December 17, 2014 - 10:21
One day for lunch Cindy and I went to another house where Sebastian and Sula were eating lunch. I can’t remember the house name or the name of the House Father that we ate with, but from the moment we stepped in the door I felt welcomed. In the days before I had eaten at Sycamore and other than the others villagers who were very friendly and talkative, the house felt very cold. The House Mother, Taya, was very stiff and seemed constantly stressed. So when I went to lunch I wasn’t expecting to have much of a conversation with anyone but Cindy, Sebastian, and Sula.
The House Father immediately began conversation as we sat down. He began by asking questions about my interests and where I was from, the usual, but unlike other conversations I had had at Camphill he made sure to make our conversation open to everyone at the table. He didn’t try to ignore the villagers nor did he treat them as lesser. One villager, named Sue, was upset about her mothers passing and would repeat how much she missed her mother and when she did, he would listen and hold her hand. I could feel how much he cared about each and every person.
During lunch he asked Sula and I about the 360 Program and what exactly it was. After describing the classes the House Father began to tell us his relationship with disability studies and how he ended up at Camphill. He said he had an interest in disability studies in college and taught special education after graduating. He said that he loved his job and that after working for years he started to understand beauty in a whole different manner, “ one day I was working with one of students and I was like wow is he handsome. He’s a really good-looking guy. And after you see that you can never go back”. After he left his job, he sought out an intentional community like Camphill.
This experience made me really love the beauty of Camphill. Although some of the house parents and volunteers aren’t passionate about what they do, the people who are passionate love every moment and treat everybody with respect.