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Archive for the 'Society & Culture' Category
So I haven’t been blogging much lately, mainly because I don’t know what to say anymore. I think 2008 started off kinda rough, with the last couple of posts being “rants”. I’d like to think it’s because I just don’t like the winter season and so it’s affect my overall mood. I don’t know about you, but the bitter cold, short days, and having to wear a bazillion layers makes me depressed.
I’m trying to decide where I want to be this summer. I started researching over the holidays and I found out that Toronto City Mission (TCM) has a summer internship program for university/college students…Here’s a little blurb on the job description..
The Summer Mission Intern will participate in community outreach and service projects and training and preparation activities during the first five weeks of the program. You will serve as staff in existing programs for at-risk kids, teens and parents.
The Summer Missionary Intern will work together with Leaders in Training and volunteers, under the direction of the Community Missionaries during training sessions and day camp, to provide a caring, loving, safe and fun environment in which you will share the love of God in word and deed with the campers in your care.
I feel like this is such an awesome opportunity to see God work in the community around me. When I read about the internship, I was really excited and wanted to do it for sure. (Unlike some of the jobs I applied for on jobmine for co-op) I guess my passion is really in working with people…
So why do I want to do this TCM thing? I grew up in one of the more “ghetto” parts of Toronto, but I still was pretty sheltered growing up. I never really went out to “play” after school…instead I stayed home and watched “Saved by the Bell” and other cool shows:P. Looking back, I realize I kept to myself and never was aware of my community around me. I didn’t go to nearby highschool in grade 9 because I thought I would get a better education elsewhere. If anything, I didn’t want to be a part of my community because I often felt like I didn’t really belong.
Last Sunday, I went to Holly’s Sunday School class and the topic of the week was racism. One of the questions she asked was whether anyone had experienced or witnessed acts of racism in their life. I wasn’t sure if I should share, but I did anyways. I can remember at least 3 or 4 incidences when I was singled out for being a Chinese girl. (I blogged about this once a long time ago) One time on the bus going home from school, a black kid, probably even younger than me at the time (I think I was in gr 7 or 8), started harassing me with comments like “yo chink, you stink, get off the bus…you stink, go home and shower”. I remember the hurt I felt, being discriminated against something I had no control over. For the record, I don’t think I stink:P Other painful incidences I recall include walking from the bus stop, through the park to go home. There would often be groups of black guys hanging around the park, and I remember being made fun of more than once, for being Chinese, for carrying a big backpack. Another disturbing incident occurred at the CNE, when I was waiting in line for one of the rides. There was this young black, child (4 or 5) with her mom, waiting in line in front of me. I remember smiling at her and just trying to be friendly. She looked at me and said something like “Stop looking at me, Chinese girl”.
My experiences with black people have thus, been more negative than positive. And I think in some ways, even though I have forgiven those ppl and try not to have anything against black people, I feel like other ppl might feel the same way about me. Of course, we shouldn’t care about what others say (it’s just hard to be completely immune to others).
In any case, I think that this inner-city missions project would be a chance for me to come out of my shell. It’s not because I want to prove to black people that I forgive them…but it’s to acknowledge that this is my community and to show God’s love to those I encounter.
Anyways, it’s for 12 weeks and so I could (most likely) count it towards my co-op credit. But I still need to find a job for Sept-December.
Something I’ve been prompted to think about more is the issue of poverty and what I can do about it. To be honest, I don’t regularly donate to charities. I figure that what I have, I need right now and I can’t spare for others less fortunate than I am. Maybe when I have a permanent job, I will be able to be more generous. I give to the church, but even so it is often a struggle because I forget that what I’ve been given is not mine but God’s. If anything I’m pretty spoiled…I like to go out and treat myself…I like shopping and all that.
The problem is…money spent on upgrading my wardrobe could be instead, given to charitable agencies, where the difference is between life and death. I read an interesting article for my English 109 class where the author asked this question: In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one —knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need?
The author talks about how “so much of our income is spent on thing snot essential to the preservation of our lives and health”. Further, “$200 in donations would help a sickly two-year-old transform into a healthy six-year-old.” When it’s put that way, it makes me feel pretty bad about my spending.
How does God want me to spend His money? Is what I spend truly necessary for “self-preservation and health”? Maybe those are the questions I should ask next time I go out for dinner with friends, or go shopping. Even though the author probably isn’t Christian, the article made me really think about my faith and how it affects my spending. Please go read the article, btw.
So yesterday I stayed at work till a bit after 6, trying desperately to finish my work-term project. My boss has a really good eye for detail and will notice the little things that are missing. So yeah…I’ve been doing my best to make it at least LOOK as if I made a considerable amount of effort in doing it.
Anyways, after work, I went home, ate dinner, tried to take a nap, woke up at 10 and stayed up til 12 finishing the analysis/report part because I had thought my final evaluation with her was this morning at 8:30. However, when I arrived this morning, I found out I’m actually meeting her TOMORROW at 8:30am. asdlfkj.
Anyways, I had really wanted to get it over with. I even put on makeup. Not because I want her to find me attractive, but I noticed that a lot of working women wear makeup. It’s a sort of maturity sign I think. (Ie: you care about how you look and want people to feel at ease when they are looking at you. Janice describes make-up wearing as a sign of respect for others..hehe).
Oh well, at least the grunt work is done, for the most part, and I can spend more time editing and learning about what I should’ve learned while doing the project. 
So twice this week I found myself seated/standing in a closer-than-comfortable distance from people who smelled bad on the subway. They smelled REALLY bad.
Normally, I would not blog about such a minor thing, but seeing as how it happen TWICE in one week, I think it’s justifiable.
The first time, it was simply really “sour” B.O…probably from not showering in a long time and not washing your clothes even longer. I was a good 3 feet away and i smelled it. The second time, I was 2 feet away and it smelled like puke. I wanted to puke.
As I sat/stood there trying not to breathe, I couldn’t help but think “Why the heck don’t ppl shower?” and I imagined all that bacteria and fungus growing on their bodies (ugh) eating away at them. (yeah, I know I’m weird for imagining such a thing)
Then I thought about Jesus and the type of people he came in contact with. (I remember thinking the same thing during my last workterm when I had to deal with really foul-smelling clients at the physiotherapy clinic).
Jesus hung out with prostitutes, the sick, the lame, the rejects of society. I’m pretty sure a lot of them smelled pretty nasty.
How can you love and share the gospel to people who smell so bad that being near them makes you drop dead from their scent? To be honest, I find it really hard to treat people who are “not like me” with the love and respect they deserve.
It’s easy loving those people who have the same sort of thinking as you, who look and dress like you, who have common interests, background as you…but what about those who aren’t easy to love?
How did Jesus do it? He was completely human, so I think his sense of smell worked fine.
Maybe it’s because Jesus saw through the exterior. He wasn’t bothered by the smells because when it comes down to it, ALL of us are the same. The poor, the rich, the good-smelling, the bad smelling. When you break people down to their simplest “elements”, we all need God and we can’t get to him by our own good work or good looks or good smells. When Jesus looked at people, he didn’t label them as “prostitute” or “bad person I don’t want to associate with”…He had compassion.
