Glimpse of the Next Place I Live?

It's too soon to be thinking about this in earnest - that probably won't begin til at least February - but I've been getting flashes of thoughts and the faintest of calls from some places:

• Stay in New Mexico a second year, but move to the western side of the state for a whole different vibe? 
• Puerto Rico? Why is that whispering to me? I don't know.
• Rwanda? This has been on the back burner for quite awhile.
• Some place where I can continue to have access to my car while it's still in decent shape? Which limits me to North America. Well, no, of course, I could, in theory, drive it down to the tip of South America if I so chose, but, I'm too wussy to do that. But it doesn't rule out a turn in Alaska and making up for the drive to the Arctic Circle that my daughter and I decided not to do on our Alaskan road trip way back when. 
• Other than NM (and maybe Alaska), there's not another U.S. location calling out to me today to invest a year of residence in. 

I'm curious if any of the above thoughts will still resonate in February.

Rootless Relocation, Part 1a: Where?

One spring day

One afternoon this past spring, sitting on a marshrutka traveling from Rustavi to Tbilisi, I thought:  

To Tbilisi from Rustavi via marshrutka

If I want, I can spend one year in a different place in the world for the rest of my life.

Really slow travel. 

Between Lalibela and Addis. Ethiopia

 
So where will I go?

You'd think the first question would be, where do I want to go?

But it's not. Here are some questions that come before:

What do I want?

Climate, geography, culture, vibe, demographics, recreation, access to local, regional, international transportation, access to family/friends, challenge ...

What do I need? 

Income opportunities, cost of living, standard of living, access to health care, access to internet, level of perceived safety ... 


Are there deal breakers?

Too hot/too cold, too big/too small, too homogenous, no nightlife, community's politics, human rights, crime rates, language, too remote/not remote enough ....


What destinations are on my general list of places to explore in the future?

For example, here are places that are on my current list. Some of I've been to before and others are new to me:

• New Mexico
• Mexico 
• Colombia
• Guatemala
• Ecuador
• Ethiopia
• Yemen
• Syria
• Iran
• Libya
• Rwanda

For me, at this time, the primary drivers telling me where to live next are:

Access to family. I feel the need to be within fairly easy access to/for family for the next one or two years. I define "fairly easy" to mean within a day or two's drive or a flight less than eight hours. The flight also needs to be reasonably economical.

Climate. Not too hot and not too cold.

Geography. I want to be close to mountains.

Cultural and language diversity. I want to be able to continue with EFL and also to enjoy intercultural experiences.

Money. The cost of living must be relatively low and there must be income opportunities.


The need for family access rules out all but:

• New Mexico
• Mexico

I could make a weak argument for Guatemala, if I were interested in living in Guatemala City, but I'm not. I'd want to live near Lake Atitlan, which knocks it out of the accessibility category, both in terms of flight costs and multiple-transport transfers. Quito, Ecuador, a beautiful city and perfect climate, wouldn't be too terrible for flight time, but the cost would be prohibitive.


So between New Mexico and Mexico, which? 

See Rootless Relocation, Part 1b: Where?
 

A Special Kind of Rootless: Caritas Habimana, Part 2

Over a year ago, Carie realized she was so busy in her volunteer service to refugees in Columbia, Missouri, it interfered with her job. So she quit her job.

In a sense, Carie untied the tether that held her balloon to the ground, and began to float free. 

Carie knew she would be OK. And she has been. Money to pay the bills and put food on the table somehow comes to her when she needs it.

Ditto for the means and methods to serve the refugees in Columbia, Missouri. The people who have come into Carie's orbit, who are heavenly bodies themselves, accomplish the most creative feats:

Sew You Know, a place hosted by Community United Methodist Church, where refugees learn how to sew, speak English, build relationships, and sell their product to another out-of-the-box-thinking supporter --> the Columbia Housing Authority.

Safi Sana, a house cleaning and painting business started by Jen Wheeler, employing refugees who do not speak English yet, and who need work to support themselves and their families.

Agape Fellowship Church, through the leadership of refugee and pastor, Aaron Vurugwa, and the support of four mid-Missouri Presbyterian churches. Carie, a founding member of this church, translates the Kinyarwanda-language services into English or any of the other seven languages she speaks, when non-Kinyarwanda speakers join the congregation's services.

Carie called a local employer one day and asked if he would be willing to hire refugees who desperately needed work to be self-sufficient. He runs a laundry business. Carie told him, "They don't speak English yet." He asked, "No English?" She said, "None." And he took the risk and hired them. As with any other employee, sometimes an individual doesn't work out, and s(he) gets fired. And then Carie mentors the refugee on improving his or her workplace skills.

There are many stories about Carie and the people around her, and how they make cool things happen.

Here's another really cool thing. Carie and I got together shortly before I left for Ethiopia. She told me that a friend of hers, a trauma counselor also working with refugees, had the opportunity to go to Rwanda in July 2011. The friend asked Carie if she could go, too. Carie said yes. No money to do so, mind you. Just the faith that it would happen somehow. And I totally believed her because that's just how it is with Carie. 

So I get back from Ethiopia, and we meet for a catch-up. Rwanda in July? Yes. It's the most amazing story: Recently, Carie met a young woman with whom she'd do some refugee work. Carie told the woman about her intent to go to Rwanda, including that she didn't know how she'd pay for it, but knew it would happen anyway.

That night, the young woman told her parents about Carie. The next day, she called Carie. Her parents, without having ever met Carie, but so inspired by their daughter's story, decided to buy Carie's plane tickets!

When Carie goes to Rwanda this July, it will be the first time she's returned since she fled 17 years ago.

Carie is a special kind of rootless.

A Special Kind of Rootless: Caritas Habimana, Part 1

Caritas Habimana - Carie - is not rooted to the earth.

Nope, her head is in the clouds. She lives each day in complete faith that things will turn out the way they should.

Carie, a Tutsi from the Congo and Rwanda, is a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. Her story, from start to finish, from how she escaped murder by about 15 minutes, and then over and over again, until she found her way to a refugee camp months after her saga began, is a story of serial miracles. Her survival is also a story of people helping people - at terrible risk to themselves.



She could be a bitter person for the things that happened during the genocide, and for things that have happened since.

But she is not. Carie spends all day, every day helping others. It gives her joy.

Don't know if you recall this, but the genocide was a result of Hutu Rwandans killing upwards of 800,00 Tutsi Rwandans (and those who stood in the killers' way, including other Hutus). 

Carie doesn't care if the people she helps are Tutsi or Hutu. 

Carie's embrace of Tutsi and Hutu together causes distress to people she loves.

But Carie perseveres. The refugees need her, and she needs them. 

Finding Refuge from charles ferguson on Vimeo.

"There's a big plan out there," Carie told me the other day. "Bigger than people know. .... And I dream big, too."

Continued here.