11 PM - Christal Earle’s Blog

The nights in the Baja are crazy cold. It wouldn’t even feel like you are this far south, until you remember, “Oh yeah, it’s January, so I should just suck it up and be glad there is no snow!”. The nights are quiet, and in our little house that currently has a population of 21 people coming and going, it stays surprisingly quiet for a good chunk of time. But the mornings…the mornings are something totally different to my other world that I normally occupy.

Vaden and I live in a condo in downtown Hamilton. We live on a busy street, but our world is often insulated from a lot of sounds early in the morning, except for maybe the odd siren or screeching tire. To the hundreds of people who stay with us throughout the year, it may seem noisy if they are unused to city life, but to us it is just background noise, that is actually almost soothing and familiar to us at times.  And when you are used to one way of doing things, when you encounter another side of life, it can open up your senses in a whole new way. Right now, it is morning in Zapata, Mexico, and the birds are singing outside my window, the 700 dogs that seem to hang out and dare the vehicles to play chicken with them are also barking at each other and anything that moves. There are motorbikes that go ripping by, and I can hear this crazy rooster (that is clearly trying to impress the world with his manhood) from a couple blocks away from here, and I even listened in on a conversation in Spanish happening in the next lot over from our house…Not to mention what is currently happening underneath this roof! There are 10 people waiting for showers, three little boys getting in trouble outside my door for something they know they aren’t supposed to be doing, and the slow steady chewing, that I am sure I could hear if I tried hard enough, of termites trying to convince us that this is really not the best place to set up shop. Oh….and there goes the rooster again!! Life here can seem worlds away from my condo in Hamilton, yet so much is the same.

We are here because we came down to see the Hero Holiday staff and the School of Leadership Students who are down here until the end of May. We wanted to have a weekend with them and get a chance to see what has happened here since last time we were down. We met the families that have new houses, some that are hoping for help, and we have played poker, gone dirt biking and 4 X 4ing in crazy amounts of mud…all because we are a part of something that is bigger than all of us. We are a family, though only a few of us share the same bloodline. We are connected by a common goal, and a common love for each other and what we hope to accomplish. That doesn’t change when I leave here tomorrow, and get on the plane and touch back down in Hamilton again. Two days from now, I will be in my condo, and wake up to sirens and a cranky cat. However, the vision in my heart is still the same, and my love for what I do is still the same, because we can choose to be whoever we want to be, wherever we are. The only limits on our lives are us, and the only one who can push those limits are the people who put them there. This is the gift and the burden of being born where we are: we need to choose to look past what is familiar and comfortable and be willing to find out what part we can play in making a difference…

As for me, I could live anywhere. Everywhere I visit, I always say I could  live there. But for now, I know that I can do the most where I am and I can influence the most in what I am doing. Life is a gift, and the most exciting part is that we get to open this gift every morning and use it to the fullest every day. Is there anything better? According to the rooster that is wanting to add his two cents right now as I type this, I don’t think so!

Ok, if money wasn’t the issue, time wasn’t a factor, and responsibility was only a word, what would you do? How would you live your life? Where would you go and what would be at the top of list for must-sees?

Not an easy question, is it? I mean, easy to think about for a split second, but really difficult to settle on a definite answer. There are so many places I want to see, but I don’t want to see them all alone, and places are just places without the people there to make them special. Scenery is just that until there is a memory attached to it and it comes alive in your mind’s eye. We are created for relationships and community, and we really do need each other.

I was lurking on one of my favorite news websites (ok, so sue me, I am a geek to like the news…) and I found the absolute craziest pictures of the strangest things. This past weekend, from Russia to Poland and everywhere in between, the Orthodox church celebrated this wild tradition: thousands of people took polar dips in rivers, lakes, and outdoor pools. They had swimming races and baptisms, and I saw pictures of people as old as 80 and as young as 3 (I don’t know about you, but I would seriously question the mental stability of a parent who would willingly do that with their kid), there were all kinds of people from all walks of life like presidents of countries and little old ladies, and they all looked freakin’ miserable and cold, with blue lips and tiny speedos, and they were all in the water! At first, I thought about how ridiculous their take on life was, and then, for a split second, I thought about what a great story it would make in my life if I ever had the chance to join them! Can you imagine? I have absolutely no idea what the point was, but it looked so crazy I wanted to give it a try. However, sitting here in my cozy little condo seems a little more appealing at 11pm than jumping on a plane and dropping into Moscow for a quick dip…

Then I saw another fascinating picture, and it was of Asia’s tallest known woman- and she was Chinese! She was hanging outside her house with a friend, and her friend looked like a dwarf! The girl is 2.34 Metres, and looks very sad…maybe she just wanted to look sad for the picture, but I wonder what life is like in her world? What is it like to be 7 and a half feet tall in a world where nearly everyone would be at least 2 feet shorter than you? Can you imagine how awkward it must have been for her as a teenager? No one wants to be a freak in high school, so what do you do if you are gargantuan? Looking at her, my heart broke as I thought about all the awkward moments she must have every day of her life. I wonder if she looks at the world and wishes she could fit in? I wonder if she has ever had people say cruel things or point and stare? The picture was of her sitting on a specially made chair outside her house, and she looked tired. I wish I could hang with her on her step and chat with her and find out about what she dreams of and would like to do…she looked like she could use a pick-me-upper. (Maybe the Orthodox swim team should stop in and take her out for an adventure).

Sometimes, when I travel, I am blown away with the fact that there is a world around me full of over six billion people who have lives that I will never know about, dreams that I can never find out about, and families that I will never get to meet. Sometimes, I think about how it would be really cool to do the whole ‘live for a few thousand years scenario’, like Methusaleh from the Bible, but then I guess I wouldn’t feel such an urgency like I do now to make choices that I can live with and that will affect the world for the better in the years ahead.

For me, in my world, today I sat in a hot tub rather than a freezing river, I watched a chick flick rather than sat with an Asian Giant, and once again, Monday is looming over me and I think about what needs to get done. But, this Monday, I am going to be thankful that I have another Monday to live out everything that is in my heart to do. This Monday, once again, there is always another chance to meet someone new, touch someone’s life, and give it all I’ve got.

Maybe next Monday I will try to grab a drink with my almost friend in China….who knows what can happen in a week? Thankfully, the Russians will be over their polar dip faze by then and I won’t have to decide between seeing them or her…

And by the way, I would love to hear your answer to the question…what would you do if you could anything…?

The other day, I had a major crisis–of unbelievable proportions. But today, I am a changed person because I realized something…

I had gone upstairs at our office/student housing (fondly referred to as the ‘Picton’ because it used to be a trashy bar called ‘The Picton Tavern’ and is located on Picton street. I guess the name just stuck and we all now shorten it to ‘the Pic’–this is all another story for another time) and when I got to the kitchen, I was accosted by a nasty, psycho, kamakaze swarm of fruit flies. These suckers were on a mission, and it was clear to me that their mission was to make my life miserable.  In case you were wondering, fruit flies don’t just hang around because they are looking for a great party; they come around because there is garbage that has slipped past everyone’s attention but theirs. And these particular fruit flies were focused and savage! They wanted everything and they weren’t going to stop until they got it! I soon realized that the source of their fruitfly-ness was the obscene amounts of garbage that was left from the Christmas break and general neglect from whoever was staying in our housing at the time…clearly not cool. In fact, it was so not cool because of what it left me with: the job of picking up gross, disgusting garbage that had had a 3 week head-start on me.  Diane, one of our staff, came up to help me, and then, in a total horror-movie moment (I swear to you that we heard the Freddie Krueger music in the background!), we opened up the door and realized that there were another 20+ bags outside, laying all over, just inviting the neighbourhood dogs, cats, rats, whatever to come on over and party at the Picton…awesome…Did I mention that I decided to wear my new shirt that day, my cool white hat, and my skirt with heels…all so that I could take care of gross, rotting garbage and karate chop the fruit flies?  Well, I did…

At first, I thought about how unfair it was for me and Diane to have to clean up everyone else’s mess and neglect. I mean, after all, how did this suddenly become my problem? And then I thought of how gross rotting garbage smells. And then… I remembered what the garbage dump smelled like where I had spent this past summer on Hero Holiday. It was there that my life was changed forever; where I met incredibly brave and resilient men, women, and children who had no choice but to make it their livelihood to live,work, and breathe in that stench every single day of their lives.  I wonder if they ever think that it is unfair that they are stuck with the garbage, and that someone else’s choices, directly or indirectly, has left them in the place where they now find themselves?

Today, 5000 kids are going to die from poor sanitation. Tomorrow, 5000 more kids are going to die from poor sanitation. That is just poor sanitation alone, and nothing else like AIDS, malaria, or war…Where does it stop?

One day this past summer, in Dominican Republic,  I went out to the garbage dump to bring food to the workers. We brought out some used shoes and other necessities, and from the back of the truck, we did our best to hand out what we could. I can remember desperate mothers pulling on my hand, begging me for more, and young boys, poking at our legs through the sides of the open-back trucks, asking us to please find shoes that fit them. With that, I can remember feeling the hot tears for a moment as they ran down my cheek before I could catch them. What was it that brought about this moment in my life? What did I do to deserve being the one on the truck, handing out the cast-offs from another world, rather than being the one out there, with the desperate dream of somehow getting something to help me survive from day to day? Where is the justice in this?

I was born in Canada, and I was born into a world where I can go anywhere, do anything, and become anyone that I want. My future is just as unsure as the next person, but I still have led a privileged life of luxuries such as food, shoes, clothes and a home. For goodness’ sakes, my garbage gets picked up at my door! Do I think I am above taking out a little bit of garbage? Perhaps, some days when that little nasty side of my ego wants to jump out and be a drama queen, as much as I hate to say it, I really do think I am above it. Wow…that sounds kind of ugly, doesn’t it? I mean, high heels were made for more than just looking good; in fact, they are incredibly functional and practical for day to day moments such as karate chopping fruit flies, taking out the garbage, and getting a little perspective…I highly recommend you give them a try…but it that isn’t your gig (!) at least look at your garbage with a little bit of perspective.

This morning, when the garbage guys were coming down the street, I wanted to jump out and hug them. They do a lot to make my life a lot better. The world needs more people like them. Have you hugged your garbage man lately? I haven’t either, as I am sure that they could possibly get a little weirded out by it, but at least it is the thought that counts…

I have a funny little family that lives within the four walls that we call home. We usually have different people coming and going like a rotating door in our spare room (really cool…kind of like a ‘Friends’ episode) and we are always here for a week and gone for two or some other bizarre combination of time like that. Within this little house, is my little family: me, my husband (Vaden) and our Jekyll/Hyde cat named Licorice. (She wrestles with her inner demons all the time, and quite often they are the winners).

Like any family, we have a little bedtime routine: normal for us, but maybe weird to the outside world! You see, our queen size bed is divided into thirds, and I am always the one sandwiched in the middle, surrounded by snoring furballs on either side: Licorice has her third, and Vaden has his. Every night, as Vaden and I talk about our day, or tomorrow, and dream about what we want to do in the land of ’someday’, it is often 11 PM or later. You see, at 11Pm, you can dream about what tomorrow’s possibilities hold, and you can have the amazingly creative ideas to change the world. When I was in high school, 11PM was when I frantically finished assignments, or chatted with friends, or even fought with a boyfriend (!) because it is that point where my day is over, but tomorrow holds a lot of possibilities and unknowns.

This morning, when my alarm went off, another amazing phenomenon took place…somehow, through the night, totally unknown to me, a really cool thing happened, but one that is very sinister and dangerous: my bed completely became 10 times more comfortable! I know what you’re thinking: “I thought I was the only one who ever had that happen to them!” . But the good news is, you’re not alone-there are many of us out here, who, having realized this, have also realized that every life has one essential item that cannot, no matter what, ever be forgotten: the snooze button. Guys, the snooze button is truly the answer to all of my problems when that nasty little do-gooder called “my alarm” tries to ruin everything. Like everything in life, there is a way to beat the system, and I have figured this out too (this is also free with the juicer you can order at the end of this tirade). The way to enjoy the morning comfort phenomenon is to trick the alarm and set your clock fast. This way, you can press the snooze more times, and sink back under the covers and pretend that you don’t really have to deal with anything else.

Like every strong medication, however, there is a list of nasty side effects. Probably the only one worth mentioning (other than the one where alarm sound actually becomes a part of your dream) is that there is always the possibility that you could sleep in and get too caught up in what you want and feel you deserve, which is clearly more time in the uber-comfortable bed. I mean, you work hard, life is sometimes tough, and sometimes you just need to do something for yourself, even at the expense of other people who may be depending on you. Although we all like to envision ourselves as altruistic and virtuous, the truth is that it is just so much easier to make excuses than take action- it’s always easier if it feels like everything is someone else’s fault (the devil, the president, the ex, the cop for setting up a sting for speeding) but really, we (myself included) may just need to get over it, stop pressing the stupid snooze alarm on life, and actually do something that is going to make a difference. It’s gotta start somewhere, so why not with me?

On my desk, I wrote this really cool quote by C.S. Lewis, and it says, “We are what we believe we are.” That’s why I want to be the person that I believe I am at 11Pm, where I can dream about what I can do, look back and see what I did, and be totally thankful for where I am right now…and there is no need to press snooze on that.

About the juicer: if you really want one, Vaden has a cupboard full of them, from a mysterious chef selling some kind of ‘Miracle Blades’ …you can have them for free:)

Well, while many of you fought the crowds in the malls all over Canada, we were in the middle of a crazy crowd of our own, here in Dominican Republic. That is about where the similarities end! Today, six Canadians, one Italian, and one Dominican Santa Claus showed up in my one of my favorite places on earth: a small village in Dominican Republic where many of my friends currently live. They are all desperately poor and hungry, and today, for a little while at least, we were able to bring some cheer to their world. We brought 300 gift bags with awesome toys, as well as 150 bags of groceries, supplied by a few amazing Canadian sponsors. We threw a bit of a ‘party’ and handed out the goods.
As I stood at the steps of the community church that we were using for our base with the supplies, I looked out at the crowd: mothers desperately pushing their kids through to the front, children pulling on my arm, hoping that they won’t be forgotten, and babies either laughing or crying in the midst of the chaos…It was a dream come true! Santa set up inside the building, and we let the children in one by one, and as they got their bag of toys and candy, the looks on some of their faces was priceless! Some of them laughed with joy when they got the toys and some jumped up and down; some started to cry because they were scared of this big man sweating and laughing in a funny red suit (did I mention it was 32 degrees Celsius today?), and some reached out and hugged us in excitement when they got the bag. It was the best Christmas of my life! Standing on that step, I was thinking about how many years of my life that Christmas has revolved around me: what I can get, what I want, what I come away with. Today, life was made beautiful, yet again, as I saw lives that were touched by simple kindness. This is what purpose feels like and this is what we were created for. Mother Theresa once said, “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” This is what I found today. My heart is so in love with these people because their struggles and successes are really my own too; we are together in this.

I don’t know what it is like to have to wonder which one of my children I will feed, or if I will be safe today, or if there will be food for tomorrow. I have lived a life of luxury where my wish was Santa’s command, and where ‘nothing to eat’ really just meant ‘nothing I was interested in’. This was the best Christmas ever because I have realized something that has kind of left me speechless: yet again, I walk away from this experience having received something. I am the proud new owner of a fresh passion for these people and the countless millions around the world just like them. These are my Peeps, and this is my Hood, even though it was a 4 hour plane ride and 4 days of lost luggage later, and because of that, we need to continue to love, continue to give, and continue to live each moment to make it count…Happy Holidays!