Our Colombia Experience

All of you who know me, know that I like to “look outside my box”. I am fascinated by how other people think and why they think what they think; especially in theological areas. I have had many positive experiences with many different Christian denominations and think of myself as sort of a “bridge builder”. As I have often said, ecumenicalism is one of my soap-boxes.
But for all of my experiences, encounters, discussions, etc., for all the off-the-wall ideas that I have heard and attempted to understand, after thinking I had seen and heard just about all…..today, I believe, was a milestone. It was brought home to me so very clearly and forcefully that no matter how much I want to understand people, no matter how much I think in advance about where someone is coming from in order to communicate more effectively, no matter how much training and experience I have, I realized that you can never predict what a person from a different culture may think…Now hold on to your seat….You better be sitting down for this one…..Today I found a group of Episcopalians who don’t know how to do a pot-luck!!! Yes, you read correctly,….. DO NOT know how to pull off a pot-luck lunch!
As you know if you have been reading my blog, we have been attending the cathedral here in Bogota. The priest, Gonzalo, is a wonderful guy, an awesome preacher and very friendly (of course…he is from Medellin!) He likes to do the announcements right after the Eucharist before the last prayer; he will use the time to personally welcome the newcomers in the congregation and, as he did today, throw out some ideas. This morning he proposed that on Sept. 30 after the service, the congregation come together for lunch, to talk, joke around, have fun, meet and get to know the newcomers. Basically he was proposing the standard Episcopal pot-luck, although he did suggest we have a sign up for one person to bring rice, another dessert, another meat, another salad. Unfortunately, he gave the congregation a little too much say. These wonderfully sweet, kind, generous Colombians started discussing exactly what ought to be served! The choices were narrowed down to (forgive the spelling) sancocho (a Colombian soup with meat and corn and potato or yucca) or an asado (like a barbeque). They actually took a vote! Oh, I was biting my tongue trying not to giggle. I had never seen anything like it!
Now, remember, while this was hysterical from an American perspective, it made total sense from a Colombian cultural viewpoint. A meal is an important time and sharing a meal is an important occasion. It needs to be done right. I got the sense that not having rice for the meal might be akin to running down the street naked. (Ok, maybe not that bad, maybe in your underwear!) I guess it was just an idea that never existed within my universe of thought; a group of Episcopalians actually exists that have never done a pot-luck before. Pretty incredible the things you learn in church!

     Some of you will probably think I am crazy, but I am in an ethical quandary.  After you hear the story, hopefully I can get both sides across to you, you will have to let me know what you think!

     Monday morning Carmen arrived promptly at 7 am as arranged.  I don’t yet know much about her except that she previously worked for Maria Jose, the owner of the apartment.  She had also cleaned the day after we arrived.  In my broken Spanish I was pretty sure I got across to her what I would like her to do.  At one point she was really concerned about making lunch.  As Andrew was the only one who was going to be home and I had explained that he was pretty self-sufficient, I thought she meant for herself.  So I showed her that there were some frozen things…a single serve lasagna or some hamburger, a few cup-o-noodles, some lunchmeat, etc.  I also left 10,000 pesos (about 5$) for Andrew to go get anything she might need.  Basically, she was to clean the bathrooms, vacuum, dust, make the beds, laundry and clean the kitchen.  I did ask her if she could start dinner.  At 7:15 Kirsten and I left to go to school with Noelle (School hasn’t started yet, this week is teacher work days all week)

     I cannot begin to describe to you the feelings when I walked in the door at about 4 pm.  Carmen had already left; leaving a pristine apartment with dinner waiting on the stove.  It was spotless.  She had organized everything, done all of the cleaning and the wash was all hanging (we do not have a dryer).  It was incredible.  I was so tired after my first day of meetings (and the altitude is still having an effect) that to come home to this was spectacular.  On top of that, she had cooked Andrew a full meal that was equivalent to our dinner in the states!  He was pretty amazed.  Dinner was fantastic.  She made probably the tastiest frijoles (red beans) I had ever eaten, rice, and curried beef steaks as well as a small spinach and tomato salad.  Within 10 minutes we were able to sit down together and eat our meal.  The sense of peace was overwhelming.

     Carmen returned on Wed.  She arrived at the normal 8:30 am so only Andrew was home.  I wasn’t able to talk to her until I stopped home at 2 pm.  I had left her a note and she had accomplished everything.  She did send Andrew to pick up a few things to make dinner and left me a short list of things she needed for cleaning.  Included in the list, in Spanish, was a “brush for cleaning the clothes”.  This was when I realized she wasn’t using the washing machine for the clothes….she is washing all the clothes by hand!  It is just how it is done.  Later that day I found all of our t-shirts pressed and folded on the ironing board!  The dinner she made was again wonderful…..similar beef steaks in a gravy with tomatoes and onions…almost a goulash, rice, a vegetable salad and sliced mango.  Kirsten, my budding chef, was enthralled.  She asked if Carmen could come every day!  She is fantastic!

     So by now you are probably wondering just what the dilemma is.  Carmen does all of this for 25,000 pesos ($12.50) per day. If you do the math then it is $62.50 per week or $250.00 per month for full-time work, no benefits, no holidays.  I asked her how she got to my apartment and she told me she takes 2 buses each way for about 4000 pesos a day; almost 20% of her pay. Without any other thought I told her that I would pay for her bus; pay her 30,000 pesos each day she works.  Now it is true that the average Colombian earns about $200.00 USD per month, but does that make it right?  How do you go about your daily life knowing this woman is working for you at a barely subsistence level wage?  Do you pay more?  Do you not hire anyone at all? What is the Christian thing to do?

    In the short time I have been pondering these questions I have heard various takes on the situation. Some say you should pay a living wage even if it is not customary. Others respond, “You are here for only a year so if you pay her more than is normal, what will she do when you leave?  She will not be able to earn that much but will have become accustomed to it.”  But to what extent is that my responsibility?  Furthermore, exactly what is a living wage?  Is it a US standard?  She is obviously earning a “living wage”; but, I am sure, living in what we would call extreme poverty.

     What is the ethical thing to do; more importantly, the Christian thing to do?  Do we offer hope in monetary form even though I am fairly sure will be reduced back to ‘normal’ when we move?  Do you go along with the customary wages but be sure to offer extras like food to take home or paid days off?  What are the consequences of either action that I am not aware of because of cultural and societal differences?  What would you do?

     For the time being I think I am going to continue to pay her the 30,000 pesos.  Additionally, I will give her paid days off when she is supposed to work for me on Colombian holidays and encourage her to take home any food she might need.  I think the key to finding the answer is to develop a relationship with her; to find out more about her life, family and circumstances.  I believe through this God will guide me to the right course of action.