(no subject)

[violachic]

I've decided that I need to be actively doing something in my life that reflects my values on peace and justice. I hate sitting around, and reading news reports and bitching to people aren't really the same as a practical application. So in light of this, I started a new volunteer gig: Teaching assistant for citizenship classes at fantastic place down the street from me called The Centro Romero. Right now I've signed up for Monday nights only, and will wait and see how that goes. If I find I have the spoons for more, I'll do it after Christmas. In November I'll also take their ESL training, and am thinking of adding Friday afternoon one-on-one tutoring (I usually get Fridays off from The Peanut) to my schedule. The center is named after Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who has long been one of my personal heroes.

Last night I went to my first citizenship class. At the volunteer orientation I was under the impression that the classes would be primarily led by an experienced teacher, with occasional break-out groups led by volunteers. Maybe its different other nights, but last night I led a small group of four to seven people (there was some migrating in and out) for the entire three hours. What I discovered was that not only am I capable of that, but that I'm good at it, too. Drilling them on the trivia questions they'll need to answer for their citizenship interview is good for me, too; its been too long since high school political science class, and I've forgotten more than I care to admit. I promised the women in my group that if they have to memorize it all, I will too. Our collective biggest challenge is making sure we know the name of all 13 original colonies. Can you name them, without cheating?

I also discovered some very interesting life-choices coincidences with the woman who leads the class. She would like to come hang out at The 'Nidge and talk about the Church of the Brethren, living in Intentional Community, going overseas to do humanitarian/activist work, and just general peace and justice stuff. I take this as a good omen.

I'm feeling much better these days in general, if only emotionally, but not physically. Its kind of a stretch making myself do a journal post- as I'm sure you can tell by my stilted writing style- but I think its important for several reasons, not the least of which is that I desperately need to keep my grip on the people around me. A large part of my upswing in mood stems from the vacation I took a couple weeks ago with divalibby76, a trip to Old Mission- upper Michigan, just outside Traverse City. I have about a gazillion pictures, which I'll upload as soon as I am not lazy enough to go find the cable to do so, and will post them as soon as I have the time and energy to write it all up.

Anyway, I'm alive, and if not "well", at least "sustainably okay".


**Edit: Huh. I really need to fix this animated icon to reflect my change in hair color. Anybody remember how to find that website?**

Comments

[ironheadjane.livejournal.com]

This sounds really awesome. I am still looking for good work/volunteer options. I'm glad you found this current one. It sounds like a great opportunity for local impact. That was something I was missing from my last volunteer gig.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

I just couldn't sit around with my finger in my navel anymore, but my options were so limited by my stupid body. I was really excited to find this place just down the street. Actually, to be honest, I rode past that place on the bus for 3 1/2 years before I checked it out, which I'm a little ashamed to admit. But I'm extremely excited about it. The women in my group were actually disappointed that I wasn't coming back till next Monday, which made me feel so good!

:)

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml

Re: :)

[violachic.livejournal.com]

w00t! thanks!

[violachic.livejournal.com]

I sorta thought you'd know them :-) Now I'm going to screen this comment so other people can try their hand, if they're so inclined.

[belmikey.livejournal.com]

I'll admit I had to cheat a little to find their formal names, but I made sure to list them out more colloquially first.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Well, in classes they don't have to learn the "province of" part, luckily. That would be quite the mouthful.

[spuzbal.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a great (volunteer) job. I remember when my former next-door neighbor was studying for her citizenship test. I always wondered where she and her family were from, but for some reason, I never asked, and then they moved away while I was still in high school. Oh yeah, and *teacher high five*

[violachic.livejournal.com]

I LOVE teaching, athough I've never had any formal training. That's another reason why I'm looking forward to the ESL training, it'll be a chance to get a little pedagogy under my belt. More and more I'm looking to the day when I'm strong enough to start teaching music lessons again. Although I suspect it'll be another year, at least. But I LOVED doing it.

[spuzbal.livejournal.com]

That's awesome that it sounds like you're making progress toward being able to teach music lessons.

I have fun teaching, though I think I'd enjoy it more if I were teaching a class where the students had a larger (German) vocabulary. You can do more complex, interesting things, obviously, if you have more advanced language abilities. On the other hand, though, it's rewarding to see them go from no knowledge of German to writing impressive compositions.

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

Dude, this is very cool. I'm excited for you. :-)

"sustainably okay" is much better than "at the bottom of the shitpile". And it's cool that the place is named for Romero!

13 original colonies - let's see.... West Virginia, Maine, Florida, Texas, Alaska..... just kidding. ;-)

[violachic.livejournal.com]

You got it! I'll screen you, too. The citizenship doesn't ask for order, which I think is totally fair. I wonder if they give extra credit, though.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

"Sustainably okay" is great compared to the last year and a half, but I still miss my old life and world so much. I mean, if I hadn't gotten sick, who knows how many kids me and ol' Mordechai would have had by now? ;-)

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

*LOL*

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

Hey, sustainably okay is great! I've had times when sustainably okay would have been a big step up from where I was then, and it's quite a milestone -- celebrate it!

[sabotabby]

That's great! And I'm glad you're alive and sustainably okay.

[madresal.livejournal.com]

That volunteer gig sounds awesome! If you're cool with it, let me know if they need more volunteers, and/or when the next orientation is, or anything else I should know.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Oh, they're always looking for volunteers, especially for citizenship- the fees are going up significantly soon, so there has been a huge rush of people who started their application process lately and the classes are huge. If you're interested you should call or go by the place and talk t Aaron With, who is the volunteer coordinator. I'm not sure how often they have orientations, but I think it must be fairly often. I'd love to work with you there!

[magp.livejournal.com]

Good to hear from ya.