Early morning on Day 3 I got to meet two of Mare's friends: Jeanne and Mary. The four of us went over to the Sisters of Charity to volunteer for the morning. This was one of the highlights of the trip. First of all, Mare and her friends are just a riot. They kept me smiling all morning. We arrived at the kitchen and we helped prepare vegetables and meat for the soup.
This was a delight for me because I don't get to cook and I don't have a kitchen at home. I cut up hot dogs and loads of garlic. It was really fun to sit around on the stools and just chit chat while we worked. It was especially fun to work with the Filipina women who took their day off to come and volunteer at this center. They are all maids working for families in the city. I wasn't aware that everyone has a maid. They talked about their experiences and some of them were quite sad.
Since it was a holiday, all the maids had the day off. Every maid takes her vacation day to roam around the city; they were everywhere! And so many of them! I wouldn't be exaggerating to say thousands of Filipina maids were out and about that day, all of them smiling and enjoying their day off.
Anyway, it was very interesting to hear their stories, and I enjoyed listening to them sing as they work. After we helped prepare the food for the kitchen, we moved into another area to help serve a meal. The coordinators of this place are nuns dressed like Mother Theresa, and the nuns guided the men into the eating area. I guess only men were eating at this meal. Some of the men came in with big smiles and others were quiet. Once everyone was seated, the nuns led a prayer and then we started dishing up tin plates of rice, meat, gravy, and greens. I was in charge of greens and I was told not to give big servings because they don't like cabbage. "Sometimes they gag at it," she said. There's a certain saying I think is appropriate, but I won't go there. Mare was the Soup Lady (or Nazi, if you're a Seinfeld fan...No soup for you! She didn't say that though).
After everyone was fed and happy, Mare had a couple of bags of clothes and shoes to donate to the women. When we got back to the kitchen, we couldn't find the bags. They were gone. She said, "That's ok, they're for whoever needs them." We left the kitchen and I heard women giggling and chatting away. I also hear the clickity clack of high heel shoes. We go back in the kitchen and the women were already trying on the clothes and shoes Mare left. They were so excited. It was a really sweet moment.
Early morning on Day 3 I got to meet two of Mare's friends: Jeanne and Mary. The four of us went over to the Sisters of Charity to volunteer for the morning. This was one of the highlights of the trip. First of all, Mare and her friends are just a riot. They kept me smiling all morning. We arrived at the kitchen and we helped prepare vegetables and meat for the soup. 
This was a delight for me because I don't get to cook and I don't have a kitchen at home. I cut up hot dogs and loads of garlic. It was really fun to sit around on the stools and just chit chat while we worked. It was especially fun to work with the Filipina women who took their day off to come and volunteer at this center. They are all maids working for families in the city. I wasn't aware that everyone has a maid. They talked about their experiences and some of them were quite sad. 
Since it was a holiday, all the maids had the day off. Every maid takes her vacation day to roam around the city; they were everywhere! And so many of them! I wouldn't be exaggerating to say thousands of Filipina maids were out and about that day, all of them smiling and enjoying their day off.
Anyway, it was very interesting to hear their stories, and I enjoyed listening to them sing as they work. After we helped prepare the food for the kitchen, we moved into another area to help serve a meal. The coordinators of this place are nuns dressed like Mother Theresa, and the nuns guided the men into the eating area. I guess only men were eating at this meal. Some of the men came in with big smiles and others were quiet. Once everyone was seated, the nuns led a prayer and then we started dishing up tin plates of rice, meat, gravy, and greens. I was in charge of greens and I was told not to give big servings because they don't like cabbage. "Sometimes they gag at it," she said. There's a certain saying I think is appropriate, but I won't go there. Mare was the Soup Lady (or Nazi, if you're a Seinfeld fan...No soup for you! She didn't say that though).
After everyone was fed and happy, Mare had a couple of bags of clothes and shoes to donate to the women. When we got back to the kitchen, we couldn't find the bags. They were gone. She said, "That's ok, they're for whoever needs them." We left the kitchen and I heard women giggling and chatting away. I also hear the clickity clack of high heel shoes. We go back in the kitchen and the women were already trying on the clothes and shoes Mare left. They were so excited. It was a really sweet moment.
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