Rond maaltijd en liturgie werden 10 bewoners, onder wie 8 internationals, in internationaal convivium Casa Mundo in Groningen geïnaugureerd. Psalm 51 klonk – you’ve set my feet on a spacious space – en een van de bewoners vulde deze tekst met haar eigen woorden:
I arrive in Groningen
Two hours too late but I am here
I was stuck in an elevator but I am here
‘Dear roommate, you are welcome’
And there it is, the feeling of home
Not a place, you know by heart
But one you like to explore
It smells different here but I feel save
I live here now
Here in the Netherlands
I see my face mirrored in the canal next to our house
‘Hey you, you made it here!’
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
Doesn’t matter what you do but please never take two cookies
What do you think about the weather – always a good question!
So, you are wearing a helmet?
Yes, and if you might, I would prefer to not talk about it
Ask one of the 1003 people who have already asked me about it
Cold lunch and Karnemelk – awesome when your body always wants something warm and you are lactose intolerant
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
And by the way coffee and tea is free here – so appreciate!
What is your name? – Nele
Thank God! Miss N. – how they call me at the university in Germany is currently on a long-term vacation
By the way the only Miss N. that I know, is my grandmother
I can put 12 books at my study table at the same time
Here I have space
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
Assignments, exams, papers, podcasts, fieldtrips
Paul, Barnabas, James, Peter, Stephanus
Cnaan, Malina, Horsley, Macdonald, Theissen
Old Testament, New Testament, Qumran, Koran, Sunnah
German, English, Hebrew, Latin, Greek
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
Sometimes, I feel that I cannot do this anymore
That this will break me
I am dftd – done for the day
And then nothing
Empty
Vacuum in my tabula rasa
Enough rasa for today
I breath
But it will not break me
I will not let it break me
I am here to learn, not to suffer
I am here to enjoy, not to only struggle
I am here to find my way, not to get stuck
Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy here
Not at all
It is just a lot to think for one head
And a lot to carry for one pair of shoulders
My head might be full
My eyes tired
And my energy low
But my heart is not
I am so much more than this
Creativity, possibility, craziness, weirdness, jokes
I see the map on my wall
All the countries I did not scratch yet,
I did not visit yet
I close my eyes
I think of all the people I have already met, the places I have been too
Oh, how I miss my family , my friends in Germany, in Argentina
I search my laptop – www.flights.com
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
Believe me, I know what space is since I have vacuumed this big hall
I look around, weird how much I already care about this people
I asked for a roof, you have given me a Church
I asked for gezelligheid, you have given me a home
I asked for nice roommates, you have given me Casa-Mundo-Family
But you have set my feet on a spacious space
I am a dreamer
I am a traveler
And the next adventure is yet to come
But right now, right now
I am living this one
But you have set my feet on a spacious space and you fill my tabula rasa again and again
Nele volgt het 1-jarige cross-cultural Masterprogramma aan de Protestantse Theologische Universiteit en woont in Casa Mundo