The End....

As I woke up this morning and did my daily routine of exercise, breakfast, rinse and repeat, one thought stuck in my head, "I can't believe today is the day". 

Today is officially the last day of the 2011-2012 Literacy*AmeriCorps term of service for the Central Texas members.  As today winds down to a close, I am filled with amazement and joy.  I remember our first training day on September 1, 2011.  I was nervous, unsure of how my term would progress, and feeling a little isolated from everything I left behind since graduating that August.  I didn't know anyone in the room and I was questioning whether I had the skills to do what I was being asked to do for the next "year" of my life.  On that first day, 11 months felt like an eternity that would never end.  July 31 was a distant goal that I was sure I would never reach.

There is no doubt about it that this AmeriCorps term of service kicked my butt.  I was mentally and physically exhausted at times.  I felt like I was ritualistically praying and offering up sacrifices each month.  Once my AmeriCorps coins went to pay for rent and health care, I had about $20 in my account at any one time.  It made me think twice about fast food, happy hour, and jay-walking through high traffic areas.

Now, here I am.  It's July 31 and I am amazed that I did it.  I am amazed at how hard I worked my rump off these past 11 months.  I am amazed at the changes I made at my service site and within myself.  I am amazed at the friendships I made.  And I am amazed at the place I have carved out for myself in the local community.  Most of all I am amazed and proud of the 17 other members who served their term alongside me.  They made everything more interesting, more exciting, and more enjoyable.  I can't imagine having spent my time with a better cast of characters (I say that lovingly, of course!)

I am glad that we all decided to take this journey.  This past year has refined us all, has made us all open our eyes to see the world in a different way.  We are all concluding our term with lasting friendships and relationships, whether they be with other members or with people at our sites.  And that is the true reward of our service - the friendships we make.  So "CONGRATS!" to everyone for an amazing year and when that education award rolls in, try not to spend it all in one place.

Racing in Austin, TX

Before moving to Austin, I had participated in a handful of 5k's, a 10k and a half marathon. I always played sports growing up and loved being on an athletic team. And, of course, being from the Pacific Northwest, I was hiking mountains with my family before I could even walk. But Austin has a different athleticism to it. I feel like many people here are race-obssessed and I can't deny that I've been caught up in the thick of it. Most recently, I have been turned on to the idea of triathlons. I'm a confident cyclist and consistent runner, but not being much of a swimmer (the water is just too cold in Washington!), I was hesitant about the swim portion of a triathlon.  

One night, on a whim, I decided to sign up for my first triathlon. The race was scheduled for 5 days after I signed up. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the smartest of ideas, but I had fun with it anyway. I set out to work on my swim with a borrowed pair of goggles and a friend who swam competitively in school. After having swum a few times in our tiny (8 yard-long) apartment pool, I thought I was doing pretty well for a beginner and went to a lake with my friend in order to show her what I could do and get some tips.

Well, let me tell you: swimming in open water is NOT the same as swimming in a pool.  It's darker, harder, scarier and ultimately, way more fun! My friend gave me a barrage of tips to remember for my first timed swim... face up, hands closed, abs clenched, feet kicking, breathe to both sides, don't take in too much air, breathe out bubbles underwater, and on... and on.... Luckily, during the race I was preoccupied enough with trying to remember all these things that I wasn't at all nervous or intimidated by the course. I finished the triathlon in much better time than anticipated and enjoyed it so much that I signed up for another!

This time, I made the wise decision of actually training. I chose a race that was about a month later, giving me enough time to work on my swimming skills and still get in both long rides and runs.  Every other morning you can find me at the pool thinking to myself "one, two, three... breathe... one, two, three... breathe..." as I clumsily make my way down the length of the pool. Slowly but surely, however, I have felt progress. I feel my strides becoming more relaxed, my breathing becoming normal, my body automatically remembering things like keeping my face at the right angle and keeping my abs tight to raise my legs. As my muscle memory grows and my confidence in the swim improves, I can't help but get excited for my next race.

It gives me reason to wake up early, reason to feel great all day long and something great to strive for. The excitement, satisfaction and hype (not to mention lots of bananas) after finishing a race is a ton of fun and can be addicting. It's something I look forward to during long or hard training sessions and, in my opinion, is totally worth it. Long story short: Austin is a great place to try racing. There are always notices for 5k's, 10k's, half and full marathons, triathlons, long cycling rides, adventure races and relays, mud races and trail runs. If you are already a competitor, I probably don't need to inform you of all these opportunities. But, if you've never run or swum or biked a race and are considering one... I would say now is the time! Austin is a very race friendly environment with relatively flat terrain, warm weather (albeit sometimes too warm...) and a passion for fitness. So get outside, give it a try and enjoy it!

River Tubing in Texas

Recently I had the pleasure of tubing the San Marcos River and the Guadalupe river.  This was my first experience tubing on a river and I learned many tips that I would like to pass on to y’all! Tips: 1.       Keep your eyes peeled for turtles – either because you find them horrifying so you can steer your tube far away from them or you think they are cute so you can steer your tube toward them to see them up close. 2.       Wear sandals that are sturdy for walking on rocks and so they won’t fall off your feet when you are in the water. 3.       Lather on sunscreen and chapstick.  4.       Slap on some sunglasses. 5.       Wear a cowboy hat for additional sun protection. 6.       Buy a floaty sunglasses bobble string for $2.  They look dorky when you are wearing them but if your glasses fall in the water, they will float.  This very thing happened to my cousin, but she found her glasses because of the trusty bobbles. 7.       Know where you can get in and out of the water.  Park your car accordingly. 8.       Be prepared to navigate away from rocks, river wildlife, and sharp sticks while floating.  (Additionally, pick your tube mate wisely if you are tubing in a double.  My sister and mom both were awful.  One paddled with her shoe and the other was simply not paying attention to possible hazards.) 9.       Bring some water and snacks.  Obey local container laws.  10.   Don’t bring any valuables if possible. 11.   Bring towels to sit on in the car. 12.   Know where you can put air in your tubes/check to see if gas stations charge for it/inflate the tubes ahead of time if you have a large enough vehicle. 13.   Enjoy the cool, refreshing water!

"Let our Light Shine"

The past two weeks have been ones of growth.  I have personally changed tremendously from my work with iACT.  I have become more confident, more professional, and more aware of the dynamics of my community.  I have become more adept at dealing with challenges and taking on more responsibilities within the agency.

The past two weeks have also been a time of amazing growth for the students in my ESL program.  They have become more confident and comfortable speaking English.  Many of the students in our intermediate class are quite capable of speaking complex English sentences, but often times want to speak to me and the other administrators in their native languages.  Now more and more of them are pushing themselves to speak English.  When we attempt to address these students in their native language, they say, "No, in English, please. I know how to speak English."

My heart is especially touched when students from our low literacy class graduate to our beginner class.  The students in the low literacy class have come to the U.S. with no English literacy and are often non-literate in their native language.  To see them go from a zero-English knowledge base to having them stop me in the hallway and say, "Let our light shine" as they read a banner on the wall, it always feels me with joy.

I am proud of all of our students and the strides they have made.  They are perfect examples of success and greatness.

Unlikely combinations

One of my favorite things about teaching adult literacy classes is that they bring people together. Not only am I given the opportunity to interact with people from very different backgrounds (than me and than each other) that I would otherwise have to intentionally seek out to mingle with, students get to do this as well. I love stretching, challenging, and expanding understanding of this world and self by spending significant time (in both quality and quantity) with people of different racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students come to us for help with specific skills (English language, reading and writing, digital literacy); they get these, and they get a lot more. While this education is less formal, I think it is extremely valuable and important. 

This month, a Hungarian student in my advanced ESL class has a friend visiting from Hungary, so she came to our class. As we did introductions, it really hit me what an eclectic group this was - two highly education women from Hungary, a Catholic priest from Mexico, a stay at home mom from India, a nurse aide from Cameroon, a retired tax accountant, and a young literacy instructor. 4 different races, 5 different countries, an age range of early 20s to early 60s. That kind of mix just doesn't happen in our normal day to day lives.

In my basic ABE class, I have 4 students who are also quite the mixed bag. A white man in his late 50s who is from the northeast and has physical and cognitive difficulties; a black man in his late 50s who grew up here in Austin, has spent time in jail, and struggles with alcoholism; a black woman in her early 50s who grew up here in Austin, has raised a family and worked for the state for more than 20 years; and a 25 year old black man who graduated high school without learning to read or write because he was just passed through so he could play football. And then there's me - young, white, grew up in an upper middle class home, college educated. A rather unlikely group of people to be spending 4 hours a week together. 

I love getting to be part of the societal cross section that makes up our classes. I love the way traditional cultural boundaries are discarded in the spirit of learning and the way that expands and empowers our sense of self as a member of a larger community that is not defined by externally imposed definitions, but rather by common interest and care for the other. Now that I have gotten a real taste of what it is like to constantly be spending my time with such diverse people, I'm hooked! This is the way life should be lived, and I hope you get to experience it too.

Personality?

Over the course of the year, through AmeriCorps and Any Baby Can, I have participated in three different tests of… well, let me call it character. Some people call them personality tests and others avoid the word ‘personality’ like the plague. This is professional, after all! I have had fun using these tests and getting to know a little more about myself this year as I continue to work and live in a new environment. With a few fellow AmeriCorps members, I took the Enneagram test. This truly is a personality test. It measures your sub-personality into one or more of nine interconnected personality types. More recently, I took a test that measures how we tend to deal with conflict in the workplace. This was a new test for me and was an interesting way of looking at the different ways that people work with conflict. It turns out, conflict is good and having different solutions to conflict is often the most effective way to solve a problem! Most recently, I participated in a training for something called Style Flex. This test had more to do with your way of communicating. It ‘graded’ you on a scale of 5-95 in the four following categories: driver, expressive, amiable and analytical. Then, it guides you through effective ways to approach and communicate with people who are of other dominant communication styles. Here is a quick peek at the styles:

-Driver: Wants action and results, needs to control and win, is decisive and goal oriented, avoids wasted time and energy, fears losing control, is impatient and can be insensitive to others.

-Expressive: Wants feedback and to be liked, needs to interact and verbalize, is persuasive, avoids boredom, fears social rejection, is disorganized, optimistic and can be impulsive.

-Amiable: Wants harmony and peace, needs to serve others, is a team player, loyal and patient, avoids confrontation, fears loss of predictability, and is afraid of taking a stand.

-Analytical: Wants excellence and quality, needs to comply with standards, is accurate and precise, avoids uncertainty, fears criticism of their work, can be worrisome and a poor improviser.

Do any of these ring a bell for you?!

Being a Friend

One of the great things about iACT is that it employs refugee women who have small children to work in the Refugee School childcare. (There are three women who work in the childcare. Two are permanent employees and one rotating position, which means that the latter only works in the position for six months and then another person is employed.) The work in childcare is a great opportunity for refugee women to gain some employment experience as they try to establish themselves in the U.S. The women come from various ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. With past and current employees coming from: Burma, Burundi, Cuba, Iraqi, and DR Congo.

The current women are from Mexico (non-refugee), Congo, and Iraq. And I have had the pleasure of spending more time with these women the past few weeks. I have grown to know these women since I started working at iACT eight months ago, but the past few weeks have afforded me the time to spend a significant amount of time with them every day. I have often marveled and fallen in love with the idea that these women, each from a different background work together to take care of our students’ children who may or may not come from the same country as them. The women must speak English to work in this position, but they also use their native languages on a daily basis to communicate with the children and their parents. It’s often amazing how they are still able to communicate with parents who speak a different native language AND do not speak English. But they get the job done every single time.

These past weeks I have gotten to know these ladies more and I feel like we are becoming closer friends and confidantes. I can’t wait to see them and listen to their stories. I love the (frank) questions they ask me about myself, my family, and American culture (Btw: They are not a fan of how we Americans always have the AC on in every building.)  I love to hear our similarities and the appreciation of our differences. Sometimes I get “lost” in their conversations. I pay attention, but what I mean is, they sometimes talk about great things, about being mothers, and wives, about taking care of children, about their lives here and back in their home countries. I just like to sit there and listen to them talk, as I push toys across the floor and play with the children. These are the times when I realize that I will learn more when I am quiet and listen and learn. That sometimes I don’t need to be heard, but that a lot of the value of my presence comes from just listening to them. I am thankful that they have trusted me with their most precious information. My time with them has made it clearer to me that there are many refugees out there who need a friend, who need someone to just listen to them. I hope that I will have more opportunities like this, to not only listen but to be a friend for other refugees in the future.