Public Transit

The metro system here in DC is currently undergoing some major track work which means major delays. On weekends there are fewer trains going already and with this track work there are even more delays on some lines. This hadn't really been an issue for me until this weekend. On Saturday we were going to go to Eastern Market to see their new community center in the old naval hospital but when we saw that the next train would be 20 minutes we decided to take the circulator. These are buses that stop less frequently have more limited routs and are cheaper. In order to get to Eastern Market we had to make two transfers. Luckily for us these weren't too long of waits but I think it still took us close to an hour to get there.
Today we decided to go to Washington Community Fellowship for church (this is in the South East). Us girls walked out the door at 9:10 in order to take the bus to the 10:00 service. It should have taken us 40 minutes to get there according to Google. The first bus came right on time, but when it came time to transfer to the next bus we waited over half an hour. Finally around 9:50 we got on the bus. After about 10 minutes we got a call from Keith. He and Leah (his girlfriend who is visiting this weekend) got a ride to the church with a friend and turns out that the church is on retreat this weekend so nothing is going on there. We decided to get off the bus and find a metro. The plan was to go to Hyattesvill Mennonite (up in Maryland) instead since they don't start until 11:30. We used Alisha's smart phone to locate a metro stop nearby. I still don't know what went wrong but we either walked right past it or that map was somehow wrong/we were lost. After walking for about 10 minutes we realized this and decided rather than go back and wonder around we could just go another 5 or 6 blocks and find a different stop that is on the line we would need so there would be no transfers. We finally got into the metro station and had to wait about 15 minutes for the next train. After the train ride and walking at least a mile I would guess we were at the church at 11:25. After church, due to a bit of miss communication and confusion over rides the four of us MVS girls ended up going to the Noord's for ice cream. All in all we didn't get back home until just after 3. I am beginning to really wish I had a car here even though there is no way I could possibly afford it and wouldn't actually want to drive much here because traffic is crazy. Having to rely on public transit is teaching me a lot of patience I guess.

Another week already!

Wow, I can't believe how fast the last week has gone. I started running the after school program at Cesar Chavez Prep last week. It is a DC public charter middle school. The community is really strong and I am really excited to be in the school. I feel like there are a lot of faculty and staff who are supportive of the after school program and they seem to really know the students and care about them. Like any school there are some kids who are more of a handfull than others but I think that I have a really great group of kids overall. We have had some issues with getting our numbers up but I think that it should be evening out over the next week. Today we had three times the number of kids we had last Monday. Over the next few weeks I think that I am going to learn a lot about what works with these kids and how to get through to them.

This weekend I was able to see the Nationals' game on Friday and DC United's game on Sunday. I feel like I am becoming thoroughly immersed in DC sports. Unfortunately the Nats lost, but United won so I guess it all evens out. Next Saturday I am planning on walking around the National Mall/the Memorials. I guess I'll just plan out the itinerary for Mom's visit next week. I am pleased to say that I am still really enjoying myself and the city. That said it will be nice to see someone from home. I have been away for over a month now! It is strange to realize that I won't be home until Christmas.

Thanks

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has supported me in various ways during the last month. I have been very blessed to have the opportunity to do a year of service and I know that it would not be possible without the financial and prayerful support of family and friends. Yesterday was my first day leading the after school program at Cesar Chavez Prep. The students are great and I know that I will enjoy this position a lot in the coming year. Without the support I have received I would not have met these great kids and be working for an organization that is doing so much good in this community. So thank you!

Retreat

Today our house returned from our weekend retreat to Rolling Ridge. We stayed in a cabbin in the West Virginia woods/mountains. It was great being out of the city for a bit. We left Friday afternoon and spent the weekend playing games, hiking, doing a puzzle, sleeping, and working on our house covenant. On Saturday morning I sat on our pourch sipping tea and looking out at the hills/trees when I heard a farmer calling his cows. I had no idea my dad's cattle call was a common thing but I heard it out in the middle of no-where clear as day. It made me miss home and having open space. We could also see the stars which is not possible in a city. I am enjoying my time here but I realized that it has been a month now since I have been in Iowa. That is a rather long time and I still have the rest of the year ahead of me. I am trying to adjust to thinking of the MVS house as my home but there are aspects of the midwest that I miss.

For church today we joined Community House Church for their service since they were at a different lodge at Rolling Ridge. We took along some chili for the potluck at lunch. Following the service we played some games and ate with the members. They also sent all their leftovers from the weekend home with us. We ended up with like a week's worth of groceries. We are all very excited because 1. we don't have to spend nearly as much on groceries this week and 2. we are going to be eating leftovers which means less cooking for all of us.

Acclimation

This week it has really hit me that I am really beginning to know this city. Using public transportation is no big deal and I am able to find a new place based only on an address. The noise outside my window no longer wakes me up all the time either. Work has been going smoothly as well. I am able to keep busy and get things accomplished without asking questions every few minutes. Today I was able to visit Chavez Prep where I will be in charge of the Kid Power after school program. The students seem great and the school community is strong. The staff are extremely helpful. Just walking through the halls and observing classrooms I was reminded once again that I really love middle schoolers and I can't wait to work with them.

Last weekend our house went out on Friday night and explored U street. There was a salsa band playing at one place so we checked it out. Alisha was the only one who really knew how to dance and she had a lot of fun there. On Saturday we were going to go to one of the Jazz festivals going on just outside the district but right as we were getting ready to leave a storm hit. We were glad that we weren't out in the weather but it was disappointing to not be able to go to the festivals. We spent the day inside and watched a movie. On Sunday we went to Community House Church which meets at Mary's Center which is about a 15-20 minute walk away. It was great to meet the folks there and they were very welcoming and friendly. After church us girls went to the Adam's Morgan Festival. There were a ton of craft/artisan booths set up which we explored and some live music. It was a beautiful day so it was nice to be out and about. Later we had a progressive dinner. We went from house to house meeting all our support committee and eating one course of the meal at each house. It was a long night but really fun. It was a great way to get to know everyone.

Time Flies

I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday. Between work and . . . well . . . work I haven't seemed to do much of anything this week. I found some posters for the UNHCR in the basement and now they are in my room. So they are slowly getting closer to being put on my walls. On Monday I did laundry and so now of course it is all sitting nicely folded in my laundry basket where it will patiently wait until I finally get around to putting it away. It is so humid here that some of the clothes I hung up to dry weren't actually dry until Wednesday evening. Everyday it is hot and sticky. I find myself longing for the cool crisp fall of the midwest. Tonight I made baked chicken and potatoes for dinner. It was so hot in that kitchen that I have vowed to resist cooking anything requiring the oven again until the weather changes and it is at least 20 degrees cooler outside. Since we each take a turn cooking one meal a week and it probably won't really cool off for another month or so that leaves me in a bind because I can't think of anything to make. So I am asking for suggestions. Please give me ideas (the easier and cheaper the ingredients the better)!

This week at work Alisha and I revised some of the Veggie Time curriculum. Veggie Time is when kids learn about plants and the environment. We finished that up so now we have been working on some posters and we spent most of yesterday making photocopies of various things for use at the different locations. Today I organized some binders and then spent the rest of the day searching for bills and legislation that affects students. I was able to find three which I then summarized and created an activity for students to complete based on the bill. Reading through all that legal stuff takes a lot of concentration. I have been told that hopefully by tomorrow or at the latest Monday, we will know what school we will each be at. I will most likely be a Cesar Chavez Prep. It is a middle school. Once I know for sure I am going to be able to spend some time getting my materials together and preparing things for my students. That will be way better than doing random odd jobs.

Friday night our house went to the Nationals v. Cardinals games since we were able to find cheap enough tickets. It was a lot of fun, really hot, but a lot of fun despite the fact that the Cardinals were thoroughly defeated. We were all pretty exhausted from the week so we basically went straight to bed when we got back from the game.



 This is our house from left to right it is Alisha Bender (from Pitsburg), Cara Smith (from Kansas), me, Keith Suter (from Ohio), and Ann Schrag (from South Dakota).

On Saturday we spent the day cleaning for the most part. We had planned on going to a blues festival but after spending probably 4 hours cleaning our kitchen, some of the back yard, and all the floors on the first level we were all spent and decided to just make some smoothies and play games the rest of the night. For recent college grads we are pretty boring.

 

We cleaned out and organized all our cabinets, the fridge, and the deep freezer. There were several things we still don't know what they are even after defrosting them and apparently we are set for flour for the next full year.

Since we discovered several containers of frozed fruit making smoothies just made sense.