Taking the plunge into another culture

Elia Powers

Caryn Kallal paused, stared at the ceiling and pondered the question:

When was the last time she had ridden a bus in Southern California?

The answer was never.

But that changed Friday afternoon as Kallal and seven others took

public transportation from Harbor Christian Fellowship to the homes

of Westside Costa Mesa residents as part of the first-ever Mika

Westside Plunge.

Mika Community Development Corp., a less-than-2-year-old nonprofit

Christian organization that provides a range of services to

low-income, Westside residents, organized four pairs of volunteers

and Orange County churchgoers to spend a night in a Westsider’s home.

Organizers collected participants’ cellular phones and car keys,

and handed them $10 for bus expenses. The participants had to find a

route to the home, where they are experiencing 24 hours in the life

of the families they encounter through Mika.

The event ends at 2 p.m. today, and participants will discuss the

event upon return to Harbor Christian Fellowship, said Mika’s youth

and volunteer director, Lindsy Pike.

“People will hopefully develop relationships and get a better

understanding of another culture,” Pike said. “This is the

community’s chance to teach us.”

Each of the families hosting the Westside Plunge volunteers at or

attends events through Mika, according to Crissy Brooks, Mika’s

executive director. Each of the four host families is of Latino

origin.

Before they left for the event, participants wrote down what they

expected to learn from the experience.

“I just want to see what happens in the family’s everyday life,”

said Kallal, a Balboa Island resident. “This is nice because it’s not

a special event. It’s a chance to spend time with the hosts in their

element. I expect there will be more similarities than differences in

our lives.”

Participants will complete a scavenger hunt to familiarize

themselves with the Westside neighborhood.

Each pair of participants has a different morning activity,

including going to a swap meet and planning a quinceanera birthday

celebration.

Pike said her inspiration for the Westside Plunge came from a

November 2003 convention she attended in Waco, Texas, for the

Christian Community Development Assn., Mika’s parent organization.

Pike said that event’s theme was “Mobilizing Middle Class

America,” and speakers described a poverty simulation that involved a

stay over. She said she thought a similar activity was needed in

Orange County.

“The best way to show people about a different culture is to have

them experience it firsthand,” said Pike, 25.

Pike advertised the event at local churches this spring.

Tustin resident Kevin Kowalski, 24, a Rock Harbor Church member,

saw the notice in his church and decided to participate.

“I want to be more involved in the community,” Kowalski said. “I

expect to build a relationship with the family I stay with.”

He volunteers in Express Yourself, a 10-week program held in the

fall and spring that serves underprivileged children ages 7 through

17.

Westside resident Ana Moreno, 23, runs a children’s art program

every Saturday through Mika. She said she planned to serve a steak

dinner and teach the two Westside Plunge participants the rules of

loteria, a card gambling game.

“I’m excited to meet new people and to offer them a new

experience,” Moreno said.