Life on Iona

The grassy hills, heather covered rocks, and sandy coast of Iona tell me I’m in Scotland but the visitors and volunteers from America, Canada, Scotland, England, Sweeden, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, and other countries make this island feel like it could be located anywhere.

This is the beach in front of my house. 

For a total of 9 weeks I will be volunteering in the housekeeping department of the MacLeod center of the Iona Community. “Housekeeping” here at Iona is different than other places. As part of Iona’s commitment to shared work and community building, guests staying in the center are divided into 3 groups to help with the daily cleaning, setting tables for meals, and washing dishes. Those of us volunteering in the housekeeping department ensure that the center is cleaned and prepared for the guests arrival but spend the rest of the week completing tasks along side rotating teams of guests.

Kite Flying

My days at Iona are marked by tea breaks, lunches, dinners, and services in the Abbey. A typical day begins with a 9am worship service. By 9:30 I’ve arrived for work in the MacLeod center. The beginning hours are spent setting out cleaning supplies and preparing tables for tea break. Guests staying in the center complete short cleaning tasks in the morning both to build community and to help in the upkeep of the center. At 11am guests and staff break for tea together. My hours between 11:30am and 1pm are spent washing the dishes from tea break, washing rags the guests used to clean, hanging laundry to dry, and setting out dishware for lunch. At 1 guests and staff sit and have soup and bread together. After guests have helped the housekeeping staff clean the lunch dishes (usually at 2:30) my workday takes a pause. From 2:30 – 5:00 myself and many vollies are free to spend our time as we wish. At 5:00 I report back to the “Mac” to begin setting up for dinner and checking on the continuous flow of dirty dish towels and cleaning rags. At 6:00 staff and guests join together for the evening meal; the kitchen continually fixes delicious dishes and dessert. My work day ends around 7:30 when the guests have helped the housekeeping staff clean and dry the dinner dishes. 7:30 – 9:00 is usually filled with games, chatter, or a hike with other vollies. At 9:00 most people attend the evening service. 9:30 – late into the evening is filled with a variety of activities: ceilidh dances, visits to the pub, vollie socials, star gazing, and game nights.

The beginning of the Ceilidh

At times I feel like I am living in a post card. The morning sunrise is a vibrant pink and the stars at night are so clear it is easy to spot constellations and the wispy glow of the Milky Way. Limited internet and low phone signals make people more willing to fly kites, take hikes, enjoy game nights, and attend dances in the village hall. Life here is fast paced, but includes many joys of slower times. At the end of the night I head down the only road of the island to my house. It often feels like I’ve hardly reunited with my bed when it’s time to start again.

Iona is home to cows, sheep, seals, and dolphins.