two weeks of crazy

Oh loyal readers, I have SO much to tell you! My first couple weeks in the East Bay area have been wonderfully busy. Let me give you the low down about my job...

So as many of you know I am working for a non-profit clinic called Native American Health Center. This clinic has many satellite clinics throughout the Bay. My home base clinic is called 7 directions. The name comes from a belief in Native American culture that beyond the traditional 4 directions of N, S, E, and W, they include a vision toward the heavens (up) with feet planted firmly on the ground (down), and the heart from within looking forward. Cool right? Also, did you know that the Bay Area has one of the highest Native American populations in the country? I was surprised to...Anyway, my clinic is in a predominantly hispanic neighborhood of Oakland called Fruitvale. Street signs and store fronts are all written in spanish. Taco trucks, fruit stands, and pastelerias line the streets (and continue to tempt my thin wallet)! The area is plagued by an abundance of poverty, and drug and gang violence. My commute to Fruitvale takes about 45 minutes from my house in Berkeley, but so far I'm oddly enjoying it. I walk about a mile to BART (bay area rapid transport), and after about a 20 min ride I walk another mile to work.

More specifically, NAHC has a few school-based health centers. SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOON! I LOVE the concept. It's genius really...where else can you better give kids health care than at school where they go everyday? The clinics provide free care and services for both students and families, who would not be able to access it otherwise. Healthy kids (mentally, physically, emotionally)=a better learning environment. In a couple months NAHC will open another clinic at United for Success Academy (http://ousdms.ousd.k12.ca.us/ufs/site/default.asp). Don't let the word "academy" fool you...it is a public school for grades 6-8. The middle school consistently underperforms on state mandated tests, and 92% of students are on free lunch. My job as a health educator, specifically is to facilitate health education programs along with a co-worker, as well as serve as a medical assistant once the clinic officially opens. I get to lead my own peer-health and leadership education group of little rugrats, too, so send some teaching tips my way! This definitely makes me nervous, but I'm so excited to interact with these kids and get creative.

My first encounter with the kids of United for Success was at school registration. NAHC needed parents to fill out consent forms for the new clinic, check immunization records (which hasn't been done in the past...WHAT!), and collect emergency contact info. It was utter chaos to say the least. Think 450 kids, each with a latino entourage of extended family averaging about 7 people, and all of them in your face bantering on in rapid spanish. haha. My spanish has already improved and I am pumped that I get to use it each day. Beyond all these logistics of filling out forms and presenting records, I got a better idea of the population that I will work with this year. Many (I'd even venture to say most) parents spoke zero English, and a number of them could not read or write. Some kids even struggled with English, and had translate for their parents. Beyond the spanish, some parents only spoke indigenous languages from Guatemala or Mexico. Quite the interesting dynamic...and a lot of stress to put on a child to communicate with the outer English-speaking world to their parents. It was certainly a lot to take in.

At this point, I find myself having a hard time connecting with my students. I am privileged to be white, upper middle class citizen, and I'm trying to relate to these kids who have already suffered with more than I can imagine...from abusive parents and rape, to drugs and severe learning delays. I'm astounded by how open they are with their personal lives. Many have never even left the city limits of Oakland. They break my heart, but warm my soul with their resilience to keep going and holding on to that dream to be successful. Hmph.

On a lighter note...here are some things I have learned/seen/discovered while in Cali.

1. Hippies are everywhere...along with their babies, who they also give dread locks.

2. Law students are pretentious pigs, and I will avoid law students and lawyers at all costs (I apologize to anyone this may offend)

3. An establishment that is a chinese restaurant by day, hip hop and dance bar by night makes for a great drunken evening, and even better stories.

4. People can live in trees.

5. People do not jaywalk.

6. living on a budget gives me a headache.

7. one word....yogurtland aka frozen yogurt heaven. a self-serve frozen delight for only 30 cents an oz! even i can afford that!

8. you can smell pot on every street corner and see people smoking on the streets...slight culture shock for a midwestern gal.

9. by working in fruitvale, i have grown accustomed to and even enjoy latino rap. ayayay daddy yankee!

10. i'm starting to catching on to local Oakland gangsta slang. y'all be lookin' HECKA FINE!

11. many of my coworkers are very spiritual, for a lack of a better word. i consistently hear lines like "ohhhh gurrrrrlllll, I am lovin' your energy!"

12. it is doable to live on 100$ a month (says the girl who could easily drop that in a day)

....love you all.

the first week of work! to be continued...

i've been working like a crazy fool (hi, 11 hr days), i promise i'll update this weekend because I have so much to say! just know that i am so happy, and my work breaks my heart but warms my soul every day.

besitos

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

I HAVE A HOME!

YAY YAY YAY!

The day I have been waiting for has arrived! I have received my new address and my 7 casa-mates! After 5 days of orientation Casa Thea Bowman will be my home.

ADDRESSSSSSS!!!

2612 Fulton Street
Berkeley, CA 94704

I am now taking reservations for visitors. Packages and snail mail are welcome and encocouraged.

PAZ!

a sailors life for me...

hello world-

Adventure has seemed to find me again...recently over 4th of july weekend I went on a sailing trip with my uncle. This is the beauty of the unemployed life, as this trip was certainly spur of the moment. Thursday July 1st I attended a local art show. As folk who pretend to keep things classy, much of my extended family was there, and somehow with someone dropping out of the trip at the last minute, I was invited to join. OK!

My uncle's 40' sail boat, night music, embarked from port in little ashtabula, oh for a 48 mile journey to port stanley, canadia. Oh and it's a race. Naturally, I was into this with my competitive spirit. We had a 7:30 am start and we were off in the chill of the early morning. I'm an observant person, so I really enjoyed watching my cousin and his sailor friends work the different lines to manage the different sails. Who knew sailing was so much like a science? Seriously. Plus, there is a whole new vocabulary to learn. Ex: "starboard" "spinnicker" and so many more I can't even remember. One slip of the wrong line at the wrong angle, and you slow down majorly. Naturally, I liked this aspect, but the trip was so relaxing. The boat only travels at maximum 7 knots, so that leaves about 6 hours of sunbathing time. My only job was to sit on the "high" side and balance the weight. Being on the water is probably my favorite place in the world....I felt so at peace.

We spent 2 nights in Port Stanley, a quaint sailor's town. I fell in love with the boating culture. Sail during the day, drink beer, eat fresh lake erie fish...what's not to love? Through my weekend adventure, I found a new goal of learning how to sail.

wahoooooo.

call me conqueror of the midwest

hello friends!

Let me paint you a picture of of how life has been in cleveland living with the fam.

9 am: wake up
9:05 am: pour coffee
9:06 am: drink said cup of coffee
9:30 am-?: bask in world cup glory. vamos argentina!!! the us was a disappointment PER USH
noon-4pm: ranging in a variety of exciting activities such as lunching with my grandma, running errands for my mom, laying by my pool (ROUGH LIFE), working out, or maybe a nap if these activities became particularly strenuous.

etcetcetc.

blahblahblah. you get the picture. because my life was so exhausting at home (sarcasm) I NEEDED A TRIP! On friday 6/25 I set out in my little, plastic saturn ion to return to the glory of the city of milwaukee, wi. my main initiative (aka the excuse I told my parents) was to see tom petty in concert at summerfest. & trust me this excuse did not disappoint. I reunited with my freshman year loves and we had a blast. Nothing screams america like listening to gems such as free fallin' on lake michigan with a brat and beer (or 2) in hand. This trip to Milwaukee was a last hoorah of sorts, since let's be honest I'll won't be able to afford to see movies come August let alone fly to mke!

Saturday in milwaukee came and went. I block out from my memory any world cup action that afternoon. I also had a lovely dinner (and 2 person bar crawl back to campus. opps?) with the one and only Becky Moylan. 'Twas delightful.

Ahh Sunday continued my travels throughout the midwest, as I headed to quaint Naperville, IL for ms claire harvey's graduation celebration. Quite literally, the gang was all in town and catching up with all my lovely alpha chi's about life since graduation was phenom. Even little Amanda Mehr could took a few hours off from TFA craziness to visit. Later, a small crowd of us relived our golden days with a night of debauchery.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE! Monday left me to driving a few hours to Indy to visit T and her new suburban stomping grounds. T's new apartment is darlingggg and we spent the evening catching up and chatting about our new adventures in Oakland and IN. Oh how I've missed her.

Tuesday marked the end of my journey. I drove the nearly 5 hrs through the IN and OH countryside. Although I am beyond excited for my coming year as a JV, I am going to miss all you fools immensely. Send me letters, shoot me a phone call, etc because I know I'll need it!

Well...until next time. I promise a riveting post about my sail to Canada this weekend (boat shoes and seersucker included).

peaceeee!

send me to serve!

Opps, it has been a while since my last post...that's probably because so much has been happening! Big life things. Oh ya know, like graduating and all the emotions (and tears) that go along with it. I'm moving on to bigger and better things and it is time, as much as I don't want it to be. On that note my year as a JV is a mere 2 months away. I'm hella excited and equally nervous. I know a challenging year lies ahead of me, but I am ready to embrace it.

JVC is founded on four core values. Spirituality. Community. Simple Living. Social Justice. I will live with other volunteers (all of which have different placement sites). I will be a Program Coordinator at Native American Health Center (www.nativehealth.org). My community and I are given a community budget for rent, food, etc, and $80 a month for ourselves. I strongly believe that Americans hide and are burdened by materialism, and living without that is going to be so liberating. It will better help me focus on my mission as a JV and my work within my community (for more info on the program check out www.jesuitvolunteers.org)

It took me a long time to discern that a year of volunteering was the right post-grad move for me. My mind has always been set towards the gear of med school med school med school, and quite frankly that was exhausting. I look at my JV year as more than volunteering because the program is so much more than that....but rather, a year to live in solidarity with the people that I wish to serve in the future. As I thought about postgrad plans, the question consistently popped in my head "How can I possibly serve the marginalized in my career if I don't understand them and live among them?". I am privileged. Beyond belief. It's a fact of my life (and I'm sure for most of my readers). Throughout the next year I look to bridge a gap of my understanding and to be immersed in the poor. I want to accompany the marginalized on their journey, as they accompany me on mine. In the words of Oscar Romero, I want to be "la voz de los sin voz", the voice of those without a voice.

Well whether you saw this coming or not....JVC (and myself) needs your help. JVC saves non-profits and school millions of dollars every year through the work of their volunteers. Your donation can go a long way, whether it is $10 or your life-savings. I am extremely grateful for whatever you may be able to offer. Your money. Your prayers. Your support.

If you are interesting in donating please follow these steps! :)

1. Go to https://atl.etapestry.com/fundraiser/JesuitVolunteerCorps/CelebrateLA/individual.do?participationRef=2315.0.94792775

2. Click Sponsor Me on the right side of the page under my goal.

3. Aly is forever grateful and sends lots of her love :)

Thank you all! Peaceee!