Community (Aramas)

(Aramas actually means "people", but you get the idea).

JVC is a program built on four pillars - faith, simple living, social justice and community. Community, in the programatic sense, refers to the other volunteers with whom one shares two years of international JV service. I have been fortunate during both years of my experience to have been blessed with excellent community. I've heard stories of very trying living dynamics among other JV communities, and (knock on wood) I have yet to experience anything awful in my community living situation.

Last year in particular, my community served a pivotal role in helping me make sense of this experience as well as serving as a huge source of joy and sanity when I felt like nothing made sense. Whether it is through an hour long conversation about culture or an impromptu dance party, community has often been an outlet for all sorts of emotions, both good and bad.

And then, there's the both the extended JV community up at Xavier and the extended volunteer community of Peace Coprs...but I'll save those for later posts.

Community also stretches way beyond my immediate living situation into the very core of Chuukese culture. Being a communal society, nearly everything in Chuuk is community-oriented. Coming from an individualistic western culture, and being a rather individualistic, independent person myself, this hasn't always been an easy or comfortable transition. However, I very much value this aspect of Chuukese culture, and have certainly benefited from it as an outsider. There is next to nothing here in which I would not be welcome to participate here. Whether it is at my host family's house or on their island, at church, at school, or at a celebration - I am always welcome to be part of what's going simply by virtue of being present.

And furthermore, you don't see the kinds of problems in Chuuk that you might see in many other societies around the world that aren't as community-oriented. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone homeless or in desperate need of food. These problems don't exist (or only but rarely, if they do) because the community steps in before they have a chance to develop. In Chuuk, what's mine is yours and if I have food and shelter, then so do you.

To sum up, I'm grateful for the ways in which my JV community has supported me these last (nearly) 20 months, and for the example of community that Chuuk has provided.