the beginnings of life as a JV

HEY FRIENDS!

I am alive and well in the great state of California. I arrived at the San Jose airport and drove an hour south to Aptos last Saturday to gear up for my year as a JV at an orientation retreat with all 86 volunteers from Cali and AZ-land. It was an overwhelmingly exciting, yet anxious time...meeting all my fellow JVs and anticipating lots of unknowns about our year together. I am certainly in the presence of outstanding and inspiring individuals both in my own community of 8 and the greater community of JVC southwest.

We spent the week getting further acquainted with the program and reflecting on the values of Simple Living, Community, Social Justice, and Spirituality. I could probably write volumes on the challenges that this year is inevitably going to bring...from the marginalized poor that we will encounter at work to living on a very tight budget.

It's difficult to pinpoint what I am most excited about, but for this moment we are going to say the idea of living in an intentional community. Well...what exactly does that mean? For starters, I am living with 7 other people, who are placed in different non-profits in the Berkeley/Oakland area. From work in law centers, food and housing projects, and adolescent treatment centers, just to name a few, we will all come home with different stories of what it means to work with the poor and the injustice that exists in society. We will push each other to think critically about the world in which we live. We pull our money together for food, rent, utilities, etc because we simply couldn't afford to make it on our own. (don't worry mom, i still get my 100$ stipend to myself every month). To me, this concept of needing my casa-mates financially puts forth quite the metaphor for how we will support each other throughout the year in other ways. It's exciting to think about how that might unfold!!

Anyhoots, my new home is pretty boom dot com. There are 5 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms for the eight of us. We were all expecting a much more cramped space, so we really lucked out! The neighborhood of Berkeley that I live in is adorable...about a mile from campus, and really close to lots of cute shops and restaurants that I can only look at with longing eyes because I can't afford them haha. My roomies and I have spent the weekend exploring and getting to know each other. There is also another JV community close by in Oakland, so I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time with them too! I start work tomorrow, if I can ever get a hold of my supervisor!

xox