“We do not remember the days, we remember the moments” - Cesare Pavese.
This is one of my favourite quotes simply because I think it’s true. Much of the Class of ’08 have already detailed the jam-packed week just passed, and there is little, if anything, I can add to that. Week 1 in dates, times and locations is mapped elsewhere. Instead, I’d like to tell of the moments that shape my experience, the moments I will remember. I have no doubt that some will be insignificant, some will be unstartling, but they all will be mine.
WIP moment #1:
On our first Sunday afternoon, Deb and Kurt, my Host Family, hosted the Washington BBQ. The moment that has crystallised in my mind from the BBQ quite possibly went unnoticed by everyone else at the event, but it has stuck with me. Almost all the interns present were sitting in the living room, huddled over plates of hot burgers, fresh fruit and chocolate brownies, when the doorbell rang. We had been in D.C. less than 24 hours. I still did not know where my host parents were born, I knew only one of their four cats’ names, and I absolutely couldn’t work the shower. But when the doorbell rang, I felt a duty to open it. In the real world, I was standing in a stranger’s home, preparing to welcome someone I’d known for the length of a weekend in Belfast and a trans-Atlantic flight to a party where they, along with myself and half a dozen others, were the guests of honour. In the WIP world, I was welcoming a friend to a party in my home. This surreal combination, I have since decided, is testament to the wonderful host families that go above and beyond to make us feel at home in their homes, and the unfaltering spirit of the Class of ’08 to forge lasting friendships. I cannot thank Deb and Kurt enough for week 1, words simply fail me. As for my fellows WIPpers, here’s hoping week 2 stacks up on the funometer!
WIP moment #2:
On Thursday of week 1, we spent the morning in J. O. Wilson elementary school. This is a school in an area that lacks the power, the glamour and the wealth I associated with Washington. In the flow of our crash-course emersion into Irish culture class, Alan got the kids involved by getting them all screaming and shouting, one side of the hall against the other. I’ll admit that, purely due to fewer numbers and by no means because of lack of enthusiasm, the side I was sitting on were evidently the less vocal. However, Alan, being the gent that he is, called the affair a draw. And this equality seemed to suit all parties. The problem lies, however, in the fact that these kids, and many more like them, for much of their future lives, won’t be afforded the equality Alan administered. D.C belongs to them just as much as it belongs to the White House. In fact, it ought to be serving their needs more urgently than the needs of the President. After all, they’ll probably live there much longer than any President ever will. I think I learned a little bit more about what WIP means when it says “Leadership and Service”, and OK, so maybe I’ll never be able to positively impact on those childrens’ lives, but hopefully, just understanding a bit more about the value of service is a good thing. It was also very pleasant seeing everyone, myself included, making fools of themselves in the name of Irish culture.
WIP moment 3:
This one is a bit of a cheat really. When I travelled to Russia last summer with my College class, we discovered that there was a function on one person’s camera which allowed you to flick through all the photos taken, kind of like a slide show on steroids. Over the four weeks we were there, the amount of photos kept increasing, and after a while, the story of our summer started emerging. We called it the slide show of our lives. It consisted of about 100 photos flashing up in 15 seconds, mapping the four weeks we spent together. Nothing in itself held perfect clarity, it was often a haze images, but every now and then, one picture would catch your eye, and evoke some memory. On top of that, you knew that when you had a quieter moment, you could go through the photos at an easier pace. Some photos you might have forgotten about, others you might have completely missed, but with time, you would remember them all. Well, when I think back on week 1, I am reminded of the slide show of our lives. Right now, much of the week is a blur, beyond those few moments I already mentioned. But given time, some more of them will gain the clarity they deserve. I suppose that’s the wonder of perspective; it gives things their proper meaning.
That said, there is another feeling that impresses upon me from this last week. Even though my gut tells me no other group of people could have ever experienced all that we have experienced this far, my head reminds me that, essentially, we are no different from all the years before us. This is WIP!
