future plans with Cono

you teach them music, and i'll teach them love

i found where the sidewalk ends & kept going anyway

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!

a call to Kagogo

about the new PCV in my village;

the new teacher is doing well

but he's not as sharp as you

you were courageous,

interacting with lots of people

people are still appreciating of you..

your character & his character are totally different

be patient, I tell Director Johnson, reminding him that I too was very shy when I first arrived in Kagogo.

he continues;

when are you getting married?

us africans are interested in celebrations like that

i laugh it off.

ohmygoodness, do i miss Africa.

sick days, kindness & chances to explore

I called mom on the way to work this morning to wish her good luck with her chemo today,

she got all motherly on me & said that she didn't like hearing me sounding so sick & that she didn't want me walking to work alone in the dark

I reassured her that the sky was beginning to illuminate behind the mountains in the east - the days are slowly getting longer & longer and on a day like this, where the sky was clear, that's when you can really tell the difference.

& as far as being sick goes, I told my mom not to worry (she was the one getting chemo - & she's worried about me? goodness!). I told her that my new boss is a mom too & that I trusted her to send me away if she thought I was too ill to work today.

By the time I made my 25 minute trek across town to our office building, I wanted to collapse. I walked in & sure enough, as soon as I said hello, my boss was on the phone trying to find me a doctor in town. She called the other woman working in our office & told her that she'd be taking me to the doctors this morning.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to cry out of gratitude.

This woman cares,

I'm not used to that.

I hated my most recent job, hated it.

I hated how it was all about money, all about sales & budgets.

I hated how even if you were sick, you were expected to report to work unless you could find a sub to cover your shift.

This woman shut down the entire office just to make sure that my health was seen to.

I wanted to cry

but I didn't.

Instead I said "thank you".

I think she could sense the gratitude in my eyes,

she responded "I'd hope that someone would do this for my daughter if she was sick".

& with that I was off to the doctors and the pharmacy with a heart overflowing with appreciation. Had I been merely turned away, I would've spent the day in bed - I still don't really understand how to navigate the bus system & I don't know any doctors in town.. I would have felt helpless.

But I didn't because I was taken to the doctors.

She cares, and that means the world to me.

The doctor told me it's likely a virus (everyone in our house & around town seems to be catching this) and recommended some medicines to help me deal with the symptoms. When I was dropped off at home after going to the pharmacy, the sun was out and the 20-something degree air felt warm. I took some pills which seemed to help & decided that what I needed most was to get some fresh air & to treat my soul to a bit of sunshine so I pulled on a light jacket & went for a walk.

I didn't know exactly where I was going, but I knew that I was headed west, towards the water.

I passed by a school where children were going in circles around the playground on skis.. on skis wearing t-shirts! No jackets, t-shirts! But I soon understood as I felt my body temperature rise with the sunshine & simple act of walking.

I wandered about almost hoping to spot another moose - I saw one this morning on our way home from the doctors.

Here the moose seem more like decorative lawn ornaments than like the enormous, powerful creatures that they truly are. Laying about like ceramic deer figurines we see in neighbors of the lower 48, you'd think someone had placed them around town if you saw where the showed up - by the bank drive-through or planted near a parking lot at the cemetery in the middle of town. It's unreal. Truly unreal.

But - no moose. Not this time.

Eventually I'd made enough right turns for the bay to come into view.

Wow.

Most days it seems a haze or clouds hang over the city & mountains, but not today.

Across the bay the sleeping lady mountain was clearly in view.

I'd heard rumors about this woman who fell asleep waiting for her lover to return but this was my first time seeing her myself. I was very impressed by her loyalty & found her legend to resemble that of the sleeping bear dunes in Michigan although my memory is a bit blurry and the only thing they might actually have in common is the whole "sleeping" thing.

Just to the left of the sleeping lady I saw what appeared to be mountain-shaped clouds only to realize that they were truly mountains -in- the clouds. The peaks of the Alaska range floated like a castle in the sky, I'd never seen anything like it before. The mountains in Rwanda were so rounded, the mountains here though are anything but. Very jagged, they pierce the sky with their sharp white peaks. It was beautiful & left me standing in awe on the costal trail as others passed by on their cross country skis.

When clouds started to appear in the sky, I decided it was time to turn around & head home. Here I feel guilty spending precious moments of sunshine inside when I know my heart craves the light just as much as the rest of my body. So I made my way back across town & followed the eastern mountains home again. The rest of the day was spent curled up on the couch with my book soaking up the remaining sun through the window or in bed, trying to sleep away this bug.

I think it's time to take some nyquil & call it a night.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be well enough to make it back to work again, fingers crossed.

xo

the alaska range

the sleeping lady

too much soy sauce

we all know that cooking for one sucks, right?

i mean - there's no way to go to the store and buy

-half- a red pepper

1 cup of flour

just enough mushrooms to cover 1 dinner salad

society, super markets (!) have something against the solo eaters.

well,

let me tell ya

cookin' for 3 ain't no cup o'tea either!

I learned to cook in a village

over a charcoal stove

with about 5 main ingredients

beans, potatoes, onions, garlic, salt

I was told during training that when cooking - the more of #'s 3 & 4 you threw in that pot, the better.

& that's the way it was!

And even if my creative oh-what was it tonight? bean soup? bean stew? potatoes & beans? beans & potatoes? - didn't turn out just right, well shoot. who cares? I was the only one who had to eat it.

well,

when you're cooking for 3 - these rules of more, more, more or free stylin' to your taste bud delights just don't seem to cut it. no way.

tonight I wanted to curl up under the table & never come out

or crawl away like an ashamed dog, with my tail between my legs.

what was I thinking??

tonight's dinner was meant to be a veggie stirfry with tofu.

the tofu - which I'd never even prepared before didn't even turn out half-bad.

(it wasn't really half-good either though)

but the veggies,

ohmygoodness

why didn't ANYONE tell me that the veggies don't necessarily have to be drowing in the deep end of a pool of soy sauce?

why didn't ANYONE tell me it would've been okay for them to just dip their toes into a soy sauce puddle?

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?

2/3 a bottle later

no,

not a bottle

a JUG

a hugeass JUG later

& I can't believe my roommates even TRIED to eat the ocean of sodium slopping around their plates!

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?

I was so embarrassed,

they were too kind

& fortunately our friend Laura made a pretty sweet apple crumble thing I still can't even remember the name of (crumble? cobbler?? a pile of heaven on a plate?)

what was I thinking?

but again,

1st time American cooker in the kitchen - you would've thought someone would've been looking out for my (or at least *their*) best interests with a little novice supervision.

too much soy sauce

& what did I do with the left over saltly saturated veggies

& the now mostly empty JUG of soy sauce?

the veggies went for a joy ride into the rubbish bin

& as for that JUG of soy sauce

I hid it away, behind the other - much larger jugs - on top of the refrigerator

never to be seen or spoken of again.

the innocent vegetables didn't see it coming

don't be fooled

they're suffocating in sodium

(& so our our insides)

on a higher note,

my new supervisor is amazing.

today she gave me a headband she crocheted by hand

I have so many beautiful hand-made & love given gifts to keep me warm up here.

thank you!

home sweet home

i am not a recipe person

quinoa parsley salad

- 1 cup uncooked quinoa

- olive oil

- lemon juice

- sea salt

- 1 bunch of parsley

- a few jumbo black olives

- 1 medium/large tomato diced

- a bit of onion chopped

- a couple of garlic cloves in ittybitty pieces

rinse, then cook quinoa (in 2 cups water, bring to boil - then let simmer until water is fully absorbed)

chop up veggies

when quinoa is done, stir in a bit of olive oil & lemon juice

mix veggies in a bowl, stir in lemon juice & sea salt

mix all together in larger bowl - add lemon juice & sea salt to taste

refrigerate overnight & enjoy