CAS 2014-2016 @ish-means-luck - Tumblr Blog

Akiangel

ccc

Final Thoughts

To be completely honest, I was weary of CAS as a requirement at first. In some way it struck me as a bad idea, forcing people into doing volunteer work which many could come to resent, as i’ve seen it happen before, and working with an unwilling peer makes it difficult to enjoy volunteering and do things right. I was proven wrong when I realised two things.

First of all, I learned that very few people were actually opposed to volunteering and, even those who were, were willing to make an effort, if only for their final grade, which made it easier to work with them. Many even admitted to enjoying the experience in the end, as did some of my peers after I talked them into attending a Cantera event, for example. The second thing I realised was that, without limitations, I could really volunteer doing anything that I wanted and pursue different interests while seeing them under a different light to the usual “just because”. In more than one occasion, when I was too tired to complete a task or project, CAS worked as a motivator.

I really must say that CAS became one of my favourite things about the IB programme, both a motivator and excuse to volunteer and work on projects I would have otherwise reasoned to not have the time to complete. More than anything, i also saw the effect CAS had on other students, even the ones who outright refused to do a certain kind of job.

#conclusion

Smaller Project and Activities

Adoption and Rescue: One thing I’ve always wanted to take part in is animal rescue and care, perhaps even learn hot to train companion animals later on in life. I adopted a kitten one year ago (his name is Lachlan) and then another little one just a few weeks ago (named Lola by my father). It was then, when Lola came to live with us that I first heard of the rescue centre that took care of her. Getting in toch with them was easy and in a week I’ll have my first interview with them, which will hopefully allow me to work closely with them and their almost 200 rescue animals.

Collecting toiletries: My mother belongs to a group of women that closely support a safe house for abused and destitute young women and i try to help her with as many volunteers and supporters I can find for them. It’s not something I do as frequently as I’d like because my mother’s group manages very well and outside involvement can be difficult, but given the chance I would like to have the opportunity to be more directly involved with this organisation. Perhaps when I’m out of school.

#C #A #S #other activities

The Golden Temple.

There are few things that I can think of that could ever rival with the beauty of the Golden Temple. Worship prayers rung in the air, believers off all religions walking freely around in a sacred place that shimmered on the blessed lake that surrounds it. Women, regardless of belief or race, covered their hair as well as men and there was a widespread sense of peace, a quiet acceptance of being.

That night we ate in the community kitchen that is adjoined to the temple, completely for free. It was absilutely delicious but, more than that, the ambience around us was a vibrant thing with a life of its own. In the mess hall, all are equal and are treated as such.

#McLeod #CAS Proyect

Some of the few pictures we could sneak at Rogpa! The first is one of our favourite babies, Rinchen. He was an absolute sweetheart, mostly quiet but with quite a set of lungs when he was upset.

The bottom picture was taken shortly before our time in Daramshala was over, to conmemorate our time in Rogpa. Sadly, the afternoon shift I was part of didn’t get to pose with the women who work full-time in Rogpa.

One of the oldest women I am specially fond of and hope to write more of her and the “small babies“ soon.

#McLeod #CAS Proyect

Dharamshala

The interesting thing about domestic flights in India: there is an absolute unpredictability regarding their arrival and departure. Our flight was in fact delayed, but nobody seemed to mind too terribly. We spent a few hours watching familie scome and go, talking about what our expectations were, and before we knew it we were buckled and on our way to the Himalayas.

Located in the Kangra Valley in the district of Kangra, part of the Himanchal Pradesha Indian state, and formarly know as Bhagsu, Dharamshala has become the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration in Exile. To the Tibetan community, it has become a second home.

Rapsel Gi, soon to be our friend and guide for the length of our journey, greeted us at the airport, and any fears of inadequacy instantly flew out the window as he gifted us in the traditional Tibetan way, with blessings in the shape of white sashes around our shoulders. The drive to Dharamshala made us grateful for the blessing. I have never feared more for my life than driving on an Indian Highway bordered by miles of cliffs.

We arrived to McLeod, where the LHA residence and soup kitchen is located, with a slight delay and, sadly, we could not meet our one-to-one counterparts or introduce ourselves to the heads of our chosen volunteering projects. However, that first night and susequent weekend, we did spend naturalising ouserves with the town’s enviroment and locals. We soon established favourite coffee shops and aquainted ourselves well with the nooks and crannys of McLeod.

The residence itsslf was as accomodatingly spartan as it was homely. Family run and active throughout the whole year, volunteers come and go, leaving behind books for others and pieces of themselves; postcards and ear-dogged pages.

#McLeod #CAS Proyect

A glimpse of nightime Amsterdam; an experience on its own. As short as our stay was, and as cold as the wind blew, we made the best of our time visiting everything we plausibly could, from the infamous red light district to the government offices and lanmark historical sites of the city.

#McLeod #CAS Proyect

Winter in the Himalayas- McLeod Ganj

Time Frame: December 8- January 8

Letters: C, A, S.

C- Traveling is often born out of the bounds of creative exploration and requires both the curiosity to pique someone’s interest and the drive to see it through.

A- This project does not only imply that we’ll be informed about the tibetan refugee situation in McLeod, but what we can do (and hopefully will be able to do) to help them; as little as we can do, we’ll de wholeheartedly.

S- The whole reason for our travel to India is to help however we can. We’ll be teaching monks and the oldest of the children how to speak English and Spanish as well providing phys ed to the youngest members of the community. Furthermore, anything that is needed of us, we’ll try to accomlish to the best of our abilities.

When I first heard of the volunteering opportunity in India, I was weary of filling in the format application for taking part of it, but it has undoubtedly been one of the best desitions I’ve taken. We knew we would be working in close quarters with the Tibetan community exiled in Northern India, but what we never imagined was just how much this trip would affect us.

Rogpa is a Tibetan daycare that survives on donations and the work of both local and foreign volunteers. The help kitchen and volunteering centre that took us in in Daramshala, Lha, often sends volunteers their way. On arriving, several of my companions decided to work in the kitchen or language centre but the moment I heard about the children I fell in love with the project and lost no time in signing up as a Rogpa volunteer.

I’d worked with children before, even taught karate for close to two years, but Rogpa was an entirely new experience. First of all, I had never worked with such young children and neither had my companions, which made us nervous at first, as did the fact there was little of a common language between the children and us. The first days were specially hard, but we soon got a grasp on some basic Tibetan to help us communicate. As the full-time, Tibetan volunteers began to warm up to us and the more we grew attached to the children, the easier it became to learn about and be welcomed in the community. In Rogpa we did everything, from changing diapers to learning to dance, and we loved our time there, learning all we could.

The knowledge of the situation in Tibet and the precarious position of its language and cultural heritage are things we brought back to Mexico with us, inseparable from the children we cared for and the one-on-on conversation partners that became life-long friends.

#C #A #S #McLeod #CAS Proyects

It may be for just a weekend, but spending time with the fmilies, truly learning about their situation, what they want from the future, it all endears them greatly to you. We have to remain as cool headed as possible, grounded. What we are doing helps but it doesn’t eliminate the problem. A house is only a home when effort is put into it and, as many success stories as we hear withing the organisation, there are also sad, inevitable cases that are beyond what we can offer. Even so, TECHO has a strong hold in tese communities and every day we take steps together to better living conditions, porviding resources for the community to work with itself and to keep up their goals as a united front.

#Techo

TECHO became, without a doubt, my favourite CAS activity and i continue my relationship with them to this day. This pictures are from the second construction I attended, for instance, and I frequently try and collect funds at the hospital for new housing projects. I’ve had two successful attempts so far!

#Techo

To the right you can see the family’s old house. While it seems to be sturdy, and wihout a doubt Don Miguel made sure it could stand against the weather (as he is a carpinter and a very talented canoe builder), the children (ranging from ages 3 to 16) were sleeping in the same room, sharing absolutely everything and with little privacy for themselves. The inside of teh house had no solid flooring; everything was set on the damp chinanpa ground. The kitchen, adjoined to the divided room smoked frequently and heavily, and it was very concerning to see the children walking around barefoot when nails and broken glass littered the ground, amongst other things. It’s a harsh reality, but reality none the less.

Out of all the children, I spent the most time with Susie who is about ten and attends the local school every day. Once the new house was finished we spent some time drawing inside but our chatter was cut short when the boys came back with a football ball. The prospect of a flat surface to play on drew them in very much and I’m glad to say that they enjoyed it very much befor ethey were shooed outside by their mother so that we could clean the floors.

What left us absolutely floored was when Don Miguel came home with a group of starngers who he quickly ushered into his brand new home, which he hadn’t had the time to enjoy himself. It had started to rain wuite suddenly and he explained to us that the strangers were a group he’d promised to take in a picnic as part of his job in Xochimilco. However, he’d forgotten about the house being built on those days and had not expected rain so he explained how he thought that the most decent thing to do was to provide this family with a roof to shield themselves from the rain. It was an awfully kind gesture to have towards these people.

Another great lesson came from Miguel’s wife. During the building process we ate with the family, as is customary for Techo. What is also costumary is to provide the family with a basic basket, not only to not be a burden to their already strained economy, but also as a sort of gift to celebrate the new building. Every morning when we arrived to build, teh family would have coffee and bread ready for us, food we had not provided for them and yet they had procured specially for us. During meals too, they’d gift us with more than we had gave them. It truly touched our hearts and made us realise just how much more thsi family was doing for us than we could even do for them with a simple house. We soon came to the realisation that although temporary housing doesn’t seem like a final solution for us, to them it is absolutely priceless.

#Techo

We tried to spend as much time as we could with the family, not only to learn about their situation, but because they were genuinely very kind, open-hearted people who welcomed us into their home, allowed us to help them take a step forwards and trusted us almost blindly.

#Techo

First picture: the finished house we built for Ophelia and her family. The purple banners were a courtesy of Home Plan, a Dutch company that aids Techo financially and sends volunteers every so often.

Second picture: On our way to the chinanpa we were building on.

#Techo

TECHO

Time Frame: November 29, 2014. From 9 am to 4 pm.

Letter(s): C, A, S.

C- Even before heading towards the community that accepted taking us in, figuring out how to make all the money needed to buy the materials to build the house was no easy task. From giving the generic bake sale a twist, to convincing sponsors to fund our project and going through with an unlikely raffle, it took a while but we managed the 64′000 pesos necessary to build not one, but two houses.

A- Leaving on Friday to return on Sunday, TECHO’s houses are made to be assembled in a day or two, often resulting in three. Although they are small, the risk of leakage is almost nule, the walls are well insulated and the floor held above the ground lowers tha risk of sickness and of faltering floor boards. Carrying all the equipment plus the elements of assembly can become a feat, specially after having troubles with the dry terrain and rocky settlements. The community we built in is located in Xochimilco, a few hours by car away from the city’s centre and built upon marsh water.

S- The family’s we provide this service for at times have naught more than a mattress to their name and a slate of scrap metal over their heads. Giving them a house will not fix their problems, but it takes a weight off their backs. The children get less sick, they have a place to play taht’s free of nails and glass, rain can no longer drench their clothes and it is safer to live in a closed space when delictive goups are never far away. Not only that, but the families that accept to take part of TECHO make a compromise to meet the educational and vocational goals the project sets and are capacitated in the field of law so that they can protect their property and their own from those who’d take them from them.

#CAS proyect #C #A #S #Techo

Rachmaninoff

Time span: ongoing.

A- This Rhapsody has the fault, or mere particularity, that most of its compases are so very repetitive that it’s difficult to differentiate the slight variation in every chord. This is probably the most challenging piece that I’ve had the pleasure of studying, and a great warm up for further concert pieces.

I have been playing piano for 10 years, and in that time I have played countless different pieces, classical and otherwise, but this will be my first proper concert piece: Rhapsody on a Theme on Paganini, v. XVIII.

#Music #A

#Karate #BB

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CAS 2014-2016