The bus drops us IN Taize. Now I had been expecting that we would be one of half a dozen die hard Taize style worship fans and that we would share some stone cells in a 13 cetury monistary. Any person who has ever attended a church camp, would recognise arriving at Taize. People everywhere. I wonder what the bus driver thinks of this.
Anyway the office is closed so we wander around while we wait for it to reopen. It is hot. And dusty. And big. There are buildings, dormitories, huge tents filled with benches. Eventually I find the church building and there is a choir practice in progress. (More on Taize services later). Its cool inside so I stand and watch for a while.
When the office re opens, we introduce ourselves. "Did you book?"... "Ahhh your the Australians". A young person is collared by the man at the counter to do the induction. A bit like entering a building site. What happens when and where and safety and wot not. we (I that is, Megan presumably already knew) that we were attending the Family program. This is called Olinda and is in a little town called Amuegny 1km up the road. A young french kid who looked about 13 arrived in a van to take us and our luggage up there. Very necessary as Megans case in particular weighs about 300kg. Upon arrival we are given a room key and directions to our room.
Taize is somewhat spartan. The UC camp sites we know strive for comfort, luxury and all the mod cons. Taise is ... well .... somewhat basic. Those who get excited each year about the "live simply so others can simply live" thing would enjoy it :). Even the cutlery is basic. A single bowl thing also serves as a cup. I feel like a refugee lining up for my rations. :) OK we do get a plate and a tray but the only cutlery is a spoon. In good church camp fashion, you end up on a roster and when you are washingup, there is a distinct advantage in less. The less stuff the faster it is done and as a parent, there is less for little kids to drop. No dishwashing machines here. I have to confess that I could do with a good coffee right now however not even an instant coffee is obtainable. Well there is a shop to give those who need a retail fix where you can buy softdrinks, crepes, ice cream, phone & internet cards, alcohol (by the glass). But it is only open for short times and it is a km from here.
Anyway the office is closed so we wander around while we wait for it to reopen. It is hot. And dusty. And big. There are buildings, dormitories, huge tents filled with benches. Eventually I find the church building and there is a choir practice in progress. (More on Taize services later). Its cool inside so I stand and watch for a while.
When the office re opens, we introduce ourselves. "Did you book?"... "Ahhh your the Australians". A young person is collared by the man at the counter to do the induction. A bit like entering a building site. What happens when and where and safety and wot not. we (I that is, Megan presumably already knew) that we were attending the Family program. This is called Olinda and is in a little town called Amuegny 1km up the road. A young french kid who looked about 13 arrived in a van to take us and our luggage up there. Very necessary as Megans case in particular weighs about 300kg. Upon arrival we are given a room key and directions to our room.
Taize is somewhat spartan. The UC camp sites we know strive for comfort, luxury and all the mod cons. Taise is ... well .... somewhat basic. Those who get excited each year about the "live simply so others can simply live" thing would enjoy it :). Even the cutlery is basic. A single bowl thing also serves as a cup. I feel like a refugee lining up for my rations. :) OK we do get a plate and a tray but the only cutlery is a spoon. In good church camp fashion, you end up on a roster and when you are washingup, there is a distinct advantage in less. The less stuff the faster it is done and as a parent, there is less for little kids to drop. No dishwashing machines here. I have to confess that I could do with a good coffee right now however not even an instant coffee is obtainable. Well there is a shop to give those who need a retail fix where you can buy softdrinks, crepes, ice cream, phone & internet cards, alcohol (by the glass). But it is only open for short times and it is a km from here.
The program for the day is pretty simple.
7:15 rise and shine and walk 1km to Taise.
8:15 Prayer in Taise. Walk back to The family program 'Olinda'
9:15 Breakfast
10:00- 12:00 All together bit. In a Hocker. Followed by small groups.
12:20 Prayer at Taise. After another 1km walk.
1:15pm Lunch followed by free time
4:00pm Snack.
4:30-6:30pm Meeting in the tent again.
7:00pm Dinner
8:30pm Prayer at Taise. Surrounded by more of those 1km walks.
10ish Beddy bys.
OK so youve skipped most of the above onto some detail.
There are people from all over the place here. You have to get used to hearing stuff in other languages and waiting for people to translate. In the tent most of the stuff at the front is in English but there are three posts each with a cluster of speakers at the top pointing down. Each has microphone. So all the French cluster around one post, the Germans around another post and the Polish around the third. As stuff happens out front, it is translated in real time to allow the non english speakers to follow it. It can work really well because it forces speakers at the front to stop to allow the translations to complete. That gives people like me time to consider what was just said before they continue. It also ensures that they do'nt waffle as every word really means about five words of delay.
Prayer at Taise is held in their church. It has subdued lighting and a orange and red theme. There are lots of candles out the front. I am more than a bit worried that I have entered some 1960's alternative buddist sect or something and the moonies will arrive at any instant in rolls royces (or citrones since we are in france). I relax when I note that the floor is marked out in white GAF into places to sit and places to walk (and not sit). On the inside, the place looks like a number of sheds pushed together with electric roller doors between them. The doors allow the space to be adjusted to suit the size of the congregation and also to separate language areas so the english translation can occur in one area simultaneously the German in another and so on. The service it's self is pretty simple. Some chorus's/ chants that are repeated a number of times. Almost all in languages that I do not understand. I end up looking forward to the solitary English song. There are usually some short prayers during and between the songs. There will be a bible reading and about 10 minutes of silence. Then prayers for others and a couple more songs. No sermon Hallelujia Haaarrllelujia Halleloooojia
People make comment on how far we have come. Somehow Australia has convinced both its self and the rest of the world that we are a long way away. In a way that is true however some people we have met at Taise have traveled a long way by car. We took the plane. 9hrs to Hong Kong then 13 hrs to Europe. With inflight movies, food food and more food. Compare this to a Russian couple I was speaking with. They come from 500km North of Moscow. Yep thats NORTH of Moscow. They drove. With kids. And before they even started they had to take a 11hr train ride to St petersburg just to get Visas. We are not far away when you think of it in terms of time and effort. And another couple with kids. 24hrs on the bus from Poland. At least the bus breaks down once each direction so they can get out and stretch their legs (for 4 or 5 hours).
7:15 rise and shine and walk 1km to Taise.
8:15 Prayer in Taise. Walk back to The family program 'Olinda'
9:15 Breakfast
10:00- 12:00 All together bit. In a Hocker. Followed by small groups.
12:20 Prayer at Taise. After another 1km walk.
1:15pm Lunch followed by free time
4:00pm Snack.
4:30-6:30pm Meeting in the tent again.
7:00pm Dinner
8:30pm Prayer at Taise. Surrounded by more of those 1km walks.
10ish Beddy bys.
OK so youve skipped most of the above onto some detail.
There are people from all over the place here. You have to get used to hearing stuff in other languages and waiting for people to translate. In the tent most of the stuff at the front is in English but there are three posts each with a cluster of speakers at the top pointing down. Each has microphone. So all the French cluster around one post, the Germans around another post and the Polish around the third. As stuff happens out front, it is translated in real time to allow the non english speakers to follow it. It can work really well because it forces speakers at the front to stop to allow the translations to complete. That gives people like me time to consider what was just said before they continue. It also ensures that they do'nt waffle as every word really means about five words of delay.
Prayer at Taise is held in their church. It has subdued lighting and a orange and red theme. There are lots of candles out the front. I am more than a bit worried that I have entered some 1960's alternative buddist sect or something and the moonies will arrive at any instant in rolls royces (or citrones since we are in france). I relax when I note that the floor is marked out in white GAF into places to sit and places to walk (and not sit). On the inside, the place looks like a number of sheds pushed together with electric roller doors between them. The doors allow the space to be adjusted to suit the size of the congregation and also to separate language areas so the english translation can occur in one area simultaneously the German in another and so on. The service it's self is pretty simple. Some chorus's/ chants that are repeated a number of times. Almost all in languages that I do not understand. I end up looking forward to the solitary English song. There are usually some short prayers during and between the songs. There will be a bible reading and about 10 minutes of silence. Then prayers for others and a couple more songs. No sermon Hallelujia Haaarrllelujia Halleloooojia
People make comment on how far we have come. Somehow Australia has convinced both its self and the rest of the world that we are a long way away. In a way that is true however some people we have met at Taise have traveled a long way by car. We took the plane. 9hrs to Hong Kong then 13 hrs to Europe. With inflight movies, food food and more food. Compare this to a Russian couple I was speaking with. They come from 500km North of Moscow. Yep thats NORTH of Moscow. They drove. With kids. And before they even started they had to take a 11hr train ride to St petersburg just to get Visas. We are not far away when you think of it in terms of time and effort. And another couple with kids. 24hrs on the bus from Poland. At least the bus breaks down once each direction so they can get out and stretch their legs (for 4 or 5 hours).
I can hear a sound like a kettle boiling.
I investigate.
It is a kettle boiling. Balanced on the edge of the sink and plugged into the shaving power point.
Whose is this I wonder. I wander outside and another Polish couple with kids and a tent confess to being the owners. I fall on my knees and beg for cofee. It is dutifully produced along with peanuts. We sit around the table and share stories and most importatly swap addresses. Now I have somewhere to stay in Poland. Maybe too they will come to Brisbane one day and we can host them.
Just thinking of a camp washup with all the plates & utensils......... & cups. Guess the duty teams appreciated the lack of mod cons.
ReplyDeleteGood to read the update of your travels.
Ian & Fay