Casa Damasco

I have written about Una gota en el oceano in the past years, it is the homeless shelter that used to be called Casa Damasco. Today I went there for the first time this season with some friends. The Mexican Government only allows foreigners to do volunteer work for 5 weeks with a tourist visa (which is what I have), I left my volunteering for my last 5 weeks here thinking that my house would be all set up by then, little did I know that setting up a home from scratch takes a lot longer.  I am comfortable in it and don’t care if it doesn’t all get done this year. I will need something to do next year as well.

So off I went to Una gota en el oceano, some people from years past where still there, some had passed on, and there were some new people as well, as is the case each year. The house is staffed with a cook, and a couple that do all the daily work that needs doing and there is a nurse that visits once a week as well. Basically all they want from us volunteers now is just to love these people and help them to regain some dignity that has been lost from years of abuse of some kind, living on the street, being discarded by family because of illnesses or disability, living in poverty, being orphaned, so many scenarios as to why someone ends up homeless.

At first I just walked around and shook hands and greeted everyone, lunch was served and I walked around and wiped faces and hands, some of the people can still feed them selves but it can get a little messy sometimes. One man was covered in food after he was done and as I wiped his face and his hands my heart just went out to him, I am not sure why but his one hand was all curled up and it seemed his legs were semi paralyzed, possibly MS. As I wiped his hands with a damp cloth I started to gently massaging them and he seemed to like that so I decided he was going to get a pedicure. We had come prepared to give foot massages and pedicures but since we didn’t have time to do everyone we were going to determine who needed it most and who would be open to that, I decided I had found my candidate. A basin of water was found, some soap and clean towels, some hydrogen peroxide and some Iodine and I went to work. I have a hard time putting into words how surreal it was to feel a grow man basically surrender himself to me, he was in a wheel chair so he couldn’t escape, not that he wanted too, I felt he totally enjoyed the interaction, the attention, I did communicate with him in Spanish (I can finally do that now) but I felt that he was so vulnerable because he couldn’t run away, his body was weak, he couldn’t sit upright or hold his head up, I felt so honoured that he allowed me into his space. I didn’t feel worthy to be there. It was as if that kind of intimacy and trust needed to be earned and I didn’t feel I had earned that having just met him to day. I washed and massaged his feet, and his hands, cleaned and clipped his toe and finger nails. I just kept thinking “what if he was my grandpa or my father” I fell in love with him. My time with him was over too soon. 

I used to feel so helpless when going there but I don’t anymore because I have finally come to realize that all that is needed is love and God will do the rest and if you feel that you don’t have enough love to give there, God will supply that as well if you ask. I went back and read some of my stories that I wrote in 2008 and I now shake my head at myself, I didn’t get it then, I was too focused on the lack of clean dish cloths. I finally got it through my head that you can’t change the way the people do things here, they don’t use dish cloths, a cloth is a rag to them and will be used as a rag, so when you go there don’t wash the dishes with their rags and complain it’s dirty, and go to the store to buy new “rags” only to find them used as “rags” the next week. lol, I laugh at this now. I don’t even use a dish cloth in my house here anymore. I’m getting it, slowly.

A mystery man

Normally before I write about someone I ask them if they mind being mentioned on my blog but I am making a exception with this story. It’s for this reason that I have been reluctant to tell this story but I think it is a story that needs telling. I am hoping something positive will come out of this and I hope that this doesn’t sound like I am exploiting this  poor man, that is the last thing that I want to do. Sometimes when we try to help someone it can, if not thought out properly actually do more harm than good so I have thought long and hard and am still not entirely sure but here goes;

Every once in a while last year I would see a very needy, poor and destitute looking man walking on the streets here on the Island, and I assumed he lived way in the back of the Colonina, which is where the poorer people live. It is fairly common here in Mexico that the poorest people live on the edge of town, usually squatting there. Well, I assumed wrong, as is usually the case when one is assuming. I also assumed that he had some mentally disabilities that kept him from finding employment, I assumed wrong on that one too.

When I first got here I was house sitting for some friends of mine and was this mans neighbour (kind of). Turned out he lives (lived) under a tree at the edge of the village in a shelter that he had built of bits and pieces of garbage, a piece of card board here and a few palm fonds, it was a very crude shelter. I have since been told that he has lived here for 5 years, maybe not always under that particular tree. He originally lived under a tree at the airport for about 10 years, one lady told me 10 years, another said 11, what the actual number is I do not know, let’s just call it a long long time. They finally evicted him for reasons I do not know and he wandered his way over here and has been here ever since. He does not speak, and does not interact with anyone, he comes into the village just far enough to scrounge for food and then he heads backs to his hut. His tree was right at the corner of the new development in the plantations and for a while the construction crew would work around him but finally they took it upon themselves to build him a new hut further up the road (away from the village), they built him a beautiful little hut, a very sturdy and well built hut. It looks like a work of love, they didn’t have to do that, they could have just ploughed down his garbage and let him rebuild somewhere else but they didn’t, and God will bless them for that, I just know. He has a house now that will keep him dry during the rainy reason and warm at nights during the cold season (warmer anyway). They even built the floor up off the ground so it wouldn’t be cold. They attached a basket to the outside wall so that people could drop off food for him. You can tell the way it was built that it wasn’t built out of duty; you can see it was built out of love and someone took great pride in building it. An act of love like this does not go unnoticed by God.

I guess we can't really call him homeless anymore. 

He still wanders in to the village about 3 times a day to look for food. Now that I have moved into my house I am across the street from 2 ladies that leave food out for him on top of a brick fence and he knows it is for him and comes in to get it. A few times I would watch him come in to check the fence for food and finding nothing he started rummaging through the garbage, as I was watching this I decided this is not necessary, and vowed that he would not have to do that anymore. The two ladies that are feeding him do not have a lot to give and are giving as much as they can spare which is what has kept him alive. God will also bless them for that. It’s easy to give when you have lots to give but when you don’t have much it is a sacrifice to give and that is what they have been doing. By the looks of him he has been getting just enough food to stay alive but certainly not enough to be healthy or comfortable.

I’ve been told that the man has never spoken, no one knows his name or where he came from. He is not Mexican, or Latino, he looks to be Caucasian. Apparently he has a suitcase that he has always had with him, because he ended up at the airport I am guessing he came here by plane at some point, something happened to keep him from leaving. There are many scenarios here, we can assume many things. I am guessing that he is not mute; I think he can talk but has chosen not to as a defence; it is his form of protection from people. If you don’t respond people eventually stop bugging you and just start ignoring you, something happened to him to make him feel he needed to protect himself and now that it has been so long he most likely has forgotten how to talk even if he wanted too. Think about not interacting with humans for 15 years, think of what it would do to your mind even if you were of sound mind to begin with. He has been living like a dog, competing for scrapes of food in the trash, no water, no toilet, no family, no books, no TV, no friends, no money, no social interaction what so ever for 15 years (or so). This man has an amazing story. Imagine.

Here is the thought that breaks my heart, what if there is a mother looking for him? He looks to be in his 30s or early 40s, hard to tell though, which would mean he came here as a young man of 20 or so, he must have a mother somewhere. A mother would never stop looking or hoping. It is heartbreaking to think that there may be a family somewhere looking for a brother, a son or father even. Imagine.

As I was talking this through with a few friends someone said that maybe he doesn’t want to be found, maybe he is hiding. If that were true I doubt he would have hung out at the airport for 10 years, airports have security and police, and Federales coming and going all the time, not a good hiding spot. When he came to the Island he built his shelter right on the edge of the road in plain view when he could have walked a few yards into the jungle and have been completely out of sight. I don’t think he is hiding, although I am sure his passport had expired as has his visitor visa.

I have been trying to get a good face shot of him but he is so quick to grab food and head back up the road. I have a few shots but I am still hoping for a good head shot. Maybe maybe someone will recognize him if we pass this picture on. With the help of the internet it is possible to get his picture around the world. When I look at his face I think he may be European, I also see German features in him, his eyes are light but his hair is dark, he has high cheek bones and a prominent nose, I would put him at about 5’11. Please copy this picture and pass it around.

Matthew 25:35-46

I have been told that there is a lady on the Island here that cuts his hair once in awhile. I haven’t found her yet (I don’t have a name). I do want to speak to her and see if she has ever been able to communicate with him at all.

I am now helping the ladies on my street feed him, I have the means to do this (it really doesn’t take much) and certainly have the time. I just cook for 2 now, which is kind of nice and when I buy fruit and vegetables I now buy for 2. I pack him a lunch every night and put it out for him early in the morning. I try to make it a healthy meal, a carb, a protein, a fruit and a vegetable, sometimes a treat from the dessert truck and sometimes a bag of Cheetos. Between the two of them the other 2 ladies leave something for him around supper time most days. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do for when I leave, do I leave money with someone to feed him? Who? I’ll have to think about this.

I haven’t seen him dig through the garbage since I’ve started contributing, there should be no need for anyone to eat out of the garbage, if only the people that had to spare would share. I believe there is enough food to go around, there are just too many people hoarding it and not sharing. I just keep thinking, “What if this was my son, or my father or my brother” how would I want other people to treat him. Imagine.

Matthew 25:35-46

I’ve been told this man has never harmed anyone here, he has never been a nuisance, and he has never stolen anything, he has never stepped foot into anyone’s yard except to reach into the garbage. He is just looking to survive. I was also told that if you hand him something he won’t take it but he did take a bag of food from me one day.

no internet

I am all settled in my new home, everyday is a new adventure. For  instance, apparently hanging curtains takes 2 weeks....maybe longer they care not up yet. Hanging things onto a concrete wall is not as easy as  slamming a nail in the wall....this is also true for hanging closet rods, clocks, pictures.ect.
I also have no internet, I bought  a TelCel 3G stick and was told it would work just fine, NOT! Does not work in my house, maybe concrete walls are too dense, whatever the case they will also not refund my money, which was not a surprise.
So I have no pictures, although I am writing stories which I will download someday for you. I do have some interesting ones. Be patient with me.

Another stellar performance at the hardware store

I am getting fairly settled in my new home, but it seems everyday I need something, I guess that's normal when you start from scratch. Of course I had to go to the hardware store and make a fool of myself, some of my best idiot performances have been seen at the hardware store.....they should have  video cameras there, maybe they do. I bet after work they sit in the warehouse in the back with a few beers and watch the funniest gringo movies. I bet I'm a movie star and don't even know it. My land lady told me I shouldn't plant certain plants, she gave me a long list of plants not to plant because the ants in the back yard would just eat them....I said "I'll fix that" I happened to watch my neighbor here sprinkle some white powder  on the ground a few months ago and when I inquired (nosy neighbors must inquire) what he was doing he said it kills ants. So proud of myself I was for now having this information I marched off to the hardware store (I needed a few other things as well) So, in my very bestest Spanglish I asked for the white powder that kills ants, that worked fine, he sold me a kilo of it, I do know that a kilo is 2.2 lbs, what I still don't know is what 2.2 lbs of white powder looks like, or how much parsley you get out of 2.2 lbs (lots).....buying stuff by the kilo is still a bit tricky for me. Then it dawns on me that this stuff might be highly toxic (you don't say) and I remember that my neighbor has 2 little kitties and there is a puppy living across the street, so I ask (this is where it all got turned sideways) if it would kill cats and dogs. After I walked away with my purchases I ran the conversation that had happened through my head and I realized that I may have said I wanted to kill the cats and dogs, that would explain the change in his tone with me, I notice that his tone changed during out conversation, I figured there was some kind of a mix up but I had my powder so I decided not to worry about what was troubling him. I hope he doesn't live near me. Next time I need to take the time to rethink what was said instead of waiting until I am almost home. 

I also needed a dustpan and broom, check out my dust pan, made out of an oil jug, genius or what? I asked if they had any "normal" dustpans, he said this was normal...ok. I do however remember my mother having a dustpan like this many years ago, but not made out of an oil jug, it was yellow and plastic I think, 

I didn't buy a spade, because my land lady gave me one, a house warming gift maybe. The broom was made by her, this is what she does for a living, she makes brooms out of dried palms, this is an amazing broom for sweeping up your yard, it;s like a  gentle rake.

Just need some shelves and curtains

Maybe some cozy cushions as well

This corner looks a little lonely 

Need some pillows, maybe a lamp

This will become a desk soon, just needs a little love....most likely will involve another trip to the hardware store

Winding wool into a ball with the help of my chair

The cat next door, the one that I don't want to kill

Now, on to a totally different subject, have you ever seen such a cute playhouse, someone made this little house out of love. I noticed it after I came back from Christmas making me think it was a Christmas gift. The house is made out of card board and it is painted, the door opens, the windows have curtains, it even has Christmas lights strung around the roof and the around the windows. It has little flower pots hanging beside the door and window, and a little rocking chair in front of it.  Someone put a lot of time into this, hardly any money was needed but lots of time, almost makes me tear up when I walk by. I love this. I've been meaning to seek a picture of this but kept forgetting my camera.

The big move

The big move happened yesterday, I think it took all of 15 minutes. Fridges got swapped out, shower got installed....life is good.
My new casa does however come with a few quirky things, which I knew it would.
I needed to do some laundry and that's when I noticed that my laundry water drains into my back yard. I can see the reasoning behind it, the pilla is in the front yard, the property slops down in the back, so the water just naturally runs down. I have plans on a garden back there and while I am all for recycling water I don't think my garden will appreciate soapy wash water, and the occasional bit of bleach. Here is the low down on the pilla, 99.9 % of Mexican homes have one of these and when I go home I miss it, I would love to have one at home.

I of course don't spit in my pilla, I have a bathroom sink this year, most people don't. I will get the plumbing figured out eventually. 

After a hard day of cleaning and organizing I decide to have a nice hot shower in my new shower, as I was standing there in the cascade of hot water reflecting on how blessed I am, perhaps feeling a bit smug with myself as well..... all the lights went out and the water stopped running, all the lights, it was some dark. Good thing I was done showering at this point I was just standing there enjoying the water...wasting water I guess it what it's called here. Good thing I had just unpacked and actually knew where the candles and lighter was. I find a towel light a candle and notice that the neighbors all have light (this is what I was afraid of) When all the lights are out that means it's not your problem but when only yours are out it's your problem. Then I remembered that when I was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the house I had notice that the breaker box was mounted outside on the wall of the house, I had thought to myself that that was a weird spot for it and wondered if people ever play jokes on each other and flick the switch as they walk by...humm. So I get dressed and head out there and sure enough I flick the switch and my lights come on. My shower must have flicked the breaker, will this happen very time I am in the shower...no se. 

This morning the land lady came by and I told her what happened, she said "when it does that you have to flick the switch", right, but how do we fix that I ask, she says " when it does that you flick the switch and then it's fixed" Right...duh. That all sounds so easy but when it does that I am in the shower, naked and wet, and the switch is outside..... hopefully this was an isolated incident and won't happen every time...we'll see. 

I also have some ubberly noisy neighbors, maybe after a while they will get bored with me once they find out I am really not that interesting, one lady inspecting my garbage that I put out last night and rearranged it, I must not have arranged it properly. 

I also have a little convenience store right next door, a very small one that takes up the front half of a little house, the family lives in the back half, this is will be very ....convenient, and makes it way to easy to step next door and buy a bag of Cheetos. 

The guy that drives the vegetable truck also lives 4 doors down, also very convenient. I did notice that when he drove up there were a lot of women that come out of their houses all at once and it seemed to be a social event, they kept him there for about 1/2 an hour (maybe even longer) chatting amongst themselves, he must know all the gossip on the Island. (they probably told him what was in my garbage....empty Cheetos bags) I always feel like I shouldn't be keeping him because he has a schedule to keep so I am always quiet rushed when I make my purchases. Now that I know that he knows everything (he must) I think I will make sure that he is my friend. The other vegetable guy (we have 2) is already my friend but this guy is new. 

Whats not so convenient is that I have no internet and as I am only here for 2 more months (whaaaa, where has the time gone) I may not bother with getting internet this year. I will go into the mainland and look into it anyway and see what the cost is and to see how easy it is to disconnect and reconnect as come and go. I have a shopping list for the mainland anyway. I used my laptop screen as a mirror this morning....I need a mirror, and a garbage can, and a mop pail (still), and curtain, shower rods...ect. 

As I get used to all the night sounds on my street I will let you know if the magic has followed me. And soon more pictures. 

Automotive eye candy

Those that know me know that I come from a family that have gasoline fumes in their veins...well not really, but we are "car people", some more than others. Some of us get butterflies in our stomach when we hear a engine rev up, it get us all romantic and swoony (some of us) When a snowmobile roars by leaving a trail of exhaust fumes some of us breath deep and say "aaahhhhh", you know that sound you make when someone is massaging that really tight spot on the back of your neck...that's the sound. There are also some of us (not naming names) that can't drive by an auto junk yard without stopping and seeing what treasures they can find and most of us (some won't admit this) drive by craning their necks to see if they can spot a treasure from the road. A few years ago some of us dug out the old beaten cars that were "resting" in back yards, hay fields, and old barns, cleaned them up, put new tires on, smashed the glass out and painted numbers on them, built a dirt rack in a hay field and started racing cars on Saturday nights. I searched for a photo of my old race car but I couldn't find it this morning. These next few photos are "eye candy" for any "car people" out there. I think when cars die in North America they come to Mexico and live here happily forever after.

Some of us also collect garbage furniture.....Check out my new desk, I have exciting plans for this, it involves some paint and some Mexican tile....exciting

This "car people" thing comes to me from my mother's side, on my father's side I have inherited a love of "weird and/or different things"....somehow the love of exhaust fumes isn't considered weird enough to go under the heading of "weird and/or different things". One different thing I am looking for is hat for my daughter (apple doesn't fall far from the tree here), she wants me to bring her back a hat like this, if you happen to see one like this somewhere please let me know. It's not your standard cowboy hat, it's taller with a wider brim. This cute guy is from the movie "All the beautiful horses" and she figured since parts of this movie was filmed in Mexico this would be the place to find a hat like this.

Wanna see my sore toe?

Opps, it may seem I have abandoned you all, but that is not so, I have just been a bit preoccupied with getting my house ready and also been taking the time to sit down and actually study Spanish. I also have a friend that is helping me a lot. I have had a few adventures as well but of course didn't have my camera with me. I just don't pack it around with me anymore, maybe because I feel so at home here...we don't carry our cameras around at home do we?...well not always. The first time I came to Stone Island was 12 years ago and I took a picture of a little house like this (it wasn't this house) I carried it around in my daytimer (back when I still had a normal people job) and when my life got a little hairy and scary I would flip to this picture and imagine how some day I would leave the rat race and live here. I always joked saying "I just want a hut, a sack of rice, a sack of beans and a donkey to carry me around". When I get back to Canada I will dig that picture out and post it for you all, but it looked something like this; this place is adorable, evenings here would be absolutely enchanting.......way beyond magical must be a place called enchantment and this is it...I think. Can you see yourself here?

Enchantment 

This is my neighbor a few door down, I've walked by it a few times and I have been meaning to get a really artsy shot of his ladder but as of yet (because of a fence) I have just sneaked this one;

At what point do you throw your broken ladder away?.......never is the answer

 I love this house, I have watched it evolve over the last few years, people here build their houses as they have money. At home it takes 20 years to pay for a house, here it can take 20 years to build one, but once it's built here it is paid for, you are not a slave to your home here. Plus, most people here do not build more than they need...like us.

Really, ,who needs a home bigger than this? Isn't it cute, I'll bet next year it will have a fence or a patio. 

With that in mind, here is another peek at my new house, which will also take me a few years to get all cute looking, oh, I have many plans. This is just the beginning.

The front

 This is the back of it, it needs paint on the outside and it just so happens that I hate this kind of painting, so I will only be painting the inside for now, plus I have plans for a back patio, and a rooftop patio (next year) so I think I will wait to paint the outside until all that is built and then paint it all at once. Unless of course family comes to visit, then we'll bring out the paint cans right promptly, I am also guessing I could Tom Sawyer someone into painting it for me as well, I do have a sore toe to show off....isn't that what the first guy offered to Tom in exchange for painting the fence? (pause while I Google this, because I am a geek)
Here you go, right from Mark Twain himself. I love Mark Twain.


Say, Jim, I’ll fetch the water if you’ll whitewash some.”

Jim shook his head and said:

“Can’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis, she tole me I got to go an’ git dis water an’ not stop foolin’ roun’ wid anybody. She say she spec’ Mars Tom gwine to ax me to whitewash, an’ so she tole me go ‘long an’ ‘tend to my own business – she ‘lowed she’d ‘tend to de whitewashin’.”

“Oh, never you mind what she said, Jim. That’s the way she always talks. Gimme the bucket – I won’t be gone only a a minute. She won’t ever know.”

“Oh, I dasn’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis she’d take an’ tar de head off’n me. ‘Deed she would.”

“She! She never licks anybody – whacks ’em over the head with her thimble – and who cares for that, I’d like to know. She talks awful, but talk don’t hurt – anyways it don’t if she don’t cry. Jim, I’ll give you a marvel. I’ll give you a white alley!”

Jim began to waver.

“White alley, Jim! And it’s a bully taw.”

“My! Dat’s a mighty gay marvel, I tell you! But Mars Tom I’s powerful ‘fraid ole missis – ”

“And besides, if you will I’ll show you my sore toe.”

Jim was only human – this attraction was too much for him. He put down his pail, took the white alley, and bent over the toe with absorbing interest while the bandage was being unwound.

So, I have a sore toe if anyone is interested, I went to the mainland a few days ago (to buy paint) and I wore a pair of shoes (you have to wear shoes when you go to the city), these shoes aren't my friends yet and I have one big blister for a toe now, ,yes there is more blister than toe......nothing that a few walks in the salty tide won't fix.

Imagine a fresh coat of paint and a cute patio

Back yard, also has so much potential, Check out my banana trees

Bananas...this excites me, believe me when the day comes that I can step outside and pick a banana and eat it you will all hear about it.....I'm generous that way

There have been a few classic Mexican style remodeling blunders, this little house had a dividing wall right down the middle of it, 2 families lived in here, one a family of 4, I know this family because they had a taco stand, I don't know the people that well but I did have a close relationship with their tacos for a few years, and the other half was occupied by the lady that owns this house, imagine a family of 4 in half of this house. Humbles me a bit to realize how fortunate I am and makes me realize how grateful I ought to be for every thing in my life, I have such abundance of everything. Gratefulness seems to flow so much easier here than at home.
Anyway....Check out the spot where my fridge was to go, the space is short by about 3 inches, space on the left is reserved for my stove (that I will have someday)
But....I have a friend that has a small fridge and she would like a bigger fridge and we have decided (after extensive measuring) that we will swap fridges. I really hope I don't regret this. So "operation fridge move" is being organized as we speak. This will not be easy because she lives on top of a hill and has about 89 corners that  these fridges have to clear....should be exciting. We will of course hire us some fine Mexican muscle....want pictures?

Imagine some nice bright Mexican tile on this back wall and some tile shelves in this counter. You can see my fridge on the left but it is blocking the one shutter on the window from opening...can't have that, I need to spy on the neighbors, and they need to spy on me. 

And somehow, I am not sure how this happened, they ended up with a window in my closet, with the amount of dust that we have here a window in the closet would mean my clothes would forever be dusty, so it was suggested I put an air conditioner in it.....to keep my clothes cool? I opted to have it cemented shut. I really hope I don't regret this. Watch....we'll have a stifling hot winter next year and I'll wish I could cool off my underwear. 

Like i said in my last post I am not going  to buy a lot of furniture this year, check out what I call "Mexican Ikea" If you're Canadian you will get that, if not you can Google it. What you see here is a book shelf unit, a coffee table, a night table and a linen closet......and my shorts drying in the sun.

Mexican Ikea

But....I couldn't help myself, I have ordered a chair like this, it will be delivered on Sunday, right from Concordia where they make these. Seldom have I gone into a Mexican home that doesn't have one of these, usually it;s on the front porch or deck. 1600 peso delivered.....I couldn't afford not to...hahah.

That's all for today, now I must go paint, I am painting the interior of the house this afternoon....whhaaaa! Wanna see my sore toe!?