At the Pantry

I've started my new job at the pantry now. And I really enjoy it. Yesterday, this guy came in who spoke English, but not very well. As soon as he walked in, something in my brain froze, and I couldn't come up with any Spanish to speak. Maria talked with him. I listened. I understood nearly everything, but I just couldn't form any words of my own. I felt a bit defeated.

But then, a little later, this lady came in while Maria was on the phone. She didn't speak any English, so we spoke in Spanish. She explained to me what she needed, and I repeated it to her to clarify. Then I went to Maria to see what we could do. She told me, I relayed it to the lady, and it worked. I know my grammar wasn't great, but the lady understood. And it didn't bother her at all when I fumbled with my words. Communication happened. And despite my shortcomings with the Spanish language, I was able to help. It was really nice.

I was also trained yesterday on the community voice mail system that we're getting. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but it's pretty neat, and really, really easy. The idea is that homeless people in particular, but poor people in general, have a hard time finding jobs and housing and getting social services because they don't have phone numbers where people can reach them. So with this service, we can provide them with free voice mail so they can receive messages at a steady phone number. So long as they can get to a phone, any phone, they can call in to get the messages. And since it works like regular voice mail, they have their own personal message on it... it removes the stigma during the application process, and also allows them to keep in contat with family and friends that they may not hear from regularly otherwise.

I'm digging the job.