Home(s)

Dear Readers,

No, she isn't mine. But this cute lil monkey is my favorite.

It seems fitting that I should spend part of my final day in Oregon at Gresham’s beloved Café Delirium writing to you all. I remember my first trip to this coffee shop, and I have since filled a whole punch card of chai and latté drinks, thoroughly abused the free Wi-Fi, and sat in just about every chair in this place. It, and many other things about Oregon, feels like home now. 

Already, a few of my housemates have departed, starting with Lindsay on Saturday morning, followed by Linds and Jenna. I leave tomorrow morning, and then Daniel, Colleen, and Erin will take the last flyer to the airport when it’s time for Jillian’s plane to leave. Our kitchen is clean! Our bags are packed. Our community collage is finished. There’s not much else to do but hug and turn in our keys, and that’s already underway. On Friday, I had my last day at El Programa Hispano. It felt very strange cleaning out my desk, bidding my coworkers farewell, and putting the final touches on the notes (aka novel) I am leaving my fortune successor. I spent lunch with about a dozen of my colleagues at the best Thai place in town, all the while cuddling that darling Ketzaly, who by now is nearly six months old. She fell asleep in my arms, which was a perfect goodbye from her. Before I left, I enjoyed a yummy Red Velvet cupcake from a local bakery, purchased for me by my coworker, Mirna, who chatted with me while I devoured the sweet treat. Then I made the rounds, hugging Carmen and Cecilia downstairs before heading up to Cubicle World and, finally, saying goodbye to my supervisor and mentor, Sandra, one of several people at Catholic Charities that I’ll miss dearly.

Triple Falls!

I chose to do JVC NW because I wanted to donate a year of my time, energy, and spirit to a nonprofit agency in need of some assistance. I wanted to improve my Spanish. I wanted to live and learn in community. I wanted to go somewhere new. I had certain expectations and goals, most of which were changed or thrown out entirely with time. And I had a lot of questions—what’s next? School, I thought, though I wasn’t sure for what. I moved in with seven total strangers, spent a few evenings in tears because I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing in Gresham, Oregon, and eventually learned to love these crazy fools and make a home for myself here. And now here I am, twelve months later, headed back to Wisconsin with far more questions than answers, with two over-stuffed suitcases (that I really hope aren’t over the weight limit), with seven new friends, a magnificent boyfriend, a new love of hiking and microbreweries, a cast of characters who have been such blessings to me this year, over 600 photos (including at least a few dozen of Mt. Hood), and a little more self-awareness than I had before. I have an apartment in Milwaukee with my Molly, a job at Casa Romero (talk about circularity!), and a pizza-on-the-living-room-floor date with my beautiful family. 

Oneanta Gorge hike!

What does this year mean for me? Has JVC fulfilled its promise to “ruin me for life”? What’s next? I’ll be unpacking and exploring these questions for quite awhile, but I can tell you that this year has changed me. It has ruined me, I believe, in a good way. It has been incredible—such a blast!!—and extremely challenging. It has taught me that my spirituality is an extremely important and non-negotiable part of who I am and that, even when I need to build a support system on my own, I will seek out opportunities to explore my faith and all of the questions related to that deep part of me. This year has also taught me that social justice starts at home—that community (or family) is the true test of who we are and how we treat one another. Social justice then extends to encompass all of our daily decisions as consumers, community members, and citizens. I continue to feel called to serve the under-served in our world, though I’m not sure how that will manifest itself in my future career choices. Is law the best way for me to help folks like my clients from this year? Or is teaching or social work a better choice for me? I have learned that I don’t want to sit behind a desk all day, that I need to be able to punch out at 5:00 and take care of myself outside of work, and that I need work that challenges and fulfills me. Finally, with regard to simple living, I have discovered that there is a difference, indeed, between my needs and my desires. I have learned to re-use and recycle, to make something out of what appears to be nothing, and to have fun for free, tuning into those around me rather than a TV or ipod. I have embraced silence, slowed down my walk, and resisted the urge to fill every spare moment with something stimulating and “productive.” 

Mt. St. Helen's-- that's a big hole!

The Northwest, it seems, has been the perfect setting for this year. It held itself wide open for me, just waiting for me to jump in and discover the beauty and the possibility here. I’ve breathed easy here. I’ve been refreshed and awed. These past few weekends, I’ve been lucky to get some final chances to enjoy the beauty of this area of our country. With Lizzie, Jenna, and Lindsay, I hiked to Triple Falls in the Gorge and climbed over logs, crawled along rock ledges, and forded rivers in the Oneanta Gorge. With José, I stood behind Mt. St. Helen’s, staring into the massive crater that isn’t visible from the Portland side of the volcano. It was a beautiful day, and I could hardly believe the amazing view. The gaping hole in the side of the mountain is evidence of the historic explosion two decades ago and the dynamic and incredible place that is our planet. “Nothing is constant but change,” said the cheesy Mt. St. Helen’s ranger, but he was right. 

Such a gorgeous day. :)

And so, with the awareness that nothing will be as it was—even in Milwaukee—I head home. I’d love to bottle the fresh mountain air and take it with me for each of you, but there’s no more room in my suitcase. J I am excited to spend time with my family and friends back in Wisconsin, and I’m looking forward to a fish fry and to this next chapter. It will be a special year, living with my best friend and working at a place I care about. And after that? Who knows. Maybe by next summer I’ll have more of an idea what I’d like to study—but maybe not. I no longer buy into timelines like that, and I am pretty confident that I’ll be alright. I know that I’ll get back to school soon, but I’d rather soak up all of this “life experience” than wander around and waste my money at a university when I’m not even sure if I’m there for the right reason. I think life has a way of leading me to the correct next step, and I am repeatedly humbled to realize that I can’t plan for that. Maybe I didn’t learn French or become a piano player this year, but I certainly feel like my year as a Jesuit Volunteer has been a full and fulfilling one. I have soaked up all that this place has to offer, and I am eager to return someday soon. I have grown, and I am hopeful that what has taken root in me this year will blossom in ways unexpected. More than ever, my wish to see the world, to help others, and to learn as much as I can is bursting out of me, but I also feel like this year has tempered my idealism with the painful reality that I’ve come face-to-face with at EPH, and that too is valuable to me even if I can’t yet say exactly how it will affect me and my future.

I'll miss you, Northwest!

There’s much more to process and I may write another entry in a few weeks or months from now, but I wanted to jot down a few quick thoughts on this, my final day. I have to head home to finish up a few things and start my goodbyes. Tomorrow, José is taking me to the airport, and that is bound to be tough. He’ll be visiting soon, and we’ll be racking up some miles this next year, so that will be another part of this next adventure. Thank you to all of you for keeping track of me this year, for your kind and informative emails, your care packages and phone calls, and your long-distance love and support. I look forward to hearing more about what you’ve all been up to in my absence. I am so grateful to have such a terrific support system at home and—now—here, too. So, thanks also to the people who have made this year special: Karen, Sandra, Gloria, Sara, Cecilia, Carmen, Monica, and everyone at EPH; Bruce, Sami, and the St. Henry’s staff and youth ministry program; Collin and the baristas at Café D; Lillian, Mary, Matthew Michael and the rest of the Historic Downtown Gresham cast; Joyce Ann and the St. Ignatius community; Anthony, Jim and Mary Ann, Beth, Lizzie, José, and—of course—The Other Seven. Thank you.

See you soon!

Amanda

PS A HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY early birthday to Danny, Carly, and Molly!!!

"Parting is such sweet sorrow..." --Romeo & Juliet

Good evening, all.

We jumped out of the car and stood on the road for this shot!

As I write, I’m sipping a glass of merlot, my treat to myself for dealing with this wretched computer. Honestly, you guys have no idea how much effort it takes (well, mostly patience) to write a blog entry on this thing. The fact that my Dell takes a half hour to power up has certainly been an incentive to use it less this year, but I am still looking forward to the purchase of a new, functioning laptop. Anyway, the wine helps!

Today has been a good day. For the first time in about two weeks, things were calm at work. For whatever reason, it has been non-stop lately, but it was nice to have a slower day. Plus, there was the Catholic Charities JV farewell potluck, so I went to Portland for a delicious lunch and was pleasantly surprised to receive some kind acknowledgement from our executive director as well as a $50 Target gift card. Woo! AND, yesterday, Molly and I finally found a place to live on the east side of Milwaukee come mid-August. I am very, very excited to finally have that figured out and I can’t wait to live with her!

The Elizabethan theatre. The set was so beautiful. I loved it!!

The week has gone quickly since we got back from our road trip. In short: we had a great time! On Friday, we all took a vacation day. We drove five hours south to Ashland, where we camped just outside of town on Emigrant Lake. The desert climate threw me off a bit— we pitched our tents on sand!—but it was nice to finally be somewhere that felt like summer. It was a perfect night to go to an outdoor play, which is exactly what we did at the famous (nine month-long) Shakespeare festival. We saw “Love’s Labor’s Lost” in the Elizabethan theater, which was open on top and beautiful on the inside. I loved the show, but I was sooo incredibly sleepy because we had gone to Harry Potter at midnight the evening before and, after very little sleep, started out on our roadtrip. So I was more than thrilled to get home and crash on the ground in our tent. We all woke up roasting because it was so warm, but I got a pretty decent night’s sleep since I was so exhausted.

Campsite numero uno: in the middle of the desert, basically!

Saturday was leisurely. We spent the morning at the lake, splashing a bit, playing a little volleyball, and hanging out. After a few hours, we packed up and headed into Ashland. We had lunch in Lithia Park and then spent a couple of hours roaming the main drag at our own pace. I spent most of my time in an ice cream shop, followed by an interesting aromatherapy apothecary and a BOOKSTORE, of course. I resisted the urge to buy obscene amount of paper products and opted to step outside and give José a quick call instead. After awhile, we were all ready to hit the road, so we did just that. In our van (thanks to JOIN, we were able to take just one vehicle on this trip, which was awesome!), we drove about two hours northeast to our next camping destination, Diamond Lake, located just 15 minutes or so from Crater Lake. We stopped for a photo op by an imposing and gorgeous mountain along the way and arrived mid-afternoon to our woodsy campsite.

We have this formation pretty much figured out.

We set up camp, made dinner, enjoyed some yummy beer (thanks Jose!), and hung out by the fire until it was time for bed. The next morning, we rose with the sun (well, almost) and got in the van for Crater Lake. I was so excited to visit Oregon’s only National Park—and the deepest lake in the United States! As it turns out, we hit the park just in time because we had sunny and clear views of the lake for a couple of hours until the fog and rain rolled in. To my surprise, about half of the 33-mile rim road was still closed due to snow and the monstrous drifts proved the astounding fact that Crater Lake gets about 44 feet of snow annually—unreal! We drove around, stopping for some scenic shots and breathtaking views, and did a little hike through the snow (!) to get to a lookout over a smaller and less well-known island, Phantom Ship. This one isn’t nearly as visible as Wizard Island, but it was probably the most picturesque spot we visited in the park. We left in the fog before the weather got too nasty, but despite the chilly weather, Crater Lake was a beautiful and worthwhile destination.

We love to snuggle.

Sunday night included another campfire and delicious dinner. The less-than-ideal weather that had begun at Crater Lake sort of continued, at least off-and-on. But it didn’t put too much of a damper on our evening and there were still many laughs and good songs with Erin’s ukulele accompaniment. We woke up wet on Monday, though, after an entire night of rain. You know, it sounds beautiful when you’re lying in the tent and it’s pouring outside, but if you don’t put down a tarp, you quickly realize that it’s not going to be so beautiful when the sun comes up and you inventory your belongings. It wasn’t terrible because it was our last morning, but we had many wet bags and items of clothing as we loaded up the van and headed back home.

We made a few stops along the way that are worth noting. First of all, per Karen’s recommendation (she is the best Oregon tour guide ever, you know), we stopped at a waterfall on Hwy 138 called Watson Falls. I sometimes forget that, at home, we don’t have neon green, fuzzy rocks. The falls were beautiful and well worth the mini-hike. The mosquitoes nearly killed us this weekend, but I actually came out of the woods with just a few bites. I’m happy we ventured off the road to see the waterfalls, and I’m even happier we made our next stop. At Deadline Falls, you’re supposed to see salmon and steelhead jumping. Well, we didn’t—but we DID meet someone named Shaun, who GAVE US A FISH. That’s right: we managed to come home with a freshly-caught steelhead. Needless to say, we ate well on Tuesday night. Our third stop on Monday afternoon was Burgerville, the best non-fast food fast food you’ve ever had. Yum. And then we were home!

Hey, Crater Lake. You're pretty.

We unloaded the van pretty quickly and cooperatively and then had a nice long evening to enjoy before jumping back into the work routine. On the whole, I’d say we had a successful Dis-Orientation: free of drama, full of time for bonding and hanging out, and including an adventure to somewhere beautiful! It wasn’t epic, but our walks in the woods and chats on the pier at Diamond Lake were lovely and the community time was really nice. It’s crazy to think that this is our last full weekend together now, but we have another line-up of fun activities on the way. The goodbyes have begun (e.g. José and I had dinner at Karen and Dave’s and then I saw her for the last time this past Tuesday!) and there will be more as people start leaving on Saturday morning, but it’ll be alright. It feels like time, as sad as it is. It has been a wonderful year and a fantastic July, despite the non-summer weather (we’re FINALLY supposed to have a string of sunny, hot days this weekend and early next week!), and I know that we’ll go out strong.

Crazy-- hiking in the snow in mid-July!

Last night, I went to a Portland Timbers game with José, his brother, his roommate, and the roommate’s brother. It was a ton of fun, and I hate to say it, but I’m becoming a soccer fan. The Portland Timbers are a fun team to watch, and the “Timbers Army” is an enjoyable distraction with all of its grassroots cheers and fan support. The fun continues this weekend, including a drinking/cleaning party (the two really do need to happen simultaneously… you wouldn’t want to clean our house in an unaltered state), a hike that involves fording a small river, a Gresham Pub Crawl (courtesy of the Triangle, AKA Daniel, Erin, and Jillian, who insist that these seven local dives will be worth the price of a drink), and hopefully some time with Lizzie, since it’s her last weekend here before she takes a week off at home on the east coast and then jumps into her second year as a JV. So, you’ll be hearing from me again regarding all of this and more, as I’m sure I’ll have some closing thoughts to share. I want to hear what all of you are up to as well, so email or call me!

Our new best friend and his catch (our dinner).

I hope you’re all doing well. I leave you with a quick Top Ten Things I Have Learned from Living in Community List. The next time I write may be my last (or second to last, depending on my motivation!), which is hard to believe. Enjoy the pictures here and on my Picasa site. I look forward to seeing some of you VERY soon!

TOP TEN THINGS LIVING IN COMMUNITY HAS TAUGHT ME (in no particular order):

10. If you can’t take it (sarcasm, criticism, rough joking, etc.), don’t dish it out.

9. Assume goodwill. Before you get annoyed or defensive, consider the fact that someone didn’t MEAN to piss you off or offend you.

8. Be aware of your impact on others—and the way others’ energies impact you.

7. Direct but gentle is a good communication strategy. Too much of either is not effective and passive-aggressiveness is the worst of all.

6. Look inward before pointing an accusatory finger or hurting someone’s feelings. Ask: what’s going on inside ME that’s making me so upset/irrational/reckless?

5. Risk delight. Laugh often. Dare to be happy even in the face of injustice and hurt.

4. You can’t have everything. You can’t do everything. Make choices and accept that, in choosing one thing/person, you may miss out on something else. This can be OK.

3. The line between the sacred and the profane is very blurry. Doing dishes can be holy.

2. Give people a clean slate everyday. Forgive, forgive, forgive. And then forgive.

Cuties at Watson Falls en route to Gresham.

1. Love first. Love people where they’re at, right now. Commit to loving them and respecting whoever comes your way and watch your patience and relationship flourish!

Sending love,

Amanda

Here & There

Friends and family, hello!

Golden Gardens Park, Seattle, WA

I want to thank all of you for keeping up with me this year, especially because I feel like I’ve had a hard time keeping in contact with everybody as much as I would like to. It’s tough; I have a constant To-Call list running in my head. Know that, even if you only get a call from me every so often (or never), I am thinking of you and hoping you are well. I look forward to reuniting with some of you in the VERY near future as my time here winds down. The days are flying by! My flight to Milwaukee is officially booked for August 2^nd, so Molly and I are [somewhat frantically] looking for an east side apartment, I am already reading up on the programs I’ll be coordinating at Casa, and my yearning for a fish fry, some custard, and a nice afternoon at Alterra are overpowering at this point! Still, it is a bittersweet thing, this march toward the finish.

But there is much to enjoy and continue enjoying! My community is doing alright, though we’ve had a little bit of drama recently that we’re working through. It’s a bummer that we’re in the 11^th hour and hitting a few speed bumps, but we’ll be alright. I am so thankful because, on the whole, we’ve been a really solid cohort. Granted, there have been some unmet expectations (e.g., my house really didn’t do the spirituality thing and it became a challenging and individual quest of mine), but there have also been myriad surprises and I have become so much more aware of who I am and how my energy affects others. In that respect, this has been one of the most helpful and fulfilling years of my life. I  see growth in myself when it comes to dealing not only with these seven people but with everybody, and I hope that the things I have learned in community will permeate the rest of the relationships in my life from here on out. In our final weeks together, I am trying not to take for granted this amazing opportunity to live and grow with seven other enthusiastic, intelligent, and incredible people!

The Space Needle in Seattle

I’m trying to balance my time between being with my housemates, hanging out with Lizzie (who I will also miss sooo much!), and—of course—spending time with José. He and I went to Seattle over 4^th of July weekend, and we had such a wonderful time. On Saturday, we had dinner at the famous Space Needle, which was so awesome. The restaurant rotated around, giving us a breathtaking view of the city and Mt. Rainier—clear as a bell—at sunset. Amazing. Plus, the food was so wonderful. I had salmon with this amazing rhubarb sauce, but everything from the yummy hazelnut oil, bread and butter (two kinds—lavender and sea salt!) to the nice white wine was perfect. It was a splurge, but it was worth it. We hit up a place called Molly Moon’s for homemade ice cream afterwards, thanks to a recommendation from Seattle U alum, Erin Brynn. My basil strawberry and brown sugar buttermilk were both quite tasty, and José’s two scoops (of coffee and salted caramel) were also pretty fantastic.

Delicious dinner, rotating restaurant, Mt. Rainier out the window!

But I swear we did more than just eat! On Sunday, we were able to hit up the Seattle Art Museum, the library, and Theo Chocolate Factory. The museum was alright, but the library was really cool and extremely high-tech. Check out my Picasa site for some photos of the Hogwarts-esque book chute and the view from the 10^th floor. The ramped, spiral bookcase and the monitors displaying everything checked out by patrons of the library in the past hour were just a few of the awesome features of this facility. Quite impressive. Of course, you knew that the chocolate factory was my favorite, right? Theo is the only organic, fair-trade certified, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the States, a fact that they flaunt (and rightly so) on their tour, where guests are also treated to a multitude of samples of their delicious, DARK chocolates. So yummy. Mom, you would have LOVED this place. We were definitely in a happy place when we left. That night, we had a more casual dinner and then had some wine and more chocolate and took it easy. Among José’s many noteworthy traits, he’s just as fond of dark chocolate, red wine, and various other culinary delights as I am…. which may or may not be a good thing!

The Central Library. See my Picasa site for interior pics.

On Monday, we walked through Pike Place Market, which was my third time but his first. Mt. Rainier was once again visible and towering above the city, and it was a beautiful day. We got so lucky with the weather! “Summer” here has been on-and-off with some days hitting the upper-80’s and others hanging around the low 70’s, but it was a lovely weekend and we were certainly grateful. Since Monday was the 4^th and JV’s always know how to party, we made an appearance at the fiesta to catch up with my housemates before going to fireworks downtown. Originally, we had planned to go to fireworks in Vancouver, WA (rumored to be the biggest show west of the Mississippi, at least at one point) but we weren’t exactly up for another drive into Washington and a late evening on a work night, sooo we went to the display on the river instead, which turned out to be very good, albeit only a half hour long. All in all, it was a memorable 4^th of July weekend, although I definitely missed sparklers with Kelly and Bridget!

I bought the hat at a great market in the Fremont district.

My weekends are numbered now. This one will probably be pretty relaxed as the only major plans I have are a Plunge reunion and dinner with José at Karen’s house, both on Sunday. It’s nice to have a more low-key weekend, though. I’ve been quite busy! I want to make the most of the rest of my time, but I also want to spend some time processing this experience. There’s so much to reflect upon. Work lately has been incredibly hectic, which I wasn’t quite expecting. I’m coordinating my last Legal Aid clinic at the moment, which I’m pretty happy about because it’s a bit stressful. Still, there’s an element of sadness in knowing that this is my last one. We’re also going to be doing three different visits to some farms, where we’ll hand out bags of food to migrant workers and their families. This is an after-work event, but I’m really excited for it. Otherwise, things continue as normal. This week, I made several resumes, helped a lady find her husband in jail, got a man’s medical bills reduced 50% because he has no income, wrote and notarized several letters for folks, and planned a skit that our Emergency Services/Anti-Poverty team performed at today’s staff picnic-meeting. Busy, busy, busy!

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

I hope that life is treating you well this summer and that you are enjoying some sunshine. I’d love to hear from you about what’s going on in your world, and please have patience with me as I try to navigate the ending of this chapter and the beginning of the next one. As I straddle these two phases of my journey, I’m doing my best to touch base with a number of you, but I’ll always fall short. I love you all!

Take good care.

Just in case you need further proof of Mt. Rainier's beauty!

Amanda

Love builds bridges, not walls! Plunge 2011

OMIGOSH, it’s JULY!!!!!!!

How could I have braced myself for this group?!

Per my spiritual director’s suggestion, I was recently reviewing my journals from back in August. I wrote an entry on my first day of JVC, while sitting in the airport in Minneapolis, waiting to fly to Portland. I wondered what the next year would be like, I listed some of my hopes and anxieties, and I reflected most of all about what kinds of relationships I might form with my housemates-to-be. Now, eleven months later, I realize (as I always do at this time in each adventure) that the adage is true: if you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans. This year has been anything but what I expected. I have learned so much, and it is hard to believe that the people I live with and share my life with right now were total strangers a year ago. Now, on the verge of a new chapter, I have similar thoughts. But that’s for another entry!

The whole Portland Plunge group and team

During this time of transition, I find it particularly hard to be present. Part of me is thinking about my work at Casa, which starts in the fall, or about the apartment search that Molly and I (mostly Molly) are engaged in at the moment. And yet, I have had busy, busy, busy days at work—there is so much going on right in front of me! Balancing all of the present anxieties, stimulation, and opportunities with what is about to happen is hard for me, and I think that spending last week with a bunch of high-schoolers, learning and talking about urban poverty, was a perfect way to shake me into the present.

My group named itself the Wolff Pack. Too adorable.

The Portland Plunge was, in a word, exhausting. But in a good way! It was so FULL. We had speakers almost every day—Officer Castlio from the Portland Police, who gave a wonderful voice to a side of the issue of homelessness that we don’t always hear; Lio and Marc from JOIN (where my housemates and José work), who led us through our Day One post-service reflection and gave a presentation about homelessness from a legal angle, respectively. We did a collage project, we woke with yoga one day, and we had an open mic night on the final evening. All of this—AND we spent all day, every day Monday-Friday, volunteering at a total of fifteen different social service and nonprofit agencies in Portland! I had a group of five wonderful kids—Emily, Jake, Jess, Felix, and Patrick, and I was amazed at their development as individuals and a group throughout the week. I missed them several times this week. They are wonderful, talented, wise, sweet, ambitious kids and if anyone doubts today’s youth, they should meet these Plungers!

Under the Ross Island Bridge, where Buck used to camp

My group went to Sisters of the Road our first day and LOVED it; this is a café where meals cost $1.25 and guests can also pay for food on a barter system, so thus, we were working alongside some of the folks that we were also serving. The next day, we went to Downtown Chapel and visited with folks, served breakfast, and handed out hygiene kits at the drop-in hospitality center. We spent some time at Catholic Charities (ironic) Housing Transitions, making a big breakfast and serving it to homeless women on Wednesday morning. And on Friday, we joined all of the other small groups at Volunteers of America, where we worked with men in drug and alcohol recovery to clean up their neighborhood—but mostly, we just visited with them and heard their stories while sharing some delicious barbecued food.

My group and their signs (with Buck)

A few extra activities made the week particularly memorable. For example, my group spent three hours on Tuesday afternoon “flying signs” (like FREE HUGS and YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, or ASK ME WHY I’M HERE) in Pioneer Courthouse Square, known as Portland’s Living Room because of its central location in bustling downtown. It was awesome to watch my group slowly take charge and engage strangers in conversations—and group hugs! It was a sunny day and Buck, a formerly homeless man who was housed by JOIN and is super-involved in the Plunge each year, was there to support and guide us. Earlier in the week, Buck actually took us on a tour of the place he used to camp, underneath one of Portland’s many bridges. It was a surreal experience to sit there, listening to his story, knowing that he spent many nights there, hungry, cold, and anxious. He is an awesome, charismatic guy who enjoyed joking with the high-schoolers all week, and they really took to him… even after he made us carry all of our belongings along with us on the tour to more accurately simulate the experience of camping.

Some of the small houses of Dignity Village

Another unique part of the week was our visit to Dignity Village, which is the nation’s (and possibly the world’s) only legal community of homeless folks, who live in settlements or tiny houses together on a plot of city property. There are about 60 people who live in this community, and there are rules, responsibilities, and committees in place that keep it running smoothly for all of the members of the Village. We got a tour and a chance to ask lots of questions about Dignity Village’s origins (a grassroots movement by  homeless folks who pushed the city to give them a space to live since they weren’t permitted to sleep in doorways downtown) and its day-to-day life.

Sinclair and some of the Plungers on collage night

Finally, on the last night of the week, we group leaders tried to give the Plungers an idea of what it’s like to be in a street “sweep” in the middle of the night. Police often ask homeless folks sleeping on the sidewalk or in doorways to “move along,” and this is a jarring experience for anyone—even in the safety of our St. Francis accommodations. The kids, who only had to pick up their stuff and move down the hall, were less than pleased with us. But it was a good experience to have, and it was already Sleep Challenge night—where, as a group, we challenged ourselves (beyond what we were already doing, sleeping on the floor) to make our lives a bit less comfortable by removing our pillow and/or sleeping pad from the equation for one night.

Neil serenading us with members of Team Swag

The kids had many Simple Living initiatives to follow throughout the week, and I was impressed by the fact that they came up with them and adhered to them. They were pretty hard-core, too: one shower all week (some people didn’t shower at all), only two outfits (we alternated), vegetarian meals, no cell phones, etc. Even though I’m in a program that has simple living as one of its central tenets, this was a challenge for me! I cheated on the cell phone rule just a bit, but our group of five leaders (all of whom I am so impressed by!) had to be able to get a hold of one another. The other group leaders—Daniel, Colleen, Jess, Neil, Kelly, and Sinclair—were so enthusiastic and awesome. Definitely, one of the best parts of the week was getting to know my small group and sharing my thoughts, stresses, and questions with the other group leaders each night in our team meetings. Extra kudos to Daniel, my housemate, who put the Plunge together! He did such a good job planning this MASSIVE event, and I know that I speak for the whole group of high-schoolers and our team when I say that it was an unforgettable week.

Emily, AKA Princess. I'm so proud of her and all the kids!

There are more pictures on my Picasa site, as always. I hope that you are all having a wonderful summer so far. I am entering into the final stretch (one month until I leave!), which is hard to believe. This weekend, I’ll be in Seattle with José, and I’ll be going to fireworks on the 4^th, of course. I’m missing you all but will be thinking of you this holiday weekend! I hope you have a restful and a sunny few days. More from me soon…

With much love,

Amanda

Two-for-One Special

Note: There are TWO entries in this post! You can thank my faulty Internet connection. Enjoy! And check Picasa if you want to see more photos. :)

From June 6, 2011

Hello, and Happy June!

Crown Point, looking over the Columbia River toward WA.

As most of you probably know, I had two very special visitors for five days over the Memorial Day holiday, and I had so much fun with them!!! My mom and Brittany arrived safely (with no Wolff-worthy travel trouble!) on Wednesday night, so I showed them to their room, gave them a tour of the house, and introduced them to the housemates who happened to be around. They were tired from their journey, so after a quick catch-up, we all headed to bed, in anticipation of the next day’s fun.

On Thursday, their first full day, we started out with a “tour” of Gresham, which highlighted the historic downtown neighborhood where we live and the El Programa Hispano office, of course. They got to meet my supervisor, Sandra, and also Carmen and several other coworkers who were around. Lindsay joined us for this and for lunch at a yummy Thai place afterwards as she had to head out of town for the remainder of my mom and B’s stay. It was nice that they all got a chance to meet one another as Lindsay has been an important person for me this year and I would have been sad had it not worked out at all.

Multnomah Falls!

After lunch, I drove us to the Columbia River Gorge and we started our waterfall tour, stopping at Crown Point’s Vista House, Latourrel Falls, Shepperd’s Dell, Wahkeena Falls, and ultimately the 600ft+ Multnomah Falls. It was an overcast day, but the beauty of the Gorge shines through in any kind of weather, and they loved it. We stopped for a quick bubble tea (well, I got a bubble tea—they didn’t like the tapioca balls) before grabbing pizza from Flying Pie here in Gresham. We brought that, and some beer, back to the house and had dinner with my housemates, which I really enjoyed. Then, we headed over to Alberta Street so that Britt and Mom could witness the spectacle that is Last Thursday. Although it was pretty mellow compared to the summer street fairs, there were belly dancers, fire tossers, and plenty of creative costumes to gawk at. And Brittany bought an adorable headband! Successful outing.

I love my Mama! (Japanese Garden)

We slept in the next day and then hit up Target for some essentials. I was a bit discouraged because the weather looked crappy once again. After a little meltdown, though, we decided to try to stay positive and enjoy any sunny intervals. We spent some time in Powells (where it’s actually not a problem if it’s raining) before getting lucky and enjoying our first food cart lunch in the sun. It got rainy again right after our Moonstruck chocolate treat, so we ran back to the car and drove to Washington Park. By the time we got to the [roseless] Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden, the rain had quit again so we got to wander around the lovely grounds without getting soaked. This occupied us until it was time to go home, freshen up, and meet José for a Peruvian-Northwest fusion dinner on Alberta. Our delicious food was topped off at Pix, where we had dessert with Lizzie across the street from her house (I really can’t say enough about this place… soooo good!). Mom, Britt, and José seemed to get along quite well, and we were all happy to see Lizzie too. She couldn’t come with us for the next activity, but the rest of us headed over to a bridge to [illegally] stand there and watch the Rose Festival kickoff fireworks. I was quite happy, to say the least.

Cannon Beach. I love my sister too!!

On Saturday, I took Mom and Brittany to the famous market in Old Town and we met up with José again. The four of us then joined Karen (my coworker and Portland “mom”) for lunch at a Greek place called Alexis, thus continuing our unintentional around-the-world culinary tour. Then, José left us and we hopped in the car and headed west, coastbound! We made a quick stop at Seaside before deciding to drive a few more minutes down the road to the touristy but always lovely Cannon Beach. We parked a bit far away from Haystack Rock, but it was a beautiful afternoon (thank God!) and our walk along the beach was fantastic. We played in the chilly water (and some of us got a bit more than we bargained for when the tide came in!) and creeped on babies and puppies, a favorite activity of at least two of us… but I’m not naming names. We wrapped up our afternoon at the ocean with two essentials: ice cream and salt water taffy! And then we headed back to Portland to find José for, you guessed it, more food! This evening, we ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Por Qué No, and then ended up bowling at a place nearby afterwards, which turned out to be super fun.

Wine Tasting!

Sunday was an earlier morning because we wanted to go to Mass at St. Andrew’s on Alberta, and the service started at 9:30. After Mass there with Lizzie, we treated ourselves to my favorite, well-practiced Sunday routine: tea at Townshend’s—followed by sandwiches at the Grilled Cheese Grill (José caught up with us here). YUM! After that, the five of us set off for the afternoon excursion that turned out to be one of my favorite activities: wine tasting in the Williamette Valley! We didn’t have much of a plan, but things worked out and we ended up doing tastings at five different wineries and having a wonderful time, thanks to José’s generous and excellent DD’ing! We stopped at a McMenamin’s in Hillsboro for some Cajun tator tots and a beer before making it back to Portland just in time for an event called Holding Hands Across Portland. This peaceful display of solidarity was a response to an attack on a gay couple, and the turnout at Hawthorne Bridge was really inspiring and impressive. I’m glad we got to take part. Afterwards, we continued on to Kell’s Irish Pub (a must for this group!) for dinner and drinks and some live music.

I miss you ladies already!

On Monday, we slept in again and then had a slow morning, wrapping up some loose ends and ultimately getting ourselves out the door around noon. We stopped at my favorite garden, Crystal Springs, to see the rhododendrons that mom and Britt also grew to love during their time in Oregon. Then, we met up with José for a final food cart lunch in downtown and a quick trip to the World’s Smallest Park, a tiny little planter called Mills End that really does hold the Guiness record and really is part of the Portland Parks System. Finally, we headed to Happy Hour at Portland City Grill, which was really just an excuse to look out the windows of this 30^th floor establishment. Although the sun we’d had while walking along the river earlier in the afternoon had mysteriously disappeared, it was still a really cool perspective of the city and a great idea on José’s part. After we bid him goodbye, we ladies headed back to Gresham to meet up with my housemates and have a delicious dinner at Jim and Mary Ann’s to finish up a wonderful Memorial Day and an absolutely phenomenal family visit!

I was sad to see Mom and Britt leave on Tuesday morning—and returning to work wasn’t nearly as fun as playing with them around Oregon!—but I’m so grateful that they were able to visit me. We did some of the same things that I did with my dad, but the two visits were also completely different. I feel very blessed to have had two wonderful visits with my family. Thank you!!!!!!

Posing at Mill's End Park, the smallest park in the world.

After recovering from a whirlwind of fun, I actually had a pretty busy week. And things are getting busier! Retreat is next weekend, and then the Portland Plunge, a weeklong urban/homelessness immersion that I’m helping Daniel with. Updates will follow all of these fun events, but be patient with me! I love you all and I’m excited to see many of you soon. I know these last weeks will fly by. I hope you are all doing well. Please keep me updated on your news as well—I know that many of you are transitioning and doing all sorts of things. I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers and hope that summer brings good things for each of you!

Until soon,

Amanda

June 15, 2011

The Final Stretch

Hello, everyone!

Retreat means cooking for 75 people. I made rhubarb crunch!

My internet went out quite inconveniently just as I was about to publish the previous post, so you’re getting a two-for-one special. At this point, much of the last post’s content is a bit outdated as I have already gone to retreat on Whidbey Island, WA and returned! So, to catch you up to speed…

The retreat locale this weekend was beautiful, and it was a VERY relaxing few days! Sarah, a former JVCNW Area Director, was the "facilitator," but I think we listened to her speak for a total of about two hours all weekend. She was very attentive to the needs of the group and saw that we wanted to be in the sun and be together, and she gave us TONS (maybe even too much) of unstructured time to find God in the beachfront beauty and in conversation with each other. I spent some of that time alone in prayer and journaling, but I passed most of the hours with good friends and members of my community. Even when I wanted to withdraw a bit and sit on a rock alone to reflect, it was so hard to do when there were hoards of people having fun and playing games right next to me. So, although I did get to have some time in quiet meditation, I think that my "prayer" this weekend was manifested mostly in that communion with my friends.

UNREAL. Two bald eagles in a nest.

I was hoping to be pushed a bit more spiritually and was slightly disappointed in Sarah's rather whimsical and vague musings, but I understand that she was trying to be accessibile to a lot of people. She mostly pulled from the Ignatian tradition and she didn't say anything I hadn't heard before, but I guess the main thing I took from it was a few questions here and there, which prompted me to do a bit of reflection about who I've become this year, how I want to integrate this experience into my post-JVC life, where I'm headed, and so on. Still, if you could follow her and all of her verbs, there were gems in what Sarah was offering us, and I'm holding on to and chewing on a few of those prompts.

The main grace of the retreat, for me, was that it was a really fun weekend with my housemates. We had a chance to get together and have a talk about what this year has meant for each of us, and we are really holding dear these last seven (!) weeks together. I feel rejuvenated and reinvested in that regard, and I think that's what I needed most of all. It was a restful and holy weekend, albeit a pretty unstructured one. I got to catch up with my friend and fellow JV, Beth, and she and I had some beautiful conversations about where we are at spiritually. I always look forward to seeing her on retreats and I’ll miss that consistency once we part ways next year. She's headed to school in Berkeley, CA in the fall to get her Masters of Divinity, and I told her about my recent questions, doubts, and difficulties in terms of my spirituality. She cited a beautiful poem from Catherine of Siena, one that perhaps you’ve already read, and she shared many of my sentiments and frustrations. I’ve shared it with you below. All in all, I think it was a pleasant retreat experience. I returned feeling spent but rested at the same time. And all around me, all weekend, was holiness in the form of bald eagles soaring overhead or deer wandering freely through our camp—not to mention the beautiful Puget Sound in front of us and the palpable love and delight that permeated each moment.

Says Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church:

“All has been consecrated.
The creatures in the forest know this,

The earth does, the seas do, the clouds know
as does the heart full of
love.

Strange a priest would rob us of this
knowledge

and then empower himself
with the ability

to make holy what
already was.”

Word, sister. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Anyway, speaking of these matters, I had my final spiritual direction meeting with Joyce Ann last week, which was really wonderful. She has been such an important part of my journey this year, and I am so grateful that I was able to connect with someone who has been so supportive throughout this whole journey. I really, really needed that relationship and I’ll miss her dearly!

Cuties.

I want to keep this short since you’ve already read one post, so I’ll end here. Stay tuned for details about the Portland Plunge, which begins Friday! Also, I will be doing some end-of-the-year/what I’ll take with me from this year posts in the near future as that is all very much on my mind. I hope that summer is treating you well (Portland doesn’t know what summer is. It’s still usually in the 60’s, and it rained today) and that you are happy and healthy and enjoying all of the holiness that is everywhere we turn!

Happy birthday to Lizzie Traudt (today!) and Aunt Vicki (tomorrow)! Vic, I am praying for you in particular this week and hoping that your birthday is a wonderful celebration and that the next day isn’t too much of a damper on things. And Danny—I hope to see you soon! Finally, Happy (early) Father’s Day to my generous and fantastic dad. I love you and I’m so grateful for all you do for me and all of your “girlies”!

XOXO,

Oh hey friends.

Amanda