But a group of young white boys from two different Jesuit schools, McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester, NY and Loyola Blakefield in Baltimore, Maryland, is a strange sight that is difficult to ignore. We certainly attracted attention from bums, who sat in the nearby shade, seeking shelter on a humid summer day. They asked us where we were from and what we were doing, expressing genuine curiosity. While I was hesitant to make any direct communication with these people, other students offered brief but polite responses; our frankness was truly a product of our unease, as we slowly attempted to adjust to the unfamiliar environment of Camden.
What were we doing on the sidewalks of the nations most poor, more violent, most crime-ridden city? We were on our way to the grocery store. Before departing from the Oscar Romero center, we were divided into groups of four, or "families", and our task was to shop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next day. However, many residents of Camden rely on welfare checks for food, which amounts to merely 3 dollars per person per day. Thus, our "family" had 12 dollars to spend on 3 meals for 4 hungry men.
After browsing aisles for cheap deals and savings, we ended up with this: orange juice, bread, beans, ramon noodles, peanut butter, jelly, and macaroni and cheese. Not exactly the ideal menu for tomorrow.
Well, by now it's getting late and sleep is starting to overcome me. Meanwhile, I deal with living conditions that are quite different from what I am accustomed to. In the city around me, fifty percent of the people are illiterate. Almost twenty percent of the homes are abandoned. There are over two hundred drug corners and three thousand drug dealers. And many families live on just twelve dollars each day. Despite such drab conditions, I am already accomplishing what I came here to do - go beyond my comfort zone. Whether that means going to bed listening for gunshots (a reality that is all too real for so many people) or walking outside in the streets (which are, by the way, littered with glass, trash, and weeds), I am stepping into a whole new world, one that is not as great as my paradise in the suburbs back home, but one that I am nevertheless determined to change through Christian service with my fellow knights and dons.
