Inverso

A good day at Maryknoll, with conversation flowing well between me and Profesora Vicky and Profesor Óscar. We are continuing to explore the culture and customs of Guatemala. I can identify some of the typical foods and name you some of the important modern writers. We will continue in this vein for the remaining weeks. If we finish the unit on Guatemala in time, we will proceed to the unit on El Salvador. In addition to meeting me one-to-one on Friday morning to talk about Central American migration, Padre Alejandro will lead the Wednesday conference. He will focus on the meaning of being a missionary in a country other than one’s own home. Profesor Óscar and I discussed the article Padre Alejandro prepared in advance of the conference.

I suggested to my teacher that one aspect of my calling is to “reverse mission,” that is, to bring the witness of our Christian sisters and brothers in Latin America to the consciousness of the Church in the United States. The struggles of our neighbors in Latin America against structural sin, against the poverty and violence that is the harvest of centuries of injustice (colonial, economic, racial, social), are a call to conscience of privileged Catholics. The actual presence of our neighbors as undocumented immigrants seeking asylum is for me the primary location of reverse mission in the United States. Although I have been a companion to undocumented women, men, and children in years past through involvement with groups like Interfaith Worker Justice and the New Sanctuary Movement, I would like to renew and intensify my commitment to their ultimate liberation and relief of their suffering in the present. Sitting with these brave souls in their times of trial, sharing in some small way in their adversities, is where a Capuchin friar chooses to be. 

Also coming up this week: a visit to Universidad Mayor de San Simón with Profesor Óscar. Readers may recall that our language program community passed the public university on our drive-by tour several weeks ago. This Thursday, I will have an opportunity to interview either a member of the faculty or a student from one of the humanities departments of the university. If it is a student, then I look forward to a sharing of our respective experiences of intellectual formation through higher education. The differences in our educational history, be they cultural, economic, pedagogical, and social—across continents and across a generation and language—will be instructive. 

Briefly, backtracking: I got another good walk in yesterday afternoon and evening around the Recoleta district. I found a good café where they served a moist tres leches cake. I read contentedly, even after someone turned on the television, and the din of the Copa América soccer tournament finals bellowed forth. This afternoon, I got a haircut at D’El y D’Ella, the same peluquería I visited in April, with the same satisfaction I had last time. Also, Joshua is seeking to organize another wilderness outing in the near future. Perhaps it may be to Tunari Peak again. As for me, I would like to venture forth to new places: no retreading. I suggested to Joshua an excursion to the forests of Chapare, located in the north of the department of Cochabamba. The climate is tropical, which would make it a congenial place to visit in the present winter season. It is a long drive there into the wilderness and back, but it is a doable day trip. There are the parks and the rainforests and the Chapare River, a branch of the Amazon, and a town called Villa Tunari (not to be confused with Tunari the mountain peak). Perhaps a Maryknoll staff member can be our guide or arrange to find one for us? We will see what comes together.