most people wouldn't check weather.com and find that an 18 degree day (that feels like 11) is a perfectly fine day to go out for a known-to-be at least a mile.5+ walk.
most people also wouldn't move to Alaska in the middle of January either.
so I bundled up,
wool socks
under armour leggings
blue jeans
tshirt
micro-fleece pull over
fleece jacket
down jacket
head band
scarf
boots
mittens & a spare pair just incase
I'm overheating now just thinking about it.
Stepping outside I soon realized I didn't really need all of those layers, what I truly needed was a pair of sunglasses! The sun bounced so brightly off of the snow, I had to squint the whole way way to 15th Ave. where I was able to turn west. If you know me, you know that telling me to walk North, East, South or West for me would be like standing me on my head, spinning around counterclockwise in a room full of mirrors and expecting me to know left from right. (I don't think it'd even have to be that complicated). Anyway, the only reason I can tell East from West here is because I know the mountains are in the East & the water is to the West. That helps to keep me turned right side up.
Anyway, I'd googled my walking directions to mid-town before leaving but google warned me that the walking directions were in beta form & that there might not actually be sidewalks where they said SO. I wasn't very surprised to quickly find myself standing at the end of the plowed snow path looking ahead off of a huge, slippery hill. Either that (& I didn't bring my sled today) or walk against oncoming traffic on the even slipperier road OR *winner* venture down the beautiful wooden staircase just to my left. I knew I wanted to go right, but sometimes going left is the only way to get there (or at least in one piece!).
So this never ending staircase brought me down to the coastal path which I took through a couple of tunnels until I had to ask a skier passing by which way to town. Trick question, I guess both paths could've gotten me there, it just depended on if I wanted to take the longer or shorter route. Being that it was somethingbelowfreezingout, I opted for the shorter path.
up
up
up
I walked on the sidewalk alongside the road.
By the time I actually reached my destination, I'd worked up such a sweat that I started peeling layers off as quickly as they'd come! I spotted the cafe I wanted to visit but was too embarrassed by my hot-mess of a condition to set foot inside, let alone trying drink a warm beverage, so I decided to check out a store just down the way.
GrassRoots, a fair trade store.
Holy cow!
Do you have any products specifically from Rwanda?
I'd hoped they did when I spotted a huge map of the world with pins & strings coming off of it in all different directions from all different countries all over the world.
Do you have paper beads?
Do you have elephant poo journals?
The answer to all of these questions: YES.
I fell in love immediately.
beads & baskets
paper bowls & bracelets
belts & butterflies
my eyes couldn't take in all of the fabulous, worldly, hand-made creations quickly enough.
the textures, the colors, the wax prints that brought me home to Africa,
the recycled paper cards & the recycled fabrics bags
wow.
I stumbled upon a hand-woven belt made in Guatemala that just couldn't pass it up.
Yes, the price on these items is steep
(& I felt very glad to have purchased my own paper-bead necklaces and other hand-made jewelry in Rwanda & Uganda while I had the chance)
but the price of these products allows women who'd otherwise be unable to support themselves and their families to provide for their loved ones.. & that, well that's worth the [peace] of mind that comes with spending a few extra dollars for such one-of-a-kind treasures.
I spoke with the kind woman working the register (who must have been tired of all of my questions) & we got on the topic of the future. I told her about having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda (and about having gone white-water rafting on the Nile in Jinja, Uganda - where the store's paper-bead necklaces were from) and mentioned that I was now serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Alaska with a feeling in my heart that somehow it would get me back to Africa. She asked what my interests were in Africa, what I wanted to do. I told her I wasn't quite sure - some kind of non-profit NGO work be it starting a girls school, working at an orphanage, I didn't know & was open to suggestions. With that she stated that the store's owner was actually hoping to start a program to educate individuals who were interested in going into developing nations, particularly in Africa, on how to start vocational programs - programs like the paper bead one, where you train women on how to perform a skill, producing a product that could then be marketed & sold in other parts of the world (America, Europe, ect). Of course the skill would depend on the community, the woman mentioned that in one village in Uganda it was helping to establish a bakery, it all depends on the interests, resources & needs of individual villages.
Uh.. SIGN ME UP!
I told her I'd love to meet with the store owner to discuss this idea further, we exchanged contacted information & I left saying that I'd soon be back and that I was super excited. I mean - who knows what will come of a conversation, if anything, with this woman - but even having the idea of participating in vocational training programs abroad, that's even a start right there! Another avenue to consider!
This stuff gets my gears turning!
I did eventually cool off & enjoy a warm cup of "zen chai" at the Middle Way Cafe. I picked up a job application there as well. The man who gave me the application told me "we're always looking for good people".
we're good people, I thought to myself, as I sat down & wrote out letters and postcards to some friends.
we're good people, you're good people.
it's amazing how much brighter the world seems when you have a sunshine ray of hope in your heart.
ps. tomorrow I get to move into my own room - awesome!
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