Someone who shall not be named (*cough* my mother) has informed me that lately I have been remiss in my updates on JVC life. Since it was just Mother's day I feel like I should probably rectify that immediately:
First, I had a fabulous weekend. I accomplished 3/3 goals: I biked further than I have every biked before (which is only 12 miles but that is a big deal for me), I painted a bird on my door (Portlandia, anybody?), and I brought dinner to my Ethiopian client who just had a baby. That last one was really fun--I ate dinner with her and her (somali) husband and they told me about how they met (which included a real gem of a moment when the wife was explaining why the nations of Somalia and Ethiopia don't get along--her: "Somalia thinks that Ethiopia stole this piece of land, you see" and him: "because they did!")
"So, it has come to this..." (a series of stories that should each end with this statement)
A Cuban client came to our office today (not manuel) and while filling out paperwork he asked us for a rosary. His case manager asked everyone in our office, and then asked everyone on the 4th floor and nobody had one. We had to refer the guy to a Catholic Church down the block.....awkward (which is funny because our executive director just gave a speech about embracing our catholic identity as a nonprofit).
A company near Portland contacted us because they need people to record messages for their clients in a variety of languages. They are willing to pay pretty well for some of the more obscure languages (which no longer seem so obscure to me) so we have been going through our files finding people who need extra cash (which is everybody) and who can read in their own language (not so many people). What is funny is that this company is looking for both Swahili and Kiswahili speakers--which are in fact two names for the exact same language. I told the case managers that we should still totally send them two people (or one person who speaks "both" languages) because if multinational corporations are willing to pay $45/hour to refugees for redundant work then we shouldn't stop them. This part of my brain is the same one that is secretly rooting for the Somali pirates every now and then (click here for more on that).
I have been spoiled by very compliant refugee clients. Normally I can just put a paper in front of them and they will sign it before I can even explain what it is--that is not what happened last week. The other day I was asked to take a somali lady and her brother to an appointment. While I was picking them up at their apartment complex the manager came up to me and explained that they needed to sign the application for tenancy (normally this is done when one applies for residency but since we have to furnish apartments and move people in usually after midnight we have a deal with certain managers to fudge the paperwork) I took them to the office but as soon as I started explaining the 6-month lease they informed me that they did not want to sign the application because they didn't want to be obligated to stay in Portland for more than a month at a time. I started to panic (their case manager was out of town and was going to freak out when she heard) and tried to tell them that they were already living in the apartment and had to sign the papers. The apartment manager even said that he would let them go in a month if he could find another family to take their spot. The sister still refused to sign and explained that she didn't want it to hurt her credit history if she decided to move (she just got out of Dadaab Camp four days earlier, how in the hell did she know what a credit history was?). I had these visions of our office getting in trouble, of the manager never renting to us again and of this brother and sister getting tossed out into the street. I ended up finding another Somali client to interpret for me and I explained that it was impossible to live in an apartment in the US without signing papers. They finally signed the papers under duress. It's funny because being concerned about your credit history and refusing to sign a contract you don't understand is a great instinct--it was just a damned inconvenient time for it to kick-in.
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| My house enjoying the sunshine with a vegan BBQ! |
As my time in JVC is starting to wind down, I would like to conclude this post with a short reflection on some of the things I will be taking away from my experiences in Portland:
Skills I have gained while in JVC:
--I can use non-violent communication--including the priceless tip from our area director (paraphrased): if you cannot believe what absurdity a person just said, repeat back to them "so what you're saying is...." just so you have an extra moment to process how stupid it was
--I can correctly-ish fill out an application for food stamps and medical benefits (at least for the state of oregon) I also know how to find a primary care doc if you have medicaid (not easy)--I can have a phone conversation with a person who speaks almost no English (start with "do I know you?" "who are you trying to talk to?" "Are you calling me from the United States?")
--I can beat an apartment manager at his own game (maybe-I haven't been succesful yet but this week is looking really promising)
--I can identify at least 6 different types of greens at the farmers market and cook them with re-hydrated beans into a reasonably delicious meal.
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