This post is coming after many months of not writing and several not so subtle prods from one of my JV housemates, Katie, who I think really wants me to close out the blog from my JV year and comment on life after JVC. Since I am finding this a very odd, almost awkward post to write I think I'll just list some general thoughts that I have.
1. After what seemed like several weeks of goodbyes and closing out my JV year with my community with a solid day of reflection, group sharing and bonding over a bear shaped collage, I officially ended my time as a JV on August 2. I don't think you're ever really done being a JV though...I mean, the organization's motto is Ruined for life, so in reality I guess the hard part is what lies beyond the JV year. Living simply, finding and maintaining some sort of community, having a spiritual life, and engaging in social justice in some capacity is just so much harder when you are not intentional about it. Intentionality is something that I think can be very difficult to maintain when you are not being challenged, taught and engaged each and every day with others who are seeking intentionality in their lives as was present in a JV community. I find myself struggling with certain aspects of life post JVC Northwest but overall I think that my experiences as a JV, with the Sitka community, with my JV community, with other JVs throughout Alaska and with the JVC Northwest staff have prepared me well enough to thrive without the structured support that being a JV provides.
2. I loved being home and being able to spend so much time with my family and catch up with many of my friends who I hadn't seen in a long time. Things like going to the mall were overwhelming experiences after a year in Sitka but for the most part adjusting to life back in the lower 48 went smoothly.
3. After a series of events, it became clear to me that returning to Sitka was a solid option and I applied for and accepted a new position at the shelter that I worked at last year. I am working as the Prevention Specialist under the shelter's DELTA (Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances) Program which is funded by a CDC grant focused on reducing and ending intimate partner violence. Alaska was one of the original 14 states chosen for funding and Sitka is one of four sites in Alaska with a DELTA program. In this position I am going to be playing a role in a lot of programming at the shelter and community wide geared towards reductions in violence in Sitka. So far much of my time has been focused on catching up with all the information about violence prevention and the programming that currently exists in Sitka, statewide and is being planned. I am expecting to be heavily involved with programming for boys and men and with youth curriculum and programming such as Girls on the Run. GOTR is an empowerment program for 3-8th grade girls that uses running to complement positive messaging about the media, body image, self esteem and other topics to prepare young girls for adolescence and adulthood. There is a push statewide to provide some similar, complementary programs for boys, which at the moment are not nationally available and it has been extremely difficult to find community men willing to commit to developing and organizing such programs. So far I am really enjoying the new position at the shelter and am looking forward to being more actively involved in the community and in the prevention aspect of this work. I am sure that I will have more to add in the future.
4. Since I've been back in Alaska I have attended a teen leadership conference, Lead-On!, in Anchorage where I got to engage in conversation with and meet a number of teens and adults heavily involved in prevention efforts around the state and I arrived back in time for Alaska Day. Alaska Day was just as I had remembered it: fun, ridiculous and a community wide celebration. The weather held out enough to keep everyone dry for the parade and Coast Guard Search and Rescue demonstration and the Seattle Fire Dept. Pipe and Drums band was once again in town. Liz, one of the new JVs, and I had an absurdly long conversation with one of the drummers who enlightened us to the fact that Vanilla Ice is the greatest rapper of all time and that New Kids on the Block is the greatest band of all time.
That's all for now...I'll attempt to keep updating this more frequently.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Super Long Overdue Post
Whooooops...it seems like the longer days and nice weather have kept me from updating this in a really, really long time. Rather than try to remember/write about everything that has happened in the past 2 months or so, I am going to take a page from ESPN and David Letterman and run a top 10 list of the time since my last update. (Note: This list isn't really a ranking with the exception of numbers 1 and 2.)
10. Children's Program Activities. In April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month, we sponsored a poster contest with the theme "If Kids Ruled the World..." and held a Family Fun Fair at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School. We had over thirty wonderful poster entrees from elementary school children and more than seventy children and adults attended the Fair which included lots of fun family activities such as bowling, an obstacle course, art projects and face painting. Along with the Fun Fair, I also helped out with our shelter's 5k run for its Girls on the Run program. Girls on the Run is a national organization that focuses on building self-esteem for elementary and middle school aged girls as well as introducing them to issues relating to teamwork, media literacy, healthy boundaries and relationships and a myriad of other topics that are meant to inspire and educate them.
9. Camping at Pirate's Cove. In early May, my housemates and I spent a night camping on one of the small islands off the coast of Sitka. It was a really nice getaway and community building trip and included lots of exploring, sitting by the fire and s'mores! The highlight of the trip for me though was sleeping out under the stars in a giant hammock with Katie and Greg.
8. Fishing with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Yesterday I volunteered to serve as a Big Brother for the day and joined them on a fishing trip that the local charter association offers to the program each year. I got to spend the afternoon on a boat called Triple Play with a really cool 8 year old, a Big Brother volunteer and Katie's boss' partner. We all caught a king salmon (Yay!!!) and we got to see gray whales and lots of eagles. Also, I had my first puffin sighting!!! Coupled with the fact that I filleted both of the king salmon that Katie and I caught when we got home, it was an epic day in Alaska.
7. Eagles. They are everywhere. I never get tired of seeing them or watching them fly, soar and even swim! I'm including pictures here because they work better than words.
6. Weather and daylight. The weather has been amazing! It has been mostly sunny for the better part of the past month and it's looking like we could have a repeat of last summer which I've heard was gorgeous. I also have to admit that I am a huge fan of the extended daylight that we receive here in Alaska. Last night it was not completely dark at 11:30pm and on Saturday night, the sky was starting to show signs of lighting up at around 2am. So, there is lots of light and added time to do fun things outside basically until it's time to fall asleep.
5. People here are awesome! From my co-workers who help me get through the day to my housemates who make community life so crazy, light and unpredictable and to the group of friends I've found here who are capable of being hilarious, serious and sassy at the drop of a hat. The start of tourist season last month has also brought with it the added bonus of charter captains from around the country and visitors from places such as England, Australia and New Zealand. Basically, when those people are around, I could listen to them talk all day long.
4. Hiking, and lots of it. With the longer days and nicer weather I have gotten out on the trails a lot more than I was able to in winter. Since I last posted, I finally made it up to Picnic Rock on Mt. Verstovia with Meg and some of the Juneau JVs, have gotten out on Herring Cove and Mosquito Cove several times and went up the infamous Gavan Hill Trail last weekend.
3. Indian River. Two weeks ago, when it was sunny and in the 70s, I went hiking with a few friends along the Indian River trail and we jumped in! When I tell you that the water was both frigid and refreshing I am not lying. It was by far the coldest water I have ever been in and it was super invigorating to jump in from just off the trail.
2. Folk Fest. JVs got together in Juneau and hilarity ensued. There was lots of music, dancing, great conversations, barefoot soccer on the beach, and fun had by all.
1. Top Gun Party. Flightsuits, aviators, windmill high fives. Need I say more? JVs from Juneau, future and former JVs from all over and current and former Americorps volunteers reported for duty decked out and gave Maverick and Ice Man a run for their money.
Basically, the past 2 months have been a whirlwind and I am looking forward to our upcoming retreat focused on Ignatian Spirituality to slow down and hang out with my fellow JVs from around Alaska. Three of my housemates and I will be joined by Paddy from Juneau for several days of hiking and exploring in Denali National Park after our retreat. Until then, peace out.
10. Children's Program Activities. In April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month, we sponsored a poster contest with the theme "If Kids Ruled the World..." and held a Family Fun Fair at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School. We had over thirty wonderful poster entrees from elementary school children and more than seventy children and adults attended the Fair which included lots of fun family activities such as bowling, an obstacle course, art projects and face painting. Along with the Fun Fair, I also helped out with our shelter's 5k run for its Girls on the Run program. Girls on the Run is a national organization that focuses on building self-esteem for elementary and middle school aged girls as well as introducing them to issues relating to teamwork, media literacy, healthy boundaries and relationships and a myriad of other topics that are meant to inspire and educate them.
9. Camping at Pirate's Cove. In early May, my housemates and I spent a night camping on one of the small islands off the coast of Sitka. It was a really nice getaway and community building trip and included lots of exploring, sitting by the fire and s'mores! The highlight of the trip for me though was sleeping out under the stars in a giant hammock with Katie and Greg.
8. Fishing with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Yesterday I volunteered to serve as a Big Brother for the day and joined them on a fishing trip that the local charter association offers to the program each year. I got to spend the afternoon on a boat called Triple Play with a really cool 8 year old, a Big Brother volunteer and Katie's boss' partner. We all caught a king salmon (Yay!!!) and we got to see gray whales and lots of eagles. Also, I had my first puffin sighting!!! Coupled with the fact that I filleted both of the king salmon that Katie and I caught when we got home, it was an epic day in Alaska.
7. Eagles. They are everywhere. I never get tired of seeing them or watching them fly, soar and even swim! I'm including pictures here because they work better than words.
6. Weather and daylight. The weather has been amazing! It has been mostly sunny for the better part of the past month and it's looking like we could have a repeat of last summer which I've heard was gorgeous. I also have to admit that I am a huge fan of the extended daylight that we receive here in Alaska. Last night it was not completely dark at 11:30pm and on Saturday night, the sky was starting to show signs of lighting up at around 2am. So, there is lots of light and added time to do fun things outside basically until it's time to fall asleep.
5. People here are awesome! From my co-workers who help me get through the day to my housemates who make community life so crazy, light and unpredictable and to the group of friends I've found here who are capable of being hilarious, serious and sassy at the drop of a hat. The start of tourist season last month has also brought with it the added bonus of charter captains from around the country and visitors from places such as England, Australia and New Zealand. Basically, when those people are around, I could listen to them talk all day long.
4. Hiking, and lots of it. With the longer days and nicer weather I have gotten out on the trails a lot more than I was able to in winter. Since I last posted, I finally made it up to Picnic Rock on Mt. Verstovia with Meg and some of the Juneau JVs, have gotten out on Herring Cove and Mosquito Cove several times and went up the infamous Gavan Hill Trail last weekend.
3. Indian River. Two weeks ago, when it was sunny and in the 70s, I went hiking with a few friends along the Indian River trail and we jumped in! When I tell you that the water was both frigid and refreshing I am not lying. It was by far the coldest water I have ever been in and it was super invigorating to jump in from just off the trail.
2. Folk Fest. JVs got together in Juneau and hilarity ensued. There was lots of music, dancing, great conversations, barefoot soccer on the beach, and fun had by all.
1. Top Gun Party. Flightsuits, aviators, windmill high fives. Need I say more? JVs from Juneau, future and former JVs from all over and current and former Americorps volunteers reported for duty decked out and gave Maverick and Ice Man a run for their money.
Basically, the past 2 months have been a whirlwind and I am looking forward to our upcoming retreat focused on Ignatian Spirituality to slow down and hang out with my fellow JVs from around Alaska. Three of my housemates and I will be joined by Paddy from Juneau for several days of hiking and exploring in Denali National Park after our retreat. Until then, peace out.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Herring Season and Visitors
The past couple of weeks in Sitka have been really fun! For starters, the Herring fishery, which is a multi-million dollar fishery, opened up a total of four times over the past two weeks and I was lucky enough to be able to watch one of them open up from the beach. It was really cool to watch dozens and dozens of fishing boats dropping their nets all at once and competing to catch as many fish as they could catch during the allotted duration of the opening. The herring fishery has also brought with it the return of the sea lions, eagles and humpback whales! I have seen these wonderful animals on a pretty consistent basis over the past few weeks but have to say that I am still continually amazed at how majestic the eagles look and are when they're flying and there is nothing like watching, and sometimes hearing, the puff of the humpback whale's blowhole.
The past few weeks also brought with it my first kayaking experience which was a lot of fun. While the actual motion of paddling in a kayak felt really, really awkward at first, being out on the water more than made up for those feelings of the awkward motion. The mountains seemed so much bigger, steeper and closer when I was out on the water than while walking around town or along the beach and watching the birds, otters and sea lions from the kayak was so different than seeing them on land. Being on the water gave me such a different perspective of my surroundings and the things that I see on a daily basis; it was a pretty exhilarating experience.
My cousin Matt and his friend Frank also paid myself and Sitka a visit and I have to say that they arrived at the perfect time to spot wildlife and had some of the best weather we have had over the past month or so during their time here. It was really fun for me to catch up with Matt and be able to show the two of them around and let them see what my life is actually like here, because unfortunately words truly can't do justice to this experience or the landscape of Sitka. We were able to go kayaking a bit, did a whole bunch of hiking and they were able to see a mama humpback and her calf (which I heard is one of the earliest sightings of a mother and calf in Sitka.) Matt and Frank were able to go out fishing and caught some rockfish and a king salmon! Aside from a little seasickness brought on by the rough waters, they did really well on their first Alaskan fishing excursion. It was a great week and I was really happy to have some visitors, so if anyone's interested in coming up, you'll have a place to stay and lots of fun outdoor things to do!
Aside from all of my outdoor fun, I still love my job and am doing my best to reflect on this experience, the JVC values, what comes next and life outside of Alaska. While my day to day activities in the children's program are kind of on the quiet side because of the small number of children we are working with right now, I have been fairly active in facilitating a men's focus group to bring men together who are interested in reducing and preventing violence in Sitka. The hope for this group is to bring the men together and see what kinds of actions or activities the men are interested in working on and leading in order to engage other men and young adults/children and promote a culture of non-violence and positive communication in Sitka. My biggest hope for this group is that it becomes entirely self sufficient so that it continues to meet and work towards a safer and less violent Sitka after August. Another project that I was working on, prepping and teaching a healthy relationships class for boys at the alternative high school, isn't going to work out because of some miscommunication between the school and our prevention coordinator that resulted in no boys signing up for the class. I'm a little disappointed that this class isn't going to happen because I think it's a class that the boys could benefit from and because I put a lot of time into preparing a curriculum but at the same time, the next person who tries to teach this class won't have to put a whole lot of time into preparing for the class.
This past Wednesday also marked a big step in Gov. Parnell's statewide campaign to eliminate domestic and sexual violence in Alaska, as Sitka joined 17 other towns across the state that held marches and speak out events. The shelter staff was joined by over 100 community members, including personnel from the Sitka Tribe, the mayor, and the Sitka Police Department and a number of people shared personal stories, thought and feelings on the subject of violence, abuse, the importance of working to prevent future violence, and the governor's plans. The event was encouraging in that there was such a large turnout from the community at large and it was inspiring to hear the words of others and add my own to the movement going on statewide.
Since this weekend was Easter, Meg and I put together a little party for the children and families that we work with that included an egg hunt, egg coloring, face painting and a carrot cake in the shape of a bunny! On Sunday, one of my least favorite days of the year, it was really nice to share a brunch with my roommates (even though I wasn't quite fully awake yet) and Greg and I went on a really good walk at Totem Park at low tide. While down there we saw a heron and what must have been 6 or 7 whales just hanging out (our theory is because the tide was out so they were stuck.) So we spent about an hour or so just sitting on the rocks watching the whales surface and dive and watching brave (or slightly nuts) kayakers and boaters approach. I was able to talk to most of my family and a couple friends which was really nice and I closed out the day by watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the opening game of the season and playing some cards with my housemates.
The past few weeks also brought with it my first kayaking experience which was a lot of fun. While the actual motion of paddling in a kayak felt really, really awkward at first, being out on the water more than made up for those feelings of the awkward motion. The mountains seemed so much bigger, steeper and closer when I was out on the water than while walking around town or along the beach and watching the birds, otters and sea lions from the kayak was so different than seeing them on land. Being on the water gave me such a different perspective of my surroundings and the things that I see on a daily basis; it was a pretty exhilarating experience.
My cousin Matt and his friend Frank also paid myself and Sitka a visit and I have to say that they arrived at the perfect time to spot wildlife and had some of the best weather we have had over the past month or so during their time here. It was really fun for me to catch up with Matt and be able to show the two of them around and let them see what my life is actually like here, because unfortunately words truly can't do justice to this experience or the landscape of Sitka. We were able to go kayaking a bit, did a whole bunch of hiking and they were able to see a mama humpback and her calf (which I heard is one of the earliest sightings of a mother and calf in Sitka.) Matt and Frank were able to go out fishing and caught some rockfish and a king salmon! Aside from a little seasickness brought on by the rough waters, they did really well on their first Alaskan fishing excursion. It was a great week and I was really happy to have some visitors, so if anyone's interested in coming up, you'll have a place to stay and lots of fun outdoor things to do!
Aside from all of my outdoor fun, I still love my job and am doing my best to reflect on this experience, the JVC values, what comes next and life outside of Alaska. While my day to day activities in the children's program are kind of on the quiet side because of the small number of children we are working with right now, I have been fairly active in facilitating a men's focus group to bring men together who are interested in reducing and preventing violence in Sitka. The hope for this group is to bring the men together and see what kinds of actions or activities the men are interested in working on and leading in order to engage other men and young adults/children and promote a culture of non-violence and positive communication in Sitka. My biggest hope for this group is that it becomes entirely self sufficient so that it continues to meet and work towards a safer and less violent Sitka after August. Another project that I was working on, prepping and teaching a healthy relationships class for boys at the alternative high school, isn't going to work out because of some miscommunication between the school and our prevention coordinator that resulted in no boys signing up for the class. I'm a little disappointed that this class isn't going to happen because I think it's a class that the boys could benefit from and because I put a lot of time into preparing a curriculum but at the same time, the next person who tries to teach this class won't have to put a whole lot of time into preparing for the class.
This past Wednesday also marked a big step in Gov. Parnell's statewide campaign to eliminate domestic and sexual violence in Alaska, as Sitka joined 17 other towns across the state that held marches and speak out events. The shelter staff was joined by over 100 community members, including personnel from the Sitka Tribe, the mayor, and the Sitka Police Department and a number of people shared personal stories, thought and feelings on the subject of violence, abuse, the importance of working to prevent future violence, and the governor's plans. The event was encouraging in that there was such a large turnout from the community at large and it was inspiring to hear the words of others and add my own to the movement going on statewide.
Since this weekend was Easter, Meg and I put together a little party for the children and families that we work with that included an egg hunt, egg coloring, face painting and a carrot cake in the shape of a bunny! On Sunday, one of my least favorite days of the year, it was really nice to share a brunch with my roommates (even though I wasn't quite fully awake yet) and Greg and I went on a really good walk at Totem Park at low tide. While down there we saw a heron and what must have been 6 or 7 whales just hanging out (our theory is because the tide was out so they were stuck.) So we spent about an hour or so just sitting on the rocks watching the whales surface and dive and watching brave (or slightly nuts) kayakers and boaters approach. I was able to talk to most of my family and a couple friends which was really nice and I closed out the day by watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the opening game of the season and playing some cards with my housemates.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Winter has Arrived...in March
Remember that time I wrote about spring being right around the corner? I spoke far too soon. We have finally started to have some winter weather in Alaska
Aside from the weather, work has started to move towards more action oriented prevention work that has come out of all of the planning and preparing that I’ve been doing over the past several weeks. This past week, I co-facilitated a two hour healthy relationships and domestic violence 101 session for Raven’s Way, which is a substance abuse treatment program for teens that is run out of SEARHC (Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium) and participated in the
Outside of work, last weekend was Evie’s birthday and we had a nice taco dinner, hung out at the Larkspur (a local café), and then had a delicious chocolate chip cake that Katie had baked. On Sunday, I hiked up Gavan Hill with a slew of FJVs and had a ton of fun! It was one of those typical Sitka weather days where it was clear when we left, then got cloudy and snowy and then cleared up by the time we reached the ridgeline only to start snowing again for our entire hike down. Eileen, an FJV from last year, was generous enough to let me borrow her snowshoes for the hike and I have to admit that snowshoeing has become my favorite outdoor activity. It was a little weird walking in them at first but I gradually got used to it and I really enjoyed jumping off a mound in them and watching Meg and Emily ‘mountain sumo’ wrestle.
The highlight of the past couple weeks for me was a project that we did with the children in after school group where Sharon (our rural outreach coordinator) taught us how to make tiny replica native drums. Using elk hides, tough twine and the rims of jam jars we weaved our drums together, allowed them to dry for a few days and later put designs on them (pictures to follow.) The children, Sharon, Meg and I had a blast putting the drums together and the finished products turned out really well. Peace out from snowy, snowy, Sitka.
Monday, March 1, 2010
It's Starfish Hunting Season
So the weather here has been absolutely gorgeous once again for the past week or so (sorry East Coasters.) As a result, I have spent a good chunk of time outside this week exploring the beach at low tide near Totem Park in search of starfish, crabs and any other little creatures that found homes in the tidal pools. Early on in the week, I found tons of starfish and was hanging out on the beach as the fog started to roll in, which was one of the coolest experiences I have had so far in Sitka because everything just started to disappear around me. While the fog was coming in, I also found myself engaged in a lengthy staring contest with a bald eagle...which the eagle clearly won.
My week at work was fairly low key once again. I finished up preparations for a healthy relationships class that I am teaching at the alternative high school in town, had some pretty successful lunch groups with the second and third graders and spent a lot of time hanging out and coloring with a two year old who recently entered shelter. Life in community continues to move forward, I feel like I am gradually learning more about my housemates, I enjoy spending time with them and I am still finding ways to get my "me" time. Lately, much of this time has been spent working on my Lenten challenge for myself (originally thought up by Greg), which is to write a letter per day. I like the intentionality of this particular challenge and know that it will help to strengthen relationships and provide an outlet for personal reflection as well.
On Friday, Katie and I walked along the beach in search of starfish, tried to walk to a buoy that we thought was on land (it was not even close to being on shore in case you were wondering), and watched an incredible sunset with a number of other people who had the same idea. On Saturday, I awoke to a phone call from my dad asking me if Sitka has a tsunami warning and responded that yes we do indeed have a tsunami warning system and that they tested a couple weeks ago. He asked me if it was going off right now and I was super confused, said no and he told me about the large earthquake in Chile. My first thought was about my friend who's doing JVI in Peru (she's safe and doing well) and then Katie and I started checking up on the tsunami threat to Sitka. Basically, the entire Pacific Rim received an advisory about a potential tsunami due to the warning to Hawaii and Latin America. I think the "wave" that arrived here was about a foot high (if that.)
I spent Saturday night hanging out with Greg and a couple other guys from town which was really fun. We just hung out talking about politics and religion which was really cool. On Sunday, I started my day by giving a presentation about social justice to the Unitarian Fellowship in town which was quite the experience. It was really good for me to think about the role social justice has played in my life so far and I had a lot of fun engaging the fellowship members and responding to their many questions. After the fellowship, it was time for the Gold Medal game between the US and Canada in Men's Ice Hockey. I have to say that I don't think I have ever seen a better hockey game or been more devastated by a loss as I was when Sidney Crosby, the Canadian Panda, scored to win the gold medal. Overall I was very impressed by the performance of the US team in Vancouver, particularly Ryan Miller in net, Brian Rafalski, Chris Drury aka Captain America, Zach Parise, Ryan Kesler and Jack Johnson. This team is going to be scary good in Russia if Bettman does the right thing and lets the NHL players back to the olympics. That's all for now! Have a wonderful week!
My week at work was fairly low key once again. I finished up preparations for a healthy relationships class that I am teaching at the alternative high school in town, had some pretty successful lunch groups with the second and third graders and spent a lot of time hanging out and coloring with a two year old who recently entered shelter. Life in community continues to move forward, I feel like I am gradually learning more about my housemates, I enjoy spending time with them and I am still finding ways to get my "me" time. Lately, much of this time has been spent working on my Lenten challenge for myself (originally thought up by Greg), which is to write a letter per day. I like the intentionality of this particular challenge and know that it will help to strengthen relationships and provide an outlet for personal reflection as well.
On Friday, Katie and I walked along the beach in search of starfish, tried to walk to a buoy that we thought was on land (it was not even close to being on shore in case you were wondering), and watched an incredible sunset with a number of other people who had the same idea. On Saturday, I awoke to a phone call from my dad asking me if Sitka has a tsunami warning and responded that yes we do indeed have a tsunami warning system and that they tested a couple weeks ago. He asked me if it was going off right now and I was super confused, said no and he told me about the large earthquake in Chile. My first thought was about my friend who's doing JVI in Peru (she's safe and doing well) and then Katie and I started checking up on the tsunami threat to Sitka. Basically, the entire Pacific Rim received an advisory about a potential tsunami due to the warning to Hawaii and Latin America. I think the "wave" that arrived here was about a foot high (if that.)
I spent Saturday night hanging out with Greg and a couple other guys from town which was really fun. We just hung out talking about politics and religion which was really cool. On Sunday, I started my day by giving a presentation about social justice to the Unitarian Fellowship in town which was quite the experience. It was really good for me to think about the role social justice has played in my life so far and I had a lot of fun engaging the fellowship members and responding to their many questions. After the fellowship, it was time for the Gold Medal game between the US and Canada in Men's Ice Hockey. I have to say that I don't think I have ever seen a better hockey game or been more devastated by a loss as I was when Sidney Crosby, the Canadian Panda, scored to win the gold medal. Overall I was very impressed by the performance of the US team in Vancouver, particularly Ryan Miller in net, Brian Rafalski, Chris Drury aka Captain America, Zach Parise, Ryan Kesler and Jack Johnson. This team is going to be scary good in Russia if Bettman does the right thing and lets the NHL players back to the olympics. That's all for now! Have a wonderful week!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Retreat in Juneau, Spring in Sitka
So last weekend we had our second JVC Alaska retreat in Juneau, aka the capital city. We boarded our plane at 6 am for our less than 40 minute flight to Juneau and were met at the airport by Paddy (one of the Juneau JVs) and welcomed into their home a few minutes later by Avanti and funfetti waffles!! The Juneau JVs slowly woke up at relatively normal hours and after catching up for a while, my housemates and I went out to explore downtown Juneau, had some lunch and met up with the Anchorage JVs who arrived a few hours after us. Avanti led us all on a walking tour of Juneau where we saw the capitol building, some other government offices, the downtown area (which was really shut down for the season until the tourists start arriving again), and the governor's mansion. After our walking tour we met up with the JVs from Bethel and took a tour of the Alaskan Brewery that basically consisted of this really cool guy talking to us about how the brewery started, how they made the beer in the early days and about how the owners are trying to keep the brewery at a manageable size and not expand too much. It was a pretty sweet way to start the weekend because it was really laid back and almost all the JVs were there to catch up and chat before heading out for retreat.
Our retreat was held at the Shrine of St. Therese, which was absolutely beautiful and full of awesome wildlife, focused on social justice and was led by the executive director and volunteer coordinator of the AWARE shelter (a bigger shelter than SAFV) in Juneau. Personally, this retreat came at the perfect time for me and I got a ton out of the activities, reflection, and discussion that occurred throughout the weekend. I came back from retreat feeling refreshed, refocused and with some new thoughts, perspectives and ideas about social justice. I again had a lot of really good conversations with my fellow JVs about work, JV life, what comes next, and was really glad/excited to reconnect with Alex and Avanti and get some solid quality time in with them at points throughout the weekend and at lunch on Monday afternoon.
On Monday, after saying goodbye to the Bethel JVs and spending some of the afternoon exploring and hanging out in Juneau, the rest of us went to Bishop Burns' house in Douglas for a lasagna dinner. It was a really nice way to close out the weekend, Bishop Burns is a great man and a great support and friend of the JVs in Southeast Alaska, and we were able to watch some of the Olympics (several hours after it happened even though Vancouver is only one timezone away.) I now know what people mean when they talk about East Coast bias. It is truly frustrating to know the result of every event before I could even possibly watch it happen on TV.
I had Tuesday off because it was Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in Alaska and I enjoyed the relaxation time and attended the parade and event held in honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich at the Alaskan Native Brotherhood Hall. Elizabeth Peratrovich Day honors the life and efforts of this woman in the passage of the anti-discrimination bill in Alaska in 1945. It was a truly powerful event to be a part of and included a partial recreation of the senate hearing that preceded the vote and dancing from several student groups from Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
Since then, Sitka has had absolutely beautiful weather that definitely has most of town thinking that spring is on the way. It has been clear and sunny for most of the week and I have taken full advantage of the opportunity to explore the beaches at low tide and just sit outside reading and letter writing in the sun. On Saturday, SAFV had its Family Fun Fiesta, our big fundraiser, which consisted of a wonderful Mexican meal and a dessert auction that was a lot of fun! It was great to watch the community come together and raise money for the shelter, a lot of fun for my housemates and I to help with the auction and it was really nice to see several former resident families in attendance. A few of the children asked me if I remembered them and when I told them that of course I did their faces lit up. I could definitely tell that it meant a lot to them and seeing them again meant a ton to me and serves as another example of why I love the work I do and am able to be excited about going into work every day.
I had a relatively low key day on Sunday, going to mass early and then exploring along the beach some more. On Sunday afternoon Greg and I watched the USA vs. Canada game, which was amazing! I really miss playing/watching hockey and seeing how hard the US team played was awesome! It's so great to see NHL players playing hard, blocking shots and giving 110% because they aren't getting paid to be here and are truly inspired by playing for their countries. That is all for now but I will definitely work on updating more often.
Our retreat was held at the Shrine of St. Therese, which was absolutely beautiful and full of awesome wildlife, focused on social justice and was led by the executive director and volunteer coordinator of the AWARE shelter (a bigger shelter than SAFV) in Juneau. Personally, this retreat came at the perfect time for me and I got a ton out of the activities, reflection, and discussion that occurred throughout the weekend. I came back from retreat feeling refreshed, refocused and with some new thoughts, perspectives and ideas about social justice. I again had a lot of really good conversations with my fellow JVs about work, JV life, what comes next, and was really glad/excited to reconnect with Alex and Avanti and get some solid quality time in with them at points throughout the weekend and at lunch on Monday afternoon.
On Monday, after saying goodbye to the Bethel JVs and spending some of the afternoon exploring and hanging out in Juneau, the rest of us went to Bishop Burns' house in Douglas for a lasagna dinner. It was a really nice way to close out the weekend, Bishop Burns is a great man and a great support and friend of the JVs in Southeast Alaska, and we were able to watch some of the Olympics (several hours after it happened even though Vancouver is only one timezone away.) I now know what people mean when they talk about East Coast bias. It is truly frustrating to know the result of every event before I could even possibly watch it happen on TV.
I had Tuesday off because it was Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in Alaska and I enjoyed the relaxation time and attended the parade and event held in honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich at the Alaskan Native Brotherhood Hall. Elizabeth Peratrovich Day honors the life and efforts of this woman in the passage of the anti-discrimination bill in Alaska in 1945. It was a truly powerful event to be a part of and included a partial recreation of the senate hearing that preceded the vote and dancing from several student groups from Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
Since then, Sitka has had absolutely beautiful weather that definitely has most of town thinking that spring is on the way. It has been clear and sunny for most of the week and I have taken full advantage of the opportunity to explore the beaches at low tide and just sit outside reading and letter writing in the sun. On Saturday, SAFV had its Family Fun Fiesta, our big fundraiser, which consisted of a wonderful Mexican meal and a dessert auction that was a lot of fun! It was great to watch the community come together and raise money for the shelter, a lot of fun for my housemates and I to help with the auction and it was really nice to see several former resident families in attendance. A few of the children asked me if I remembered them and when I told them that of course I did their faces lit up. I could definitely tell that it meant a lot to them and seeing them again meant a ton to me and serves as another example of why I love the work I do and am able to be excited about going into work every day.
I had a relatively low key day on Sunday, going to mass early and then exploring along the beach some more. On Sunday afternoon Greg and I watched the USA vs. Canada game, which was amazing! I really miss playing/watching hockey and seeing how hard the US team played was awesome! It's so great to see NHL players playing hard, blocking shots and giving 110% because they aren't getting paid to be here and are truly inspired by playing for their countries. That is all for now but I will definitely work on updating more often.
Monday, January 25, 2010
A long time coming...
So I haven't posted anything in well over a month and that means that a lot of things have happened since then: SAFV's Holiday Party, a trip home to Long Island, several weeks back in Sitka, and Massachusetts electing a Republican to the Senate?!
In the week or so before heading home for Christmas, a significant amount of my work time was spent preparing for the shelter's holiday party for residents and a number of other women and families that the shelter has served over the past year or so. In total we had roughly 50 attendees and it was a really fun, uplifting event to be a part of. On one hand, the smiles and happiness that emanated from the women and children made all of the preparations, gift wrapping, and clean up more than worth it. On the other hand, the generosity that came from throughout the community and beyond was inspiring and humbling to witness and be a part of. In preparation of the party, we reached out to several local grocery stores and businesses for donations of party supplies and food and their responses were all very positive and garnered support from my own JV community as well as FJV help in the daunting task of gift wrapping all of the presents that Santa gave out at our party. The gift and goods donations that SAFV received during the Christmas season was overwhelming (I did not feel like I could see another Christmas gift after our party was over.) Each year the shelter receives a donation from the Today Show Gift Drive from NBC in New York and their donation this year was absolutely incredible. Given that both Meg and I are from New York we both got fairly emotional sorting through all of the gifts that they sent and thinking about their origin. The community support that SAFV receives is generally very constant and positive but the support this holiday season was incredible; we received a number of gifts from the local giving tree set up at the bank, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station donated their giving tree presents to our shelter's children and the shelter on the whole received a large number of donations (food and otherwise from Alaska Airlines in Sitka, the Coast Guard, the elementary schools and individual members of the community) that helped to provide a powerful holiday celebration and continue to enable us to better provide for the needs of the women and children that we work with.
A few days after SAFV's party, my roommates and I began traveling home for Christmas. Before leaving town though, I had the opportunity to celebrate the Winter Solstice with Katie and Greg by attending a Christmas parade in town and a bonfire at the home of a friend of Bridget's (our support person.) We had some great conversations, good food (I had a smore that was made with a Reese's Cup instead of a Hershey Bar!!!), and we sang Solstice songs. It was a lot of fun and a great way to close out our time together before Christmas.
After traveling for what seemed to be an eternity and spending a mostly sleepless night in Seattle (yes I was Sleepless in Seattle...that's for you, Mo) I finally arrived home in New York 2 days before Christmas. It was really nice to see my family and spend some time catching up with everyone at home and Christmas, while a very long day, was really nice too. I also had some time during my trip home to see a good number of friends who live in the area (and some who don't) and it was really nice to hear about all the incredible things that they are doing all over the country and to find that even though we hadn't seen each other in months (and hadn't really talked too often either) that nothing had truly changed with our friendships.
Upon returning to Sitka, it was nice to see three of my roommates in the Seattle airport and spend some time catching up with Greg about break and then the others once we were home. Since then, work has been fairly exciting with lots of changes coming to the shelter and some changes coming to my own work. With regards to the shelter, one of the families that I have been working with since I arrived finally was able to move into their own place!! It was really sad to see them leave the shelter but so life giving to see how happy and excited they all were about moving into their own home and being able to move forward together as a family.
With regards to my job, Meg and I are starting to work more closely with the shelter's prevention coordinator in hopefully getting some sort of healthy relationship class or curriculum in place at the local middle school. I have also had a few conversations with her and am going to begin facilitating a focus group of men from the community who are interested and hopefully committed to taking a stand against Intimate Partner Violence and promoting healthy relationships in the community. This is still in the very early stages of planning but I am thinking that the White Ribbon Campaign or some other community action that the men can take a lead on would have a positive impact in the community and begin to make some real change in the perceptions that many have of violence against women and reduce (and eventually eliminate) its prevalence in Sitka and beyond. If anyone has any ideas I am most definitely open to hearing them so please pass them along.
After 2 weeks of rainy and overcast days, it has been clear, sunny and coldish (high 30s low 40s) for the past week or so. My housemates and I have taken advantage of the weather and gotten outside as much as we can. We took a short hike with a few friends a couple weekends ago, had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and had a Sitka wide scavenger hunt for our community night which although I was soaked with rain was an absolute blast! Well done Katie for planning! On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Katie, Evie and I took advantage of a precipitation-less day to hike up Mt. Verstovia (pictures will follow.) The temperature seemed warm (I decided to wear shorts) but at about 1200 feet, it started snowing and we were walking through a few inches of snow. We aren't sure how high up we actually got but we turned back once the snow falling starting impeding our vision and there were 6+ inches of snow on the ground. It was a really nice trail with a lot of lookouts and I am really excited to get back out there in the spring. The clear weather and longer days (we are up to 8 hours of sunlight now!) has also meant that I have taken more walks down by Totem Park and along the beach at low tide. Meg and I went for a tide walk on Saturday and found lots of crabs, snails, an eel, and what we are told might be the barnacles off of a humpback whale (random I know but also awesome.)
This weekend also provided us with yet another unique opportunity: dinner with the bishop! On Saturday night we had dinner with Bishop Burns from Juneau and Fr. Scott at St. Gregory's. The bishop is a really personable man, gave what I considered to be a really good homily and really took an interest in learning more about us as individuals and reaching out to as and ensuring that we know how much he admires and appreciates all of the work we do as JVs in Southeast Alaska. He is what I always thought a bishop should be like but had yet to truly encounter in past experiences. At the end of dinner, he invited us to have dinner with him when we are in Juneau for our second retreat in a few weeks and we extended an invitation to him to watch any and all of the Conference Championship games at our house on Sunday. Now many of you will think that he would have politely declined and gone about his day. But since I have come to expect the unexpected this year, I knew that he would probably stop by for at least part of the game, and he did! He called us at the end of the fourth quarter of the Saints-Vikings game and came over to watch overtime with us. Even though he and Fr. Scott were rooting for the Vikings (basically Brett Favre) we enjoyed the end of the game. I am torn about who to root for in the Super Bowl but think I am going to stick with my admiration for Drew Brees as both a football player and an individual who is truly working for change in New Orleans and root for the Saints in two weeks.
Aside from all that has been going on, I recently read John Krakauer's book about Pat Tillman (Where Men Win Glory) and I highly recommend it. I have also spent a good amount of reflection time thinking about the challenges I have and continue to face this year, the ways I am challenging myself (and can further challenge myself), how I am challenging my housemates, how I am being challenged by them and what it all means. It is definitely a lot to think about but it was really beneficial to explicitly think about my challenges, the way that I am approaching them and realizing the impact that they are having on me as I go through this experience.
In the week or so before heading home for Christmas, a significant amount of my work time was spent preparing for the shelter's holiday party for residents and a number of other women and families that the shelter has served over the past year or so. In total we had roughly 50 attendees and it was a really fun, uplifting event to be a part of. On one hand, the smiles and happiness that emanated from the women and children made all of the preparations, gift wrapping, and clean up more than worth it. On the other hand, the generosity that came from throughout the community and beyond was inspiring and humbling to witness and be a part of. In preparation of the party, we reached out to several local grocery stores and businesses for donations of party supplies and food and their responses were all very positive and garnered support from my own JV community as well as FJV help in the daunting task of gift wrapping all of the presents that Santa gave out at our party. The gift and goods donations that SAFV received during the Christmas season was overwhelming (I did not feel like I could see another Christmas gift after our party was over.) Each year the shelter receives a donation from the Today Show Gift Drive from NBC in New York and their donation this year was absolutely incredible. Given that both Meg and I are from New York we both got fairly emotional sorting through all of the gifts that they sent and thinking about their origin. The community support that SAFV receives is generally very constant and positive but the support this holiday season was incredible; we received a number of gifts from the local giving tree set up at the bank, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station donated their giving tree presents to our shelter's children and the shelter on the whole received a large number of donations (food and otherwise from Alaska Airlines in Sitka, the Coast Guard, the elementary schools and individual members of the community) that helped to provide a powerful holiday celebration and continue to enable us to better provide for the needs of the women and children that we work with.
A few days after SAFV's party, my roommates and I began traveling home for Christmas. Before leaving town though, I had the opportunity to celebrate the Winter Solstice with Katie and Greg by attending a Christmas parade in town and a bonfire at the home of a friend of Bridget's (our support person.) We had some great conversations, good food (I had a smore that was made with a Reese's Cup instead of a Hershey Bar!!!), and we sang Solstice songs. It was a lot of fun and a great way to close out our time together before Christmas.
After traveling for what seemed to be an eternity and spending a mostly sleepless night in Seattle (yes I was Sleepless in Seattle...that's for you, Mo) I finally arrived home in New York 2 days before Christmas. It was really nice to see my family and spend some time catching up with everyone at home and Christmas, while a very long day, was really nice too. I also had some time during my trip home to see a good number of friends who live in the area (and some who don't) and it was really nice to hear about all the incredible things that they are doing all over the country and to find that even though we hadn't seen each other in months (and hadn't really talked too often either) that nothing had truly changed with our friendships.
Upon returning to Sitka, it was nice to see three of my roommates in the Seattle airport and spend some time catching up with Greg about break and then the others once we were home. Since then, work has been fairly exciting with lots of changes coming to the shelter and some changes coming to my own work. With regards to the shelter, one of the families that I have been working with since I arrived finally was able to move into their own place!! It was really sad to see them leave the shelter but so life giving to see how happy and excited they all were about moving into their own home and being able to move forward together as a family.
With regards to my job, Meg and I are starting to work more closely with the shelter's prevention coordinator in hopefully getting some sort of healthy relationship class or curriculum in place at the local middle school. I have also had a few conversations with her and am going to begin facilitating a focus group of men from the community who are interested and hopefully committed to taking a stand against Intimate Partner Violence and promoting healthy relationships in the community. This is still in the very early stages of planning but I am thinking that the White Ribbon Campaign or some other community action that the men can take a lead on would have a positive impact in the community and begin to make some real change in the perceptions that many have of violence against women and reduce (and eventually eliminate) its prevalence in Sitka and beyond. If anyone has any ideas I am most definitely open to hearing them so please pass them along.
After 2 weeks of rainy and overcast days, it has been clear, sunny and coldish (high 30s low 40s) for the past week or so. My housemates and I have taken advantage of the weather and gotten outside as much as we can. We took a short hike with a few friends a couple weekends ago, had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and had a Sitka wide scavenger hunt for our community night which although I was soaked with rain was an absolute blast! Well done Katie for planning! On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Katie, Evie and I took advantage of a precipitation-less day to hike up Mt. Verstovia (pictures will follow.) The temperature seemed warm (I decided to wear shorts) but at about 1200 feet, it started snowing and we were walking through a few inches of snow. We aren't sure how high up we actually got but we turned back once the snow falling starting impeding our vision and there were 6+ inches of snow on the ground. It was a really nice trail with a lot of lookouts and I am really excited to get back out there in the spring. The clear weather and longer days (we are up to 8 hours of sunlight now!) has also meant that I have taken more walks down by Totem Park and along the beach at low tide. Meg and I went for a tide walk on Saturday and found lots of crabs, snails, an eel, and what we are told might be the barnacles off of a humpback whale (random I know but also awesome.)
This weekend also provided us with yet another unique opportunity: dinner with the bishop! On Saturday night we had dinner with Bishop Burns from Juneau and Fr. Scott at St. Gregory's. The bishop is a really personable man, gave what I considered to be a really good homily and really took an interest in learning more about us as individuals and reaching out to as and ensuring that we know how much he admires and appreciates all of the work we do as JVs in Southeast Alaska. He is what I always thought a bishop should be like but had yet to truly encounter in past experiences. At the end of dinner, he invited us to have dinner with him when we are in Juneau for our second retreat in a few weeks and we extended an invitation to him to watch any and all of the Conference Championship games at our house on Sunday. Now many of you will think that he would have politely declined and gone about his day. But since I have come to expect the unexpected this year, I knew that he would probably stop by for at least part of the game, and he did! He called us at the end of the fourth quarter of the Saints-Vikings game and came over to watch overtime with us. Even though he and Fr. Scott were rooting for the Vikings (basically Brett Favre) we enjoyed the end of the game. I am torn about who to root for in the Super Bowl but think I am going to stick with my admiration for Drew Brees as both a football player and an individual who is truly working for change in New Orleans and root for the Saints in two weeks.
Aside from all that has been going on, I recently read John Krakauer's book about Pat Tillman (Where Men Win Glory) and I highly recommend it. I have also spent a good amount of reflection time thinking about the challenges I have and continue to face this year, the ways I am challenging myself (and can further challenge myself), how I am challenging my housemates, how I am being challenged by them and what it all means. It is definitely a lot to think about but it was really beneficial to explicitly think about my challenges, the way that I am approaching them and realizing the impact that they are having on me as I go through this experience.
Brief Word About Massachusetts
Given the little knowledge I have of what the election was like there, I was really surprised that a Republican candidate would win a Senate election in the state of Massachusetts. However from the little that I now know about Scott Brown, I have to say that I am not all that surprised and am actually happy that he was elected. I think that the current health care legislation really needs to be debated and well thought out and that honestly was not going to happen without breaking the Dems' magic number of 60 senators. He also seems to actually be qualified to be a senator given his academic background and his time spent as a state senator in MA. His platform makes him seem like someone who supports sustainable energy (something that is really important now and in the future) and reforming education and making the system as strong as we possibly can. Having said this, he and I clearly do not see eye to eye on several issues but he is the senator that MA and the U.S. need right now to ensure that any reforms to health care are not done too shabbily and actually will benefit the people of this country by hopefully bringing costs down and making insurance and medical services affordable for people to access and utilize.
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