Volunteering

Coming to Cambridge, I had hoped to volunteer in some kind of garden setting or school.  The first week I was here I went to the local council, had an interview, and found out about local volunteer opportunities ranging from hospitals to shopping center "buddies."  My first few phone calls did not produce success: many positions, especially those dealing with children or in hospitals, require a background check that might take 5-6 weeks to complete. I was told it wasn't worth the organization's time to to invest in interviews and record  checking when I wasn't going to be here very long.  I phoned and emailed a local church that had asked for help with lunches and when I didn't hear anything back, I assumed volunteering was not going to happen.

In late September I received a call from John at St. Paul's Anglican Church Center where I had applied earlier.   John told me he had called several times but had never received an answer (no answering machine here either!) but thought he would try one last time.  So began my time at St. Paul's.  The church is located about a 45-50 minute walk away.  Bus service from the apartment is irregular so walking is the best option--and I've gotten faster as the weeks have passed.  On Thursdays lunch is served to people with slight mental or physical disabilities--my work with Horticulture Therapy and the clients at OSU served me well in this capacity.  On Fridays, the group is retired people from the nearby area who come with their friends for a good meal.  It's hard to know sometimes who is a volunteer on Thursdays and who is a "client" since many pitch in to help set up or clean up after the meal.  Both groups have been very welcoming and I've had the opportunity to participate in many ways from preparing food to serving it to traveling with the Thursday group.  Most of all, it has been enjoyable to get to know different residents of Cambridge.

The Thursday group takes day trips now and then and I've been with the group on two of them.  We prepare a lunch at the church which is passed out as soon as we board the train (just like car trips at home).  Sightseeing with the group is a little different than I would do on my own--it's more like a forced march through the sights and then a long stop at the gift shop--but I've had a chance to see places I haven't been to on my own.

The Tower of London, the number #1 tourist destination in the city.  It is actually a series of buildings that was the main castle in the city.

The White Tower: the"keep" or donjon, the strongest part of the whole Tower. Sir Walter Raleigh was kept here several times (in luxurious apartments) when Queen Elizabeth I was displeased with him.

Last week we traveled to Norwich, about an hour's train ride to the east to see the Norwich Cathedral and several other places in this "most medieval of cities."  The architecture of the church is "Norman" or Romanesque.  The roof is embellished with "bosses" which function architecturally (joining the ribs together) and artistically since they tell Biblical stories. 

My only regret is that our time at the Cathedral was way too short.  We heard someone practicing Christmas music on the organ and it would have been lovely to have heard a whole performance.