I was mulling over an email while walking
towards the Church, at the end of the street.
My friend in Miami was talking about Shlomo
Carlebach whose name had been mentioned in the Study group led by Rabbi Mitch
Chevitz.
Had I met him in Copenhagen or in Lund? Is
it possible? I had heard so many stories about him. That triggered a whole lot
of thought about
Iran
Israel
Miami
A dental student from New Jersey
Rabbi Mitch Chevitz
Kabbalah
Irena Glaser and all the occasions related
to them.
Reminding me
That we are being mindful
Not directed by desires
No Attachment
But appreciating the beauty of each moment
and the moments shared with people around you.
I was thinking all these, while I walked
towards the Church in the village of Hanga Roa, in Rapa Nui.
The services had already finished; an older
couple were walking towards me.
She was limping a bit, holding on to her
husband’s shoulder
Hello, I greeted them.
Iorana, they replied, the typical Rapa Nui
greeting of welcome
Are you well, senora, I asked her.
Not very well, my son, my knees are hurting
Thus began my first medical consultation in
Rapa Nui on this visit.
She wanted to sit down, we entered a shop
with two chairs, and we sat down.
She is a grandchild of a French Sailor who
left her grandmother pregnant many years ago
He is pure Rapa Nui, she says pointing to
her husband, the dignity of the island deeply etched on his face
We talked about her illness, sounded a
combination of osteoarthritis of the left knee, which was swollen, making her
movements a little difficult
Plenty of sunshine and Vitamin D
They have lost almost all the knowledge
about the natural remedies
Medical is just basic
The preserved food that comes from the
Continent may not be good for us, she stated.
We talked about cooking with oil
I promised that I will send her some
natural teas, some thing in the order of Chamomile for soothing her evenings.
Her husband in the meantime had slipped
into the shop, comes out with two shell necklaces and put them around my neck
How lovely are these people!
A lesson to be learned, be friendly, not
only with the people you know, but every one that comes across your path
Each and every one
She told me about her family, two
daughters, two grand daughters studying in Chile, one wants to be an actress in
theatre and wants to go to the USA.
Her daughter, who was walking on the other
side of the street, joined us. She is the mother of the two daughters studying
in Santiago de Chile.
She wrote down on a piece of paper their
address so that I can send her some tea as promised
I noticed that their surnames all bore the
proud history of this island
Tuki
Pakarati
Fati
Of course, there are no addresses, just
Post Office, Isla de Pascua, Chile
After saying good-bye to them, I stopped by
the church; the worshippers had already vacated it.
Next door is the Artisanal market, geared
for the tourists, with extravagantly highly priced local chotchkes!
I saw a lady sitting on a chair with
obviously swollen legs
How are you doing? I asked
Regular, she replies, the Latin way of
saying, I am just okay.
She has hypertension, has swollen legs
She is dissatisfied with the rotating
doctors from Chile
She is taking medications for Hypertension
and it is under control, she says
I talked to her for a while; it was obvious
that more than kidney function, sitting in the chair long hours waiting for the
tourists to sell her wares may be the reason for the oedema.
I will bring my stethoscope and check you
tomorrow, I said
Okay, I will be here, waiting for you, she
said
(I did come back with my stethoscope the next day!)
In a matter of minutes you can reach out
and touch so many people
Only because you are open
And you let others in
People don't want to be friendly with you
When you are shut within yourself
That is why the tourists, don't return my
smiles, while walking on the main street in Hanga Roa
But not the more innocent Rapa Nui
I felt that the tourists are here
physically, to see the sights, but they remained chained to wherever they are
chained to.
Felt good to be here among the Rapa Nui.
