New Project

Per my former boss' suggestion, I have decided to start writing brief articles based on topics of interest that I have encountered in either the news, my community, or my interactions with friends and loved ones.  I anticipate some pieces to be more sophisticated, riveting, and/or humorous than others, but the need to keep up with writing is undeniable.

1. NPR article
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171912349/artist-works-to-keep-immigrants-in-the-picture

This article talks about the efforts of a California artist to spread the word about immigrants' rights.  The artist, Ramiro Gomez Jr., has created life-size cardboard cut outs that are meant to resemble immigrant workers that he has encountered.  He then has set up temporary displays of the cut outs in places where they cannot be missed, such as the most wealthy of Los Angeles neighborhoods and the White House.  Gomez claims that by standing the cardboard people up in such prominent places, he is sending a clear message to passersby that immigrant workers are people too and deserve dignity.

I admire Gomez's passion and his belief that all immigrants should be respected and acknowledged by those with whom and for whom they work.  However, I have to question the effectiveness of his strategy.  Obviously creating the cardboard cut outs and situating them in various places has helped Gomez gain attention.  He was even been asked to lead an art workshop at the United Workers Congress and was featured in the above NPR article.  And while I would never deny the importance of national attention to an issue, I think that Gomez's depictions of the immigrants may actually serve to separate immigrants further from their U.S. citizen counterparts in the workplace.  It was my impression as I read the article that Gomez was hoping to bring about a change in the way that U.S. citizens and immigrants interact in work settings.  He was upset by the fact that undocumented workers tend to receive disrespectful treatment from their employers in the form of verbal abuse, disregard for human needs (breaks, paid time off, etc), and low wages.  However, by only putting images of the immigrant workers on life-size cardboard pieces, he is accentuating the difference between those who he paints and those who he doesn't.

What I would like to see Gomez do is try cutting out life-size images of the U.S. citizens with whom the depicted immigrants work.  Perhaps showing scenes of the two groups of workers together would encourage a more egalitarian relationship between them.  If a U.S. citizen (whatever that looks like) is painted and stands holding hands with one of the workers that Gomez has already painted, I would like to think that the image would represent improved worker relations.  If the artist is looking to add a "human element" to his art, then why not start by drawing all humans as equal?

When She Was 22, Her Future Looked Bright

Indeed. The future is bright. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it! The end is fast approaching and I want to make the best of this San Antonio adventure. How to do that...? I'm still waiting to find out!

This month's topics:

1.) The Sound of Silence

2.) Atlaaaahhhnta

3.) Dumpster Diving

4.) I'm SOOOOOOO sorry, Hector!!

5.) Siamese Dragonflies

6.) Poll Dancing

7.) The Not-So-Secret Garden

8.) Violence is Natural
9.) Colors and Looking at the TV, and "rit"
10.) A new side of San Antone

1.) The Sound of Silence

I had the complete fortune of participating in a 2.5 day Silent Retreat as a requirement for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. My community members and I rented two cars on Monday (May 2) and drove about 8 hours to Ponchatoula, Louisiana where we were joined by all of the Jesuit Volunteers serving in Texas (plus one JV from South Dakota) at a beautiful retreat center. We arrived, ate dinner, and then began our silence at about 8pm. Aside from two daily meetings with a spiritual advisor, we were silent for all of Tuesday, all of Wednesday and the beginning of Thursday. It was blissful. I loved being by myself and relishing in the sounds of my own thoughts undisturbed by any outside sources. Here are some highlights from the retreat:

-I drew a most elaborate mosaic on my left arm with washable markers on Tuesday morning and did not wash it off until Wednesday morning. I have photo evidence if anyone is interested. I was quite proud.

-I took four long naps on Tuesday and loved every minute of them.

-I went for a solitary nature walk and saw a dragonfly resting on a blade of grass. I proceeded to pick it up and hold it in my hand. It then started strangely attaching itself to me with the fuzzy parts of its "feet" and so I whipped it off with a bit of a shriek.

-On the same walk, I picked up a leaf that held three black grasshoppers. I watched in complete fascination as they each took their turn hopping off the leaf. I guess it had been awhile since I had been in a non-city environment... and therefore EVERYTHING seemed to amuse me.

-All meals were shared in a common dining hall by all 25 retreat participants and we had to maintain silence through the meals. As you can imagine, this created a rather awkward environment for all those involved. Well, one night I almost slept through dinner and so when I raced into the dining hall to see if the food had been put away, I saw at first that there was nothing being served on the usual buffet style table where the chefs had been putting out the food. In a state of panic, I yelled out "Oh NO!!!!" ... and then swiftly realized that I was a.) mistaken, the food had just been placed elsewhere and b.) the only one talking!! All eyes were on me, I could feel it, as I sheepishly dished up a plate for myself.

-I attended a silent peace vigil on Tuesday night and read diary entries from former Jesuit Volunteers who had participated in a similar vigil on their silent retreats. It was interesting to read about the issues that were high on those FJVs' lists. I really felt like part of a strong Jesuit history and tradition.

I would recommend a silent retreat to anyone who has the time and the means to participate in one. If your mind is open, you can benefit so greatly from it. I felt pretty refreshed when I left that place... and headed to Atlanta with my housemates!!

2.) Atlaaaahhhnta

So, after those days of silence, four of my housemates and I drove from Ponchatoula, LA to Atlanta, GA to visit the Jesuit Volunteer community there- also a house of seven girls. However, their house differed from ours in so many ways, I was left in a state of utter flabbergastation.

To begin, our home in San Antonio is three times the size of the Atlanta home. We have nine bedrooms that could comfortably fit ten people, whereas the Atlanta girls have three bedrooms. Three girls share one of the rooms and they sleep with their beds side by side. So, they basically created a gigantic triple king-sized bed in which they all sleep together. I don't think I could handle that. I value my space when sleeping SOOOO much. Then, they have two bathrooms. We have five. They have one refrigerator- we have two (plus an extra freezer that we don't use but we could). We have four dining areas each complete with tables and chairs- they have a table in their kitchen. We have a full-sized chapel- they have a front porch. Ours is a two-story home, theirs has one floor. The list goes on...

And not only do they live simply by sheer luck of the draw (none of them chose to have such a small home), they also practice simple living voluntarily in far more ways than we do. They obtain a significant portion of their groceries from the dumpster. That's right, they go behind grocery stores, bakeries, and cafés and pick salvageable food from the dumpsters. They served us breakfast and dinner almost every day we were there and a majority of the food we ate (vegetables and fruits included) had been freshly "dove" from the refuse pile of one of their local eating establishments. What a great way to save money and prevent waste. They also had a bucket in one of their showers to collect the water that flows while one is waiting for the water to heat up. They use the water in the bucket then to either flush the toilet, water the plants, or mop the floors. They also religiously abide by the mantra- "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down" which was a bit of an unpleasant surprise the first couple of times I went to relieve myself. And they are avid and thorough recyclers.

All this to say that they basically put our house to shame. They make us look like a collection of pretty pretty princesses living lavishly in our mansion of gold-encrusted banisters. I was so inspired by them. I think a lot of the drive for simple living in that household comes from the one JV who was raised in a Catholic Worker House so it might help if we had her living with us. But I don't think we've any excuse for not trying our hardest to live out the vow we took as JVs in August to live simply.

Atlaaaaahnta is spelled that way because for some reason I have trouble pronouncing the name of that city. I make the second "a" in the word sound like a British "A"- as in "argue" or "also." So it became a joke among my housemates and we would over-exaggerate the second "A" whenever the name of the city came up (which was quite a bit as you can imagine).

I was completely besotted by Atlanta. It has adorable neighborhoods with quirky antique shops, restaurants, parks, and cafés. Visiting the MLK memorial was powerful and I felt so honored to be in a place where history was made. The exhibit at his memorial that details the events in his life was very comprehensive and it blew my mind (again, I mean I had studied the Civil Rights Movement before) to think that our nation was in such turmoil barely half a century ago.

The other half of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVs from Alabama, South Dakota, New Orleans, and Atlanta) had their silent retreat in Atlanta the week after ours so more than half of them came to Atlanta to party while we were there. It was a blast catching up with all of the JVs that I never get to see and hearing about their experiences. On Saturday, we all went to a large park near downtown Atlanta and regressed to the days of our youth. We played whiffleball, rolled down a hill (amazing), played frisbee, and laid out on scattered blankets. It was heavenly.

3.) Dumpster Diving

We were inspired by the Atlanta community when we returned to San Antonio and decided to endeavor to do something no San Antonio JV had ever attempted. Four of us hopped in Owen's car one night and drove from H-E-B (a Texas grocery chain) to Whole Foods to Banana Republic to a college campus in search of any rescuable food, clothing, furniture, or appliances we could encounter. Sadly it was only at Banana Republic that we came upon anything worth touching with a 20 foot pole. We found a manikin. A female manikin that we named Tiffany. We brought her home and set her up on a stand in our living room as motivation to continue with our search for useful garbage.

4.) I'm SOOOOOOOOO Sorry, Hector!!

I joined a Spanish club recently per the suggestion of a friend of our community- Gee. Gee and I went to the first meeting on April 29th and met three friendly characters- Hector, Socorro, and Kristal. Gee had found out about this club through www.meetup.com. We spent about an hour chatting in Spanish with our new friends and then as we were leaving the café, we ran into the man who had organized the Spanish club meeting through the website. It turns out that he had been holding the meeting on the back patio of the café while we held ours inside. We weren't really sad to have missed out on that meeting though because we had enjoyed ourselves so thoroughly as a quintet.

Well, our little group of five made plans to meet up on May 13th to continue practicing the cherished idioma. So, I show up to the café on time that day and find that only Hector has decided to attend the meeting. He and I begin conversing and all is going well. I explain to him that my housemates will be picking me up at 8pm and that I don't want to keep them waiting. Seven forty-five approaches and Hector begins telling me about his personal life. He lives with his partner, Bob and a dog. Somehow the conversation brings us to the discussion of a dog he once had who suffered from some sort of illness. The dog was in a lot of pain and had to be put down. Explaining the story to me greatly upsets Hector and just as he is about to describe the final trip he took to the vet with that dog, my housemates start calling me. I hold up the phone and make an apologetic face so that Hector will stop talking and allow me to answer the phone call. He doesn't quite get the memo at first and continues to talk and grow increasingly distraught.

Finally, I mumble "Sorry, Hector, I've got to take this, it's my housemates" to which he tearfully exclaims, "I'm sorry, I can't take this!!!" and runs away to the bathroom crying- leaving his notepad and dictionary on the table. My housemates tell me that they are outside waiting for me and so I sit wondering if I should wait for Hector's return or just leave him. I wait a few minutes and realize that he might be awhile on account of his excess of tears so I write him a note saying that I had to leave and how sorry I am. And I leave.

Was that a mean thing to do? I was just so confused by his behavior and didn't want to keep my housemates waiting. I haven't been back to the Spanish club since. :(

5.) Siamese Dragonflies

Recently a student at the After School Program told me that he had seen some siamese dragonflies. I asked him what he meant by that. He explained that he had seen two dragonflies that were stuck together... and he assumed they had been stuck that way since birth. I couldn't help laughing at his sweet innocence. What he was describing was a display of dragonfly mating... but I didn't tell him that of course. Although the kid IS fourteen and should probably know better!

6.) Poll Dancing

That's right, I went poll dancing on Saturday, May 14th. You can watch the youtube video of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaGeM-Wc1tc

I appear about 25 seconds into the video.

7.) The Not-So-Secret Garden

I finally planted a garden with my coworker, James on May 14th!! We tilled a little plot in the backyard and planted tomatoes, flowers, and a bunch of random seeds that I got at a health fair a couple months ago. The tomatoes are the main feature of our garden because we (and by we, I really mean James) are conducting an experiment using some electroplates that James purchased off the internet. Apparently the electroplates are supposed to help plants grow larger and healthier if you plant them properly- directly under the plants. So we placed an electroplate (which is a piece of metal in the shape of an angel, painted purple, about the length of my pointer finger with the thickness of a coin) underneath one of the tomato plants and not under the other one. The two tomato plants were the exact same size and planted under the same conditions other than the electroplate. Oh, and James instructed me to talk to and name the plant with the electroplate underneath it but not the other plant.

I'll update more on Atticus' development but I can tell you right now, two weeks after planting the garden, Atticus is far behind the other tomato plant's growth and I don't mean any offense to James when I say that I think he was totally ripped off! As for the other plants in the garden, they're not doing so well. The Texas sun dries up their already nutrient-forsaken soil and the two times that I water them daily doesn't seem to cut it. Also, one of the trees in our backyard keeps dropping enormous branches on top of my garden so a few of the flowers have been irreparably squashed. Is it so much to ask for a few plants to supplement our community dinners? My cucumbers and melons were growing but seem to be depleted of their initial vigor. I'm sad!!

8.) Violence is Natural

Thank you, Sabrina! My coworker, one of the coordinators of the After School Program, made a most upsetting comment to me the other day. She had invited a friend of hers to visit our ASP and teach the kids about illustrating comic books. The comic book friend brought in a large box filled with comic books and attempted to teach the children how to draw comic book characters. He had two tattoos of naked women on his neck but other than that I found him to be a friendly person with a talent for drawing.

The next day, as the children were perusing the comic books, one after the other exclaimed "Whoa!" or "Eww, miss!!" to the point that I decided to flip through a book or two. Turns out that Spiderman and Superwoman are less than appropriate for elementary age children to be reading. There were images of sex, nudity, and violence on almost every page. One of the students, a 10 year old girl offered to review the comic books and weed out the ones that were "inappropriate." I asked her how she defined "inappropriate" and she replied that any books with nudity or violence in them would go into her discard pile. However, when Sabrina heard the girl saying that violence in a comic book was grounds for disposing of it, she remarked: "Well if that's the case, then you're going to have to get rid of the whole collection! They all contain violence." I asked her then how we should help the children process the violence that they were not only reading but also tracing and copying into their notebooks. I wanted to know how we could take steps to explain to the students that violence is wrong and the violence they were witnessing in the books was fake and not something to emulate. Instead, much to my chagrin, Sabrina replied that violence was "natural" and just a part of life. Therefore, we didn't have to explain it to or censor it from the children.

I was shocked and you had better believe that I reported the comment to my director immediately. She is a family friend of Sabrina's but was equally shocked. And when I mentioned that some of the kids had been renting the comic books and bringing them home, she nearly fainted. I told her about the man with the naked women tattoos and she about threw up. She then ordered that the comic books be removed from the ASP straightaway and sent out a memo to the entire staff declaring that James was in charge of the ASP and that no one else was allowed to make executive decisions about the program (including inviting random guests and distributing any sorts of materials to the children).

You may remember that I was singing Sabrina's praises when she first started working with the ASP. However, she's lost her touch. It doesn't mean that she can't regain it, but my goodness. She needs to use the power she has wisely. Many of the children ADORE her which gives her the potential to be such a positive role model for them. If she continues accepting and almost promoting violence among them, there is no hope for the future. I don't mean to be dramatic but come on! The kids see enough violence in their lives. They need our program to be a safe place where alternative topics and activities are provided for them.

9.) Colors and Looking at the TV, and "rit"

Here are some San Antonio-isms... I think. Well, these are funny things I've heard people say at least.

-Colors: Instead of referring to markers, crayons, and colored pencils as markers, crayons, and colored pencils, I've heard people call them "colors." Especially at the ASP. "Miss, can you get me some colors?" "James, where did you put the colors?" "Ooh, I could probably use a color for my homework." I don't think I've heard the kids refer to their drawing utensils as anything other than that.

-Looking at the TV: It seems that the verbs "to watch" and "to look" sometimes get mixed up here when dealing with television. "I was looking at the TV yesterday when..." "I tell my kids not to be looking at TV all day..." It has to do with the Spanish translation of "to watch" and "to look"

-Rit: My coworker is always looking for the keys to the "rit" van. I think he means "red"...

10.) A new side of San Antone

My roommate and I went exploring today on the East Side of San Antonio. We attended a Baptist service and it was quite an experience! I was taken by the enthusiasm of the congregation and the pastor. Almost everyone was throwing their hands up in the air, yelling something like "Amen, amen, amen!" or "That's right," and standing up to cheer when they liked something that the pastor said. The pastor almost couldn't contain his fervor and his whole body convulsed as he shouted "Consecrate yourself for Jesus!" I was moved by a couple parts of the service and couldn't help but cry. I probably won't go back, but it was a powerful experience anyway :)

Then we went to a Creole restaurant and had some of Ma Harper's New Orleans cooking. We ventured to Martin Luther King's park (and memorial bridge) and then just drove through the neighborhoods. It was neat exploring a different part of the city that I have called home for the past 3/4 of a year. I hope to continue exploring until I leave in less than three months!!!

That's all for now, folks! :)

That's how you feel baby, that's what's up. A hundred forty characters is more than enough.

Hello Dearest Readers,

I write first to inform you that I expect full praise and appreciation from all of you for the fact that I have kept up with my blog EVERY month since I began my JVC journey. Well, except for December. But I spent half of December in Chicago and the other half running around like a headless chicken from one Catholic Charities event to the next.

Now, onto the topics:

1.) Explanation for the title of this blog
2.) Fiesta!!!
3.) Proclaiming the Gospel...or trying to at least!
4.) Get low, get low, get low
5.) Wine tasting and a free ring
6.) Egghead
7.) A tasty dead pigeon

8.) Nicky-wicky

9.) I unintentionally tickled Brother
10.) Trinidad

1.) Explanation of the title of this blog

I recently came up with an ingenious idea for my After School Program kiddos. I decided that I would ask them to tell me their favorite songs. Then, I would look up the lyrics to those songs, copy them into a Word document, take out a couple of the words to the song and put them into a "word bank" on the side of the page, and then print the lyrics out that way. The goal was to encourage the children to practice writing, to pay more attention to what they were actually listening to, and just to challenge them. It has been a hit so far. And I've learned quite a bit about the grade school music scene. One musical group that stuck out more to me than others was one by the name of "Mindless Behavior." The 13 year old wonders of this band have a hit song out called "My Girl" and it is from this melodic sensation that I derived the title to my blog.
Other mind-blowing lines include: "My girl, my girl, she loves me. She hit me all the time, my phone be ringing off hook, like, yeah" and "When you say 'yo,' then I'll say 'hey love.' You hit me with a sad face, what I do? I hit you with a question mark. You send me back a J slash K, said I'm just playing with you."
Genius.

2.) Fiesta!!!
My whole reason for moving to Texas was finally realized last week. I'm being facetious but still, Fiesta is a pretty big deal here in San Antonio. For those who don't know, Fiesta is a two week long celebration spread throughout the city to honor the Battle of the Flowers. Said battle was a triumph for the losers of the Battle of the Alamo and is therefore a much worthier cause for fesitivities and merry-making. Every day during this two week soiree there is a new event, each one more touristy than the next. It can be quite enjoyable though and I will list for you here some of the highlights of the past two weeks:

-El Mercado

The Marketplace in the Downtown area is always filled with stands selling some sort of food or knick knacks. However, during Fiesta the booths abound and the crowds are thick enough on certain days to inhibit movement of any kind. I went three times during the two weeks and was not certain what the big deal was. I suppose the bands performing were interesting but walking around in the heat and paying $5 for a huge cup of ice with a tiny bit of juice in it (called "Aguas Frescas") was not for me.

-NIOSA

Night in Old San Antonio. My housemate's boss gave my housemates and I tickets to this event. It took place in "La Villita" which is a cute little section of the Riverwalk where people set up stands to sell crafts and souvenirs. I found the event especially enjoyable when Megan, Kait, Christina, and I wandered into a gymnasium where elderly folks were performing in tap shoes! They were dancing a mean line dance and clicking away in time to the music. I was impressed to say the least! At one point they invited the masses to engage in well-known dances like the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance. Surprisingly my roommates joined me in the Chicken Dance and the most elaborate conga line I have ever participated in.

-Day Parade

Megan and I decided to walk downtown last Friday (our agencies gave us the day off) to enjoy reading along the Riverwalk. We had considered attending the Fiesta Day Parade but concluded that without tickets, we would never be able to find a spot close enough to the parade to see anything worthwhile. However, as we walked to the Riverwalk, we happened to pass the parade route and found an entire section of empty seats right on the edge of the street. We looked around in disbelief and hesitated for a good ten minutes before quickly parking our bottoms in those coveted seats. No one bothered us...nor did anyone standing behind us follow suit. It was strange. But the parade was fabulous! Much better than Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade, I'm afraid. I am a marching band aficionado and enjoyed watching the high school bands pass by in all their glory. I also enjoyed seeing the horses wearing cowboy boots and witnessing a rather strange tradition. As the "Duchesses" passed by on their gaudy floats, the crowd would shout, "Show us your shoes!!" and the girls would lift up their intricately adorned dresses to reveal a variety of footwear- cowboy boots, Converse, slippers, etc. I didn't really understand it, nor did I understand how those girls were voted "Duchesses." Their titles ranged from "Duchess of Historical Reverence," to "Duchess of Familial Pride" and included other random attributes that I suppose they possessed. Whateva! One part of the parade that left Megan and I with mixed feelings was when the Border Patrol passed by. I wasn't sure how to feel about honoring such a corrupt system...

-Night Parade

Ricky got tickets to the Night Parade and so Megan, Ricky, and I attended it and sat four rows back from the street. It was another impressive parade- complete with creative displays of glow sticks on the marching bands' instruments, spotlights as big as Smart Cars, and Christmas lights wrapped around people's bodies. The theme had to do with holidays and so we saw many a Christmas and Mardi Gras float pass by.

-I missed the River Parade and the Oyster Bake... but the whole experience that I did have was quite enjoyable. Thank you San Antonio for showing me a good time.

3.) Proclaiming the Gospel...or trying to at least!
I directed some teens in performing an interpretation of the Palm Sunday Gospel. I may have mentioned this before but I'll repeat it anyway- I volunteer every Sunday as a Youth Minister for my church's Youth Group. I find it rewarding- especially when I am given projects to facilitate. My first project was the Proclamation of the Gospel last Sunday. I was told to read the Palm Sunday Gospel and direct the children in reenacting it without using spoken word. So I had to choose music to play while the children were presenting the story to the congregation. A few weeks before the date of the "show" I presented the idea to the youth and took down names of which students wanted to be which characters. Then we rehearsed a bit.

The Sunday before the show date, we met again and half of the children who had been at the first rehearsal were missing. This meant that I had to re-assign roles and practice with a group of kids not familiar with what we were doing. However, the new actors rose to the challenge and performed an impressively smooth dress rehearsal.

Confident that the Palm Sunday presentation would be a success, I woke up leisurely on the day of our performance and strolled to church. Ok, perhaps I didn't stroll. In fact, the pressure was on to make the proclamation amazing. This pressure could be attributed to the fact that last year's proclamation was riddled with laughter, irreverence, and tomfoolery, which obviously upset the priests and caused them apprehension when considering allowing the students to perform again this year. However, my confidence from the smooth dress rehearsal allowed a lesser degree of nervousness on my part.

Then, I entered the church and discovered that yet again, there was a fresh batch of faces staring at me and awaiting direction. This was an hour before mass started. Three of the students had never practiced, one had never even heard of what we were doing until 20 minutes earlier, several of the kids had only been to the first practice weeks earlier, some were still missing, and our Jesus character had missed the most recent rehearsal. So I quickly put my director's cap on and tried to whip those cats into shape! We did a less than promising run-through of the show and then mass started. I found out later that I looked completely panicked standing in the choir section awaiting the Proclamation.

After the second reading, I swiftly set up the music for the show and allowed it to flow. Well, it was fine. Really, it went pretty well. A few snafus here and there but nothing too detrimental to our reputation as a youth group! At one point the student who had never heard of the Proclamation before (Carlos) looked at me with a complete "What the heck do I do??" look. I tried to mime for him that he was supposed to point at Jesus on the cross and ridicule him. However, Carlos took my actions to mean "Take Jesus down from the cross NOW!" so he ran up to Jesus (standing on a chair with his arms outstretched in agony) and reached out to grab his middle. Then, looking around and realizing that none of the other guards were going to help him, he stepped back, then reached forward again, then stepped back. It almost appeared to be that he was dancing... awkwardly. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. But luckily I was concealed behind a pillar in the church where none of the priests could see me.

By Jove, the show went fine. And then the 1pm mass' rendition (same kids, same deal, different congregation) was even better! And the priest who had complained so strongly about last year's show went out of his way to compliment me on a job well done.

4.) Get low, get low, get low

Last Sunday, after a Passover meal with the Youth Group, I decided to play basketball with Ricky and some of the youth. As we perfected our lay-ups, a procession of women and Father Marshall came by us in the parking lot. One particularly quacky Jesus fan came over to me and the other basketball players and tried to convince us that Jesus was REALLY present in the monstrance that the priest was toting. She "asked" if we would kneel as "Jesus" passed us. We didn't really have a choice so I scraped my bare knees on the gravel as that band of fanatics paraded by. Then the woman gave us each a rosary and some prayer cards and tried to convince us to visit Jesus more often.

I guess I just found it a bit strange that Fr. Marshall and his ladies were so convinced that Jesus was encapsulated in that bright golden star on the end of a stick. If they were so intent on spreading Jesus around to the community, then why didn't they go out and show his love through their actions? Visiting the homebound, bringing food to those who have none, talking to members of the community to see what kinds of services would be beneficial? It's something that I struggle with quite a bit with my faith and my involvement with the church. I find great merit in taking time out of the week to pray to God, but I think the Church should have a responsibility to act out its faith... meaning loving and caring for others, not shoving Jesus' cocooned presence in a monstrance down people's throats. But that's just my opinion of the hour.

5.) Wine tasting and a free ring
I was asked to volunteer at a fundraiser for Catholic Charities' residential facility for homeless mothers and their children. It was a wine-tasting and my job entailed helping rich people purchase jewelry from a very talented jewelress (female jewelry maker??). I won't go into detail about my duties (boooooring) but I will say that I became fast friends with the jewelress and she thanked me at the end of the night by allowing me to select one of the rings that she had made. Boy, does she know the way to my heart! I adore rings. So, I guess I thought it was blog-worthy to tell this story. The story of how I obtained a snazzy home-made ring from an Austinite named Pat.

6.) Egghead
Can someone please tell me- does this tradition exist in Chicago? Allow me to detail a custom that prevails over San Antonio... cascarones!!!

1. ) Purchase an egg

2.) Crack off one of the ends of the egg and allow all of the runny interior to slide out

3.) Wash out the eggshell (and dry it)

4.) Fill the eggshell with confetti

5.) Glue tissue paper over the hole on the one end of the egg

6.) Find someone you dislike

7.) Smash the egg onto that person's head

8.) Run away

Sounds fun, huh? Well, I had seen it done here and there earlier in the year and didn't think much of it. However, now that we are swiftly approaching Easter, the prevalence of these egg bombs has increased ten-fold. And I became a victim for the first time on Sunday. After youth group, one of the kids invited me outside. I saw her holding something behind her back and I knew that Ricky (also a youth minister) had purchased a couple dozens of the cascarones, so I told the young girl that I would not be fooled. As I walked toward her telling her that she'd never get me, Ricky jumped out and smashed a cascarón on my head. How lovely. You've never known life until you've had eggshells and confetti adorning your hair and sweater. After that, another student crept up on me and not only smashed the egg on my head, but he rubbed it in to ensure that I'd experience difficulty removing it. Gross!

I don't know how the tradition came about but I don't find it very enjoyable. I'd prefer to poke two holes in the egg, blow out the innards, paint it, and hang it on a tree. Just sayin'...

7.) A tasty dead pigeon

I was minding my own business at the After School Program two days ago. I stood chatting jovially with the students and enjoying the weather. Then, a student who I had not seen in weeks approached me... with a dead pigeon. He was holding a mangled pigeon by one of its wings. He was holding a repulsive corpse of bones and feathers six inches from my face and was simultaneously chewing on something. The interaction went this way (most of it was in Spanish but I've translated it to English for my non-Spanish-speaking readers):

Student: (approaches with dead pigeon, chewing on something) MMM, chicken!

Me: (in total shock, horror, and disgust) N n n no, that's not chicken, that's a a a... Oh my God, what are you doing with that thing??

Student: It's my lunch, miss! Yum! Want some?

Me: No, I do not want any of that- that is a dead pigeon and it carries diseases!! Throw that away immediately!!

Student: (laughing hysterically) Aww, fine, miss. (throws pigeon at my feet)

Me: Oh no no no, not there! Throw that in a garbage can! And wash your hands, who knows what kinds of diseases that bird suffered from!

Student: Diseases? No way! (picks up bird and throws it in the trash... walks away)

(15 minutes later)

Student: (advances towards me with hand outstretched) High five, miss!

Me: (not really paying attention, slaps five with him)

Student: HahaHA! I got bird diseases all over your hand!!! (runs away)

I cannot begin to express my repugnance at the whole experience.

8.) Nicky-wicky

Nicholas, a former Jesuit Volunteer who lived in my current abode last year, has been staying with us since Monday. It's been great having him around and swapping stories about his past experiences and our current escapades. One thing that really got me when Nicholas first arrived was Brother Gus' reaction to him. (Incase I haven't mentioned who Brother Gus is before- he is a 72 year old religious brother who lives next door to my community and adores spending time with my roommates and I) The minute Nicholas entered our home, Brother Gus shot out of his chair and was hugging Nicholas. He called him "Nicky Wicky," "Nick the Wick," and "Nickaboy" throughout the whole first hour of reacquainting himself with his old friend. When Brother sat down with Nicholas standing near him, Brother couldn't stop holding on to Nicholas' arm, patting him on the back, and beaming at him. It was very sweet.

9.) I unintentionally tickled Brother

Funny moment. My community and I had a dinner last Tuesday with Nicholas, Mary Kate (she also lived in our home last year as a JV), a friend of one of the priests- G, and Brother Gus. At one point, I was telling Brother about how Janine had cooked up some delicious beans for the household the day before, but she warned me that they were spicy. Brother knows that I can't handle spicy things and so he asked me how they were for me. I told him that after I put the fire out in my mouth, the beans were great! For some reason, he found this to be HILARIOUS and couldn't stop laughing for a good minute or two. Brother is usually the one making jokes so it was nice to give our ol' friend a chance at some unadulterated laughter.

And I said "tickled" in the title because that's how Brother described his experience of finding my comment humorous. I tickled him.

10.) Trinidad

Trinidad is a young boy at the After School Program. He is about 9 or 10 years old and suffers from ADHD, Dyslexia, and anger management issues. His mother does not appear to value school and allows him to stay home too frequently. He came to the ASP the other day and sought out my assistance with his math homework. He was working with double digit addition and subtraction. I tried my best to help him but it was a nearly lost cause.

-First, he didn't know basic addition or subtraction (we're talking 1+4 and thereabouts).

-Second, he didn't quite understand the concept of counting with one's fingers (which I acknowledge is perhaps not the best way to teach math but I figured we had to start SOMEwhere).

-Third, if he didn't immediately understand what I was trying to tell him, he would enlist the services of a fellow student...a.k.a. he used a strategy in which he told a student "I betcha don't know what 39+45 is!" and it was 100% effective in providing him with the swift and correct answer. However, I worked hard to put a stop to that method as quickly as I could.

So, basically I was bewildered by the fact that a 9 year old child could be completely stumped by such simple mathematical equations. Who failed him? His mother? His teachers? I'm fairly certain that in a home and school environment that focused solely on him and working with his special needs, he would be able to add 39 and 45. So, what needs to be done? Can this gap in his education be filled? How can I help him? He has such little patience and I have far too many duties to spend my entire time tutoring him. I feel helpless. Especially now that he has been suspended from the program for hitting me. He came up behind me on Thursday and gave my back about three swift whacks before I was able to put a stop to it. He was happy to see me and was trying to show his enthusiasm but unfortunately one of the directors of the program told me that rough behavior of that sort just cannot be tolerated at the ASP.

Well, it's Easter tomorrow and I have more stories to tell... issues to ponder... people to thank, but I will leave you all with many well wishes and a promise to continue with my blog soon!

All the best :)

Don't try to save me...is someone else calling you "baby"?

I've had the song "Someone Else Calling You Baby" by Luke Bryan in my head this whole week so that is why it has the honor of titling this blog. If you like REAL country music, look it up on youtube. You won't be disappointed.

1.) Jailhouse Rock...on the elevator
2.) Was Anne Frank Italian?
3.) Community Voicemail
4.) Shall we dance? Every day of the week?
5.) Spring Break 2011!!!
6.) Austin, I STILL love you, gosh.
7.) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
8.) Healing Nature's Healer
9.) Thanks for the tiara
10.) Could have been me?

1.) Jailhouse Rock...on the elevator
So, yesterday I was on the elevator at the Bexar County office where I deliver mail on occasion during my mail run. As the elevator descended back to the first floor lobby, it stopped on the third floor to allow a few more passengers to enter. Well, much to my surprise, the people waiting to board were prison inmates! There were four of them and two officers. The inmates were wearing what looked like light orange and white striped hospital scrubs. They also had on work boots laced up to the mid-shin. I couldn't help but notice how pulchritudinous the young men were but also how filthy their clothes happened to be. They were covered in dirt and it appeared their uniforms hadn't seen a washer or dryer in years. It was sad. They were friendly and smiled at me but I became uncomfortable because I feared they could read my thoughts as my imagination ran wild with ideas of what their crimes might have been. Seeing them really made me want to learn more about the prison system here.

Apparently a month or so ago the San Antonio prisons had to release a large amount of prisoners because of overcrowding. I'd like to know how programs could exist to help prevent people from going to prison in the first place. Does it start with the kids in my After School Program?

2.) Was Anne Frank Italian?
A conversation between my client and me yesterday:

Client: You know, you look Italian.
Me: Wow, you guessed it! I am Italian!
Client: Yeah, I could tell 'cause you look a lot like Anne Frank. You got that Anne Frank look.
Me: Oh really?
Client: Yeah, I studied German in college and people always asked me, "What's a black woman like you doing taking German?" But I stayed with it. And I learned all about that Holocaust stuff. That was sick.
Me: Sure was...

3.) Community Voicemail
I've got a NEW duty at work. I am now in charge of the entire Community Voicemail program at Catholic Charities. Here's how it works:

1- A client who has no telephone comes to see me
2- He/she fills out a form stating what his/her goals are for receiving a community voicemail account
3- I assign the client a telephone number
4-Client can then give that number out to potential employers, friends, family, doctors, potential landlords, etc.
5- When someone calls the client's number, they are immediately directed to the client's voicemail
6- The client can use another person's phone or a pay phone or public phone to check his/her messages

It's a nice way for clients without telephones to have a number to put on job applications and a way for friends/family/doctors to leave them messages and stay in touch. So far I've had two clients (service is based on a walk-in basis) and they both seemed well-pleased by it!

4.) Shall we dance? Every day of the week?
I have two dance partners. Their names are Megan and Ricky and we've been going out quite a bit to try out different salsa-dancing clubs. Megan is an expert dancer and Ricky and I are not. However, Ricky and I enjoy goofing around on the dancefloor and learning new dance moves as we go along. Megan is friends with the members of a Salsa Dancing Social Club so we've been getting to know them. I've danced with a few of the guys in the club and it's really fun! I'm getting better at following another person's lead. Watch out, Chicago! When I get back, I'm going to take the salsa dancing scene by surprise!

Ha.

5.) Spring Break 2011!!!
We provided a Spring Break program last week for the first 12 kids to register. It was from 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday, and completely exhausting. There were two families each with five children and then two only children in the program and they kept us on our twos! Sabrina and James offered a lot of activities for them like field trips, art projects, guest speakers, and planting a community garden. It was a good time for the most part.

However, one thing that bothered me about the week was how much sugar and junk food the children were given. They were given donuts for breakfast, cookies and chips for snack all throughout the day. They were given cake, cupcakes, candy, and sugary drinks. I was appalled! But when I brought it up to my supervisor, she was offended that I was criticizing the children's diets. Eesh!

Also, John is no longer working with us because of something that happened during Spring Break. Can't keep them Mennonites for very long I guess.

6.) Austin, I STILL love you, gosh.
I went to Austin last weekend for the annual music festival- South by SouthWest. It was quite delightful! Some highlights include:

-Seeing Snoop Dogg perform for free!!!!
-Silk screening an image onto a T-shirt BY MYSELF!
-Dancing, exploring the city streets (and then napping at a pizza place) with my roommate Owen and a JV from Houston, Emily (they are fun girls!)

-Hanging out with John (coworker) and Ricky (dance partner)

7.) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Not me! I read the entire play by myself. A less than impressive feat for many 22 year old college graduates but I am sooooooooo lazy when it comes to reading that I commend myself wholeheartedly for rising to the task.

It was an alright play. Very strong on the character development and weak on the plot. I usually enjoy those kinds of plays but this one seemed a bit TOO eventless. Also, the characters all based their behavior on alcohol consumption which made me uneasy. If it was a social commentary on the excessive nature of U.S. Americans' alcohol consumption, then I liked it. If it was the author's way of avoiding meaningful conversations, I did not appreciate it one bit.

8.) Healing Nature's Healer
James came over last week to help me groom the aloe vera plant growing in our backyard. It's looking nice now! But my hands are worse for the wear because aloe vera plants are rather spikey!!

9.) Thanks for the tiara
Ms. San Antonio...yes, THE Ms. San Antonio showed up to my church yesterday after being reinstated as Ms. San Antonio. Her crown was is question after she gained too much weight (she turned into a size 2 model...big deal! gag me) and showed up late to some very important events. She came to a mass I was singing at yesterday and placed her tiara on the Our Lady of Guadalupe altar as an offering to the Virgin. I had no idea it was her when she first came up to place it there but then I noticed she was the only one dressed as a model in the church and there were a ton of TV cameras set up in front of the church.

10.) Could have been me?
I went walking in my neighborhood at 8:30pm on Tuesday night with Megan. We walked by the Family Dollar on the corner of our block. Then half an hour later, there was a drive-by shooting at the same Family Dollar and two men were injured. I thank God I was not a witness to or victim of that heinous deed and I pray that the attacker gets the help he/she needs. (I also pray for the victims of course)

That's it for now! Gotta go watch the kids :)

Work's fine, why do you ask?

So, I'd like to share some little stories from the workplace. Some funny, interesting, and even some less than pleasant things have happened and I feel like writing about them :)

1.) Pretty, witty, and gritty

2.) The dam broke

3.) He wants to kiss me...?

4.) Free gardening services!

1.) Pretty, witty, and gritty

The title of this section describes...me! So, we have yet another new person working with the volunteer program. His name is John and he is replacing the Mennonite volunteer, Daniel who used to work with Natalie and I. So, today I was eating lunch with John, James, and some other coworkers of mine, when my coworker Vidal walked over and decided to start some trouble. Vidal is known for stirring the pot, saying dumb things, and trying to evangelize people against their will. Earlier in the day, Vidal had informed me that I could find a husband if I attended his church. "There are several young, single men at my church who would be happy to marry you," he said.

So, when he walked up to the lunch table where I was having a great conversation with my coworkers about homelessness in San Antonio, Vidal stuck out his hand to John and introduced himself. Then after learning John's name, the conversation goes this way:

Vidal: So, John, have you met Laura?

John: Uh, yes... (he was talking to me, after all!)

Vidal: Well, she's single, just so you know. If you're interested. She's pretty, she's witty, she's uh...what else rhymes with "itty"?

Laura: Gritty? Yeah, John, I'm real gritty. Ha. Ha. Ha. Vidal, what is your preoccupation with trying to get me a boyfriend?

Vidal: I just don't want you to have to be alone. John, isn't she pretty? She should have a boyfriend. She's a great girl.

John: Uh, yeah.

I was mortified. Vidal apologized later for "putting me on the spot" but I was just bewildered by his bold display of stupidity.

2.) The dam broke

So, every day...and I mean EVERY day at work, I go on a mail run. I've described it before but what I haven't mentioned is that I have to take a van on the mail run that is kept in a garage. In order to get the car out of the garage, there cannot be any cars blocking the driveway. Duh. However, the employees of the department (Anti-Trafficking) next to the garage seem not to care about my need for a clear driveway and they park in front of the garages every once in awhile.

Well, they picked the wrong day to park in front of the garage a few days ago. I'm not sure why, but I was in a very aggressive mood. So, when I went to inform the owner of the vehicle that she was blocking my van, I did so in a somewhat rude manner. After she moved her car and I did my mail run, I came back and parked the van in the garage again. Then, filled with a rage that could scarcely be contained, I marched right up to the Anti-Trafficking department and told the girl who answered the door just what I felt.

"Excuse me, but I find it very disrespectful of your department to continuously park in front of a garage that houses a vehicle that I must use EVERY DAY for my mail run duties! I don't mean to come off as rude, but I just thought you should know how inconsiderate I find your actions to be."

Whoops. The girl who answered the door stared at me like a deer caught in the headlights. And then as you can imagine, my boss received an email two seconds later from the head of the Anti-Trafficking Department demanding an explanation for the rude outburst by "the mail run girl." Luckily, my boss didn't believe for one second that I had been even slightly unkind and told me just to leave that department alone and bring my concerns to her instead.

3.) He wants to kiss me...?

A client of mine informed me that once he received assistance on his light bill, he would come back to my office so he could give me a big kiss of gratitude.

Please don't!!

4.) Free gardening services!

James and John (my coworkers) are really into gardening and have offered to help start up a garden in the backyard of my house. I'm so excited!!

Spread the word...snow is OKAY

Just a little update on how things are here in San Antonio. It seems the entire nation is experiencing less than clement weather and so it's exciting to be a part of history in the making. Here are today's topics:

1.) Not since 1985

2.) A new face for the After School Program

3.) I imagine you...

4.) Miss, I beat up the guy who shot my friend

5.) Peace Laureates

6.) It's fun to be at the Y...

7.) When I grow up...

1.) Not since 1985

According to sources close to the situation, it has not snowed in San Antonio in the last 25 years. Until yesterday. Amazing. But believable. I mean, I came here expecting to never use my winter jacket, so I can believe that it hasn't snowed here since 1985. However, San Antonio is apparently no stranger to cold weather. My housemate's uncle lives here so she has been visiting him for Christmas for the past few years and she said that she's had to wear her ski jacket before because it hits temperatures below freezing.

So...that brings me to my first question: Why do San Antonians seem so ill-prepared for this kind of weather? It's been in the 40s, 30s, 20s, and even 10s since Tuesday and I've seen children walking to school in shorts and t-shirts with a little sweater or light jacket on over it. Shorts and t-shirts!!?? It's baffles me to no end. What parents in their right minds would allow their children to walk around in literally freezing temperatures with clothes made for summer?? I know it was 70 degrees on Monday so maybe Tuesday caught them off-guard but for goodness sake. Did they not get the memo by Thursday? And my roommates from California are just as ill-prepared! One of them was out in flip-flops yesterday morning IN THE SNOW and the other one thought that she would be warm in a sleeveless blouse as long as she had a peacoat on over it. Are you kidding me?? I've been giving them a crash course in cold weather attire. It's called layering. It's called a hat. Gloves. A scarf. It would be hilarious if it weren't so frustrating. Cold weather is not a new concept, people!

My second question is: Why is the CITY of San Antonio so ill-prepared for this weather? Icy roads? Get the salt trucks out and fix that mess. My supervisor called and told me that all of Catholic Charities was closed yesterday because of icy road conditions and snow. Snow?? That white dust outside can't be classified as snow! Haha. But I DO understand that since snow comes so infrequently, there would be no reason to have salt trucks at the ready. It's just been so frustrating to have all businesses close down and events get cancelled. I woke up at 6:30am this morning to volunteer at a Citizenship Clinic. I drove all the way there only to find out that it had been cancelled. Then I went to a coffeeshop with my roommates but it was closed because the "pipes had frozen." Yeesh!

Sorry to rant. Today was in the 60s so I have no reason to be annoyed. Haha.

2.) Some new faces for the After School Program

So the After School Program (ASP) that I assist with every day from 3:30pm to 5pm struggled a bit without Natalie's direction. However, two new ASP coordinators have since been hired. And they aren't part of any program like Americorps or JVC so they will do whatever is necessary without any outside supervisor getting upset.

One of the new employees is named Sabrina and she is a bubbly college grad with tons of energy, artistic talent and creativity, and kindness. The other new ASP team member is James. I don't know how old he is but he looks to be in his late 20s. He's also very energetic, friendly, and cares greatly for this kids. I guess the difference between the new team and Natalie is that these guys are less about rules and boundaries and more about getting to know the kids and providing engaging, entertaining, and educational activities for them to participate in. Natalie was more concerned with structure- keeping the same schedule every week (Computer Lab on Mondays, Reading Day on Tuesdays, Movie Day on Fridays, etc.) and also with legal boundaries and licensing issues. For example, she had read somewhere that we are legally forbidden to touch the children in our program. Sabrina on the other hand will hug the kids and put her arm around them. And James and Sabrina do whatever occurs to them to do with the kids each day so the "structure philosophy" has flown out the window.

I think there is merit to both approaches and I wish I could see a hybrid of the two. I think the kids would benefit greatly from a structured schedule. However, the care and attention that Sabrina and James give to the kids has had such a strong impact on them ALREADY that I've started rethinking the distance that was created between the kids and the supervisors under Natalie's direction. The kids seem happier now and more excited to get involved with the activities that Sabrina and James provide for them. Granted, the children still go wild sometimes, but they ADORE Sabrina and don't mind listening to her as much because they find her to be so dang cool.

I like James and Sabrina as people. They're very friendly and open to listening to my ideas. Then when my boss told me on Thursday that she didn't want me working with the kids anymore (just because she wants me to focus solely on case management- not because I was failing at my ASP supervisor position), James and Sabrina became very upset and told me how much they appreciated my help and how they wouldn't be able to run the ASP without me. I was touched. And when James found out that I'm a vegetarian, he gave me information on the Vegetarian Society in San Antonio and typed up an 8 page report on what he knew about eating healthy and brought it in for me at work. He also brought me a bottle of Vitamin C tablets when I was sick and a book explaining the health benefits of Vitamin C in tablet form. I think having James and Sabrina in the office is a fantastic thing and I'm hoping that the positive difference they've made in the young kids' lives will continue.

3.) I imagine you...

A recent client of mine seemed to be a bit out of it. She had continual migraines that plagued her but I suspect there were other things going on upstairs as well. Anyway, I called her a few days ago to request more paperwork from her. She began talking about the cold weather. I had told her a few days before that (when she asked me where I was from) that Chicago was my hometown. The conversation then went like this:

Client: It's so cold here. I haven't been able to leave the house. Although, I guess you're used to this since you're from Chicago, huh?

Me: Yes.

Client: Ah, yes. I imagine you in Boulder, Colorado with your snow pants and boots on, walking around in the cold air. Like a college student. On a college campus. Outside in the cold. In your winter gear. In the cold.

Me: Uh...is that right?

Client: Haha, oh yes. That's how I imagine you.

I was speechless.

4.) Miss, I beat up the guy who shot my friend

There are two 7th grade boys who come to the ASP every day without fail. Their names are Mario and Steven and their mission is to drive me insane. Whether it is by deliberately avoiding the sign-in sheet that they KNOW they have to sign when they come in, or playing too roughly with each other and other children, or sneaking off without signing out or telling me where they are going, or stealing donuts from our food pantry, or telling me that I look like a cartoon character that Sabrina drew on a posterboard- whatever it is, they live to drive me up a wall.

Well, on Thursday, they came in from the cold and as they entered, an 8th grade boy, Caleb was leaving. They ran over to me and frantically pointed to Caleb saying, "Miss! Miss! That's the guy who killed our friend!" I expressed disbelief but they proceeded to explain that Caleb had purchased a firearm a few days ago and then used it to shoot at and murder a friend of Mario and Steven's. Mario then informed me that he had taken it upon himself to avenge his friend and so he beat up Caleb. I didn't believe what Mario was saying but he and Steven continued to try and convince me that their story was true so I finally told them to stop talking about it.

I'm not sure if I should believe them. I found their story highly unlikely. Really? Caleb KILLED someone and then the next day waltzes into our ASP like nothing happened? Like he's not on the lam? But from the strength of Steven and Mario's conviction and the fact that they didn't end the story with a big "J/K," I have the notion that I might have to listen more carefully to what the kids say. Before Mario, Steven, and even Caleb had shown up that day, another kid had entered the ASP center with a badly bloodied nose and hands full of blood. So fights are not completely out of the ordinary... but murder? I just don't know...

5.) Peace Laureates

Patti and Rod, the choir directors of the 11am mass that I sing at every Sunday, were chosen as the Peace Laureates of San Antonio for the year 2010. I am so proud of them! They have done much to change the West Side of San Antonio and to end homelessness in all of San Antonio. Patti was actually on the political committee that came up with the idea for Haven for Hope (see former posts) and Rod has been responsible for creating affordable housing in many parts of the city. I think they deserve it fully. :)

6.) It's fun to be at the Y...

My roommates and I got a membership to one of the YMCAs in San Antonio. We each pay $4 a month and it's a BEAUTIFUL facility. Classes, machines, hot showers. I'm excited to make use of it.

7.) When I grow up...

A conversation between a 6 year old boy in the ASP and me:

Jaime: Miss, I wanna be what you are when I grow up.

Me: Oh really? That's fantastic, Jaime! Being a caseworker is a great job. You'll be able to help a lot of people.

Jaime: No, not that, miss! I mean I want to be a veterinarian like you said you were the other day!

Me: Oh, haha. Actually, Jaime, I'm a vegetarian, not a veterinarian. It means that I don't eat meat.

Jaime: Oh, well I don't eat meat either.

Me: Really? Wow.

Jaime: Yeah, I don't eat meat. I just eat food.

Me: So do you eat hamburgers? Or chicken?

Jaime: No. I mean, yes. But just not meat.

Me: Haha, alright. Well, I'm happy that you have plans for the future.

That's that for now! Last night was the Pub Run. Four JVs from Austin came to visit and we had a great time!! Happiness.

Bye!

Delayed reaction...

Hello!!!

I have been very bad at updating. Please forgive me. I have been busy and distracted and lazy. Those are my excuses. :) Here are the topics for this post:

1.) Please have snow and mistletoe...

2.) A duel in my honor

3.) Frito pies

4.) Work cures all

5.) I thought of you...and saved paper!

6.) Farewell to Natalie

7.) You feel like paradise and I need a vacation tonight

8.) Be careful!

9.) A gaggle of galloping girls

10.) My word is money

11.) A retreat to remember

12.) Cowboys

13.) Honoring the King

14.) Your grandmother is my idol

15.) Sick as a dog

1.) Please have snow and mistletoe...

My trip back to Chicago from December 18th to December 28th was lovely. I met with old friends, walked around downtown, walked around my alma mater's campus, enjoyed meals and games with family (including my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents!), partied in Wrigleyville with one of my San Antonio housemates who is also from Chicago, hung out with some Chicago Jesuit Volunteers at their community's home, went ice skating, performed a play that I wrote with my sisters, some family friends, and the Chicago JVs, and made a music video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxYFymza2ok.

I loved being home. I hadn't realized how much I had missed my family until I saw them again. They're really neat. They even let me put the angel on our family Christmas tree. And my friends are cool as well! And Chicago has a ton to offer. I'll be back there in August for sure....when it's WARM!

2.) A duel in my honor

I had the pleasure of spending New Year's Eve and Day here in San Antonio. I was alone in my community's home from December 28th to 30th and then only one of my housemates returned on the 30th so I celebrated the New Year with her and a family from the parish. They were really friendly and took us downtown to a big party in the streets- with over 20,000 people! The father of the family, Carlos, works at the church and is a really amazing person. He exudes endless patience, kindness, understanding, generosity, and hospitality. I would say he's almost like a father figure to me here- though he would have no idea that I see him that way! So, all that said, this is what ensued:

Carlos, his wife Pearl, his son, two of his daughters, one of their boyfriends, Megan, and I went downtown and walked the streets which were closed off. There were carnival rides, live music, food stands, and a TON of people in a small space. We found a spot near the main stage and waited for the firework show to start. One of Carlos' daughters was determined to play in the House of Mirrors so Megan and I fought our way through the crowd to enter the grotesquely overpriced attraction. Then, as we made our way back to where Carlos and his family were, an older, seemingly intoxicated man grabbed my arm and tried to drag me with him. I pulled away from him (which wasn't difficult because, as I said, he seemed pretty inebriated) and ran over to Carlos.

Not thinking about what effect my words might have, I told Carlos in a joking manner that I had been grabbed by someone in the crowd. My intention was to laugh about it with Carlos because to me, it was humorous and harmless. However, Carlos is the father of five girls and does not take lightly any offense to his family or those close to him. Even if the "offense" was just the over enthusiasm of a drunken partygoer. So as the words rolled off my lips..."Some guy in the crowd grabbed my arm..." Carlos' normally placid and jovial face transformed into one of horror and outrage! He quickly asked me who had grabbed my arm. I casually gestured in the direction of the guy but told Carlos that it was no big deal. He asked again, "Which guy? Which one grabbed your arm?" And because he was asking so anxiously, I answered. By now, seeing the look on his face, I had some idea of what he was planning to do. "Carlos! It's okay, he probably thought I was someone else." Carlos could sense that I was worried so he told me he was "going to the bathroom" and took off in the direction of my arm-seizer. The crowd was pretty thick so I couldn't really see him but as I stood on my tip-toes, I watched as Carlos grabbed the man's arm and started berating him for having grabbed my arm. Carlos was civil but still forceful and tough with the guy. I was so scared that the man would react violently and they would get into a physical altercation... because of me!!

Ok, so a "duel in my honor" may have been an overstatement. In the end, Carlos let the man go after yelling at him and the man just staggered away. But it was still fascinating to watch just how invested Carlos became in righting the "wrong" that had been done to me. Is it a Texas thing? Or would it have happened elsewhere too? Who knows! All I know is that I'm safe when I go out with that family! Haha.

3.) Frito pies

Yes, you've got that right. A delicacy on the West Side is the Frito Pie. You can google it. But basically it's a bag of Fritos Corn Chips with chili, nacho cheese, and jalepeños dumped in it. It's everywhere! The ice cream trucks even sell it. The kids at the after school program that I help facilitate are all about them and they'll sometimes bring them to the program. Which is a big mess because the nacho cheese and chili gets everywhere. The bags usually come with a spoon but it's apparently a lot more fun to eat the snack with one's hands. If you want my opinion, I would say that there probably isn't a less healthy snack in the history of unhealthy snacks and it breaks my heart to watch the youngsters consume such garbage.

4.) Work cures all

My coworker, Josie is a woman in her sixties who works the front desk from 9am-1pm Mondays through Thursdays. She is an AARP employee which means that she must follow several strict guidelines regarding how much time a day and how many months she can spend at Catholic Charities. She's a crazy lady but has a big heart and I'm quite fond of her.

The other day, she came in to work on a Friday which was unusual and not permitted. We were afraid she might run into problems with her AARP employer but luckily nothing happened. When asked why she came to work on her day off, she said she was "depressed" at home and wanted to be in a more pleasant environment. I was shocked! Since when was the workplace the preferred hangout for an employee?? It really opened my eyes though to her reality and how lonely a person can get when they reach a certain age and have no family living with them. Her transformation upon entering the office and diving into her duties was inspiring. She perked right up and you would not have been able to guess that the woman had ever experienced any sort of sadness at all. I wonder how many of the other employees at my job see the workplace as a refuge as well...

5.) I thought of you...and saved paper!

My coworker, Natalie, the coordinator of the After School Program, is in charge of printing out the "sign-in" sheets for the kids in the program. Well, last month, she printed out 30 sign-in sheets with the wrong month on them (November, instead of December!). She told me that she was about to throw them all away when the image of me popped into her head. "I thought of you," she told me later, "and I just couldn't do it! I knew that you would have been sad if you found out that I threw away 30 sheets of paper. So I whited out the month on all thirty of the papers and wrote in December."

I guess my constant rants about how wasteful our office is really stuck! With one person at least...

6.) Farewell to Natalie

...but it doesn't matter anymore. Because Natalie's gone :( The sad day came during the week after New Year's. She was an Americorps volunteer and her Americorps supervisor did not like that our Catholic Charities boss was assigning Natalie tasks not related to the After School Program. After a ton of headbutting (that pretty much started in September but continued through January), the supervisor placed Natalie elsewhere. I was devastated. Natalie was the backbone of the After School Program. Literally. She planned all the activities, was in charge of contacting parents, and basically just ran the show. Also, she was a breath of fresh air in an office where the average employee age is 65. No joke. So to have a young 21 year old to talk to and joke with was awesome. She's still in San Antonio so I know we'll keep in touch but it's not the same!

Her replacement is a guy named James. He looks to be in his late 20s and he's nice. In fact he's very friendly, generous, and energetic. But it's not the same. It's just not the same.

7.) You feel like paradise and I need a vacation tonight

That's right. I quoted Britney Spears. Why? Because her new song is so ridiculous! That is all.

8.) Be careful!

So I've noticed that a lot of the older Spanish-speaking people in the community who know me like to tell me to "Be careful" every time they bid me adieu. I wondered why this was. Did they know me to be reckless and wanted to warn me to take it easy? Were they paranoid? Were they honestly concerned about my safety? Then I thought about the farewell phrase in Spanish- "Cuídate." It means "take care" but maybe the rough translation is "be careful." I'm not sure but it's kind of annoying to be told to "be careful" every day because I'm starting to wonder if I really should take extra caution in my daily activities. Hmm.

9.) A gaggle of galloping girls

So there I was. Minding my own business. Trying to take care of my health. When they came.

When I got back to San Antonio after visiting Chicago, I was excited to experience the considerably warmer weather again. I was SO excited, I decided to start running again. I had stopped running in December because I thought it was getting cold in Texas. However, a quick trip back to the North set me straight and I realized that I had NO excuse not to spend time outside in San Antonio because it could be a helluva lot colder. So anyway, I decided to run around the high school that's behind my house because it's the safest place to run. Well, safe from MOST things.

One day, while I running around the school, I ran by a group of high school girls sitting on an outdoor staircase. I didn't think much of it until I distinctly heard a member of the group say "Let's chase her." It struck me as odd and I thought that maybe I had imagined it. But then, sure enough, the gaggle of girls was gallivanting behind me. Chasing me. I didn't know what to do! I started to fear that they might catch up to me and try to harm me or hassle me in some way. Why were they chasing me??

Then, because I am an exceptionally slow runner, they caught up to me and ran past me. It was kind of embarrassing that my pursuers were running so fast they passed me up! Then one of the girls so eloquently declared: "We look stupid." And the rest of the group ceased their stunt. I was in disbelief.

10.) My word is money

One of my duties at work is to call the utility company that supplies the city with energy. They are called CPS Energy and I call them to make a "pledge" or promise on my clients' accounts. Basically, I'm just telling them that a certain amount of money WILL be paid to the client's account and asking CPS to hold off from disconnecting that client's services because said payment will be made. However, a lot of my clients were confused by this process. They didn't get what good my pledge was if there was no money in their account yet. Then one of my clients said a phrase that forever changed my career as a utility caseworker.

Client: Oh, so you mean your word is money?

Me: Yes. Where have you been my whole life?

So, I tried out this phrase on my next client when explaining to him what the procedure was for utility assistance and by jove, he got it! He understood it right away. Gone are the blank stares. Gone the empty nods. I just have to say to my clients: "My word is money" and somehow this magic phrase expresses to them all that they need to know about how their utility bill will be paid.

11.) A retreat to remember

JVC planned a "Re-orientation" for all of the Jesuit Volunteers in the south region. It was on the 13th to the 16th in a town called Leakey, TX. The retreat was at a facility called the H. E. Butt Retreat Center. So we called it the Leakey Butt retreat! It was fun seeing all of the volunteers from around the south region (Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Alabama, South Dakota, and El Paso) and hearing their stories about how life is going.

Before the retreat, the JVs from South Dakota flew into San Antonio and we showed them a good time at a dance club called "Cowboys." (see next section)

Then that night at 3am, the two communities from New Orleans came to stay with us. They were all so sweet and we stayed up talking until 5am. Then at 8:30am, I had to wake up and drive the South Dakota folks to pick up their rental car. Busy busy! Then we took the three communities to visit the Alamo and ran into the Austin community there! Then we all caravanned to Leakey.

In Leakey, we sat through a series of lectures on social justice given by a New Orleans native with an interesting sense of humor. He told "Cajun" jokes before every section that he presented on. I had a good time but I was cold the whole time. The heating inside wasn't the strongest and it was frigid outside! Which was too bad since it was GORGEOUS there. A huge river, trees, rocks, nature. Lovely.

On the last night of orientation, we had a talent show, and Casa Guadalupe rocked the house. (Casa Guadalupe is my community). First, we put on a skit that we had written together and practiced a little bit. It was a day in the life of our household. People laughed hysterically! Then I shared a song I wrote in high school and got a ton of positive feedback. It's called "The Boyfriend Song" and it expresses the various situations I've run into with boys that have made it impossible for me to have a boyfriend.

"He's got a girlfriend or he's gay,

He's either mean or he lives far away...

...He's an ex-convict or a priest,

Or I find out he's related to me..."

I was scared out of my mind to play keyboard and sing alone in front of everyone but my community went up there with me and did back-up vocals at the end of each verse so that made it easier. Boy did I love hearing the laughs! And I was surprised at how many people liked the song since it's pretty dorky. Maybe I'll produce it for fun someday. :)

Overall, a very positive experience. JVs are special people.

12.) Cowboys

It was our first time there and probably not the last. But it was a bit overwhelming at first! When you walk in, you are shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of young college students. Then in the middle of the club is a huge dance floor and instead of bumping and grinding or salsa-ing, the people are doing the most ridiculous dance I've ever seen: the Texas Two-Step. Basically, it's two steps to the right and a fall back step on the left. To me, it looked like people shuffling and stumbling around without really knowing what they were doing. Taking two steps in succession so fast with the same foot looks the same as tripping. So, if you can imagine a gigantic, crowded dance floor of drunken college students tripping over themselves, that was Cowboys! Now, some dancers were amazing and worth watching. They did spins and flips and avoided looking like they were losing their footing. But the majority of the dance population paled in comparison.

I was asked to dance by a 22 year old college student in a black cowboy hat and matching boots. His name was Eddie and he made me feel like a horrible dancer. His rhythm was completely off!! And because I hadn't really danced much before dancing with him (just a few times with my housemate, Megan), I didn't know if I had a good sense of the rhythm yet. So try picturing two people with completely different rhythmic concepts trying to keep from tripping and falling while on a crazy crowded dance floor. Intense! After the song or ditty or whatever you can classify country music as was over, he asked if I was "goin' or stayin.'" I gave him one more dance and then excused myself from the dancefloor. He told me to "save the last dance for him" and I distractedly assured him that I would.

Then an hour or two went by (with a few pop and hip hop songs sprinkled in to relieve us from the live country band...er, I mean to relieve the live country band from having to play so much) and he found me again. Well, he used the crowded dance floor as an excuse to hold me a little too close. It really was crowded and, no joke, it took an entire song for us to make our way around the dance floor. Did I mention that the dancefloor functioned like an ice skating rink? So basically, you all dance in the same direction, round and round in circles. So it took us an entire song to make ONE lap around the "rink." Crazy. I told him I had to leave soon and thanked him for the dance. He leaned in close to thank me for the dance and as I walked back to my housemate, she asked me if Eddie had kissed me. And at the exact same moment that she asked that, another college boy asked me to dance. I didn't really process what he was saying though and so I said "No" in response to my housemate. However, the boy thought I was declining his invitation to dance and he looked sad. Having seen what happened, my housemate told the boy that I did want to dance with him. And I was out on the floor again! Only this guys' rhythm was much more in sync with mine and I might have actually enjoyed doing that dance. A little.

It was especially hilarious seeing the reaction of the four JVs from South Dakota at Cowboys. They've spent the last 6 months on a Native American reservation where the nearest grocery store is 30 minutes away and the nearest bar is 45 minutes away. So they were in total shock when they entered that club. "There are more people in here than on the entire reservation" was one comment. Nice.

13.) Honoring the King

When we returned from the retreat in Leakey, we went to the largest Martin Luther King walk in the nation. In San Antonio! I was surprised that it was the biggest in the nation. Why San Antonio? What's the history there? No one could really tell me. It was a beautiful walk but surprisingly subdued. Maybe because the sky was overcast and it's really more of a memorial walk, not an activist march. I'm glad I got to be a part of that.

14.) Your grandmother is my idol

I met Dorothy Day's granddaughter. Well, I went to a talk given by her at the Catholic Worker House here in San Antonio. She was very laid back and said she is the only one of Dorothy's eight grandkids and various great grandkids who is still involved with the Catholic Worker House movement. I thought that was kind of sad. She had some interesting commentary on San Antonio's homeless population and the efforts being made to help those without homes. She had strong criticism for Haven for Hope. If you remember my previous post, I was singing Haven for Hope's praises. But Dorothy's granddaughter said that it's too impersonal and aims to "fix" people too much. She said it's best if you just let people come to you as they are and let them be who they are. Don't try to fix them unless they ask you to. It's something to ponder.

15.) Sick as a dog

My housemate, Janine, got sick last Sunday (the 15th) and we all tried to avoid her. However, her illness quickly spread to three of us. It was awful. I held off until Wednesday the 19th but then it hit me real bad and I was out of work on Thursday and they sent me home Friday morning when I tried to go. To tell the truth, I can't remember anything that happened Thursday and it freaks me out. I slept the entire day in the hopes of recovering. My symptoms were a TERRIBLE headache, body aches, the chills, and congestion. By Friday I felt so bad I decided to go to the Emergency Room. Janine had gone that morning and was diagnosed with bronchitis right away and sent home. I wanted to see if I had the same thing and if they'd prescribe me anything so I went to the exact same E.R. However, I went at 3pm and that was a poor decision. The E.R. was crowded and I had to wait a very long time to be seen by someone. Then, they mentioned that I might have bronchitis but that they'd have to run some tests to see if it really was that.

A nurse gave me a shot in the rump to bring down the fever I didn't know I had and my heart rate which I didn't know was too fast. Well, the humiliation was worth it. The shot helped bring down my fever which then took away my headache. However, it made me nauseous and I sat in misery in the waiting room waiting for 45 minutes to pass so they could take my temperature and heart rate again. When they did, they were glad the fever was gone but my heart rate was still fast so they decided to run more tests. A chest x-ray, a blood test, and five hours later, I was in a room by myself wearing a little hospital gown waiting for the doctor to tell me what the heck was wrong with me. I was shivering, exhausted, hungry, and pissed. They finally came in to tell me that I had bronchitis and that there was no treatment other than drinking fluids and sleeping a lot. Then, in three weeks, it would pass.

At 10pm, they discharged me and I was on my way home. That means I was in the E.R. for seven hours. For bronchitis. Which has no cure. I will never go to the E.R. again if I can help it!

I guess on the plus side, I got to do a lot of people-watching while I waited in the waiting room. I saw a stab victim, heard a woman violently throwing up, a woman with a broken arm, a lady with swollen feet, etc.

Also, at one point, when they called me in to check my heart rate and temperature for the second time, they called me in with another woman too. We sat next to each other in a little hallway area and when I took my jacket off, she asked if I were pregnant. I was so offended and confused and surprised by her comment that I let out a loud, "No!" Then I was trying to find a place to put my jacket and she grabbed it from me and wrapped it around herself because she was "cold."

Uh, lady, I don't know what kind of disease or illness you're in here for... take off my jacket!!!

Well, that's what I wanted to say. But I didn't. She then asked the nurse if she was Filipina.

Good times!

Well, hope you enjoyed the update. I will try my best not to take so long next time in publishing one.

Take care and be careful!

:)