North Korea

Yesterday we got out of the classroom and went for a field trip to Ganghwa Island which is about two hours north and west of Seoul. The first stop was a peace observatory that lies on the Ganghwa Straight just 2km from North Korea. The currents make for a difficult swim but a pro can do it in about 15 minutes if they have permission from the UN and the government of the destination shore.

One brave bull survived a flood and made the swim from North Korea where he was rescued by the South Korean military. This bull was christened “ox of peace” and married a Jeju cow (I’m going there!) named “desiring peace” These peaceful cows had 40 happy calves and the story serves as a symbol of the long desired unity of the Korean Peninsula.

The first photo is South Korea on the right shore, and North Korea on the left shore. The rest of the photos are North Korea. It’s hard to believe that the beautiful mountains are a prison. Since the whole world is looking at this area of North Korea through high powered telescopes I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the most developed place in the country.

Flight

When our ride to the airport arrived I got a little emotional. Suddenly we were leaving, and I had a brief panic about it. This panic was exacerbated by the driver showing up a few minutes late and then telling me in what I perceived to be a harsh voice that the airline we were flying with didn’t exist. I immediately excused myself from the conversation because I knew Mike, Patty, Katy, and Nanny could handle it. Give yourself three hours to navigate JFK folks. Fortunately Asiana Air does exist, and we got through to the gate minutes before boarding. None of our bags were over weight but they most definitely will be when we fly from Seoul to our school sites in Jeju.

All in all the flight to Seoul with Asiana Air was as comfortable as a 14 hour flight could possibly be. The bathrooms had tooth brushes, and we were given slippers. The food was amazing compared to other airline food. It came in real dishes, and they served octopus for one of the meals.

All the bags arrived undamaged in Seoul and we collected the phones we ordered without incident. My new number is 01-076-275-263. Then we met our employer at a kiosk and we were immediately hurried onto a bus. After an hour we traveled through Seoul to our training site where we met our roommates and shoved off to bed.

Today we had a medical check in the morning, and currently we have a break until after lunch. We have met a lot of really nice folks who will be teaching on Jeju with us. (New friends!) I’m trying to use my down time wisely and stay awake so that I don’t wake up at 4am again this morning.

Another Year Gone

First let me clarify that I recognize years based on a school schedule. Years Start in early fall, and end in early summer. Summer itself is a magical in-between time separate from the rest of the calendar. My year in Seattle doing AmeriCorps with Sea Mar Community Health Centers is over and unfortunately I have written nothing about it. Though it is inadequate I will attempt to summarize a big year in one small blog.

Intergenerational Program

Half of my role at Sea Mar was to facilitate and encourage intergenerational activities between the child development t center and the skilled nursing facility. I had the privilege of witnessing the residents light up when the kids came, and the kids were equally delighted with the extra attention.

Prior to this experience I never worked with people who were aging and dependent before. Watching an adult’s health or mental capacity decline rapidly as a child grows was astonishing and humbling. I want to challenge myself to become a certified nursing assistant at some point so that I can be of greater help, learn more about aging, and continue to expand my comfort zone.

The intergenerational program also offered the opportunity to get involved with institutional change. It was clear to me that the intergenerational program did not have the structure it needed to really do the most good. Upon doing research I learned about the emotional benefit for participants and economic benefit to facilities that run quality intergenerational programs. It was clear that the resources didn’t exist for some changes, but other changes required simple and free changes that would bolster the program. I had the opportunity to write proposals, create trainings, and sit at meetings with my boss’s boss. It sounds important and a little glamorous, but mostly I was frustrated and disenchanted. Sea Mar is in no way to blame for my immature attitude. I chalk it up to impatience, and a naivety of the time and energy required to make changes in a large organization. Fortunately frustration doesn’t cause permanent damage, and I learned a great deal in the process.

Soccer Project

The soccer project fell into my lap when I unexpectedly and reluctantly shifted away from art therapy. The universe is abundant with opportunities, but it is still hard for me to be accepting and grateful when my plans are forced to change. Most of the year I struggled with maintaining a positive outlook, however I’m glad I stuck it out, because now I am more resilient and accepting of change. Moreover I got to be a lead in starting a new program from the ground up. It wasn’t easy and my constant morale issues didn’t make it any easier, but I learned soooooooo much. I can’t express how grateful I am for this experience.

The soccer program was a partnership with the South Park Community Center to provide an affordable soccer program to kids ages 7 and 8. The program is designed to continue growing until it is serving kids from the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade. Soccer is a huge institution in Seattle, and it is expensive. The existing soccer associations don’t have connections in South Park, and barriers from language to economic prevent the youth from having access to recreation. Ideally the soccer program begins to bridge that gap so that youth in South Park will have the same access to all the social and health benefits of sports that other communities have.

This project gave me my first taste of community organizing. Fortunately I had a stellar mentor who is very experienced at organizing. The opportunity to learn from her was such a gift. I could write pages on what I learned about community organizing, but I will simplify it to; I learned a lot, and I have so much more to learn.

This past year was like two years worth of professional development squeezed into one. It was a real challenge, and I know I will be processing it for quite some time. Currently I am in Korea teaching English for a year, we’ll see what this new adventure brings!

Quarter of a Century!

Happy birthday to me! Two weeks ago I turned 25! I was thoroughly spoiled for my birthday :)

Twenty-five carries with it weight and breadth. I am unmistakably a “real adult” in my own mind and in they eyes of the world.

It isn’t until just before I left college that I started experimenting with labels like “woman” and “adult”. I’m comfortable with these titles now, and it is less surprising when older adults treat me as an equal. Though periodically I still don’t feel quite adult enough, like when I facilitate meetings with older more experienced folks, but I’m getting there.

My parents always said that being an adult was hard, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it thus far. Adulthood arrived mostly all at once for them, and I imagine the cascade of responsibilities such as kids, “real jobs”, and homes must have been overwhelming. My adulthood has come in phases, and the new responsibilities have been thrilling. I get to buy whatever I want. I can come home whenever or if I want and I can move wherever I want. Bills, jobs, and doctor’s appointments were added gently enough that I wasn’t bothered, while kids are currently a non-issue.

I figured I had come of age relatively unscathed. The process has been subtle, and I’ve coped along the way, always so thrilled with my liberty that hardships have been barely perceptible.

For the past couple of years I have been observing that life is a little less exciting. More often I’m likely to view something as similar to other things. The little things that used to be so thrilling when I first left home have become everyday. As I age the highs aren’t quite as high, and initially this was disappointing, but lately I’ve discovered that the lows aren’t quite as low. I’m coming into a balance of sorts. My limits have expanded a lot since I was 18, and I’m much less reactive to any given circumstance. This is not to say that I don’t sometimes feel overly reactive and incapable of handling a situation, but the causes of these feelings are increasingly more complicated. Sometimes I pine for the days of ultra excitement in ordinary things like grocery shopping, but mostly I’m comforted by a new and evolving sense of groundedness.

It is only recently that I’ve been coming to terms with diminishing thrills, but I’ve been processing the changing nature of relationships subconsciously since I was about 16. At 16 I suspected every Christmas would be the last Christmas that all four of us kids would be together. Fortunately we had 4 more Christmases all together, and I was so grateful for each one that when the Christmas finally came when we were apart I could accept it with only a bit of nostalgia.

It was only last spring when I consciously realized that accepting relationship changes has been a challenge in my coming of age. This realization became obvious while re-reading Little Women when I cried because Meg married and left home. It’s not as if Meg leaving home was a surprise, I’ve read Little Women at least 10 times since 5^th grade, but it was only with age and experience that I finally understood Jo’s heartache at the changes in her family.

It’s also been challenging to watch as friends become distant while work and romance increasingly take center stage. These changes are confusing, even when I am an active participant, but I imagine that clarity will come on the coattails of new experiences. I'm excited for the future, and I'm alive in the present.

Lawns

A beautiful lush green lawn requires ample time and resources. Why waste water and money on a carpet of green? This question regularly baffles me. That same water could be hydrating nutritious produce or gorgeous flowers.

Lawns and the various perils that could lead to its demise were topics of conversation at driveway parties in middle class suburbia. When one neighbor fired up their lawn mower it triggered a chain reaction until the whole street was on board. I have a jphoto that shows four lawns being mowed at once

I thought this lawn mowing infectiousness was middle class silliness. However I was with my family in a low-income neighborhood where the lawns were neglected. Perhaps the residents have more pressing problems than pretty little flowers that dot brown lawns. Yet when my family commenced an ambitious lawn revitalization project a neighbor followed suit that very night.

In Summary

It's been a goodly while since I last wrote. The things I've learned and done are many so I'll give a general recap. I've decided to revive weekly blogging. Time was more abundant when I started this, but I really enjoy it and so I will make time.

• School ended and there is much more I want to contribute. I remind myself that "people come into our lives for reasons and seasons." Hopefully others will come along and help my students through their journey. Initially I was certain that teaching was not in my future. Now I'm considering it.

• I spent 6 weeks doing conservation in the Mark Twain National Forest. It was beautiful! Mostly I stayed in cabins, but one week I camped out. I survived ticks and 100 degree weather by reminding myself that I was in training for travels in Africa. I learned about plants and bugs. I swam in great places and saw pretty views. Most importantly I feel better prepared for future adventures I've been plotting.

• I start a new AmeriCorps position on September 7th. this time I'll be with Sea Mar as an Arts Empowerment Educator. Two days a week I'll be at a drug treatment facility for adolescent men. Two days a week I'll be connecting Alzheimers patients with the child development center. In both cases the goal is to use creativity as a means to heal and educate. Every Friday there will be a training. I'm hoping this new opportunity will lead to clarity about a career path.

• I love Mike, and he's moving to Seattle in October. This too will undoubtedly provide many opportunities to grow.

Thanks for reading!

Woodward

I've been tutoring 3rd graders at Woodward Elementary School in the Saint Louis public school system since October. There are only 20 precious school days left with my kids. Similar to my teaching experience in France I haven't blogged about school because I've been trying to understand. Alas, I still have more questions than answers, but its time to say something.

My school is, comparatively, a very good school. The principal is awesome, and I can only think of 4 teachers I'd like to fire for verbally abusing children. In a school system that lost accreditation a few years ago and where horror stories are the norm, Woodward is a veritable gem. Most of the kids who have been raised up at Woodward are on grade level. This speaks volumes to the quality of staff there.

I tutor 9 students and all but two come from other schools that were closed. Many of the transfer students don't have records. My teammates all have a large amount of transfer students. There are 4 AmeriCorps Members on a team, one Member for each grade K-3. Another major trend amongst our kids is a high level of English as a second language learners. (ELLs) Five of my nine are not native English speakers. All of those five are transfers from failing schools. ELLs are especially needy of a quality school because their parents are frequently incapable of helping them with homework.

Clearly the quality of the school and the teacher are key ingredients to a child's education. This is particularly true when the school is serving some the the poorest kids in the country.

After a field trip I took one of my kids home because nobody came for him and nobody answered the phone. An adult cousin answered the door when I dropped off my student. He was visibly high. I talked to my student's teacher about this and she wasn't surprised. She said Woodward has been good for my student and his brother. She said when they came to Woodward the boys were a mess.

In the case of this particular student it is twice as important that school is a loving, nurturing place where a plethora of life experience is gained. A few students are slower to learn because they are neglected at home. A child can't learn effectively if they don't first feel loved and safe. Schools that serve poor students are often charged with providing life experiences that a child would normally get at home. A few examples of simple things some students have never done are, seeing chickens, counting, paying for things, cooking, and going on the highway. These things are educational and provide a foundation to build on and reference to, yet many students have big experience gaps thus they learn slower because more information needs to be given.