Pardon the silence. I am still recovering from the harsh words about my daring to leave a photo of two Danish hot dogs on the marquee for ten days last month. Seriously, it was not the fact that I was short of material to write about. I was short on broadband. Plenty of cable tv to watch, but little broadband. What wireless there was, was not shared. My coaches tell me I am to apologize.
A blogger's plight is to find things remarkable in daily life. Most of us live remarkably unremarkable lives. What has struck me as remarkable since returning to 56572 after nearly a month abroad has not been the heat, the drought, We Fest or We Fest traffic. Those are predictable recurrences.
Why would anybody want to pay $750 to spend six days in 56572? Not to stay at Fair Hills and be served three meals a day. No, to work hard in a classroom with no air conditioning with temperatures in the 90's for five days. To stay in the spare bedrooms of strangers. To eat what there was, not always what you wanted. Thirteen Global Volunteers (one undergoing cancer treatment) and their seventy-five year young Global Volunteer Team Leader from San Francisco did just that in 56572 last week. For the sixth year in a row, people paid for the privilege of coming to 56572 to converse and make friends with the children of parents who share the same feeling that it truly is a privilege to come here to live, to work, possibly to stay. That, after six years there are still residents willing to open their homes to strangers and strangers who will pay for the chance to meet us and our children.
What is it these Global Volunteers see in us that we cannot see in ourselves? Are we Lake Wobegon? Are we Third World Minnesota? Are we the type of Midwestern community that used to be? Or are we a prototype of a Midwestern community of the future? Diverse, yet safe, friendly, welcoming, unpretentious? Are we a global village?
Bernice, the Global Volunteer Team Leader, asked for the URL of this blog before leaving town Saturday. I assume she and some of her team members might be reading this. Tell us what it was that made you come here to 56572. Share memories of your week here, good and bad. Neighboring communities sometimes say not so nice things about us here in 56572. You survived a week with us. How did you do it? Care to share? Use the comment button below.
Nothing remarkable?
Nevermind.
57 minutes ago
1 comment:
I wasnt' there this year, but I was a Global Volunteer last year, the only Minnesota volunteer. I had a great time. Now I know why some experienced Global Volunteers say going to Pelican Rapids is better than going to Europe. I learned some lessons from the residents of Pelican Rapids, both the wonderful students and the hard working adults, that I'll remember the rest of my life.
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