While you might have read about my time in St. Louis, I also went home that same weekend. From Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon, I was in a car for over 16 hours! Despite the long drives, I had a blast.
Saturday night I stopped by my grandma's house to say hi before heading home to pick up Megan and Dad. We went to Granite City for dinner with some of my close friends and family before heading over to EP High School for The Penguin Project's rendition of High School Musical 2. Seeing the show from the audience was a treat. Having worked with the artists in December, I had a little insight into how far they had all come. While silly and ridiculous, it was a treat to be entertained by 40+ people having the time of their lives! At intermission, I ran backstage to give hugs and well wishes to my favorite Penguins and mentors. It felt right to be home for that. After the show, I had friends and family over for a game night (a little abbreviated because I was so tired), but fun nonetheless. My sprint home was completed by an omlet for breakfast and a brownie with a candle.
While the 6 hours of driving weren't necessarily simple, I really needed to see the Penguin Project. To say the least, a weekend filled with friends, family, Penguin, and salsa is a dream come true!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Playdates with St. Louis
My roommate Sophie calls our rendezvous with the St. Louis community, playdates. However juvenile that word may seem, it perfectly describes our time together. In December, they came to Smashville for a fun weekend of fellowship, dancing, Jersey Shore attitude, Preds hockey, playing in the snow, and an epic battle for our belongings around the neighborhood. This past weekend proved to be just as fun, but luckily, a little less dramatic.
They greeted us with soup and bread and a killer dance party on Friday night. STL knows how to cook, so while breakfast wasn’t served until 12:00 p.m., it was worth the wait. I left Saturday afternoon for home, but returned a day later. While we ate breakfast, I was entertained with stories about the previous night. Finally, Megan got Monday morning off work, so we piled into the Catholic Charities van and drove downtown to the Arch. We took a few pictures and looked at the museum. I was hoping to visit the zoo, but it was too cold. I guess I’ll have to go when I’m there for Madri Gras in March. Forest Park (which has the free zoo among other things) is only a block from their house.
After a lovely dinner, I was told to get dressed up, but nothing else. Apparently, they had planned a birthday surprise for me. We all put on our “sexy clothes,” and headed out. Chino navigated as I drove us to the Atomic Cowboy. When I entered, I heard music playing in the side room. It wasn’t until I saw the sign listing each night’s music that I realized that they had brought me salsa dancing. Jumping up and down, I gave Sophie a huge hug and sprinted into the other room with the other girls in tow. With my friends’ encouragement, I asked random guys to dance with me, forced the STL and Nash JVs to dance, and just had a great time.
Receiving the present of salsa dancing was so uplifting. It made me aware of how supportive not just my Nashville community is, but how we are all connected. I love sharing stories about community highs and lows, spirituality nights, and everyone’s work experiences. I can’t wait until Re-Orientation when I’ll be able to connect with some other friends and build relationships with the rest of JVC Midwest.
They greeted us with soup and bread and a killer dance party on Friday night. STL knows how to cook, so while breakfast wasn’t served until 12:00 p.m., it was worth the wait. I left Saturday afternoon for home, but returned a day later. While we ate breakfast, I was entertained with stories about the previous night. Finally, Megan got Monday morning off work, so we piled into the Catholic Charities van and drove downtown to the Arch. We took a few pictures and looked at the museum. I was hoping to visit the zoo, but it was too cold. I guess I’ll have to go when I’m there for Madri Gras in March. Forest Park (which has the free zoo among other things) is only a block from their house.
After a lovely dinner, I was told to get dressed up, but nothing else. Apparently, they had planned a birthday surprise for me. We all put on our “sexy clothes,” and headed out. Chino navigated as I drove us to the Atomic Cowboy. When I entered, I heard music playing in the side room. It wasn’t until I saw the sign listing each night’s music that I realized that they had brought me salsa dancing. Jumping up and down, I gave Sophie a huge hug and sprinted into the other room with the other girls in tow. With my friends’ encouragement, I asked random guys to dance with me, forced the STL and Nash JVs to dance, and just had a great time.
Receiving the present of salsa dancing was so uplifting. It made me aware of how supportive not just my Nashville community is, but how we are all connected. I love sharing stories about community highs and lows, spirituality nights, and everyone’s work experiences. I can’t wait until Re-Orientation when I’ll be able to connect with some other friends and build relationships with the rest of JVC Midwest.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Return Home from Home
Returning to Nashville has been an interesting experience. Once I landed, I was anxious to get home and catch up with my roommates. Since Courtney and Scott had worked overnight shifts at Oasis, I was left for a few hours to sew, take a shower, and grab lunch by myself. Once awake, we all went downtown to watch a few football games. It was comfortable, fun, and relaxing...just what I needed. It felt odd that only 3 of us were back, but great nonetheless.
Sunday started the quick return of the rest of my community (minus Megan). After so long apart, our reunion was extremely celebratory. I loved hearing everyone's stories and seeing what gifts they received. James brought back a head scratcher and a Pee Time golf game for the boys' restroom. They both made me laugh and will be a lot of fun. Courtney got Scott a Shake Weight which has prompted a bicep competition and random spurts of working out in the house. Zumba with Sophie was a blast and the instructor was this little white girl who held her own in a very diverse (talent, race, gender, age, etc.) crowd. Caley got me hooked on her class. I'll be back for sure!
School has improved a little bit because I asked to work with really small groups most of the day and am doing so. Half of my day is with the whole class and the other half I spend with 1 or 2 kids per period. Those students are getting much needed attention and I’m allowed to create some of my own lessons. Using the standards taught by Miss Kline, I am plan lessons that correspond but are on a much lower level. For example, the rest of the class is reviewing cause and effect, while my boys are relearning it. I’ve also started working with a 6th grader who doesn’t understand what is being taught, so he acts out and gets thrown out of class. It is rumored that he’s moving, but I hope not. His home life is really rough, so I can’t imagine what a move would cause.
One of my students has been living with his Grandma for a long time. He calls her his mom and she is a tough woman. She makes him do his homework (which isn’t always right, but at least he tries) and has taught him to respect his elders. His dad was recently released from prison, so he came up to say hi to all of us today. He was really clean-cut, articulate, and interested in being involved. I am hopeful that he will be a part of his son’s life, but nervous about the impending transition. Lots of prayers for this little one!
Sunday started the quick return of the rest of my community (minus Megan). After so long apart, our reunion was extremely celebratory. I loved hearing everyone's stories and seeing what gifts they received. James brought back a head scratcher and a Pee Time golf game for the boys' restroom. They both made me laugh and will be a lot of fun. Courtney got Scott a Shake Weight which has prompted a bicep competition and random spurts of working out in the house. Zumba with Sophie was a blast and the instructor was this little white girl who held her own in a very diverse (talent, race, gender, age, etc.) crowd. Caley got me hooked on her class. I'll be back for sure!
School has improved a little bit because I asked to work with really small groups most of the day and am doing so. Half of my day is with the whole class and the other half I spend with 1 or 2 kids per period. Those students are getting much needed attention and I’m allowed to create some of my own lessons. Using the standards taught by Miss Kline, I am plan lessons that correspond but are on a much lower level. For example, the rest of the class is reviewing cause and effect, while my boys are relearning it. I’ve also started working with a 6th grader who doesn’t understand what is being taught, so he acts out and gets thrown out of class. It is rumored that he’s moving, but I hope not. His home life is really rough, so I can’t imagine what a move would cause.
One of my students has been living with his Grandma for a long time. He calls her his mom and she is a tough woman. She makes him do his homework (which isn’t always right, but at least he tries) and has taught him to respect his elders. His dad was recently released from prison, so he came up to say hi to all of us today. He was really clean-cut, articulate, and interested in being involved. I am hopeful that he will be a part of his son’s life, but nervous about the impending transition. Lots of prayers for this little one!
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