Day 18: Julius

Free Time with Friends

 

One of the things I didn’t think about with GSL was all the free time. I always heard about the service, but a lot of our time was ours. At the start, I think we really didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We were out of practice. At home, we have such little free time that it seems necessary to fill it with the most easily accessible fun (usually something on a screen). We don’t have those here, but even if we did I don’t think we’d be using them very much. We actually have time, so we can do the fulfilling task instead of the fast one.

 

For a lot of us, reading was the easy task; you just sit down, grab a book, and get to it. Now don’t get me wrong, we’re burning through books like it’s the Library of Alexandria, but when there’s another option we tend to pick something else.

 

Different people are naturally drawn to different things, but everything we pick is in some way social. Of course there’s just plain conversation (a classic), but there are a great many ways to entertain oneself when there are friends around. Some dive into helping others (shoutout Santi for always offering to do dishes), some draw together (shoutout Kian for teaching me how to draw a non-stick person), but perhaps the most common pastime is card games (shoutout… whoever invented the 52 card deck I guess).

 

We’ve experimented with a variety of games from the start: the first (zero stakes) poker game was at the airport. Other highlights include our own version of Coup (a game with its own cards) adapted to a standard deck; Mao, which starts as 52 card Uno but quickly devolves as each round’s winner adds a secret new rule; and Whist, a Romanian trick taking game which, although it started as a joke game we’d never play, is actually delightful.

 

Bernarda came to talk to us about Climate Change. As rains grow less and less predictable, more and more resources are becoming scarce in the community. The community is experimenting with new solutions to maintain these resources, but they’re also working to consume less. This may cost them some luxuries, but it combats scarcity and allows for less time spent working. With that comes play and boy does this village play. I’ve had to avoid talking about free time with our families so that I can finish writing this before we get home, but that should tell you that they don’t play around when it comes to play.

 

A need to conserve has given this community so much more than just what they’re saving. Families are spending time with each other, including their temporary teenage guests. We’ll all come back having been reminded that play is important, and that the best is done together.

 

Leader note, the photos also show today’s service work: planting papaya and cocoa seeds in small plastic bags to sprout in the nursery.











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