The End of an Era

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UsJun7zSK9yq3ZdK9

I arrived back in Pennsylvania on February 17th, officially concluding my time in BVS. But I owe you one last blog post summing up my final month and a half in Austin.

Work became more stressful once Trump took office as clients fearful of ICE raids and negative outcomes for their applications contacted us. The church, English classes nonprofit, and my boss collaborated to “ICE proof” the church building given the loss of protection for sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and houses of worship. They put up signage with less details about our services, posted “private” signs on the doors to areas that potentially undocumented people frequent, and printed cards listing people’s rights during encounters with ICE. A squishy stress cube and favorable outcomes for some clients in my last weeks kept me sane. One client, when she came in to pick up her green card, completely broke down when she finally had it in her hands. After so much waiting and anxiety, her relief and gratitude rushed forth in tears. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to help facilitate moments like that. Terri took me and Eva out to lunch to celebrate my conclusion of service, and Eva’s mom is now covering some of my former responsibilities at BKC.

I attended my final Zumba classes and made sure to thank the instructors for all the joy they brought into my life.

I checked one more country (Paraguay) off my list of Latin American restaurants, bringing my total to 13. I feasibly could’ve checked off a few more, like Peru and Guyana, but I think it was a respectable effort, especially considering my transportation restrictions.

Speaking of restaurants, my housemate Leo treated me to dinner at an Indian restaurant to commemorate our final grocery trip together. He had never tried Indian food before, and he loved it! I really lucked out having Leo and Alice as housemates.

Laurel and I continued to enjoy spending time together. Some of our adventures included exploring a cave north of Austin, taking a trip to IKEA (my first IKEA experience), and joining my friend Rachel and her partner for a hysterical performance by a theater troupe that improvises in the style of Shakespeare. Laurel also accompanied me to my tattoo appointment where I got my third tattoo, a monarch butterfly that she designed. The monarch is the Texas state insect and symbolizes transformation and migration, which made it a fitting choice to commemorate my time in Austin.

Galen made a whirlwind 36-hour visit after Peace Camp. He came with me to Austin Mennonite, and we had barbeque for lunch. Then we toured the capital, stumbling across a pro-immigration protest out front, and stopped in some shops. We ended the day at a lackluster comedy show and were taken home by an Uber driver who put all the aspiring comedians to shame. Galen stopped by the Bernardo Kohler Center before catching his flight back to DC.

Rachel and I attended a Lunar New Year celebration at a popular coffee shop. She was the first friend I made in Austin, and as we drank our coffee, we reminisced about all the good memories we made together in the past year.

I participated in one more Panoramic Voices choir concert. The theme was “Lore,” and the repertoire included quirky songs about critters and mythology and monsters. The Texas Science and Natural History Museum was our very cool concert venue.

In January, Austin Mennonite Church folks banded together to help me replace my bike tube that had stopped holding air. In February, I had a great time judging the Great Menno Bake Off, an AMC spinoff of the Great British Baking Show. The bakers blew me away with their creativity and it was a delightful evening of sugar and fellowship. On my last Sunday, AMC sent me off with a cake reading “come and take her,” a play on the “come and take it” slogan from the Texas Revolution. (When I sent my mom a picture of the cake, her response was, "If I have to, I will!")

Saying goodbye, or perhaps see you later, to Austin is one of the most difficult things I have ever done, which speaks to the deep goodness that infused my year there. I am so grateful for the chance to get involved in a new community, learn about immigration law, grow as a person in so many ways, and meet wonderful, wonderful people. And I am grateful for each of you who has read along and supported me during my year and a half of volunteer service.

For the foreseeable future I will be living in Manheim, and on March 17, I will begin a substitute teaching position for my former Spanish teacher that will last until the end of the school year. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine, but I’m trusting that there are good things ahead. It’s the end of an era, but it’s also the start of something new.

While I won’t be sending out any more blog updates, I can still be reached via email at mariannefitzkee@gmail.com or phone at 717-690-5960.