Juntos por la Paz

 

We are now into the second half of our placement and I am conscious of how quickly the remaining time will pass. With Caro’s words, echoing in my head, I wanted to ensure to enjoy every minute.

Whether it was singing Karaoke in a local bar with “the Leonites” until 4am on Saturday morning, joining the school choir under the direction of Carlos the Colombian countertenor or sampling local delicacies such as morcilla (unappetisingly translated as cow’s viscera), I have tried to immerse myself in the school community and Leonese culture.

The rehearsals with the school choir were an uplifting end to the school day. They are held in a former side chapel within the school with excellent acoustics, enhancing the exquisite voices of Carlos and his small band of enthusiastic choristers. Together with other schools in the region they are planning a concert of world music in June, so rehearsals typically involved practising a range of pieces spanning the globe, from Japan to South Africa to Colombia via Asturias and Andalucía  

One of the most significant events in week 3 was a silent protest against war and a plea for peace, organised within the Colegio Divina Pastora. The primary school had made flags of Lebanon (where the Spanish army currently has a peacekeeping force) and the high school had made Ukrainian flags.  Class by class, row by row the children filed into the covered courtyard, holding aloft their flags, a sea of blue and yellow, red and white, fluttering behind a huge handmade banner displaying the words “Juntos por la Paz” (Together for Peace). One of the older students read the prayer of St. Francis, which begins “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me bring love….”. The whole school then fell silent to think and pray for the people of Ukraine; this powerful image of solidarity with those suffering the brutality of war will stay with me for a long time.