Volunteering

12 days down, two more to go. There are about 30 volunteers with new ones who arrive every few days or so. So far my volunteer duties have consisted of cutting grass with a sickle, clearing grassy areas completely, dumping compost, mulching, and cooking lunch.

Last week Amalia arrived, a middle aged Israeli woman with three kids: one daughter who is working on her Ph.D., a son who is a filmmaker (he’s worked with Robert Altman), and her youngest son who is in the military. He plays soccer in the position of goalkeeper. She's a very proud mom and I loved watching her glow as she talked about her kids.

When Amalia arrived at the forest, she rolled in with her rolling luggage, an interesting contrast to the younger people who arrive with their backpacks and a tight budget. She’s in India for one year. Her husband is in Israel and she’s in India, free as a solo traveler. I wondered how she would take to the forest because she seemed a more comfortable traveler, not one seeking to rough it in thatched huts and composting squat toilets as we do here.

During her first full volunteer day, we were clearing grass. She asked me how to say in English what she was gesturing. She had all the words except the verb. After repeating after me a few times she had it down. “I am collecting the grass.” Yes, I said. Perfect. From then on, she would say, “I am collecting the grass,” to each volunteer whose grass pile she collected. “I am collecting the grass.” She taught me how to say it in Hebrew. Then it changed to, “I am dumping the grass.”

Amalia is one of my favorite people I’ve met at the forest. Upon seeing her for the first time in the day, I get a big hug and a kiss. “You know I love you,” she says. Yeah, and I love Amalia too. She has a lot of courage breaking out of her comfort zone. A big heart in Sadhana Forest she is.