Travel Tuesdays: Soup Kitchen in Quebec City

Mixed vegetables and a roll

During our extended weekend business retreat in Quebec City, we placed on our agenda volunteering at a Soup Kitchen.  It was highly recommended by our accommodation host, and it was an experience like no other.   

The foods consisted of vegetable and beef soup, pasta and meat, vegetables and meat, mixed vegetables, and bread.  In addition, Rhonda oversaw desserts (danishes, cookies, and cakes), and Sharee oversaw beverages (tea or water).  Ironically, the hottest item of the evening was butter.  The Canadians tended to pile it on thick; hence, there was a person stationed next to the butter to ration the amount given.

Serving line

An initial barrier we thought would be the language.  However, bonjour (hello) and merci (thank you) were common phrases, and used 90% of the time by the more than 100 persons that came through the food line.  The other 10% of the time our interpreter, Charles, was very helpful and questions asked often were specific requests for a dessert or "un petit" or "a little" cup of tea. 

A key observation from the experience was that everyone had a smile on their face, and were very grateful for the meal.  They were able to stick around in the warm environment for up to 2 hours, and many took advantage of it considering the temperature was dropping quite rapidly as the evening progressed.  By the time we left it was in sub-zero degree conditions, and snow was beginning to fall anew.

A final thought of reflection came after our trip.  We met a lady in our local library that is currently living on the streets.  She has spent more than 40 years living on the streets on her own accord.  The last 30 years have been in our current city of Columbia, SC.  She gave us the real scoop of living on the streets, and despite her setbacks, she always found a way to eat or have a roof over head by being very knowledgeable about what services were available in the city.  Truth be told, many people are one paycheck from being homeless.  Another truth is that many of those classified as homeless DO work.  Cost of living has made it difficult to cover the basics of living-- a roof over their head and food for nourishment.

When you travel, have you taken the time to help those at need?  What places have you visited that tend to have a high rate of homelessness?

What Is My Passion Thursdays: Meet Sojourner

A month ago, during our Labor Day weekend in New York City, we met up with Sojourner Walker: travel blogger, volunteer enthusiast, entrepreneur, teacher, and mother of 2 year-old Ohm.  

Our meeting spot was at Island Salad in Brooklyn on Fulton Street.  This block of Brooklyn is known for it's Caribbean vibe, and the music that played and the people we met didn't disappoint.  Rhonda and I were enjoying our veggie sandwiches and chatting with a Caribbean fellow when Sojourner, green juice in one hand, and pushing her son Ohm in a red stroller with the other hand, joined us at our outdoor spot.  

Sojourner's passion starts with her first name.  Sojourner is often synonymous to being in a place temporarily.  So when her Father, a Minister, questions about why she's all over the place, she emphasizes that he did name her Sojourner, a self-prophecy of her adventurous nature.  

Sojourner has traveled extensively through Europe and Asia alongside her jazz musician husband with toddler in tow, as well as personal travel that allowed her to volunteer teaching abroad.  This passion for teaching and traveling took her to Ghana in 2005, and when she took a hiatus from teaching in NYC, it was her travel abroad volunteer teaching experience that reignited her passion for the profession.  After taking additional time off to raise her son, she recently returned to the classroom as a part-time elementary drama teacher in the Bronx.  In addition, she makes Touch of Ohm butters and fragrances that she sells from her Brooklyn home, and manages the popular travel blog, Sojourner Sojourns.  

In a future posts we'll continue to discover Sojourner's passions including some tips on traveling with young children, and what's in her green juice.  In addition, Sojourner will guest blog in a future post about opportunities to travel and volunteer abroad.

Rhonda W. & Sharee W.

Community Gardens

Next week I have a meeting at my church, Francis Burns UMC, that I'm super excited about.  Our health ministry (HEALS) is seeking to start a church community garden.  A community garden is a collective effort by a group of people to provide fresh produce and plants on a single piece of land. It'll benefit the neighborhood residents and church members.  Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Strawberries.....veggies and fruits galore!!  For those that don't know, Rhonda and I eat (or juice) veggies and fruits and it constitutes 80% of our daily food intake. If you only knew what our grocery bill looked like and how frequent we went, you'll see why I'm grinning from ear to ear.  Take a look below as to what a community garden looks like.

Photo Credit via visualizenashua.com

What does this have to do with Take A Leap?? Everything if you ask me.  You see over the last few weeks, if you remember from a previous post, I've been searching for legitimate travel volunteer/mission projects.  Travel with a purpose right?  There are so many options, but the expenses are like...whoa!!  The only two that I came across that I could #1- afford and #2- enjoy were identified as the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and Workaway.  Both provide opportunities to volunteer and have your meals and accommodations covered by putting in a little work in a family's garden; teaching children; or a host of other creative and/or labor intensive volunteering projects.  The experience from our local church community garden will not only give us a green thumb, but also a learning experience that we can take with us to Africa, Europe, or South America from a period of a few days to several months, at minimal costs and an experience like no other.

Photo Credit via weber.edu

Have you participated in a community garden project in your city or town?  Have you traveled with either of the organizations noted above? If so, where to and what did you do??

Sharee