Needless to say, we eventually made it to our destination where another bright and smiling face was there to greet us.  Upon our arrival Lorena presented the busy and carefully crafted schedule for our time in Costa Rica and made us feel right at home.  For nine days we would reside on a beautiful compound in the home of a delightful woman named Marcela who once worked as a secretary for the President of Costa Rica.  On that same compound sat the homes of her mother and father and the family of her sister.  The land that they lived on was deliciously inhibited with figs, lemons, mangoes, mandarins, oranges, bananas, pears, tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano and just about any other tropical or herb-like thing you can imagine.  The plants and trees sprouted up with a disorganization that made it resemble some sort of fairytale piece of contemporary art.  Chickens spent their days wildly maneuvering through the magic and each night we went out with a flashlight in hand to snag lemons from the branches for fresh juice.   Marcela’s sweet and caretaking spirit made the busy presentation schedule smooth and her patience made improving my Spanish an enjoyment.

October 24^th, 2012

A little vegetarian plopped down next to me and began to expound upon her desire to make the world a better place.  Sitting in sneakers, jeans and a hoodie I smiled when one of the kids said, “It’s nice to listen to someone like you give us advice because you’re not really old and your pretty cool.” This teenager’s attempt to offer a complement made me laugh but also served as positive reinforcement of my decision, made that morning, to drop the fancy cloths when speaking to students.

The subject matter that afternoon was the standard topic of human trafficking and the importance of service.   The audience was composed of high school kids studying at a private institution.   After all was said and done I enjoyed cookies and tea with what seemed to be five of the most ambitious youngsters.  ‘I would like to be president,’ one of the darlings answered in response to my inquiring about her future career choice.  After a short conversation I will say that it would not be a surprise if she achieves her goal.  The optimism and not yet jaded faith in the better and brighter future these young people had sketched in their minds and fully intend to build, was refreshing.  Time spent with them served as a solid reminder of the importance of maintaining this outlook, as my mind and body ages and continues to take in more of the realities this life has to offer.  It can be difficult to remain clear and untainted when the details of some of humanity’s most severe issues are floating around in one’s head (human trafficking, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, etc.).  With these issues in mind there is a truth to be recognized that everything that has ever happen was first envisioned by an individual or a group of individual’s.  In conclusion of this rant that has gone on far too long, I will express my opinion that we need more people to think the way these kids do with their positive and open minds.  If we lose optimism we lose the ability to draft that positive sketch necessary to create a reality that is better tomorrow than it was today.

Before long, my time in Costa Rica came to an end.  The nine days were filled with one presentation after another delightfully interrupted by a morning spent teaching a dance/yoga class to 3-5 year olds, some touristy visits to various museums, and several gigantic feasts complete with live marimba music and dancing.  It was no surprise that Costa Rica’s chapter of Partners of the Americas had taken exceptional care of us and superseded any expectations.  Another country was made home as we sadly said our goodbyes.

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds

of happiness.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson‎

]]> http://katielynnlaroche.com/2011/10/30/costa-rica-positive-and-open-minds/feed/ 2 katielynnlaroche Costa Rica http://katielynnlaroche.com/2011/10/19/you-can-choose-to-make-everything-new-right-now/ http://katielynnlaroche.com/2011/10/19/you-can-choose-to-make-everything-new-right-now/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:22:24 +0000 Katie LaRoche http://katielynnlaroche.com/?p=103 ]]> Before we could reach the apartment, the door swung open to reveal the bright and smiling face of a young lady who drastically resembled my friend Emily.  This would be strange, except that she happened to be Emily’s older sister, who happened to be living in El Salvador, which is where we happened to be spending the next few rainy days (in order to break up the ridiculously long bus journey to Costa Rica).   Due to the similarities between the sisters, a double-take would often be necessary to remind me that it was Andrea sitting across from me and not my pal back in Michigan.  This was nice; a familiar face always makes you feel closer to home.

The bus ride from Guatemala City to El Salvador took longer than expected due to the tropical depression that Central America is currently dealing with.  Around dinnertime we rolled into a dark city that did not appear to be horribly different from the last. A trip to the market revealed that the country’s capital had all the accommodations of your standard developed city: McDonalds and Walmart, malls and museums. There was, of course, the added accommodations of high walls lined with razor wire and armed guards holding guns of various sizes standing at the gates, ATMs, and almost every other location.  We were instructed to always take a taxi from point A to B, regardless of the distance. That is, if we wished to remain alive and in possession of our things.  We graciously followed these words of wisdom which would bring us to eventually depart the city unharmed and unrobed.

The capital of this Central American nation still bears the scars of the Salvadoran Civil War.  From 1980 until 1992, it is said that some 75,000 people were killed. And, like any war, the lasting effects of power, poverty and oppression have left behind their lingering stench.  There is an energy in this place that I would imagine most visitors can feel even without an understanding of the history.

The country is small, the elites are few and many presidents have come out of the educational institution, Escuela Americana, where Andrea works as a teacher of U.S. history.  It is a true reality that she and her colleagues have an opportunity to help direct this nation by how and what they teach these children, who will most likely lead this nation–with its massive stratification between the rich and poor–someday.  This is a pretty thick responsibility yet they all seem to take it in stride with their laid back demeanors and primarily free-spirited nature.

Our last night in San Salvador was spent in a church sorting clothing and putting together relief baskets for those effected by the storm that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  The flooding has hit El Salvador harder than most. Around one to two hundred people worked together with voices yelling “Men’s pants here and women’s shirts there.”  “Hey Andrea! Do you have the nino cloths?!”  I yelled across piles of people and clothing while mixing my English and Spanish.  A Young Salvadorian girl sat down next to me. “Where are you from?” she asked, ready to practice her English.  We chatted for a bit (and laughed at our difficulty in communicating) while we haphazardly piled the musty clothes.   Around us assembly lines put together bags of food, chains of people passed kilos of sugar from one end of the room to the other, and cheerful shouting continued. “Over there for rice!  Sugar is here!  Two bags of beans each please.”  It was a happy scene of laughter and work that nicely offset the somber historical visit that consumed the bulk of our day.  The truth is, I had a lot of fun and it brought me to a pondering of how disaster has a way of bringing people together.

What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new.  Right now.  ~Author Unknown

As we trudged along, I sat happily studying my yoga postures and enjoying the waves, occasionally glancing up to breathe in the salty air and enjoy the sunshine. While indulging in one of those goofy, blissful smiles, a thought came floating in: “We are not going to get to the city until almost 10p.m”’ This was a result of our missing the morning boat. Puerto Barrios was the boat’s destination; from there a six-hour bus ride would take us to Guatemala City, which is not exactly the safest place in Central America, and even less so when one speaks little fluent Spanish, hasn’t booked a place to stay, and doesn’t have a cell phone. The wheels of strategy began to spin as my eyeballs scanned the minimal surroundings. “Ah-hah,” I thought, looking at a seemingly sweet-looking soul two rows back whose presence said,”‘I might speak Spanish.” Gingerly, I hopped over the bench-like seats and plopped down next to the little woman. “Hello, where are you from?” I asked. With a smile she looked up and answered, “Spain. My name is Maria.”

Maria and Simon (her male companion) also happened to be heading to Guatemala City, and were happy to allow us to tag along. They had traveled this path many times before and were nothing short of protective. “Hold your things close or you will lose them, this way to customs, over here to the taxi, ah… yes, lets drop our bags and get some lunch.” While enjoying two rather massive meals for less than $5, Chris and I did our best to chat with Simon in broken Spanish while Maria engaged in a serious phone call. While she was digging through her bag she slapped a stack of brochures on the table; their headings read Human Trafficking. My surprise at the seren’dipitous nature of this meeting continued as she explained her position running an anti-trafficking organization in Guatemala.

Hours later our bus rolled into the dark city. Maria, with her simultaneously caring and bossy presence, gave more instructions. “Go get your bags and follow me straight to the taxi. Be aware of your surroundings but not nervous,” she said, demonstrating how to walk. When we expressed our desire to stay at a cheaper hotel she left no room for discussion. “No, not possible, it is too late and not safe.” The taxi ride quickly brought on a better understanding of the city’s danger in the night. Razor wire lined the 10-foot steel walls that appeared to surround almost every establishment. The gates were not even marked. No sign, only an address number, let us know where the hotel was. As the cab rolled up, an armed guard peeked out of a cracked gate. Maria booked our hotel room, set up our taxi ride to the bus terminal for next day, and upon arrival she instructed the man at the front desk to escort us to the ATM the next morning before he finished his shift.

Seven o’clock came quickly, and as we parted ways I pondered the idea that Maria was perhaps some sort of disguised guardian angel. This woman who was a stranger 15 hours ago hugged me tight and gave me a kiss on the cheek just the way my mom or grandma might. “It is too bad you have to go so soon and can’t come stay with us at our home. Be safe now.”

We made it to our next bus that morning safe and sound, ready to begin our journey to El Salvador.

October 4^th, 2011 ( A recap of the day at the prison)

It is a hot and humid Belizean day and walking into the prison I, as usual, have little idea of what to expect.  A brief introduction to the deputy chief of security is given and the tour begins.  ‘Thank you for coming to visit us” the deputy says with sincerity as we pass security who is shifting through boxes of cereal to be sure the care packages sent to the prisoners do not contain any special ‘extras.’ “I am going to take you over to the area where we keep our juveniles, our young men.  Some of them have committed double murder.” There is a certain weight that comes with that kind of knowledge.   “Double murder,” he repeats looking back to make sure that we get it.  “We will have you say a few words of encouragement to them. Come this way.”   This is when my internal dialogue begins, “What do I know about what it is like to be a young boy locked in a prison? These Kids have killed… have are facing a life that I do not know or understand.”

As I stand in front of the room the voice begins to shift.  “They are just kids, they are human, you are human and that you have in common.  Nothing more is needed.”  I can hear the thoughts of the boys swirling around in my head “She is from the United States of America.  She has everything.  We have nothing.  Why is she here?”  To that I begin to speak.  “There are many misconceptions of what it is like to be from the U.S.  Some have this idea that life in the States is easy, almost perfect, and it is not.”  An elaboration begins on the parallels of the difficulties in their country and mine, of personal experiences and hardships, of choice, learning from the past, violence against women, shifting perspective… They have faced so much in their young life.  It isn’t hard to feel the pain in the room.

The presentation is over and leaving the room I begin to recognize that exhaustion had crept in without my knowing.   My body takes in a deep breath as Emerson happily states, “That was wonderful! Now we will take you to say something nice and encouraging to the women.  Yes, something nice and encouraging for them as well.”  Digesting his words I find myself visiting that “empty tank” space that is not so unfamiliar.  “This is too much,” my head says. “I have nothing left to give in this moment,” and through the doors we walk. The introductions are made and once again the words begin, with uncertainty of what is about to come out.  The topic quickly shifts to Pratipakha Bhavanam, a phrase I have come to understand as taking sorrow and turning it into joy, the idea of shifting a seemingly negative experience and using it as a tool to create good.  We talk about experiences serving as a source of power and the reality of the fact that they, as individuals, are powerful because of what they had been through in their lifetime.  Many shake their heads in agreement and a few begin to cry while nodding, The youngest in the room catches my eye many times and as I smile at her, she sweetly smiles back, a genuine smile of strength.  Our two worlds connect.   One woman asks “Why are you doing this work?  Why are you here?”  An explanation comes out, “In the lens through which my eyes see this life, you are my sisters.” This is the truth.  As the words are said I feel them open and soften just a bit more… just enough.

It is my belief that black, white, purple, man, woman, the list goes one… are just words to define something that is not real and actually insignificant when placed in comparison to the importance of understanding that for us to continue to co-exist on this planet we must learn to care for each other.  It is my hope that some day we will all understand the light which lies within us all and our ability to use that light stop what hurts and destroys, even on the most subtle of levels.  Until that day that this seed of understanding grows into something real the weapons of mass destruction will continue to strengthen, globalization will ensue and this thing we have come to name “evil” will hold its unnecessary role on our planet.

In the end I was sad to leave that room of women and walked away with no sense of fatigue.  There was plenty of energy left from the start; it just had to be found.  There is a pattern that my heart has recognized in that it can often be at the point of exhaustion where we find great clarity and our best work finally has an opportunity to surface.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.~Albert Einstein

Four years brings on so many changes, yet in the same breath, so few. The winding path to Ma Flo’s house was still so familiar: the old shop where we used to buy our snacks, the skinny stray dogs roaming about, the slow pace, the sugary juice, the smells and energy.

It was a sweet visit with old friends, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain sadness as we said our goodbyes and made our way to that familiar bus stop that would take us back to the city.

 

It’s possible to revisit the past, the one requirement being that you come as you are.  ~Robert Brault

It has been almost four years since my last visit to this country, and long gone is the perspective of that wide-eyed college student. It is quite amazing that the core of who we are never actually changes, yet the lens through which we view this life has an ability to quickly and drastically alter.  We can revisit our past mentally or even physically but each time we must come as we are in the present moment with our present and ever-changing perspective.

“Right here!” I smile, waving my arm.  There I stood, dressed in Converse sneakers, a messy side pony tail, and the remnants of what little make-up I put on yesterday afternoon before our 20 hours of travel.  He looked at me with a funny smile and said “Well, I thought you would come off the plane with the fancy dress and the big shoes!

“Nah, that isn’t so much my style.”  I laughed.   “Although, I do have some nice blouses and high heels strategically shoved into this backpack next to my smart wool socks and hiking pants.”

“Ah, that is good.  This is all of your bags?  This must be Chris?  Real travelers.  Okay, let’s get out to the car so you can meet Abigail,” he energetically exclaimed, seemingly excited about his new guests and ready to get the day rolling.

“Oh! You are just little!”  Abilgail said with surprise at first glance  “Yes, and she likes sneakers.” Emerson chimed in proud of the new details he possessed about his new friends.  “We were joking about what you might be like.  When planning your trip here to Belize our committee said ‘We cannot put a Miss Michigan on a bus!’”  I laughed, thinking of the time I rode on the roof of a bus through Asia for hours on end.  ‘They told me you had been to Belize to do service work for us before.  I thought you might be a bit different.”

It continues to baffle me, the elaborate pictures a human mind can paint based off of just a few words.  Yet I think that I find myself guilty of finding a bit of fun in the opportunity to defy some of the expectations and inaccurate imagery that is so often attached to any title, old or new.

Packing for 10 months of travel in one backpack and half a duffel bag is not the easiest of tasks. Specifically when there is a great deal of stratification in the apparel for the activities to come.  From a nice black suit for the TV interviews to the rain gear for the days hiking through the Peruvian mountains… I walked to Emerson’s car only hoping that most of what I needed was in that bag somewhere.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ Walsch

Sometimes I wonder if traveling is actually the end of my comfort zone or just the beginning…

My performance on 1/11/11 for the preliminary portion of the competition for the title of Miss America happen to fall on National Human Trafficking Awareness day, an awesome coincidence. You can watch it through this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgrnA0SlOYo&NR=1

Lying on the floor inside the dance studio of my youth, I am mentally and physically exhausted. Memories from within the walls merge with challenges of the present as I struggle to catch my breath. My mind races as interview prep spins through my head. Should Julian Assange be tried for treason? Should we allow a mosque to be built on ground zero? What is the greatest challenge facing our nation’s youth? Then my focus shifts. Ryan’s corrections of my dance routine surface. “Point your toes. Change your focus. Softer there. Stronger there. That arm is ugly; we need to fix it.”

“Okay, enough thinking,” I tell myself. “Get up and do it one more time… you need to run through your dance one more time…” I’m almost too tired to peel my body off the floor, but I get up. I do it once more.

Looking back, I suppose preparing for the 10 days I spent in Las Vegas competing for the title of Miss America was a lot of work, but it hardly felt like it at the time. Truth be told, that was probably because I was enjoying it in the deepest part of my being. I had been given an excuse to dance, to study world issues, and to speak to organization after organization on a topic I am passionate about: the imminence of compassion and our ability as individuals to make this world a better place, whether they choose to focus on human trafficking or another issue close to their heart.

I could never have imagined that I would get the opportunity to use all of the years spent in my little studio in Bay City—Perry Woodard School of Dance—as a powerful tool in sharing an important message of reality coupled with hope. The piece I performed on the Miss America stage this January was an artistic expression of my journey coming to understand the injustice taking place in our world. Every single movement in the routine has a story, a name, and a face, and each time I am given the opportunity to perform it, I am hardly in the room. My mind takes me back to the villages, to the slums, to the people from different corners of the world that have changed my perspective on life. My body continues to move with a strange out-of-body strength, as I once again look deep into the beautiful eyes of those facing an unfair life filled with suffering and challenges that are unimaginable and unjustifiable. Starving children; people living in shacks with no beds, showers, or stoves; children’s brothels operating in broad daylight. There is a great deal going on in our world that need not be, and it has been a blessing to be able to use music and dance to give others a glimpse of its reality and maybe, just maybe, inspire a few to take action.

The experience competing for the title of Miss America and spending time with these young women from across our nation was truly incredible. It is always a blessing to share a piece of yourself with a group of strangers, but to share it with a group of inspiring, kind, internally beautiful and driven women was beyond words.

May Every Sunrise Hold More Promise,

And Every Sunset Hold More Peace.

~Blessing~

]]> http://katielynnlaroche.com/2011/01/19/dancing-with-a-message-of-reality-coupled-with-hope/feed/ 2 katielynnlaroche http://katielynnlaroche.com/2010/11/26/a-ray-of-light/ http://katielynnlaroche.com/2010/11/26/a-ray-of-light/#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:16:00 +0000 Katie LaRoche http://katielynnlaroche.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/a-ray-of-light ]]>

Sitting at my computer inundated with emails to respond to, talking points to prepare, and a never-ending list of articles waiting to be read and analyzed; I look down at my screen to read “Anurada Koirala is the CNN Hero of the Year.” Tears stream down my face as I momentarily find myself in a place of bliss thinking “It’s happening, good things are happening.” I welcome the tears of joy as the light at the end of the tunnel begins to brighten just a little bit more. Smiling from the inside out I pick up the phone to call Joe and Brigitte. “Katie Lynn!!!,” Joe yells out in his usual fashion, “We are in L.A. The presentation, it was beautiful. You should have seen.”

Anuradha, is a ray of light in a place of darkness. This 61-year-old woman who spent her young adult years as a primary school English teacher now fills her waking hours with the task of rescuing, rehabilitating and empowering young girls out of a life of sexual slavery and into a place where they are not only strengthening themselves but their entire nation . Anuradha is living proof of what the vision, perseverance and courage of one person can do. After 16 years of hard work she has managed to rescue more than 20,000 Nepali women and girls. (For further information go to www.friendsofmaitinepal.org)

I have been so lucky to fall under the sweet guidance of the beautiful couple I mentioned above, Brigitte Cazalis-Collins & Joseph Collins. They are two incredibly compassionate souls that have spent the last 20 years living intermittently in both the US and Nepal working closely with Anuradha Koirala for the girls of Maiti. In October of this year they were so kind to make their way to Michigan to serve as the keynote speakers for a Gala I had envisioned and they helped bring to reality. Funds raised at the 2010 One World One Future Gala, an event that I hope to repeat in the years to come, translates to slightly more than one hundred lives being saved from a life of torture, torment, and sexual exploitation. It is important to mention that it was not only the dollars raised that evening that counted but also hearts and minds opened to a harsh reality of international injustice that is taking place in our world. Anti-trafficking organizations, supporting corporations, student groups, and community members from throughout Michigan came together for this cause and message of hope. As Miss Michigan it is one of my goals to raise $25,000, the sum necessary to fund one Border Transit Shelter (See previous blog for more details). This may seem to be a simple pursuit, a relatively small amount, but this sum becomes so much more when the dollars are translated to lives. The cost to save a daughter, a sister, a mother is 100 dollars. The simple amount of 100 can rescue, rehabilitate and empower a life.

There are times that we find ourselves impatient for progress, longing for something tangible to validate our hard work. As silly as this longing for ‘validation’ may be, there is something about the way in which progress serves to fuel more progress. It is so rewarding to see a genuine woman of compassion like Anuradha recognized and put forth for the world to see and to be inspired by. It is the people like her that bring about the positive ripple effect necessary to end something as dark as human trafficking. Where one finds a place of hope, more of the same is always waiting to emerge.

“In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else 
will solve their problems.Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction.Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.” 

 ~His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Jane White of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force; Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008; Brigitte Cazalis-Collins of Friends of Maiti Nepal

Last week on a trip to Boston I had the wonderful opportunity to have another lovely visit with Brigitte Cazalis-Collins and Joseph H. Collins. They are two incredibly inspiring individuals that have done amazing work for the past 12 years addressing the issue of Human Trafficking in the small landlocked country of Nepal. In partnership with One World. One Future, I will be working with them throughout the next year and beyond in an effort to best utilize the gifts and opportunities which I have been presented in this moment, in this year, in this life. There is a strange connection that I have come to feel in my heart and in my gut to these girls, my sisters in a sense, that are facing a life so different from the life of abundance that I have come to receive for a reason I refrain from even trying to understand.

More specifically I will be working to raise the funds to establish a minimum of one Transit Shelter, at a cost of $25,000, and potentially a solar energy system. The lack of a reliable energy source in Katmandu makes this source of solar power something that the girls are in great need of to properly run the rehabilitation center. For more information you can visit www.oneworldonefuture.org.

The organization Maiti Nepal was established in 1993 by Anuradha Koirala, to combat the trafficking of girls and women, to rescue and rehabilitate victims, and to fight for the welfare of women and children in Nepal.

Working with Nepalese police, Maiti Nepal both prevents young women for being sold and rehabilitates those who have been victims. They assist in intercepting young women at border crossings before they are taken into India, by providing surveillance at the border points. Maiti staff members also rescue trafficked girls and women in Indian brothels, repatriate them to Nepal, where they rehabilitate them. Maiti provides food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and a hospice. For the young women whose physical health can be restored, Maiti provides vocational education and micro-loans to help them start small businesses. In addition, Maiti provides legal and psychological counseling, public awareness campaigns, and it lobbies for tougher trafficking laws in Nepal.

This journey is just beginning and amidst the chaos there is a certain calm that I feel. A calmness derived from the certainty that no matter what this year brings, I was right in following that indescribable instinct that said it was right to compete for the job of Miss Michigan. It sure is funny, what our heart and mind will tell us if we just take the time to listen…

“Do what you can where you are with what you have.” ~Teddy Roosevelt

What a whirlwind… I already know for certain from the past four days that taking on the job of Miss Michigan is going to be more of a blessing than I ever fathomed. I have moved in with my new host family and they are wonderful beyond words. From the laughter pains I have already endured there is no question that the next year with my director, Shelley Taylor, is going to be a hoot.

They always say something along the lines of “It takes a village to raise a child”. Well, I will tell you that it has taken the hearts of quite a many incredible people to turn this 5’3” (and that’s rounding up) frame into a Miss Michigan ;0) To those who have showered me with undying love and support (and you know who you are) I will never be able to say thank you enough.

On a serious note, I wish to assure you that this year is not about me. It is about the beautiful men, women and children that are facing a life that shouldn’t be from within and beyond our borders. As many know, the service component of this organization is what brought me to compete and I know in my heart that the strides that this title will enable me to make over the upcoming year will be something quite lovely.

On that note I have listed below a few upcoming events and I will be doing my best to keep up on Twitter, Facebook and the blog throughout the year.

Love, Smiles & High-Fives,

Katie :0)

“Never doubt that a group of committed citizens can change the world because indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

Upcoming Events: