Settling in

Hi friends!

I am here, safe and sound. My traveling went really well. Apparently I stole the good weather, because my first two days were sunny and warm!

Christy picked me up from the airport, and her parents visited this weekend to help her buy a few things. They have all been very kind and hospitable, even taking me out to eat! It’s been a pretty busy couple of days, though, compounded by me getting a little sick after visiting the restaurant I’m applying to (uh oh!), but I’m resting up and still ready for the interviews tomorrow.

I’ve already done a fair bit of exploring. The first day I checked this “Crooked Bookstore” and walked around some. That evening I went to BuildaBridge’s initial introduction class for future volunteers. It was different, but good. The class was quite interactive and fun, with several different games I’m incorporating into my sample lesson for a daycare interview. The staff were quite friendly and encouraging, as well as excited about and committed to their work.

Friday I took the bus down to my internship, and it seems pretty simple. Plus, there’s an advertisement for a lawyer named Justin Bieber. So that’s priceless. Germantown Avenue is the main street that I live off of; it’s how I get to my internship and where lots of little shops are. It used to have a trolley, so the cobblestone, rails, and cables hanging overhead are still there. Makes for a bumpy bus ride, but it’s alright. On my way back on the bus, there was a cute little girl named Mimi, one of the really curious types, asking me and another girl dozens of questions. I was reminded of one of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” In that story a young white man and his mom take a bus ride. She makes him go with her because she doesn’t like riding alone on the recently racially-integrated buses. Plus a lot more, as there’s a lot more to the story, but you’ll have to read it.

Anyways, I thought of that because on my bus and his bus, there’s a cute black child that the white person (me) enjoys interacting with, and the child’s parent(s) who the white person doesn’t really interact with as much. Remembering it made me try to be more intentional in talking to the adult, and made me reflect on how I needed to do the same with my internship and just with every day. It is interesting to be in “one of the oldest racially-integrated neighborhoods in the country.” It feels very different at times, but it’s also been a pretty easy transition. I’ve had several people at BuildaBridge and at circle (a church group) talk to me about culture shock. I do feel it a bit, and I think I’ll be feeling it more. So there might be some fun stories out of that. But I’ve been struck by how most people/places/cultures I’m encountering have a kind of west coast twin: for instance, the circle church I attended reminds me of a tribe of l.a. church I went to, because they’re a bit slower maybe to hand out rules, and make good use of prayer/music/art. So I’m lulled into a sense of knowing, and then some little difference throws me off. Plus, when I went I was feeling sick, so that threw me off, too! Anyways, I want to see if there’s more local churches I can attend, too, since circle meets in center Philly, quite a ways away.

After church (which is in the evening) Christy and I took the subway and regional rail home, after visiting with a friend from Uganda, Charity. He happens to be doing the same internship another Ugandan friend of mine, Viola, is doing, so next weekend there’s going to be some sort of hanging out. I’m looking forward to it.

In the meantime, my room is coming together. I posted a few pics of it, and I'll post more of...more...soon. I didn't have to buy anything, it's all stuff that was left behind or left out on the curb or hand-me-down from Christy. I feel very lucky. And it’s still very nice and empty in the middle of the room, which helps my mind be less cluttered. I was tempted to buy furniture a couple of times, but I like this better. There’s actually weather now, with a little snow and “wintry mix,” so I’m listening to more of Jon Foreman’s Winter album while I try to get better and get ready for interviews and internships.

Yep. Pretty much.