Last Week, mainly for Staci

So I'm sorry I'm sketchy and hardly write on here anymore, but I have gotten caught up in some really good novels, as well as being busy with groups, so I'm doing the best I can. Luckily Staci has been checking it everyday and since she misses me and my filthiness I thought I'd write for her.

Monday: I took the group that had come in from Austin, TX to Central Union Mission. In the group there were 31 students/adults total, but they were split into two groups and Kristyn (my lovely co-host) took 1/2 as did I. At Central Union we unloaded two trucks of chairs--all kinds, rolling chairs, hi-backed chairs, etc.--then we put some in their basement, some in the sanctuary, and others on another truck to be sent elsewhere. In the afternoon we went to VBS at Star, where there were about a million kids and very few adults. It's an all-day camp like thing there, so when we got there it was playtime and we went to Rock Creek Park to play with them. We had dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl and then did a short debriefing at the Lincoln where one of the leaders shared his testimony--a good way to kick off the week.

Tuesday: We went to Food and Friends in the morning and I was in charge of one of the delivery routes with David, the youth leader. It was pretty uneventful. We ate lunch at the Basilica, but it was a very short break, and then had Star VBS again. For dinner we did an Ethnic Plunge, which is where we give everyone $9, drop them off in Adams Morgan (a neighborhood with a ton of ethnic restaurants) and force them to eat at one. Kristyn and I went to the Diner (where I celebrated my 21st!) and had omelets instead of ethnic. After that the group debriefed at Haines Point, but we weren't exactly invited so we walked an hour and a half back to Star! It sounds a lot worse than it actually was, because the weather was great and we actually enjoyed the walk. I went to bed early, but while I was sleeping one of the girls in our group had a seizure and ended up heading to the hospital in an ambulance! The whole group (except me, the worst host ever) was up until about 6:30am when she got back home. She's ok, and she's had seizures before, they just had to take her in as a precaution since her parents weren't there.

Wednesday: We got the morning off because the group went on a tour of the White House! I slept in until 9:30 and then just sat around reading. It was glorious! We had lunch at Star and did VBS there again. You know VBS is positive when the leader is wearing a Tupac shirt...He yelled at me for serving beans to the kids for lunch, but let me serve hotdogs and donuts. We had dinner at Mid-Atlantic Seafood, then debriefed at Star.

Thursday: We went to Vision DC, and sorted clothes from the Dress Barn into size piles, and the guys cut fabric into shapes for the teacher supply room. I had a meeting with The Boss then, so I missed a lot, but when I got back I helped the guys with the fabric because they weren't being very successful. We had lunch at the Basilica again, because they really liked it, and went back to Star VBS again, back to the playground. Ryan, one of the guys in my group, taught a bunch of little kids to do the Gator chomp, and they harassed me with it all day long. It was obnoxious but also incredibly cute so I got a few pictures of it too. The little girls taught us a hand clapping game somewhat similar to the ones I did back in the day, only a little more ghetto. It was called "yo, peace out!" We had dinner at Taste of India and afterward we all went out for ice cream on David, their leader. It was phenomenal, mainly because it was FREE. Kristyn and I walked home again (about an hour and a half again) and the group went to debrief. I love walks with Kristyn because we have awesome chats all the way home. We always run into a big sewer drain covered with cockroaches though and it makes me gag a bit. Sick.

Friday: We went to DC Central Kitchen that morning and I spent it opening tomato paste and sauce and adding them to a giant vat of sloppy joe mix. I cut onions and added them too, along with parsley and other random things. It smelled A LOT better than it sounds and I kind of wanted to jump into it. They fed us lunch at the kitchen and afterwards we headed back to Star VBS again. We watched the kids practice for a talent show they were having that night before heading back to the playground. There were dancers and cheerleaders and singers and overall it was just pretty frightening. I was kind of glad I had no part in choreographing any of those routines. At the park Kristyn and I chased around a little guy who didn't talk and we conveniently nicknamed "silent Bob." This child was always wondering towards the road or the woods by himself trying to escape. I ran from Ryan and his little gang of Gator chompers all afternoon, but again, they were cute enough that I didn't care. We had dinner at the Union Station food court (I dont know how that qualifies as ethnic at all) and then went back to Star to debrief and do evaluations. Ours were good--yay! The girls were complaining about bug bites though, and after a trip to their room our worst fears were confirmed: bed bugs. There were blood spots on the sheets and we saw them in the beds too, so now we have to do something about it. I'm just praying they dont jump over to the staff housing.

Saturday: My group left at 6:30 which got us up just as early, but we decided to stay up afterward anyway. Kristyn, Arthur, Melissa, and I went to breakfast at the Tasty Diner--basically an upscale Waffle House--and then walked around Silver Spring, Maryland, for awhile. We ended up in Borders and I gave into the trend and bought the novel Twilight. I had heard it was awesome, and now that I'm addicted to the trilogy too I have to say that everyone who told me that was correct. We came back and rested (and read) until about 6 when Arthur made us pasta for supper. It was great, I have to admit I was quite impressed. We went to hang out in Adams Morgan afterward until about 10. Greg, the Vice President of CSM, was in town and stayed up talking to us that night when we got in, and he's a pretty cool guy to talk to. We went to bed fairly early though.

So that was my week with Texas. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but I will say I learned a lot. The importance of defining roles has never been clearer, and since one of their high schoolers was a girl with Down's Syndrome, I learned a lot about people who have that and how to relate and talk to them. She was wonderful and seeing her interact with the kids was the coolest thing I've seen in awhile. Anyways, that's the week in a nut shell, and hopefully I will get this weeks happenings up soon, too. Especially so that I can keep Staci updated on my life. I miss you guys as always, and it'd be great to here from you!

XOXO,
Hannah