Hay friends, so due to the fact that my computer decided to die on me (for good, not just run out of power) I haven't been able to write until now. I don't know how frequently I'll be able to from now on either, because of this disaster. But I'll do what I can:)
Tuesday: The group was split into two, and part of them went to S.O.M.E.(So Others Might Eat), and my group went to the D.C. Central Kitchen. It was fun, and we spent the day preparing food for the kitchen, which is distributed to tons of different people and shelters and things around town. I made english muffin ham and cheese sandwiches all day, and I must say I'm pretty darn good at it:) After preparing food, we ate some for lunch that had been previously prepared. DC Central Kitchen is unique in that it not only serves homeless people, but also provides them with opportunities to advance in life. They have a 12 week culinary arts program in which participants learn the trade and become chefs, and are usually hired by restaurants or hotels or other establishments that use chefs. I think it is completely awesome, that the kitchen is able to help these people in more than one way, and give them endless opportunities with a new career. After this, the group I was with went back to Allen Chapel, where we went on Monday afternoon, and then to Tropicana, a Jamaican restaurant, for dinner. Afterward, we went to the Lincoln Memorial and got caught up in the rain. Though it was kind of a mess, it was a lot of fun and incredibly beautiful in the rain. The opposite group was quite unhappy that they were unable to see the memorial though, making debriefing a little less fun when we got back to Star.
Wednesday: Wednesday morning a group of students plus Arthur, Cassie, and I went to Wheeler Elementary School to work with Pastor Bob Matheiu. They have a free for all teacher supply center there, as well as a parent resource center, and the group moved things around and helped organize them to make it more accessible for members of the community. I had to meet with my boss, Jason, during this time though, so I missed almost everything. For lunch everyone came back to Star and made sandwiches before the groups headed out to do Urban Plunge (an activity the staff did last week, so it's explained above) and we had the afternoon off! It came an unbelievable storm though, we almost lost power a few times, and the group was pretty mad about being stuck in a storm...course the point is to be able to understand what it's like to be homeless, so I think it enhanced the experience a bit. After Urban Plunge, the group decided they wanted to debrief at the Lincoln regardless, so we headed in that direction. We went and the bottom fell out of the sky!! It was a little bit horrifying, and absolutely gorgeous all at the same time. We couldn't hear much of what was going on, but it was neat to be able to debrief inside the monument anyway. We then went and explored the Vietnam Memorial as well before heading back to the vans and back to Star.
Thursday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KERI ENSLEY!:) I didn't get to call her because we were so busy, but I did think of her! The group split into two that morning, and half went to DC Central Kitchen, and the rest of us went to a geriatric daycare center called Downtown Cluster. I worked with alzheimer's patients who were doing art therapy together. While most of the participants were drawing houses, I was paired with a lady who was "too busy taking care of the baby." She had a plastic doll whom she thought was real. This broke my heart, but I just played along, and helped her to take care of it. She kept telling it how beautiful it was and stroking its face and such. So sad, but taking care of that doll made her day. When we left there we went to lunch and then back to Allen Chapel to play with students there again. For dinner we met back up with the other group and had Mid-Atlantic Seafood, which is basically soul food. It's awesome, but way too much and you eat and eat and eat and never see the bottom!! We went to the Basilica to debrief, and pray with the group, as they were spending most of Friday touring and then were going to head out that night--earlier than we had expected. Thursday night we also got our evaluations from them, some good and some bad, but since there had been a significant amount of conflict early in the week and the group had some unrealistic expectations of both the staff, and the trip as a whole, so we expected the comments that we got. We said our goodbyes, sold some t-shirts, and then headed to bed.
Friday: We went to Food and Friends because they were expecting the group and we felt that we should serve even though they had decided to tour and go home. After this we were free for the day, and most of us took naps:) That was glorious for sure. At 6 we met Jason and Chris in Maryland to go to dinner and see Indiana Jones. It was pretty fun and a good bonding experience for us all, I think. Indiana Jones was pretty good too, though not as good as the previous ones. When we got home we went and sat on the roof of the church for awhile, which was pretty, but not as quiet and serene as we had expected, so we just went to bed.
Saturday: Sarah, Katie, and I went into Fairfax, VA to hang out with some of Sarah's friends from school, and to go to church at Fairfax Community. Her friends were awesome, and so was church, and it was quite nice to be able to be out of the city and into a suburb for a bit. We hung out for a bit and then headed back into DC. When we got home the rest of our roommates were watching a movie, which I finished with them, and then called my parents before going to bed. It was a great day overall, and certainly a nice break from the city.
Sunday/Today: Today I slept in since I went to church yesterday, and that was pretty awesome. I liked having one day to sleep in, since we usually won't. Since then I've just been showering and getting ready for our next group which will be coming in soon! Sarah and I re-stocked the fridge full of water, re-stocked the cereal containers, and the shelves with bread for sandwiches. We have a staff meeting at 3, which is when we'll get our actual schedules and plan out what we will need to do for the group. We will probably set plans for my departure on Friday when I head to Atlanta for Erin's wedding on Saturday(EXCITING!)
So that's basically my week in a nutshell! I'll try to be better and write more smaller posts this week, rather than a long giant one, but I make no promises with my incapacitated computer. Please be in prayer for all of us, the city, and the groups this week, and know that I miss you all! Thank you for your prayers, and as always, it would be phenomenal to hear from you!! hannah87@uga.edu!!!
XOXO,
Hannah
Wednesday: Wednesday morning a group of students plus Arthur, Cassie, and I went to Wheeler Elementary School to work with Pastor Bob Matheiu. They have a free for all teacher supply center there, as well as a parent resource center, and the group moved things around and helped organize them to make it more accessible for members of the community. I had to meet with my boss, Jason, during this time though, so I missed almost everything. For lunch everyone came back to Star and made sandwiches before the groups headed out to do Urban Plunge (an activity the staff did last week, so it's explained above) and we had the afternoon off! It came an unbelievable storm though, we almost lost power a few times, and the group was pretty mad about being stuck in a storm...course the point is to be able to understand what it's like to be homeless, so I think it enhanced the experience a bit. After Urban Plunge, the group decided they wanted to debrief at the Lincoln regardless, so we headed in that direction. We went and the bottom fell out of the sky!! It was a little bit horrifying, and absolutely gorgeous all at the same time. We couldn't hear much of what was going on, but it was neat to be able to debrief inside the monument anyway. We then went and explored the Vietnam Memorial as well before heading back to the vans and back to Star.
Thursday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KERI ENSLEY!:) I didn't get to call her because we were so busy, but I did think of her! The group split into two that morning, and half went to DC Central Kitchen, and the rest of us went to a geriatric daycare center called Downtown Cluster. I worked with alzheimer's patients who were doing art therapy together. While most of the participants were drawing houses, I was paired with a lady who was "too busy taking care of the baby." She had a plastic doll whom she thought was real. This broke my heart, but I just played along, and helped her to take care of it. She kept telling it how beautiful it was and stroking its face and such. So sad, but taking care of that doll made her day. When we left there we went to lunch and then back to Allen Chapel to play with students there again. For dinner we met back up with the other group and had Mid-Atlantic Seafood, which is basically soul food. It's awesome, but way too much and you eat and eat and eat and never see the bottom!! We went to the Basilica to debrief, and pray with the group, as they were spending most of Friday touring and then were going to head out that night--earlier than we had expected. Thursday night we also got our evaluations from them, some good and some bad, but since there had been a significant amount of conflict early in the week and the group had some unrealistic expectations of both the staff, and the trip as a whole, so we expected the comments that we got. We said our goodbyes, sold some t-shirts, and then headed to bed.
Friday: We went to Food and Friends because they were expecting the group and we felt that we should serve even though they had decided to tour and go home. After this we were free for the day, and most of us took naps:) That was glorious for sure. At 6 we met Jason and Chris in Maryland to go to dinner and see Indiana Jones. It was pretty fun and a good bonding experience for us all, I think. Indiana Jones was pretty good too, though not as good as the previous ones. When we got home we went and sat on the roof of the church for awhile, which was pretty, but not as quiet and serene as we had expected, so we just went to bed.
Saturday: Sarah, Katie, and I went into Fairfax, VA to hang out with some of Sarah's friends from school, and to go to church at Fairfax Community. Her friends were awesome, and so was church, and it was quite nice to be able to be out of the city and into a suburb for a bit. We hung out for a bit and then headed back into DC. When we got home the rest of our roommates were watching a movie, which I finished with them, and then called my parents before going to bed. It was a great day overall, and certainly a nice break from the city.
Sunday/Today: Today I slept in since I went to church yesterday, and that was pretty awesome. I liked having one day to sleep in, since we usually won't. Since then I've just been showering and getting ready for our next group which will be coming in soon! Sarah and I re-stocked the fridge full of water, re-stocked the cereal containers, and the shelves with bread for sandwiches. We have a staff meeting at 3, which is when we'll get our actual schedules and plan out what we will need to do for the group. We will probably set plans for my departure on Friday when I head to Atlanta for Erin's wedding on Saturday(EXCITING!)
So that's basically my week in a nutshell! I'll try to be better and write more smaller posts this week, rather than a long giant one, but I make no promises with my incapacitated computer. Please be in prayer for all of us, the city, and the groups this week, and know that I miss you all! Thank you for your prayers, and as always, it would be phenomenal to hear from you!! hannah87@uga.edu!!!
XOXO,
Hannah
No comments:
Post a Comment