A few weeks ago, I was at Eastern Market with my friend Maddie. I made a purpose to seek out this certain tea vender due to the fact that I was running low on her delicious Jasmine Green Tea. (Oh no!) After searching through the abundance of fruit, vegetable and bakery stalls, we finally encountered the tea stand. After discussing my obsession with her Jasmine tea, I asked the lady if she had any left. “Just one packet.” It was perfect, until I looked in my wallet and saw that I had no cash. How could I come to Eastern market without any cash on me?!?! I told the women to wait; that I would run to the ATM and then come back for the tea. She looked at me sincerely and said, “Nope, no need. Just take it!” I was taken aback and told her that I couldn’t do that, but she INSISTED. “Honey, you need to learn how to receive from others. I’m out here for my customers, I do this for you.” I thanked the women profusely, put the tea in my bag and then walked away.
Her act of kindness restored my faith in humanity. Imagine what our world would be like if everyone was a little more like this women.
Since this experience, I’ve noticed that in Detroit I witness these acts of kindness on a daily basis. For instance, yesterday my supervisor, Fernanda, and my co-worker, Gloria, went out of their way to take a struggling mom to a food kitchen, and today they took her to pick up a donated washer. Maybe I see more of these kind acts because I work at a non-profit? Or because all of my friends here work at non-profits? But I hope that it’s more than just that. I hope that Detroit communities are working together for change.
In Spanish the verb aguantar means a combination of endure, withstand and support. Although I can’t fully describe the meaning of the word in English, I know that it applies to Detroit. La gente de Detroit está aguantando. Detroit is resilient. As I continue living and working in Detroit, I keep meeting incredible people who are doing wonderful things for the city. These people genuinely care for the well-being of others and for the city as a whole. I think that I’ll really miss that when I leave.
I think that the tea lady is like a metaphor for Detroit. You need to give to receive. If you keep giving to the city, one day it will give back to you. Detroit’s day has not come yet, but if the support is there, Detroit will rise once again.
Jasmine Green Tea sounds like heaven! It’s also cool that you’re exploring the city with friends outside the program – that’s really admirable. Detroit is often underestimated and it’s always fun to show someone around.
I love reading stories like yours because they make the world seem like a brighter place. It’s easy to get lost in negativity, but with people like that sweet vendor around, I still feel hopeful.
I especially appreciate your rational / scientific approach to this post. It was so clever to wonder whether the reason you see so many good deeds is just because you’re surrounded by people like yourself / non-profit employees. (Kind of reminds me of how data can be skewed if it’s drawn from a single population or something like that – sampling bias??)
I also LOVE how you brought in aguantar. I completely agree that Detroit will continue to fulfill its potential. It is bouncing back from its challenges and I’m so glad to be a part of that process at all!
Random side-note – I see many kind acts / people in Detroit too. When I walk around downtown people will almost always smile/nod back at me or just randomly ask how I’m doing. One day I saw a man feeding a HELLUVA lot of pigeons; it was so touching and adorable.
-Emma