Since being stationed in the town of Mindo for my service portion of SST, I’ve noticed a big cultural difference between U.S. Mennonites and Ecuadorian “Mindo-nites” – pun intended 🙂 approaches to life. There’s a palpable sense of serenity and…
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Vegetables and Good Fortune at Chinese New Year in Philly
Mar 13 2022
One of the highlights of my SST experience was celebrating Chinese new year with my host family. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year, and I didn’t know quite what to expect. Pastor Aldo had mentioned when we arrived in Philly that Popo – our host Grandma – is famous for her Chinese New Year dinner. She did not disappoint at all.
Chinese New Year fell on a Monday. I remember going downstairs on the Saturday before Chinese New Year and our host grandma “Popo” had me try some of the peanut sauce she made. She had been preparing all weekend for the celebration. Monday evening came around and that’s when the festivities started. So many people flooded into Popo’s house. There was a wide assortment of food set out on the table.
One of the first things that people do before eating is that they each grab a pair of chopsticks which they use to dig into the platter of vegetables which they pile on top of each other. I understood this to symbolize good fortune. I remember feeling a bit confused as to why everyone was standing around the table holding a pair of chopsticks. However, I thought it was a really neat tradition.
What Mindo Taught Me to See
A Day in the Life: Working on a Flower Farm
For my service, I work in Cayambe with an organization called FACE. Under FACE there are other organizations; Casa Hogar, Sumak, Centro Medico Emmanuel, and Forever Flowers. They work together to help break the cycle of abuse and neglect in…