Tijuana

If anyone knows me they know that I love my broken Spanish. It doesn't bother me at all and I still try to get by with it. On Monday morning, almost before the sun came up, a group of us World Vision employees jumped in a van and headed off to Tijuana, Mexico. The intention of the trip wasn't to come and do a week long missions trip, but to see what World Vision is doing on the field level. After all, the whole reason that World Vision exists is to do transformational work through communities.

Let me just tell you, it was amazing to see what World Vision is doing on the ground level. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the field when you are working in the Governance Dept, which deals with the highest people in society.

The place that we visited was an Urban Development Project (UDP). Ladies in the community came together, the children came together, and their husbands came to serve on the day that we were there to serve them. I thought they were just going to give us a ton of work to do, but instead they worked right along with us.

The things I took away from this tiny two day get-away were the following:

1. The work that WV does is sustainable. 50% of the funding comes from WV and the other 50% is from the community.
2. The people who run the community center are dedicated and see it as a place that is transforming their communities.
3. I saw hands on how the sponsored children felt empowered and were able to do more for their community because of the support of donors.
4. Mexican's are hard workers! Especially the women- I was put to shame.
5. There is a disconnect between the office and the field. I am so glad I got to see what the top actually does for the bottom- what WV is truly their for. I am glad that they have a program set up called "Vision Trips" so WV Employees can experience the work of WV on the field level.

I am just so in awe of how sustainable everything was on the field. Our Northern mind-sets sometimes have a hard time embracing and putting sustainability into practice, but the community center and the other projects that the UDP was working on were 100% community owned. I loved it.

Even though it was a short two day trip- it was the highlight of my time at World Vision. Lots of hugs and kisses saying "Adios" to those ladies and children.

maps

Today after lunch I ran over to AAA to get a NYC map for my roommate. She has painted three different canvases white with the a black sky line of a city… that all flow together. For some reason she needed a map to complete the paintings (still waiting to see how it turns out). So being the nice roommate I am (jk, but really), I picked her up some maps. I always get super carried away with maps! I cannot contain myself so I decided to get maps of Downtown LA, San Francisco, NYC, and Chicago. Some may call me a nerd, but I absolutely love them. I could stare at them hours and often do. If someone has a world map up at their house I am always drawn to it and end up sparking up some kind of traveling conversation with someone nearby. Today I opened up the NYC map in the parking lot at work and just stared at it. My mind drifted off into this place where I was reminded of lots of vivid memories of my trips to NYC. I think that there is a special part of my brain, or maybe many peoples, for maps. Living in Washington D.C.for four months and riding the Metro absolutely everywhere made for a permanent map in my brain. I sometimes dream about it.

I think that maps have somewhat lost their value. People have become lazy and have resorted to a GPS because they are convenient and much more efficient. But what happened to trying to figure out the puzzle? Trying to figure out your destination? What happened to people who actually have a sense of direction and can locate North, South, East, and West? Perhaps even by just knowing where the sun and moon are located? I know that those people are out there… but our world is becoming more and more reliant on a machine to tell us where to go instead of figuring it out with our own brain.

I do not have a GPS. I do not plan on having one unless I need one for work or something. My Mom, sister and I traveled throughout Europe (Spain, Italy, France... and even Morocco- in Africa) with a map... we survived. 

Anyways, this is the DC metro map, which is very dear and close to my heart. You can learn a lot about a place through their public transportation system- but that is another story.

my new sisters

sometimes i feel like i am dreaming because i have such odd/fun experiences for a 21 year old. most 21 year olds are worried about their tan, being a hipster, or drinking. i don't think i fit that description at all, although i just made a huge generalization of our society. tonight i went to hang out some of the Franciscan sisters i befriended. for my interpersonal and intercultural adjustment class we have to become familiar, hang out, and "study" a sub-culture here in LA. about a month ago i went to a conference and worked for The H20 Project. i did not realize that the conference would be swarming with sisters (nuns), priests, and a ton of catholics. so i got the idea of hanging out with nuns! i called about five convents in LA to ask them if we could hang out with them, do charity work with them, see their convent, etc. the franciscan nuns of LA were the nicest and most welcoming of them all. random snap shot: franciscan nuns take a vow to poverty, chastity, and obedience.


the first day we went to the children's mass with the sisters and the children at the preschool that the sisters run. it was really precious seeing preschoolers do all the catholic traditions and customs during church. when i was in preschool all i did was color when my mom took me to mass. the children's voices were high pitch as they sang songs about Jesus loving them. not joking, i almost died because it was the cutest thing i have ever heard. we had the opportunity to meet with the most welcoming, devout, and loving sister ever: sister mary magdalene. she shared her story of coming to be a sister, her hardships, but most importantly the joy she has had because of saying yes to God's call for her life.


i feel so incredibly blessed even to just type this out. tonight ashlee, justine, emily, and i went to the preschool to meet sister mary and then drove to the convent.


side note: once i called sister mary to see if we could initially meet with her, she let me know that only people who were considering being a sister could come into the convent.


anyways, sister mary, 3 weeks later, invited all of us over to dinner and to join them (5 sisters) in their private chapel for evening prayers. hello trust bond! Jesus is good :) we laughed loudly, hugged, cried together, prayed together, sang songs of praise together, and heard stories from the sisters hearts. the Holy Spirit was present, Jesus love was deep within our hearts, and obedience to God was first and foremost among us all. there is unity in Christ.


i am so encouraged. this is not just a project to understand people other than myself, this was friendship building. i let them know several times that i value my time with them and that they are my new friends, whom i have already come to love deeply.


i am inspired by their love and devotion to God. whoever said nuns were boring was totally off their rocker. these nuns or sisters, as some would say, are hilarious and very enjoyable to be around.


i love that my life consists of random things like this. my perspective on life has broadened even more tonight.

nature nature nature

my body in internally screaming "runnnn through the fields and soak in all the smells of these flowers." sounds incredibly hippie-ish, but so true.

the first thing i am going to do when i get home is take meghan to sunol to "little yosemite" and hike all over those hills. i absolutely love being in nature. i feel at home and all i want to do is praise God for his glorious creation.

so bay area here i come. get ready because i am going to be hiking every single day on your beautiful land.

Time is beating me

Four and a half months ago I was in NYC with some of my favorite people: Justine, Sarah, Seth, Jordan, and Tim. We somehow managed to get around this city by LOTS of walking and confusion on the subway. I cannot believe that was four and a half months ago.

I think time beats me sometimes. I feel as if I am in a time warp. Today my friend Sophie asked me all about DC and it made my "DC softness" arise and now I miss it dearly.

I left bits of my heart in a lot of different places I suppose.

Oregon is for lovers.

I know Virgina's slogan is "Virginia is for lovers," but Oregon's should be too. Oregon is so pretty and pleasant. I feel like its a place you could meet someone who really does love nature, well that and California. Maybe California should have that slogan too. Anyways...

On Friday, roughly around 10:00a.m. (if I can wake up that early), I am going to embark on a snowy journey to see Miss Rachel McCord in lovely Southern Oregon. I know exactly how our first glances at each other will be.... we will burst into screaming, jumping, and then a long hug. Yup, it will be glorious.

I also get to see Melanie and Becca at University of Oregon while I am up there in Eugene. So stoked for that as well! I am really excited to see Melanie's stomping grounds.

And its not over yet... I get to see Adam from D.C. Oh goodness, lots of fun people jammed in one trip.

When I am done seeing Adam... I am going to relax for a few days at Rachel's... possibly till Wednesday. Should be jam packed, yet really fun and lots of laughs... and probably a lot of lazy time too. Perfect.

Californian: Born and Raised.

True confession: If you were to ask me last year about America's culture, I would say "Ah, What Culture?" Or I may have responded by saying "Get me out of here!"

That has changed.

I am coming to realize how rich and diverse this lovely country is. Being born and raised in both Southern California andNorthern California, I have seen the West Coast side of things. I breathe it and live it.

I dream about swimming in the ocean, making peace with others, smelling the trees of the forest, going on drives on windy roads leading up to the diamonds in the sky, listening to my friends play the guitar while I soak it all in, going on hikes and enjoying life with friends, and roaming the streets of San Francisco on a sunny day.

Being in this program has made me realize how different people are... right here in my homeland, the Untied States. We have people from the West Coast, the Mid-West, the South, and a few from the East Coast. All so different. Everyone has a different story, a different background, and something different to contribute to the group. It is a beautiful thing.

It has made me realize that I have been in my "west-coast bubble" for far too long. I have explored ten different countries... yet have not explored the whole Untied States.

My new goal should be to see all 50 states... but I am not going to commit to that goal quite yet.
The states I already have down:
California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Texas (still need more of it), Florida, Washington D.C. (not a state), New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Stopped in New Mexico on a plane (does not really count... but I don't have much a desire to go there), Georgia (Atlanta just for a day), Hawaii, and hmm thats about it.
So 37 more to go. Woah... I have the west coast vibe down... I think I need to explore the places that are unfamiliar to me. I really need to explore Colorado during the summer, I know that. Possibly the South? Maybe the Mid-West? We shall see where this desire leads me.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

NYC adventure.

On Friday I went to NYC with seven people from my program. 4 guys and 2 other girls. We took a bus on Friday and got there at 3 and went to our hostel next to central park. It was actually a really nice hostel... lots of foreign people there... especially from Austrailia! We went and got dinner and got Broadway tickets for "The Toxic Avenger." It was so funny! I was dying the whole time. After that was over we wandered around time square, got on the subway (which is sooo crazy), and went to find this one club. By the time we got there the cover charge went up to 30 dollars... so we decided not to go. We went to bed at 2! Then we got up at 4:30 A.M. to try and get SNL tickets (tv show) in at Rockefeller Square. We didn't get them... haha. So needless to say, we weer pooped. We wandered around time square at 6 in the morning and got Starbucks. Then we went back to the hostel and slept for 2 more hours. Then we went to see the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. It was SO COLD! I thought I was going to die. I need some serious jackets. I almost fell asleep in the Museum, which I was bummed about because if I was awake I would have loved it. I called Grandma Sutton and found out that one of her relatives, Augustus Fischer, came over in 1892 from Belgium. I found him on the database there! After that we went to Ground Zero, which is pretty much a construction site, but it was good to see again. Then we went back to the hostel, took a 2 hour nap AGAIN, and went to eat at Carmines, the best Italian food EVER! Then after dinner... we went to this Christian College that is right next to the empire state building and went on the roof.... to see the view of NYC for FREE! It was legit.

THEN WE FINALLLLLY WENT TO SLEEP!
Sunday we woke up at 9, got breakfast/lunch, went to central park and the MET.... then we ate dinner, got on the bus, and returned to the lovely DC.

There you have it. My NYC trip. The people I went with were fun. I was pretty much in charge of transportation and planning of the trip. The guys might have died if Justine and I didn't plan anything. Two of the guys got to see a play with Hugh Jackman (the guy from Australia) and got pictures with him! So jealous.

Even though NYC is a lovely place I don't think I could ever live there. The only way I would is it I was loaded and had a penthouse overlooking Central Park, which probably won't happen in this lifetime.