Days 8 and 9 (yesterday and today)

Yesterday I had my first solo PM shift. Overall I would say that it went well. Some guests pushed the boundaries to see if they could aprovecharan de la nueva voluntaria(take advantage of the new volunteer). I took a hardliner stance with most people because I know that in order to get respect from them, they need to trust that I treat everyone fairly...even if it's about something simple, like storing soft drinks for guests in the fridge (which we don't).

The most stressful part of shift is opening the door to an unfamiliar face.
Ultimately, that is why all of the volunteers are at Annunciation House...for the guests. It still really makes me anxious though. One of the veteran volunteers, Taylor, says that her least favorite part of working at A. House is having to be skeptical and cynical of everything potential "intakes" and guests say. Some have good reason to keep certain personal details to themselves, but we also have to be wary of people who might aprovechar a Annuncation House and the hospitality it provides.

Last night when I was on shift, the door rang at 9:50, just ten minutes before I was supposed to shut down the house for the night, do the final bedcheck, and give a special-needs guest her eardrops. My first thought: "wow, one of the guests is cutting it pretty close to curfew...."

Once I opened the door and see two unfamiliar men my focus shifted to what their situation might be. One of the two men had stayed at A. House several times before, but his extremely quiet friend had never been in the US before. After talking to them a bit, Fabian(another volunteer) and I ascertained that they were intending to work the next day picking onions on a farm in New Mexico. They were planning to leave between 2 and 4 AM. One of the strict rules we have is that no one can come into or leave the house before its official opening time, 6am on weekdays and 7am on weekends.

As soon as this became clear to them, the quiet man stomped off in apparent frustration, leaving his companion behind. We explained to him that we might have a spot for him if he finds other day-work to do, but he declines. We really don't like leaving people to just wander the streets, (1) because sleeping on the street is generally just a bad idea (2)if a person is undocumented, sleeping on the street makes him/her extremely vulnerable to the migra. I made a call to another shelter, the Opportunity Center in El Paso to see if they had a bed for him, but as soon as I went back outside to tell him he could proceed there, he and his duffle bag have vanished! I circled the perimeter of the building and he was nowhere to be found.

It was then almost 10:15 and I was already fifteen minutes late for bed check...the guests didn't seem to mind, but I did. Thankfully, everyone was in their beds and no one gave me a hard time. I was done with the final cleaning and straightening by 10:45. What a day!

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Today I have my first day off! Although only one person is "on shift" at a time, volunteers are expected to be around A. House all other times, too, to help out. On your day off, you can (and are encouraged to) get away and even sleep elsewhere, too. I'm staying at Casa Teresa, a guest house of sorts for volunteers that also serves as the office for A. House.

I am just returning from walking around downtown El Paso. I wandered a bit, taking in the sights and smells, and then retired at a couple of cafes for snacks with my book. It has been quite nice! It is very different being in the house versus the rest of the world. Since everything at A. House is so intense--the people, their stories, their needs--it makes everything else seem like make-believe. Walking down the streets of El Paso, a city whose streets were completely foreign to me (at least until I explored them today), seemed light and fluffy. Dreamlike. While approaching a new city alone would otherwise have seemed intimidating to me before, it is hard to think of anything more challenging than what I've heard guests describe since I've been here.