Are you a foreign exchange student? Wanna join our lab group?

Turns out I fit in really well in high school......as in most of the students think I'm one of them. One day last week I was speaking Spanish with one of my ELL students in his history class, and the girl in front of me turned around and asked me if I was a foreign exchange student. Today, I was in the chemistry lab with another student, looking a little out of it I guess because I didn't have any background on what the lab was about, and 3 girls invited me to join their group. They told me I didn't look that young, like maybe a junior or senior at least. Furthermore, when they asked me where I was from, and I told them Colorado, they were shocked. "Wow, that's totally not what I expected. I definitely would've guessed Texas.....or Montana." I asked why, and she responded, "oh just the way you dress and talk....." That was a first.

Figuring out exactly what my role is in the classroom has been, and likely will continue to be, and ongoing process. Literally every day I go in (which hasn't actually been that many days), I have to adapt to new situations and figure out new ways of being useful. One period I'll feel like I'm really helping, like translating a math test for a couple of freshmen or helping other girls in the ESL class. However, the next period the class might be watching a movie or the student I'm assigned to might insist that he doesn't need help. I had a student on Monday tell me that in his English class, he "doesn't do anything" because he can't read English well and can't keep up with the stories. Therefore, his teacher said he can sit and do homework for other classes every day. I was shocked by this--he might as well not be in the class. Apparently the teacher is trying to come up with alternative curricula for him, and today I made him attempt to follow along, and I just took notes for him that summarized what the teacher talked about. That might be the most useful I can be in that situation. It goes to show how these kids have been kind of pushed aside due to their lack of English, and how the teachers really don't know what to do with them.

However, despite the challenges, I'm enjoying myself, I just hope my duties develop into something more concrete, which may or may not happen. Starting next week Liz and I will be working in the afterschool program, which means we get to go in later in the mornings. I've already been invited by the high school principal twice to have dinner at his house with him and his wife, but haven't been able to go. I appreciate the hospitality though.

And I still really like my team, although I see them much less during the week. I'm looking forward to seeing them this weekend. Last weekend I had an AMAZING time in Portland with Kayla and Lauren, complete with lots of reminiscing about the good ol' days and listening to classic choir tunes ("Ya Ba BOM!"). Knowing that I can escape to Portland in less than 2 hours is great.

ESL Quote of the Day: "Eso es 'money in the bank!'"--a junior boy describing how easy ancient history is for him because he's studied a lot of it in the bible

Go Vikings

Today I finally reported to work, for a normal work day....sort of. Basically I felt a lot like a student--as the ELL tutor, I move from one class to the next, when the bell rings, to work with different ESL kids. Today was chaotic--the principal (who proudly told me he is one of 3 democrats in the entire community) introduced me to practically everyone on staff, sometimes by first name, sometimes by last, so that by the end I knew NO ONE's name. So confusing. The high school, elementary school and junior high are all together, with walkways connecting them.

One thing that excited me was the principal's assertion that basketball RULES come winter. They even have a 5-day weekend in March set aside for the state tournament, because the Mossyrock vikings always go to state. Also ironically, their colors are red/white/black (like Fairview) and their major rival's colors are purple and gold (Boulder sucks). He told me that the girls junior high team needed an assistant, which I said I was interested in....but then I thought I prob couldn't commit to that...and he told me to go talk to a teacher who I had apparently met today but have no idea who it is. Awkward.

I also thought I would go into the building and immediately remember how much I hate teenagers, but they were actually pretty easy to deal with, and pretty entertaining. I will be working in history, english, math, and bio classes, on top of helping the ESL teacher (whose Spanish is less than impressive, but I didn't let myself correct her in class...bad first impression).

I'm hoping in the coming weeks my role will be more defined and I won't be standing around awkwardly quite as much. The good news is that I haven't lost all of my Spanish. And I get to end my Mondays and Wednesdays with a kindergarten class! AND we're supposedly getting internet (delivered to our house in a box) on Monday, and it better work. Seems a little weird that no one actually comes to our house to set it up, but we've suffered long enough without it, so I'm putting my faith in Centurytel.

Training, Rainier, and starting work

Last Wednesday we started training, including a day on the challenge course (walking across wires, climbing up on platforms, and other teambuilding activities), and 2 loooong days in the classroom. The team seems fantastic, and now people are actually finding homes in my town.

Saturday was a highlight. Although I had to get myself out of bed at 6:30 am and step out into the pouring rain, I went to Mt. Rainier with 4 other people from our group. We went up pretty high initially, literally driving through the clouds. However, we didn't have much of a view from up there, so we hiked a lower trail which took us to a waterfall (see pictures). The hike was amazing (it was more of a walk than a hike). If anything, the rain added a nice ambience--everything was freakishly green, and it smelled like Christmas. Definitely my kind of place.

As I arrived back in town, I saw that the second-hand furniture store down the street, which NEVER seemed to be open (mostly because they're apparently always busy dealing drugs out the back), was open, and we got furniture! 2 guys from our team who are working on settling in Morton happened to be there too, so we recruited them to carry our new loveseat and chair to our home (and squeeeze it through our narrow front door). Now we just need to cover them with something cause they're not that attractive.

And today I finally entered the school where I'll be working. Mossyrock junior/senior high sandwich the elementary school, and I think I'll be moving among all 3. Mossyrock is apparently the most well-off school district of the 3 that people will be stationed, and their major need is, you guessed it, Spanish-speaking tutors (me!). They don't seem super organized about what my entire role will be, but I'm thinking it will come together. Tomorrow is fingerprinting and food stamps in Olympia (getting back to the real world for a day!), then Wednesday we report for duty. Aaaand my first trip to Portland this weekend to hang out with Kales and Lauren. Soooo excited!

Where's the rain? And the Mexicans?

So literally every time I've told anyone that I'm moving to western Washington, they've gone on some rant about how the rain is nonstop and extremely depressing. I've had the luck of having no more than a brief drizzle since I've been here, the temperature is perfect, in the 70s, and the sun is shining. I don't know how long this will last, but when the rain (and evidently, floods) arrive, I will be ready with my rain jacket and rubber boots (thanks Kayla).

Also, I thought I lived in "white" places growing up in Boulder and attending Vassar. Since I've been in Morton, I have seen all of like 2 nonwhite people, and they were workers at the Mexican restaurant in town. My position at the high school in Mossyrock (about 10 miles from where I'm living) involves working with Spanish speakers, many of them recent immigrants. Sooo I guess I will have to assume that all of the minorities are concentrated there, which is weird....

It was also strongly recommended to me that Liz and I befriend the local police, so they keep an eye on our place. We made them cookies yesterday, tried to bring them over but no one was there to let us in. I hope that was a good sign--that they were out keeping Morton citizens safe. We're going to try our delivery again today, in addition to looking for more furniture so that our place looks like a real home rather than the hot mess that it is right now.

Tomorrow is our first day of orientation/training. We're spending it on the "challenge course," meaning lots of team-building activities, learning each other's names, etc. I'm ready for the work to begin so I no longer feel like a bum.

Guns, Germs, and Brackberries!

Hello from small-town Washington, where I will be doing Americorps for the next 10 1/2 months in a local high school, living in a trailer and buying groceries with food stamps.

Mom and I roadtripped out here, leaving last Wednesday the 9th, arriving Friday afternoon. The trip was long (Wyoming sucks!), but we had fun. I am now obsessed with and extremely dependent on my new GPS. When we arrived in town Friday, my first shock was finding out that my "home" was in fact a trailer, a fact which the realtor had conveniently not told me. However, I suspect it's because trailers are pretty common around here, and mine is comparatively pretty nice. I like to think of it as a cozy log cabin or a large, fancy dorm room. The other major shock about it was it's lack of cleanliness, and seeing as how we had paid a cleaning fee already, this was not a welcome observation. My mom and I had to spend some quality time cleaning the filth that the previous tenants had left...the toilet was especially fun. Anyway, I will post pictures of it when I have consistent internet access. Either way, it's in a great location right down the street from the "Hub" of Morton, so I can't complain about that.

The culture shock when I first arrived was pretty intense. Basically it seems that I have landed in conservative Christian country, where people don't like immigrants, and where sweet old ladies wield loaded guns (not that I've witnessed this, but the owner of the Bed and Breakfast where my mom and I stayed told us about sitting beside her door holding her gun when she heard potential intruders outside). So that is something to be aware of....

Other highlights have included:

*The SPECTACULAR view of Mount Rainier, one of the highest peaks in the US

*Buying a cabinet stand from a guy named Otis at a garage sale....and after realizing it wouldn't fit in the car, Otis offering to put it in his truck and delivering it to my house. Love that small-town hospitality...And Otis told me all about his diabetes along the way

*Sitting in the parking lot at the grocery store and watching high school girls spend 10 minutes wrapping a truck in plastic saran wrap, take pictures of it, then leave.

*The thousands of creepy looks and comments I've received from the men here...

*Finding out I had fresh brackberries right outside my home!! I picked a bunch yesterday, it was a thrill.

So those are the details about the start of my adventure....more to come soon!