To Serve

Calm and peace of the road.

After being the recipient of endless around-the-clock, blister-popping, communal-dinner-serving, bathroom-cleaning, direction-re-routing, reflection-time-leading service of the hospitaleros [volunteer hosts] along the Camino last summer, I knew it was a role I hoped to assume someday. As the recipient of a grant through the American Pilgrims of the Camino organization, it was my privilege to join 23 other hospitalero trainees at Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL to further fuel my passion for Camino hospitality. The drive downstate provided ample opportunity to anticipate a reunion of sorts; my walk is different than others' but the common vocabulary of the Camino [albergues, compede, cerveza…] unite all who have walked this ancient route.

A sigh of delight and moment of comfort as I encountered the yellow arrow directing the way I should walk yet again.

Quiet reflection in the shrine.

The thing about walking into a room of stranger pilgrims is that you naturally assimilate into immediate friends. It's as if the Camino forges a new way of living where conversation transcends age, race, and accents; country lines are crossed and boundaries are broken down. An element of openness and non-judgement is the norm; storytelling and pilgrimage imagery are woven through descriptions of life, as goals, dreams, and passions become the force of conversation. A softness towards others emulates in compassion and interest, driving questions and insightful thoughts. We all walked the Camino in different stages in different seasons at different life points, but the shared experience provides a common pathway to understanding. And truly, you know it's going to be a good weekend when it begins with a reading from Henri Nouwen:

"Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring women and men over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines. It is not to lead our neighbor into a corner where there are no alternatives left, but to open wide a spectrum of options for choice and commitment. It is not an educated intimidation with good books, good stories and good works, but the liberation of fearful hearts so that words can find roots and bear ample fruit…"

 :: Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out

What is "the most important" aspect of the albergue?
The dormitory? Kitchen? Donativo Box?
The term "hospitalero" is derived from the sense of the albergue being a hospital.
a place of recovery, refreshment and much needed rest for pilgrims.
A good alberuge doesn't have a "most important," rather each aspect works in congruence
to provide a harmonious flow of hospitality for pilgrims.

Just seeing the map from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago traced out again brought me chills.
We each approached the path and marked it with our story of a Camino High and Camino Low…
An exercise to reveal personality and character through one another's stories.

In true Camino fashion, we were assigned different roles to the pilgrim communal meal.
I was Orange. Which basically means I "tested" the vino ;)

While I primarily anticipated a fixed training program of First Aid and bedbug prevention, what I found instead was an intensive focus on the attitude of a hospitalero; what it means to serve in humility and provide hospitality. Instead of logistics, we received stories; instead of how-to's, we were given "it depends." The spirit of the Camino was instantly recreated in three short days so that when it came time to leave, I cried the kind of tears that mark the end of something of true beauty that you know can never be recreated. 

The table: Pilgrim community.

By the end of the week I had 23 new friends, an official Hospitalero pin, AND a job in Portland for the summer with the role of "Community Outreach" for The Camino Documentary! Being trained as hospitalero alongside Executive Producer Lydia B Smith was a gift… and I can't wait to connect old pilgrims and new through this incredibly heartfelt film. 

My mission-walking, Concha-shell dancing, fireball of a roommate Lil for the weekend.

Receiving my pin. I am now a hospitalera!
I cannot wait to serve and care for future pilgrims along the route!

It continues to ring true today: 

After Santiago, the Camino carries on…

It's impossible for me to remember the Camino without thinking of this dear Camino family I walked my days with.
They are in my heart forever and ever. And I miss them more and more each day.

"The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to create emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free; free to sing their own songs, speak their own languages, dance their own dances; free also to leave and follow their own vocations. Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the life style of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own…"

:: Henri Nouwen Reaching Out