Wieland V. has been in the US since September of last year, as a peace and justice intern from the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland.. He wrote some reports of his experiences for his church and friends in Germany, during his stay. Wieland has kindly translated the first into English for us.
Nothing’s Quiet on the Western Front
by Wieland V.
October 2006
Arrival in America
When I entered the airplane on September 1 of this year, I had done everything I could to make my year of voluntary peace service in the US a success: in two seminars I learned - together with other German volunteers - about the culture, the food, the laws, the climate and of course the work I would be doing. In my baggage there was a book called “Culture Shock USA”, and, to my future hosts, I had promised to be a social and clean person. But all my confidence was blown away, as I was waiting and waiting for my luggage at Raleigh-Durham Airport. Sweat appeared on my forehead. In this moment I became aware of what I had tried to prepare myself for: being alone in another country.
Fortunately, my luggage appeared pretty soon and also my host father Ladnor G. found me in the crowd. The first hurdle was surmounted.
The Church
By now, I have settled in pretty well in my new home in Chapel Hill. My host parents, Ladnor and Shirley G., are a couple in their late-sixties, and wonderful, nice people. “Our” house is in the middle of the woods about three miles from downtown Chapel Hill. From there, I drive my 23 year old Volvo, which was donated by a church member, to work. Through Pastor Rick Edens’ connections to local non-profits, I am lucky to work in various organizations. Twice a week I work in a Homeless Shelter, on the other days in the Dispute Settlement Center, where I work in the youth program, and once a week I volunteer at People of Faith Against the Death Penalty.
On Sundays I help out at Church School, which takes place before the 11 o’clock service. Since religion is not a school subject in the United States, the churches teach about faith. Following the motto, that learning is a lifelong process, adults also go to Sunday School. It is amazing, how many children and youths come every Sunday, although their scrubby hair and tired eyes tell me that it was probably their parents who motivated them to go. In Sunday School, we often read stories from the Bible and try to understand them from the perspective of the people living at that time. Since the UCC is a very liberal church, we can openly discuss if we have to take the stories literally, which is almost never the case. Generally it is a very open congregation. The UCC was the first church to ordain a woman, a black man, and a gay man. This diversity can be seen, when I look around during worship: young couples, white and black people, Asians, Latin Americans, families, gay couples (also with children); the congregation actively lives its philosophy and this is why it is so interesting and unique for me.
On Sunday afternoon, I work with two youth groups, middle and high school age. Movie nights, bowling, tie-dying, or discussions about conflicts with parents are just examples of our very diverse program. A special event was our day trip to Virginia where we wanted to take a bike tour. But when I came home from this wonderful day in the autumn landscape, I had to smile a little bit about this very “American” trip. Why?
At first, I thought we would take a bike trip around Chapel Hill, but instead we drove more than four hours in the van (which would take twoGerman parking spaces) to a bike rental company in a valley in Virginia. The company took us up the hill in a van, carrying the bikes on a trailer. The landscape was beautiful - no doubt - but I missed the sportive activity. After getting on the bikes, we rolled about 20 miles downhill, which means that I didn’t have to use my legs at all. Instead, my arms started to hurt from leaning my weight on the handlebars. On our way home, we stopped at a fast food restaurant where I had a meal big enough for two days.
My Work Places
The IFC Community House
On Mondays and Fridays I work in the IFC Community House. IFC means “Inter Faith Council” and is a joint project of different churches in Chapel Hill. The building is in the center of Chapel Hill and provides three meals a day and beds for the night. For each meal, we have about 100 guests. The food is prepared by volunteers from the different churches. Most of our guests are black and belong to the class of the working poor. Although they have a job, they can’t afford housing and are therefore homeless. But there are also unemployed people, day and construction workers. The most common answer to my question “How are you” is “It could be worse.”
The food is very good and free for everyone. Twice a week an IFC-truck drives to the big grocery stores in Chapel Hill and picks up expired produce. I help unloading the truck and sort out the rotten fruits and vegetables. It is incredible how much food is stored in the basement and the freezers of this building. Fruit and vegetables at all times of the year (just recently we had asparagus and strawberries, in October!) and lots of sweet desserts, we have everything. Recently we received a donation of 20 gallons of ice cream that we had to get rid of, because we couldn’t store all of it. The result was probably the best food a soup kitchen has ever served.
Also, I set up the dining room, clean the tables and chairs, put out silverware and napkins and every once in a while, I serve food, which I like most, because it gives me the opportunity to talk to some of the guests. On my first day, the no-gun-signs everywhere evoked the fear that people would have really violent behaviors, but fortunately I can say that this is not the case. Sometimes, I even have interesting conversations with them, especially when they hear about my German origin, because many of them served in the US Army and were based in Germany for a while. One conversation with a Iraq-veteran made me very sad. He just came back at the beginning of 2006 - as a war invalid. A mine had blown off both his lower legs. Now he has a hard time making a living, because there is almost no financial support for veterans by the government. This is something that the media doesn’t cover. All they talk about are the heroes that died on the battlefield for freedom and democracy.
Over all, I like this job a lot, because I get to know people that are disadvantaged and this gives me a diverse perspective of the American society.
The Dispute Settlement Center
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I work at the Dispute Settlement Center in Carrboro, Chapel Hill’s neighbor town. The DSC mediates mostly between couples that are planning to get divorced, but they also do business facilitation, workshops about conflict resolution and a youth program.
During my first weeks there, I was involved in a project called the “Peace by Peace Youth Conference” which took place at the beginning of October in a building on the UNC campus.
For weeks, my co-worker Joanne and I had gone to local businesses to ask for donations. Generally, Americans seem to be much more willing to donate money than Germans are. Especially businesses. They gave us checks about $20 immediately. My main job was to create a schedule for more than 60 high school students who had chosen three out of 15 different workshops. Thanks to about a dozen of participating non-profits, the students could take everything from Aikido to meditation to Israel-Palestine conflict.
Once a week I go to after school programs together with the DSC’s youth program specialist Will D. In after school programs, kids in elementary school age have supervision, because often their parents or single mother has to work all day. Here, they can do their homework. We try to teach by playing. For example, Will explains the difference between “listening” and “hearing” and we play a game to practice it. This is how the DSC does its part in the kids’ education, which can often not be done only by their parents.
The time in the office it is not boring either, because Julie, a staff member from England, has the typical British humour. Thanks to her sarcasm we are always “having a laugh”. After I spent a whole day putting together her new desk, she said: “That’s probably the first time in history that Germans and British have worked together.”
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
On the only work day left (Thursday), I volunteer at PFADP, which is right across the DSC. Steve D., my boss, has been working against the death penalty in North Carolina for many years. A long struggle, he tells me, because the majority of the people in NC still support capital punishment. A total number of 37 out of 50 states still execute people in the United States.
My job mainly consists of reading and categorizing newspaper articles, which is more interesting than it may sound. Although my physical labor is zero, it is often a hard job for me, because many editorials and letters to the editor that I read make me very angry. Many people try to justify executions with the bible (”A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye”). Often I read comments like “This person just gets what he deserves”. The most cynical thing is, when DP-supporters close their letter with “May god watch over their souls”. In these moments I sometimes question the credibility of the United States concerning human rights.
The main goal for PFADP is a moratorium, a time-limited stop of executions. Steve explained to me, that a total abolition of the death penalty is utopian. To make a moratorium happen, Steve and Katie, an intern, call supporters of PFADP and encourage them to talk to their local representatives. On a big board in our office I can see that most representatives actually oppose the death penalty, “but they don’t say that in public because they are afraid of losing votes” says Steve. A difficult situation. But I am convinced that it is worth working against the death penalty, which I consider to be antiquated. I am glad to work for PFADP.
Ora et labora?
Not at all! So far, I am very happy with my different jobs. Besides work, there is still free time left. I play in the “Rainbow Soccer League”, which is open to men and women of all ages and focuses more on fun than competition.
In the congregation, I found new friends, too. Together with Sam H. I attended two football games of the Carolina Tar Heels, the College team. A huge event for a small town like Chapel Hill, which has about 50,000 citizens. In the evening, we go to a billiard bar or to the movie theatre. Regularly, Laura W., who also teaches Church School with me and Vicky G., invites me over to watch a movie.
As you can see, I am doing very well in the US. The fact that I was totally shocked realizing that two months have already gone since my arrival, proves this point. Chapel Hill is a good place to live. I don’t need my travel books, nor do I have to bother my host parents.