HOSPITALERA AT SANTO DOMIMNGO DE LA CALZADA

My short Hospitalero experience 2010 By Fiorenza

Nothing can quite prepare one for the unique experiences, challenges and rewards of being a volunteer hospitalero. Each placement and refugio is different. The experience is as multifaceted as a carefully cut diamond, each facet of the experience being an opportunity of learning, of sacrifice, of fellowship, leadership and compassion. These qualities and experiences are those usually sought after and shared by people in their later years, with that desire of wanting to share and enfold the wisdom gleaned through life with all whom you encounter. That sense of “ giving back” to life, to fellow pilgrims and to the Camino all that you have learnt, experienced and found worthy of passing on in life, drives the process.

After completing a two-day training course run by Sylvia Nilsen in Durban, I worked in the quaint and beautiful town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada for eight days as a hosptialera voluntaria. In my application I stated that I only had eight days available due to time constraints, and was willing to work wherever they could find a need for me. I also mentioned that I was not in any way proficient enough in Spanish to be able to work on my own. Hence I was posted to the very busy refugio of “Casa del Santo”, situated in the Calle Mayor, close by the beautiful cathedral and which is run by the Cofradia of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

This is a very busy and modern, large refugio, which can sleep up to 200 pilgrims and needs at least four very motivated people on duty at all times. There is seldom a full complement of volunteers however, which leaves quite a strain on one if there are only two or three to carry the load. The Cofradia are very involved and are passionate about their role and have their own ideas of how things should be done, leaving little room for innovation or self-management.

Some days, when there were few of us, I worked from 5h30am until 10h45 at night with only three separate half hours available at 6 hour intervals for rest, eating and ‘time out’. No one spoke English, and although I can speak German and get by in Dutch, I found myself learning to communicate in Frespish, a strange mixture of French, Spanish and English.

Being a hospitalero is all about communication – “where are you from?”, “do your feet hurt - we have a physiotherapist on duty”  “you must place your boots and stick over here”, “please note that the doors close at 10pm”, “we operate on a donation basis”, “this is where you do your washing and hang your clothes“, “the nearest supermarket is two blocks down and the next turn on your left”, “ are those bedbug bites I can see on your arms?“ “do you know about the miracle of Santo Domingo and the cock and the hen which came to life and now reside in the cathedral and also in the garden of this refuge?”......etc, – now try saying all of this in Spanish, French and German, about 100 times a day!

In a busy refugio like this one, which houses between 130 to 150 pilgrims a night, there is no time to bond with pilgrims or spend any significant period of time with any individual. There is time to give a hug, a much needed glass of water on arrival, assurance, a knowing smile and to find a speedy solution to efficiently sort out any problem that any pilgrim may be experiencing at the time. Although pilgrims mainly see to their own needs and do their own thing, it still takes a lot of strength and courage to manage that amount of people on a daily basis.

The smaller refuges provide a completely different set of experiences, but the responsibility of cooking, cleaning and caring for the needs of your albergue, the community’s requirements and expectations as well as your small batch of pilgrims, provides a different set of challenges altogether.

Whilst pilgrims come and go, the relationships you build with your fellow hospitaleros are paramount to surviving all the challenges. You have to work in harmony, or else your experience can quickly descend into a living hell. We strove at all times to have a democratic and amiable working relationship with everyone pulling their weight equally. But like all relationships one has to constantly work at maintaining it.

One of the fellow hospitaleros said to me one day “ How will you ever be able to bring across  the vastness and complexity of all you have experienced here to people in South Africa wanting to do the same thing one day?” I think it is not possible.

Indeed, not possible at all. But my advice to any of you considering volunteering is as follows.

If you do this, go without any expectations whatsoever, there is no template and no guide book that can fully prepare you. Learn to expect and deal with the unexpected. Smile – it is the universal language. Learn to speak Spanish as best you can beforehand. Be willing to communicate, communicate, communicate – on all levels and always with love in your heart.

Like walking the Camino, it is an experience with no equal. Sometimes exhausting, often exhilarating, confusing, frustrating, yet also extremely rewarding, with the rewards lasting much longer than the duration of the actual time spent.

You can read Heather's blog about serving at Santo Domingo.
http://renegadepilgrim.com/renegadepilgr/2014/3/10/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-hospitalera

Note:  HOSVOL (Hospitaleros Voluntarios) stopped sending volunteers to this albergue when they started charging pilgrims to stay there.