"Rural Whirlpools Rule"

This was the name for our trivia team this week.  Yes, the hostess did mess it up when she announced our score.  No, we did not place again.

            I found my café!  I’m not sure if I mentioned the “shopping for a café,” but I found the Javateas of Columbia.  It is called “Cool Beans” and it is right on USC’s campus.  I think it is a common ground for the coffee-studying combo, but it is also a place for the casual weekender to get good coffee and breakfast.  I love the atmosphere.  It reminds me of the hostel we stayed in while in Atlanta.  Some mismatched furniture sits underneath of random artwork (some for sale) and a couple of large maps.  You can put a sticker on the place that you came from and the place that you want to go.  The map is covered in stickers!

           

            September 11, 2010 was a day to remember.  I had a fantastic experience on this national day of service.  City Year and Columbia Heroes met at DJJ (Department of Juvenile Justice) of South Carolina.  We came as a Corps before, but this time we brought 16 middle school students.  They call the place a “campus” and the children who live there are “students.”  They live in “dorms” and attend classes.  We were told to treat them like “normal” kids and not talk to them about why they are there.  I was excited to work side by side with the “students” but I noticed that the middle school Heroes seemed to be slightly intimidated.  This is the first time the campus had a large group of young people “behind the fence.”  We were split up into groups and placed at different locations on the campus to do some cleaning-type labor.  My group included 3 Heroes, 2 DJJ students, and a few Corps members.  I got a chance to work with a couple DJJ kids to clean windows.  Josh and I spoke about what he was going to do when he leaves DJJ in November, while we cleaned windows.  He carefully held the ladder as I reached up to scrub, and he told me about his dreams of playing Villanova basketball.  Then I would hold the ladder for him and he could reach much higher on the window, and I told him about my dreams of teaching.  He told me I am a great person, and that I would make a great teacher.  We talked about music, lessons our Mamas' taught us, and sports.  I was pleasantly surprised to see several other happy and hard-working young people.  I think the Heroes that we brought in got much more comfortable with the idea of being in a jail.  They ended up eating lunch, sharing dance moves and arm-wrestling with DJJ kids.  At the end of all service learning projects, we are supposed to reflect by sharing one thing we learned and one thing we are thankful for.  I said that I learned about how much we could get done as a large CYSC team working alongside about 20 DJJ kids.  I also said that I am thankful for the freedom and ability to serve the country in that way.  

*Never Forget*

Outside the exhibit...lovin' the palmettos everywhere!

            I checked out the Center for Contemporary Art with Amanda and Kristen because (go figure) it’s free on Sundays!  There was a photography exhibit that expressed the civil servants at different levels of government in Bolivia, France, Yemen, Russia, Liberia, India, the USA (Texas) and China. Jan Banning photographed the people behind their desks in their natural environment.  Banning also compared the amount of money these people make.  There was a woman in Liberia who made no money, surviving on money she was getting from her relatives in USA.  People in Yemen were making $100 a month, performing a similar task to the people in the USA making $4,000 per month.  Think what you want, and I know we have our problems, but this makes me feel blessed for being born in America. 






Song of the day: "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine