.
During my orientation in Scranton, PA it was said jokingly that entering into a JV community was like entering into a marriage, except for the fact that it’s polygamist, you hardly know one another there is a finite end to the relationship, and no bedroom benefits…lol. So, just like in a marriage all five of us JV’s have our different view of what living simply means to each of us. The spectrum was wide. For some people if they were asked to live simply their first thought might be on material things, but this is only the beginning. So after you buy non-name brand food and are not focused on material things such as TV, Internet, clothing….the more challenging side of living simply has not even begun. This includes simplifying ones life and relationships. What does that mean…well “simply” stated it means getting rid of all preconceived notions, gossip and junk that prevents one from truly getting to know someone else. It also means choosing who you spend time with as well as where you spend your time.
Two and a half hours later we ended our meeting. The discussion was to be continued at a later date, it is more of an ongoing process rather then a question with an answer. Well as a side note….I find the community meeting to be a necessary evil, and find it amazing how 5 people can all have a different opinion on the life span of a kitchen sponge, weather to buy wheat bread even if its slightly more expensive, or if knifes should be placed in the drying rack blade up, or blade down. If you know me at all….you will no that…..the typical house sponge should be used no longer then one month after its first use and only on dishes and countertops, wheat bread is worth the money if it is in fact whole grain, otherwise its just brown white bread, kitchen knives should be kept blade up, angled toward the back wall, to prevent the blade from being placed in stagnant water. (LOL….LOL ok so really….I could care less about these small things and instead found it amusing to hear the views of my community)….If you really thought I would have an opinion on the life span of a kitchen sponge then you most not know me to well and I would love to hear from you so write a comment or send me a letter.
Gregory Montoya
Jesuit Volunteer International
PO Box # 8