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| Christina, Roberto, and Giuseppe at work... note Giuseppe's cool homemade computer! |
Roberto works part-time, as he is also pastor of two churches in Lima (one happens to share part of our apartment space!). When he is in the office, he plays evangelical music. This drove me nuts for awhile. Then it became simply part of the background noise. (One Saturday, we went with their family on a picnic to a park about 2 hours away. We listened to the same song, not just the same cd, but the same SONG, for the 2 hours there, 2 hours back. Not only did I memorize it on the drive, but it stuck in my head for days afterwards.) Last week, he had a different cd in and I realized I actually missed the rotation I knew. Thursday, he put in the other cd and I had to stop myself from audibly singing along, I was so happy to hear “my” songs! This should give you some idea of how much I am starved for music.
A bit of love is always in the air from Roberto and Christina, who never refer to each other by their names but always by “mi amor”, as in, “Mi amor, do you have that invoice from the shipping company?” or “How much is the advance to the artisan, mi amor?” I find it slightly jarring but so sweet. Roberto makes them cups of Nescafé when the air is a little cooler.
I find myself comparing situations at work at Manos Amigas with my work at previous organizations. Such as: would any employer of mine be OK with “mi amor” or would that be grounds for harassment? What about letting Simon come to the office with me during his summer break?
School has been out for summer since mid-December and so that has meant that Dieuwe and Giuseppe have been hanging out at Manos Amigas for most of their days, save a swim class here or soccer practice there. And while the cousins are generally very caring to each other and hug nearly every time they meet, even though they live next to each other and see each other every day, multiple times, there are inevitably times when they have gotten angry with one another and come running into the front office, crying and telling on each other. And it’s been simply part of the day.
A bit of love is always in the air from Roberto and Christina, who never refer to each other by their names but always by “mi amor”, as in, “Mi amor, do you have that invoice from the shipping company?” or “How much is the advance to the artisan, mi amor?” I find it slightly jarring but so sweet. Roberto makes them cups of Nescafé when the air is a little cooler.
I find myself comparing situations at work at Manos Amigas with my work at previous organizations. Such as: would any employer of mine be OK with “mi amor” or would that be grounds for harassment? What about letting Simon come to the office with me during his summer break?
School has been out for summer since mid-December and so that has meant that Dieuwe and Giuseppe have been hanging out at Manos Amigas for most of their days, save a swim class here or soccer practice there. And while the cousins are generally very caring to each other and hug nearly every time they meet, even though they live next to each other and see each other every day, multiple times, there are inevitably times when they have gotten angry with one another and come running into the front office, crying and telling on each other. And it’s been simply part of the day.
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| Greeting Giuseppe after soccer practice |
One time, several artisans were waiting in the office for Roberto to finish making out payment checks to them. I was thinking that in my previous jobs, someone would have been fired had their kids been at work with them for several days, let alone summer break, and especially if they were fighting and crying in front of customers. But here, it was all part of the day. No one was particularly upset about the kids. Christina stopped working and listened to Giuseppe while he cried and told her why he was angry. Dieuwe went to her parents’ office to vent. Christina cleaned Giuseppe up and let him sit on her lap while she worked on her computer.
I left, Sam came in for his afternoon work. I asked him later whether the kids were playing together at all. Oh yeah, he said. They hugged when Giuseppe came back from lunch and played all afternoon.
While I don’t think I could have my work life so integrated with my home life, I think it is pretty awesome that kids are accepted and even welcome at Manos Amigas.
They even have their own parking spaces, a perk enjoyed just by them.
I left, Sam came in for his afternoon work. I asked him later whether the kids were playing together at all. Oh yeah, he said. They hugged when Giuseppe came back from lunch and played all afternoon.
While I don’t think I could have my work life so integrated with my home life, I think it is pretty awesome that kids are accepted and even welcome at Manos Amigas.
They even have their own parking spaces, a perk enjoyed just by them.
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| Dieuwe and Giuseppe's scooters to the right; Simon's little car to the left. |
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