The Life and Love of Karen

Hong Kong

2011-12-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

AND Week three was spent in Hong Kong - with a day trip to Szenzhen... As you will see from these photos, Hong Kong was warm. It was strange to be in 70 degree weather a week before Thanksgiving. It was BEAUTIFUL there!

One of the many adventures we took was to see the largest seated Buddha. He is located on a hill that you can only reach by a tram. It is a 20-30 minute ride on the tram. To get to the ticket booth you had to go up these amazing stairs (They say welcome in many different languages).

From the tram, there were AMAZING views. These are some of the students and me. And my favorite sign in the trams...

Seeing the Buddha was also pretty awesome. I don't think the photos truly capture the enormity of the statue but it was impressive.

At the same monastery - where I would have loved to spend more time - there was a Wisdom Path through which you could wander and reflect. Or sprint through and take as many photos as possible :)

After the Buddha visit, my Buddhist explorations extended the next day when I went to a nunnery with some of my students. There was a GORGEOUS garden connected to the nunnery and a lot of rules for the garden.

My final adventure in Hong Kong was to see a garden that had an aviary and an Olympic square... that was actually a circle... And the Olympics have never been there... but it was fun to play in the rain and impersonate the trash cans at the play area (I won't post the student's pictures as they may not want those on the internet).

So, as I hope you can tell from this photo journey, I had a blast in China and traveling with the lovely people pictured below. I can't wait until my next traveling adventure!

I leave you with some of the food that I enjoyed while on the trip, as that is one of my favorite parts of traveling. First, you will see the amazing dumplings I had in Beijing. They were even good cold, two days old.

These are sugar-coated crab apples - a Beijing Tradition I was told.

My Shanghai top food was hot pot. Something that should be in the US, if it is not. Basically you have a pot of hot broth and then they bring out plates of things to cook in the broth (the veg variety was lots of 'shrums and greens). You drop things in and then let them cook, pull them out and dip them in the dipping sauce (that you prepare from the sauce buffet). It was tasty.

In Hong Kong, the traditional food we had was milk tea with sticky buns. These buns had sweetened condensed milk drizzled on them (As you can tell Philisile and I were very excited for them).

Happy Holidays!

Shanghai

2011-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

Week two of my trip was spent in Shanghai. The pollution was a bit better. The city was far more westernized so the food was also more western and there for not as enjoyable and exciting in my mind. BUT, there were people who spoke some English, which I greatly appreciated because it is hard for me to not be able to chat up strangers. Should have mastered Mandarin before I went...

These are all photos of the Shanghai skyline during the day and at night. It was very lovely. And I couldn't help but photograph the bikes. I wish I could have gotten the Louis Vuitton in the background to show the stark contrasts in Chinese Society.

One of our cultural experiences was visiting the Temple of the City Gods. It is a Taoist temple with many alters where you can go and make offerings to many different Gods for wealth or health or whatever else one needs. All of the red ribbons were offered by people to the God that corresponds to their

Another attraction in Shanghai is the World Financial Center. I want to say it is the third tallest building in the world. There was an amazing view, though the glass floor hundreds of feet up freaked me out. It is a place of business but it also has an elevator for tourists that reminded me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory, though we didn't break through the roof and they didn't seem to take kindly to licking the wallpaper...

I even found a Catholic Church in Shanghai! So, of course, I went to mass. Thankfully, you don't actually have to speak the language to know what to do in a Catholic Mass. And I met an English speaker from Brazil who is studying Mandarin in Shanghai who was sad that I was only there for a few days as she said she hadn't found many people who spoke English or Portuguese with which to socialize.

Just in case I had forgotten what a small world it truly is, I 'ran into' my friend James from Oregon while in Shanghai and we spent my day off sight seeing. The Yu Yuan Gardens, pictured below, were AMAZING! We also took the scenic route to the Bund - the ritz-ee waterfront district and got to see some of the back ally's and the normal everyday people that lived there. Our adventure ended with an interesting foot massage - something I was told I had to have done in China. It was only interesting because the guy in the chair next to me seemed to have some sort of ingrown toenail issue and the process of addressing that left him hold a pillow for dear life and writhing in pain. Needless to say, neither James nor I let them near our toenails :)

Other than a day trip to Wuxi - another Chinese town where lots of multinational tech companies are based - the only other adventure I had in Shanghai was visiting the sight of the 2010 world expo. There was not a lot of stuff left behind to see at the world expo grounds but the few buildings remaining were amazing, architecturally. And I encountered the most persistent hawkers of anywhere we had gone. I heard "lady, lady, I give you good price" more than at any other attraction and had a number of people grab my arm to try and stop me. More on the joys of shopping in China later...

I leave my Shanghai portion with a few amusing signs from my trip. Most of these were actually in Beijing, but I didn't want to bore you too much and that post was longer :) It really makes me worry what signs in the US say that have been translated into other languages since English is one of the most commonly used languages, I can't imagine what we do to Mandarin.

Beijing

2011-12-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

One month ago today I got back to the USA from my three week trip to mainland China and Hong Kong. It was overall an amazing experience. If anyone knows of a job that will allow me to travel internationally with college students, let me know. :) I figure a month later, it is about time I share the experience with y'all - I tried to include a lot of photos as I have heard those are greatly enjoyed. So first, Beijing.

Exhibit A: I call this smog in Beijing. You may or may not be aware that China has a known pollution problem. This is the first photo I took in China, and my lungs that are still recovering will be the first to tell you Beijing has a pollution problem. I love first moments in a country, seeing signs all in other languages, observing how people dress, act, drive, etc.

Exhibit B. The Hutongs. These are the 'traditional' style of living in Beijing. Basically, there is a common courtyard type place with lots of tiny apartments all clustered around. Some of these were set up based on certain regions of China because people would come to study for the exam that allowed them to work in the government - an exam few passed and many committed suicide over. In USA terms, it would be as if there was one Hutong for people from NW who moved to DC. That way they could enjoy the food, company, and cultural traditions of other NW-ners - things like flannel, North Face jackets, and a 'work fleece' could be appreciated by all. I found these little back alleys fascinating - though jetlag fogs many of my memories there. This is where Chinese modernization is very present as many Hutongs are being destroyed to put in highrises that house China's ever growing population.

Exhibit C: Yes. I did walk on the great wall of China. I may have been singing the songs from Mulan for the entire day... It was simply amazing to think, 'I am walking on the great wall.' It is HUGE, though due to the fog/smog we could not truly appreciate the incredible size of it.

Exhibit D: These are my children. Also known as the students with which I traveled. These photos are at Baidu (the China google equivalent) and Peking University Campus. My students were amusing beyond belief and just happen to hail from all over the US and world - so I look forward to visiting...

Exhibit E: Summer Palace. This is the summer palace - where the emperor and family could go to get out of the hustle and bustle of the forbidden city... It is GORGEOUS!

Exhibit F: Olympic Torch and The Bird's Nest. I had to check out the 2008 Beijing Olympic attractions. The most fun part of this was getting there on the Subway and Bus. By myself. Very early in the morning. I love traveling on adventures with little real plan :)

Exhibit G: This is in front of the Forbidden City, with Mao's Picture. The Forbidden City is where the Emperor, his family, concubines, and eunuchs used to live. It WAS HUGE! And Beautiful. And we kept having conversations about where Mulan had been :) The second picture is of Tianamen Square, again, one of the places I had a 'I can't believe I am here' moment.

And those were the highlights of my week in Beijing. Stay tuned for Shanghai and Hong Kong.

From Walla Walla to China

2011-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

As many of you have so kindly told me, too long between posts! :)

I had some deluded idea that since I am only working part-time I would get back to emails faster, blog more, in general, stay in touch with people better... I then realized, I am good at keeping myself busy :)

Since I last wrote, I have had many exciting adventures. The weekend of September 11, I went to State College to visit my friend Clair - I know her from my time in El Paso - and my friend Kendra - also studied at UP. Then Clair and I went to Mountain Craft Days with her friend Carrie, whose grandfather has a treadle powered lathe. So of course, we had to dress for the occasion. And I learned how to make bobbin lace :)

Carrie's mom was also instrumental in organizing the Flight 97 Memorial in Shanksville, so we went to the Luminaria Ceremony on Sept. 10 to pay our respects. It was a very beautiful ceremony with a Luminaria for ever person who died in the attacks on 9/11. It was very interesting to observe the various emotions present.

I also got to travel for work and do recruitment for the program which was lots of fun! I went to Meadville, Washington, New Wilmington and Pittsburgh, PA. All of which were new to me and a great adventure :) I went to a museum and learned all about Heinz Ketchup, the Steelers, the French Indian War, and the Pittsburgh population. I also went to a Slovakian store near New Wilmington and learned about tin work. This mural in Meadville was one of the coolest things I saw. It was a collaboration between Allegheny College and DOT.

The second part of my recruitment trip took me to the NW. I, of course, had no objection to being 'sent home' for work. I got to visit Walla Walla and Spokane, WA, as well as Portland, McMinville, and Salem, OR. And this great little town called Hillsboro where a bunch of people who share my DNA live :) It was so nice to be home again, after only being away for two months. Plus, I was able to return from Spokane via Seattle and visit family there (don't look at a map, it isn't 100% on the way back to Hillsboro :) ) And I got to see Amy (my sister) PR in her cross country meet! The long drives around WA were also beautiful and a great time to learn some Chinese, catch up on phone calls (with a blue tooth), and contemplate the meaning of life :-P

In the small amounts of time I have been home, I of course have been doing absolutely nothing :) Some of those highlights are going to a Redskins game - a neighbor gave me and my roommate tickets he couldn't use. It was a GREAT game.

My house has also been hosting weekly dinners for all our friends every Friday - often the highlight of my week! Just keeping my housewife skills up cooking for usually 15-20 people. It really becomes loaves and fishes and with all the food other people bring, my roommates and I eat left overs for the rest of the week - like these homemade fortune cookies that my friend Amanda made. We also have lots of adventures as a house. Like apple picking- we over course dressed for that occasion too - and monster making for Halloween :)

We have also had lots of visitors to our humble abode. My friend Kirsten that I know from church choir in Oregon spent a night with us, her mom Eileen came a few weeks later and we got to catch up over some amazing Macaroni Grill, and my friend Sara from El Paso came for a weekend and got to go to the Wider Circle 10 year anniversary gala with me :) We got all fancied up.

So at long last, there is an update on my life - I know it is long but at least there are pictures! It hasn't all been amazing, just so you all don't think I have some perfect life. A few of the scarier happenings were when my rental car stopped working (decelerated from 70 to 35 in about 10 seconds) on a highway or when I was hit by a car while biking (the bike and I are both fine, and I was not even doing anything crazy!) but the moral of the story is that when my life is in balance and I focus on all these positives, the negatives are just small speed bumps :)

Oh, and I almost forgot. I leave my house tomorrow at 4:00am to go to China for three weeks. :) I am chaperoning a student trip for work. There will be 25 of us - 23 students and one professor and me :). We get to go to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. I AM SUPER EXCITED... Should probably pack... Will definitely update you on that adventure when I get back! And will probably not be responding to emails and such much while away, so no worries if I am AWOL. :)

Remember to smile and hug your loved ones,

~ Karen

Changes, changes, changes

2011-08-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

For the first time in five years, I will be living in the same place for more than one year (The roommates are changing so it is not 100% the same situation). And I bought a couch and table and chairs (both used and from my former roommate). That is enough to make me have a minor panic attack. I guess, there is something nice about laying down 'roots', not moving, and 'knowing' an area. It is terrifying to me. 'I am too young to settle' rushes through my mind sometimes daily. And I don't like having this much stuff that I have to worry about (no comments from my mother who has to put up with my personal shrine of junk in my room at home). Don't worry though, the people I am renting from are moving back into their house in one year, so I am not too settled - or even if I am, I will be kicked out of the nest again soon enough. And both my roommates and my job have changed, so this change addict is still getting her fix :). I am still unsure why the thought of being committed to anything is so terrifying for me. I guess, I just feel like there is so much of the world to see. Everyone says, appreciate your age right now because you can go and do anything you want. Once you get married, have kids, have a mortgage, are climbing the ladder at work, etc. you can't adventure anymore. So, I am trying to accept the not moving as a nice stable place from which to jump off - easier to jump from a rock than quick sand.

To update you all on the job, as I know many of you have been wondering, I am going to be working part-time at the program that brought me to Washington, DC three and a half years ago. I will be assisting one of my former-professors and doing a plethora of random things. It will give me exposure to the inner-workings of University programs to some extent, who knows at times I have thought I might enjoy working at a university. Best, though, is that I will have time to better discern what my life's next steps are/try some things. Thanks to many teachers on a life of simplicity, I can fairly easily make ends meet on a part-time job and can recommit to the other tenants I learned last year of community, social justice, and spirituality. My life had become badly unbalanced over this past year, and I now am blessed with the opportunity to bring back that balance and stop and listen. I have time to really answer questions like, "When have you felt most energized?" "What topics most upset you?" and "What would you like to see change in the world?" All great questions from a 'discerning life's call' survey I recently used as a reflecting tool. So, in addition to again doing laundry regularly, cleaning up my yard, and running more, I hope to use this time to volunteer, network, do informational interviews, and catch up on the academic side of my interests.

As always, thanks for your prayers, thoughts, comments, critiques, and words of wisdom!

Be Everything That's You

2011-07-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

"I want you to be everything that's you deep at the center of your being." - Confucius

These were the words on the calendar that my mom and dad gave me for Christmas that hit home. What is at the center of my being? Do any of us actually ever know what is at the center of our being? That is the journey of life, I guess.

"It is better to travel well than to arrive." - Buddha

That is another one of the quotes from said calendar. As a highly introspective person (I know you never would have guessed ;) ), I am a firm believer that all the answers to 'life,' if there are answers, are right in front of us, we just have to slow down to listen. The only problem is we live in a culture where everything is perceived in terms of deadlines, meeting others expectations, fitting into a role - What are you going to study? What will you be when you grow up? What will be your legacy? Sure, it is easier to put people in a box but if someone is in a box all you see is the outside of that box and what you think the label is, you never get to see the complexity of what is inside. These have been some of the many thoughts running through my head over the last year and especially last few months. I reached the conclusion that I was not being everything that was me at the center of my being and was not traveling well. So I did the only logical thing one can do, I left my job.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

This quote has been one that was on the back of our sweatshirts in Key Club during high school, it was painted on the wall over one of the school exits, and has been painted on my being for years as well. I realized I was no longer living my life in a proactive way. I have learned in my 24 years that all I have control over, all I can really do is live the example of how I think the world should be.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - FDR

So with that quote in mind, I am starting a new chapter in my life. I am looking for a job in the DC area. I have come to the conclusion that, for now, I want to be working with the immigrant community, that is where my passion seems to be. I am hopeful to take up my studies of French again. With Spanish, French, and English I can speak to a large portion of the population. I also want to volunteer again, in some capacity. I am giving up control and having faith - or trying to suppress the control freak within me. I am trying to feel and not just think through everything. I am at the moment content in the uncertainty and excited for whatever is to come.

And since it wouldn't be a real Karen blog without it, I thank you all for your patience in hearing from me over the last few months and for all your thoughts, prayers, and messages - that largely said, "Where are you?" :-) Definitely, keep all three coming :)

I will keep you updated as I embark on this new chapter. I leave you with two of the quotes that are current mantras.

Micah 6:8: Act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God.

Confucius: Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

Please don't keep your love hidden away...

2011-01-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Sooo I don't just quote Josh Groban because I think he is dreamy, though that is reason enough. I have been listening to this song over and over and over all week long.

It was what I describe as a week. Between the stroke of an elderly loved one, who thankfully is now on the road to recovery, the two year anniversary of Lauren's death, and the death of my dog (all in a five day period of time) I am ready for February. You really just have to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Of course, that comes after hours of crying forces you to put things into perspective. It is amazing how much I appreciated the texts and phone calls of friends and family this week. The smiles of co-workers and waves of neighbors, even the bitter wind on my face on the bike ride to work was a gentle reminder that the world was still turning and each moment is precious. I guess it is true without experiencing sorrow we may not truly appreciate the joy. So on that note, I leave you with more of the lyrics to this song and a few requests.

First the requests... Wednesday is the one year anniversary of the earthquake that took the life of my classmate, dormmate, and friend Molly Hightower (could be another 'week'). In her memory, and all who lost their lives in this horrific disaster, I will be wearing the colors of Haiti's flag (blue and red) and invite you to do the same, solidarity baby. Also your prayers for Molly's family and friends are greatly appreciated. The final request I have is that you hug your loved ones often and constantly.

In Mr. Groban's words:

You're a wonder, how bright you shine
A flickered candle in a short lifetime
A secret dreamer that never shows
If no one sees you then nobody knows

And all these words you were meant to say
Held in silence day after day
Words of kindness that our poor hearts crave
Please, don't keep them hidden away

Sing it out so I can finally breathe in
I can take in all the same
Reaching out for someone I believe in
All I really need today

I want to feel your love, will you reveal your love?
Please, don't keep your love hidden away
I want to free your heart, I want to see your heart
Please, don't keep your heart hidden away

Thanks for sharing your hearts with me and know that you have a spot in mine.

Peace,

Karen

A Week with limited water...

2010-12-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I know, I am late with my last post on fasting, my apologies. I was supposed to post it on Christmas, if I stuck with the schedule, but I was busy celebrating that day :)

So, my last week of fasting was living with limited water, I only took military showers - no long 10 minute showers. As someone recently told me, most of our daily water consumption is in the shower (the charity of that week, charity:water, offers further insights into water usage and water as a social justice issue). I will admit. I cheated on this one. In that, it was not much of a challenge because I did this for all of last lent and through the summer in El Paso to conserve water.

In reflection, I did think some about how we use water here in the U.S. We water our lawns with it, some neighborhood association require you keep your lawn green. We take long showers to relax muscles, warm up, practice our singing, etc. oh and we get clean in there some how as well :) Our brothers and sisters in many countries often struggle to even get enough clean water to drink. When I was in Nicaragua this summer, we couldn't drink the well-water (our bodies aren't used to all the little parasites and things in their water). There were just two pumps in one of the little villages and if I remember correctly those were fairly new. Many folks bathed in the river, as well as did the laundry - tried both of those while there, makes you appreciate an indoor closed shower and washing machine. And that is where my advent season concluded. With Christmas morning, waking up in a bed, taking a shower, checking my email, and eating a diverse range of foods (all healthy and nutritious of course).

After this month of fasting, am I a changed person? Perhaps. Am I more appreciative of the many things I take for granted? Yes. Am I also more disgusted with the world? Probably. But there is not much I can do to make the whole world less materialistic and more focused on relationships, experiences, and the other many things that hold true meaning. So I will continue to rant and try to live out Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Thank you to all who joined me, cheered me on, read this, laughed at/with me :)

One final, unrelated to advent thought. This Wednesday is the two year anniversary of the death of my fellow peace-loving, social justice-living friend, Lauren, who died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Please, keep her family and friends in your prayers and in her honor purchase a carbon monoxide detector if you do not already have one. The price is definitely worth the cost of not having one. If you want to learn more about Lauren or Carbon Monoxide poisoning you can check out The LAUREN Project website (http://laurensproject.org/).

Love you all and may your 2011 be filled with blessings and peace.

Paix,

Karen

And the children were nestled all snug... on their floor?

2010-12-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

As a child, of probably eight years or so, I can remember for a Girl Scout badge we had to write down our two favorite places. To this day I remember my response was: Chuck E Cheese and my bed. I have to say, those are still my two favorite places… Just kidding.

This past week was my week sleeping on the floor instead of in a bed. Amazingly this has been the easiest week so far. Thank you exhaustion. I have always been able to sleep almost anywhere; I fall asleep on noisy planes, with screaming babies, often before we even take off. I spent a semester of my college career sleeping in a sleeping bag; A week of my life on a mission trip without beds; And other random nights on the floor but never with the intention of reflection specifically on the bed-less part of those experiences.

Even sleeping on the floor, I could not help but think how lucky I am. At my office, we receive more than 300 phone calls each day. The majority of those calls are from individuals who are sleeping on the floor. Unlike my sleeping on the floor experience, many of these people do not have a stack of blankets, an insulated house, or even heat for that matter. Even in my rental house, the heat is set at a comfy 68 degrees during normal waking hours and, thanks to one of my generous roomies, I have blankets galore. When I got home to Oregon, my floor had an additional benefit: Carpet. Most of the moms I talk to on the phone at work are more likely than not putting their children to ‘floor’ without so many blankets and potentially on hard wood or the cheap indoor/outdoor, hard-to-destroy carpet common in low-income rentals. In the past week, at A Wider Circle, we put out a request for blankets as the temperatures outside were in the teens (gosh, I missed my El Paso-desert-bike-commute on some of those mornings). It was amazing to see a table stacked with more than 20 blankets be cleared completely within a matter of hours. Again, something so simple that I often take for granted. Between my two homes, Oregon and Maryland I personally own 17 blankets, I believe. And for those of you who know how much stuff I own in general, those really are a huge part of my belongings.

I have also been thinking even about how much ‘bed’ has become a part of our lexicon. “Early to bed, early to rise…” “I’m going to bed.” “Three little monkeys jumping on the bed…” In our country, it is just something that we assume is in ever home. We even call it a bedroom in English (something that doesn’t happen in the other languages I have learned). Just some food for thought.

In seeing many of you since I have been back in Oregon, I have found I have trouble explaining the work that I am doing and what my organization really does. I feel like you have to see it to believe it, in some ways. The example that comes to mind though is in the movie Blindside (for those who have seen it). There is a scene where Leigh Ann Tuohy shows Michael his room and he asks if that bed is his and then says he has never had his own bed before. I cried at that moment. That is story of many of the more than 1,000 individuals and families currently waiting on our waiting list. As well as the 10-15 families we serve each day.

Here is my challenge for the week. At A Wider Circle, we have one key policy. Do not say anything about someone that you would not say to his/her face. This means other staff but also donors and clients. I think this is a mantra to live by in all aspects of life and can’t help but think how, if we all took this to heart, the amount of hurt in our world would greatly decrease. There are enough random bad things that happen in this world that cause us pain, why add to each other’s pain with petty gossip? That extra negative energy, I am sure, just spreads. So for this week of love in the advent season (who needs Valentine’s day? We’ve got a whole week of love :-P). My challenge is to live by that one key policy and let every action and word be one of love. It will at least make you a happier person. Instead of cursing out the driver who just cut you off, say a prayer (s)he gets to her/his destination safely. Instead of complaining about your mother-in-law’s dry turkey (which is definitely my plan), become a vegetarian. : )

Until next week, peace and love be with you! And a very Merry Christmas.

~ Karen

Oh Happiness, Thy name is Carb

2010-12-11T04:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends!

I hope you had a great and peaceful week! For those who have been following my blogging, you will know I gave up most food (only eating beans, rice, squash, corn, apples, and milk) for the past week. Even as I write that, it seems like I was still eating a lot of stuff. And again, I learn more and more about 'addiction' I feel each week of 'fasting'. This was a hard week though.

One of the first things I realized was that I have an overwhelming access to food. It may be with the holiday season, I think it is just the generosity of those with which I work, but there were at least three different 'free foods' sitting on our kitchen counter each day. Everything from mixed nuts, chips, and fruit to muffins, cinnamon rolls, and bagels. Needless to say, there was endless temptation :). I can proudly say I have enough Catholic Guilty that I did not cheat once on my fasting :). In this though, I did realize that if for some reason I had just not had the money to buy food this week, the reality I live in would never have allowed me to be hungry. One day I even heard one co-worker saying, "I haven't gone to the store because it is so cold outside so I literally have no food in my house." Another co-worker then offered, "Do you want half of my lunch?" Food access is definitely not something I lack...

Another realization that I came to is that food for me is more than just a way to nourish my body. When I am stressed or emotional in a negative or positive way, I cook/bake/eat. I still cooked and baked this week, I just fed it to other people excluding my rice and beans :)

I also don't think I have ever really understood the word craving before... All I wanted all week were things from the bottom of the food pyramid, excluding rice. Bread. Pasta. Cereal. My stomach some mornings would literally wake me up growling, because one can only eat so many bowls of squash, beans, rice, and corn. Yet, when I would get to the kitchen to heat up my rice and milk breakfast, my stomach would have changed its mind, if that was the option, and I would literally have to choke down the bowl trying to tell my body it would need the nourishment for the bike ride to work...

So the next time I contribute to a non-perishable food drive, I don't care if beans and rice give me the most bang for the buck, I will be buying some kind of healthy canned soup or fruit or something with some excitement. I will be passing on something that someone will enjoy eating. Something that I would enjoy eating. Perhaps some pasta to go with that soup...

The next week of advent is the week of joy, yahoo pink candle. This is a side note and a bit of a tangent, as a child I always use to think or would pretend (because I was never that naive a child :-P ) that the pink candle was because of me as it almost always falls right near my birthday :) So be joyful! I have really tried to do that constantly at work, because everyone is stressed this season both those who call to donate furniture, co-workers, and those who are sleeping on the floor. It is amazing to see how it rubs off. So rub off some joy this week and I will send you my reflections on sleeping on the floor next weekend from OREGON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until then,

~ Karen
The Carb-a-holic

P.S. Saturday is my Break-fast day, and I literally had to stop writing mid-way through this to truly appreciate and devour a succulent bagel. :)

Advent Week One... Overcoming addiction

2010-12-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Happy Hanukkah! These are my reflections on my week without personal email/facebook/useless internet surfing...

I now have even greater respect for individuals who have overcome an addiction. I have to say I also didn't realize how much I use my email as an escape. I woke up a week ago and as normal I thought, I wonder if anyone sent me an email and I am so excited it is Sunday because that is when Postsecrets changes their posted secrets :) Throughout the week while I was baking, cooking, or before leaving work my default would be, I should check my email. When I would get home from work I would think I should check facebook and see if I needed to poke someone or wish someone a happy Birthday. In the few spare moments I had through out the week, I started thinking of planning my Christmas break (which largely means visiting folks in Oregon) and again would be foiled by the lack of 'communication ability.' I had some attempt at a social life this week and am planning a holiday party for next week, both of which again are more difficult without the email and facebook to which I have grown accustomed. I also did wake up excited to be able to again check my email. I definitely did not realize the level to which email/facebook primarily had so completely taken over my life. I do think to some degree instead of being means to an end they have become an end in themselves. It is my opinion that those tools should be used as just that - a way to assist in communication with people. Instead I have to some degree I think allowed them to become an idol in my life with which I have an active, yet one sided relationship.

Without the "privilege" of these things in my life I did notice a shift in my behavior. I found I spent more time reading, socializing in person, and probably sleeping without the constant draw of the computer. I also found I had to let go of some of my control freak-ness. I couldn't easily shoot someone a message to figure out our evening plans. I also had to be willing to accept that I would potentially miss some opportunities (I heard recently and may have quoted here that life is nothing but a bunch of missed opportunities - not in a negative way because for every opportunity missed that means another was taken advantage of).

I read a book two summer ago that talked about the important of mindfulness and focusing on just one thing at a time for inner peace. I have to say that without the computer that was much easier. I normally can be found in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, eating, reading emails, responding to emails, some times talking on the phone/texting/G-Chatting, while making my next to-do list and checking things off of my current to-do list. Needless to say, I am probably not doing any of these things to the best of my ability because I am only using one-tenth of my ability on any task. So in addition to learning of my addiction, I have relearned the importance of mindfulness (and will most likely have to relearn that one another million times in my life time).

I do think I will try perhaps to only use the email every other day or something along those lines so that it again is a tool to help me instead of the all consuming addiction that it seems to have become in my life. This week of computer fasting has definitely been an enlightening experience.

For the next six days, I will be on the beans, rice, corn, squash, apples, and milk diet to see what I learn about taking for granted the great variety and accessibility of food in my life. Though in looking at that huge list, I feel like I am granting myself too much variety...

Also one final tangent, do to my being out and about more this week, because I wasn't wasting so much time on the computer, I have been spending a lot of time on the bus (which is always an eye-opening experience to encounter humanity). I have noticed, and come to realize, those who are living with less, often in economic poverty, tend to wish others a "blessed day" or to even say "I am blessed!" more than individuals of higher economic standings. I especially notice this on the bus and in many of the phone calls I answer at work. I have never had a person calling to donate furniture bless my day or talk about how blessed their life is but regularly have folks calling to get furniture bless my day or in response to "how are you?" say 'I am blessed' (which is often then followed by 'and could you tell me how much longer until I can come get a bed')... I am still formulating my reflections on that but just find it interesting...

Have a blessed week and rest of Hanukkah for those of you 'in the tribe.' I think this week the advent candle symbolizes peace if I remember correctly... So on that note, peace be with you.

Advent - The start of a new year...

2010-11-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hello My Blog-Reading Family,

I hope this finds you well and that you spent your Thanksgiving surrounded by Love. I have had a number of visitors since my last post and have also traveled to Philly (for work) and NC to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my sister. All were great additions to life. The big change in my life since I last wrote is that I de-moted myself. Many of you will no doubt say, "WHAT?!?! I thought you loved your job!?" So here is the story... (My apologies this is a long blog)

I am really interested in Development/Fundraising/Marketing and was/am excited about all the potential there. But, when I kept thinking about the job (as I slowly became more and more overwhelmed), I kept thinking, as my organization is growing VERY fast, we need someone who knows what he/she is doing in that position. After de-moting myself, I also did realize it was not just the right decision for the organization but also for me. I was constantly stressed, there was more to do than was humanly possible, and I was not happy with the quality of work I was turning out. I could not direct, learn, and do all at the same time. Plus, I realized I was in the job because either other people told me it was what I wanted to do with my life and that it would get me where I wanted to be or because other people seemed to think I would fail and I didn't want to give them that satisfaction. I realized I don't know what I want to do with my life, so why do something that was causing so much anxiety and that I am the only one who can judge what my personal "failure" is. Plus, since when do I give a you-know-what about what other people think? :-P Oh, how great self-reflection is... So where does that leave me? I am a Development Associate. My replacement as Director starts on Wed and so hopefully that will allow me to actually feel successful at my job. So that is my work-life. With this job shift, I will again have a complete life to share with you not just a work-life. :)

I have been thinking a lot about Advent lately and thought I would share my musings/plans with you all. I know growing up, advent was always the time to give something up. As a child/teen I never really understood this. I was told it makes you a better person (Karen without Chocolate doesn't make a better anything). As I have gotten older, and especially through recent readings of various religions, schools of thought, etc. I have in someways changed my opinion (though giving up chocolate still seems pointless to me :-P but if it makes you a better person more power to you and more chocolate for me). I have realized, especially in this season, how frustrated I get with the materialism in our society. How frustrated I get with the fact that people think more stuff will make them happy when in my opinion it often just drives us apart from real, true, meaningful human connection which is what ultimately satisfies us. Our computers, clothes, TVs, etc will never give us the love and support that truly makes us content human beings, yet all of the external inputs tell us that is what makes a good life. As Christmas approaches, things get stressful, and everyone is more worried than ever about money and keeping up with the joneses I have decided to try to better appreciate things I take for granted. I also want to invest in bringing these same 'granted's to others who don't share my reality. After taking a walk in another man's shoes I think it will make me understand that reality a little better. Also in thinking of end of year giving, which is a huge push right now at any non-profit, I figure I should put my money where my mouth is and really make my donations meaningful. So this advent, I want to focus on six things I take for granted: (1) The people in my life; (2) My computer/Email; (3) Food; (4) My bed (5) Clean Water; (6) A stable environment to live.

Now you will say, that is nice you crazy lady how do you plan to appreciate those more. I am going to try to put the phrase you don't know what you've got until it's gone into action. For each week of advent I am going to "Give-up" something different, spend time reflecting on it, share my reflections, and contribute to improving the 'reality' in which others live. I share these thoughts with you both so I am held accountable and because if any of you would like to join this advent adventure in any capacity, I would love to have a community with which to experience and reflect.

So this first week, I am going to give up my personal email/facebook/internet surfing. I have thought, read, and talked with people about how technology at times can detract from personal relationships not help with them. We have less human connection because many of us will now email, text, or 'write on the wall' of a friend instead of picking up the phone and calling. I also find I spend hours of wasted time surfing the internet to try to fill lonliness or boredom instead of dedicating that time to actually interactions or productivity. This will mean that I will have to plan my week in advance (ie no spending hours googling recipes, etc) and that I will have to find meaningful ways to fill my spare time. This also means that if I want to communicate with people I will have to call them (WHAT?!?!? Unheard of), you will also have to call me if you want to tell me something. I also am going to make a donation to First Time Computers, an organization that helps to give more people in the DC area access to the benefits of computers, which in many ways have become essential to 'success' in the world today.

The second week, I am going to give up the food diversity I currently enjoy. I spent lots of time thinking on this one because sacrificing my health will not do anyone any good. I remember in all my Mexico/South America classes we learned how native people would live on beans, rice, squash, and corn because that combination has all the amino acids you need to survive (medical folks you can correct me if I am wrong). I am going to add apples and milk to that mix but live on just those six things for a week. Especially after my trip to Nicaragua after graduation, I have come to realize the amount of options we have in our society when it comes to food is insane. Just think about the cereal aisle in your grocery store. In my opinion, so many options only bring more stress (especially if you have multiple children to shop for - my favorite scene to watch unfold in the store). For that week, I am going to support the Oregon Food Bank. They do such great work in what will always be my home area and I volunteered there with my Papi a few summers ago so it seems like a good fit.

The third week, I am going to give up my bed and sleep on the floor. First, because this is something I really truly take for granted yet I speak daily to many, many people who sleep on the floor nightly or on a rug or a blanket. It is also my job to help explain this reality to donors and I feel like until I have been through it, my explanation of another's experience only goes so far. In thinking about it, not only do many in our country sleep each night without a bed but through out the world mattresses and beds are a real luxury, yet most of us would never even think of going to sleep each night anywhere else. For that week, I am planning to support A Wider Circle. It is this great non-profit organization that for a $33 donation can provide one person with home essentials, including a bed ;)

The forth week, I am going to give up my lengthy 7 minute showers for military showers and increase my appreciation of water (again giving up drinking clean water for the week didn't seem to make sense :p). In most of my study abroad experiences, even living with upper-middle class families in the cultures I was in, daily long showers were considered wasteful and were unheard of because water is so scarce. Many hundreds of thousands of people wouldn't even dream of an unlimited supply of water rushing over their heads because they must spend their whole day just carrying enough contaminated water to have something to eat and drink. Again, something many of us would never even imagine. In some countries, children do not get to go to school because they must spend their days traveling to and from the closest water source. For this week I am going to support charity: water. They build wells to bring safe drinking water to thousands. There website has more great info on water scarcity.

Lastly, in honor of Christmas, recognizing that Jesus was born to immigrant parents. They were traveling in a foreign land and no one wanted to let them in. I plan to give to Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Also, in honor and support of the 90 men, women, and children whose lives I was a part of while working there. I can't say there is much I can give up to make myself appreciate the struggles of immigrants but after spending 12 months listening to their stories and sharing their struggles, some of which you all read about in my blogs as a Border Servant Corps volunteer, I feel like I do know and connect with many of the challenges.

So you may say, that is only five of your points (or some of you may say please stop typing because I have to get to my online shopping ;) ) The sixth 'granted' in my life is all y'all. Simply, having a support system and people who say, "Oh, you got a new job. Awesome" or "Oh, you quit your job. Awesome." means a ton. So I am going to try my darndest to update this blog at the end of each week to share with you how the week with out a 'granted' went. And like I said three pages ago. If any of you want to join me in this adventure, even if only for a day, a week, or a financial commitment, I would love to reflect together - like a book group without the book.

On that note, I should get the few emails responded to that I must get back to before I leave my email for a week and then I must sleep. Happy Advent.

Karen

'Tis the season to be jolly...

2010-11-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

I hope this finds you all well! Perhaps enjoying a bowl of soup... It is a soup day here in Silver Spring.

As an update on my life, it is going well. Most of the light hours are spent at work, or biking to work. I have been trying to learn as much as I can, as quickly as I can about being a Director of Development. My biggest enemy is my own perfectionism, which is not a good thing to have when learning something new.

I really enjoy the diversity of experiences I get to have each day, though at times it is challenging transitioning from writing a grant, to answering the phones for an hour, to coordinating partnership days with local stores and restaurants, and then having to find meaningful and helpful tasks for seven different interns - who all have varying skill levels. Then there are the networking events, foundation luncheons, award ceremonies, charity fairs, and general making sure the ED has what he needs going into meetings with potential donors, just to name a few of the tasks I do regularly. Needless to say, I am really having to work on my stress management skills. I am hoping that I will be able to find a better balance as time goes on and will just keep trying to roll with it until then. I, hands down, most enjoy the networking and awards luncheons because I get to talk to people and get them excited about what we are doing.

I also still find time to cook and bake. This is the most recent recipe I tried, it was delicious :)

Some of my favorite experiences so far here have been on the bus. I don't spend a lot of time on the bus, but usually when I have to go somewhere I spend a bit more time and a lot less money by taking the bus. At the beginning of October, I ran a 5K that one of our board members was helping to organize (it was fun, I finished 100 of 300+, no one needs to know the time ;) ). On the way back from the race, on the bus, this gentleman started chatting with me. As we were talking, I was asked how old I was - if I didn't think that was rude. I, of course, being my friendly self, really didn't care if this dude knew how old I was, so I told him. And asked how old he was, 51 was the answer. That was followed by asking if I was single. Again, my inability to lie caught me, so when he learned I was, I got the lecture, which I have actually received twice on the bus since I have been here, of how it is amazing a pretty thing like me was single (apparently I look highly attractive un-showered in my sweats, running shoes, seven-year old hoodie, and six-year old torn jacket :-P). I was then told how I needed a real man who could show me a good time, take me out on the town, buy me a nice dinner, etc, etc, etc. To which I responded, with my normal level of sass, "Well, Leonard you let me know when you find that man and send him my way because I have yet to meet him." His response, with 110% sincerity was, "I think I may just be that man." Needless to say, I jumped off that bus about three stops early, walked the opposite direction from my house, and took a new route home :) Then I laughed a lot...

I hope my life continues to amuse you as much as it amuses me! Thanks for keeping in touch. Your emails, notes, calls, etc always brighten my day, and make me wish we were not so far apart!

Shabbat Shalom!

Transitions...

2010-09-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

First, as always, I must apologize for the long lapse in blogging... My last five months in El Paso flew by at lightening speed. I ended up with a huge case load of around 90 clients whose cases I managed. Due to increases in visa availability and a number of other events all colliding it seemed there was more need than when I first started. I definitely learned a TON about the durability of the human soul and human beings ability to overcome hardship from my time working with survivors of domestic violence and crime. I really don't think I have fully processed that experience and all that I saw in my time with the Border Servant Corps.

So as for the transitions... Since not all of you know where I am now or what I am doing :)

I wrapped up at :as Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center August 5, with many tears saying good-bye to my clients and co-workers. I spent August 6, packing and saying many more goodbyes to my Border Servant Corps group mates and other friends and flew out early August 7, to Baltimore, MD. For those of you who have never lived in an intentional community it is hard to explain how hard it was to leave my group mates. I tend to say, "It is like saying goodbye to your family when you strike out on your own but you know you will not be back for holidays." I tried to not cry because it was over but smile because it happened, though even now I miss that group of 11 more than I can say, as well as many of my other friends and clients in El Paso.

A dear friend picked me up from the Metro in DC and I moved in to her living room... As I had no home... August 9, I started work as a fellow at A Wider Circle, the same non-profit I worked for two years ago. Our mission is to help individuals and families to lift themselves out of poverty. The simple description is that we make sure individuals who were sleeping on the floor last night have a bed to sleep in tonight and that they have access to health and wellness education, money managment, stress management, and job skills information that those in poverty usually can not access. It is an AMAZING place and we have been recognized for our outstanding programs. I was hired to direct the educational programs... I was just starting to wrap my mind around what that meant my third week of work or so and was offered a different job at the same organization...

I am now the Director of Development. I agreed to a two year contract (I know you are all thinking, "WHAT!?!? Karen commited to something!?!?! And it sounds like a real job!?!?!" :P ).

So I will be here at least that long. I have to say I have never before felt like I am in the exact right job for me. I am amazed that the Exec. Director and Assistant Director were able to see something in me that I didn't even know was there. For all my writing teachers who are reading this, those skills you nurtured will now be put to use writing grants. I get to manage and organize events. I get to network. I get to make connections with corporate partners. I get to form relationships with individual donors. I get to help oversee a million different things while forming mutually beneficial partnerships and explain to others why they should want to be involved in making sure that every child has a bed in which to sleep. Who knew there was a job that encompasses everything that I love to do? Now I just have to figure out how baking and making bread contributes to ending poverty... And when I will have time to do that...

I literally wake up in the middle of the night because I am coming up with new fundraisers, new approaches, new things we could try, etc. It is amazing - Not the lack of sleep but the energy and excitement I have for this job! I have a ton to learn but as my boss said, "This will probably be intellectually challenging for you." My response was, "GREAT!" Now I just need to be patient with myself as I learn, which is a virtue I lack for myself :) .

Other than that I bike around, pretty much everywhere. I love being in a place with trees again. I live near a trail which I bike, run, and walk on and just find myself smiling as a play in the rain (Yes, I am an Oregonian at heart).

So that is life now days. I will make the same promise I always do, I will try to update this regularly and improve on my communication. I think I hope if I keep saying that sooner or later it will actually happen :) I would love to see any of you who would like to travel out to these parts, and now you have two years to do it :)

Though I miss you all loads - except for the few of you who are out here and I get to see so I don't have time to miss you- know that I am very content with where I am at and feel like this will be a great place to be for the next two years.

Many hugs and lots of love to you all!

The Value of a Life and the Drug War

2010-03-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends and Family,

I apologize for not writing sooner. Work life has been very crazy lately, I will catch you all up on that later... I have also been gone/out and about for a few of the past weekends. We went to Santa Fe for a retreat with other volunteers who are serving in Denver, it was lots of fun. I love new friends. Then I went to Seal Beach to spend time with my Grandma, Great Aunt, and Great Aunt's friend. It was AMAZING! I had so much fun. Enjoyed relaxing and being pampered :) And the beach was a nice touch too. I am in love with the beach. I visited it multiple times a day while I was there. Other adventures include seeing the singing policeman, going to Jewish Temple, and enjoying the sun :)

So I have been meaning to write on the violence in Ciudad Juarez, the city that borders El Paso in Mexico, for a long time and have been collecting statistics and such but when I saw this article on Yahoo News I realized the time had come to write.

First some background. Ciudad Juarez has been the battle ground for drug cartels for a while now. The US, through plan Merida has been helping to fund the Mexican Officials on combating the cartels, however, if anything this has only caused more violence as the heads of cartels are taken down many more start waging for the power. Additionally, there is documented corruption amongst the military in Mexico, yet the US continues funding it. According to this Yahoo news article, "Nearly 18,000 people have been killed since Calderon deployed tens of thousands of troops and federal police across the country in December 2006 in an offensive against drug traffickers."

To put the number of murders in perspective, there were 2,650 documented murders in Ciudad Juarez last year, a city of around one million people compared to NY's 460 murders for a city of eight million people. This weekend two US Americans were killed, one of whom worked at the US consulate, so Obama is saying this must be investigated and that he is saddened and outraged by the murders. I say this with no disrespect to these two individuals but SINCE WHEN ARE US CITIZEN LIVES MORE VALUED THAN MEXICANS? Why as a nation are we not outraged that 2650 of our neighbors were murdered last year, who cares what national anthem they are singing? Why do we continue to sink our tax money into a 'solution' that is only contributing to the problem? It is my belief that every human life is just that, a human life. Why should a USC have to die for us to finally care about the violence that has been tearing apart the lives of thousands, many of whom are family to some USCitizen?

Though I am never in favor of ignoring human suffering, regardless of where it is taking place, I could at least understand the perspective of 'ignoring' this if we were in no way responsible, from a governmental perspective (Mind you I say I could understand, not that I would agree). How are we responsible for violence in Mexico you may ask. Well, my friends, thanks for asking. From my research and understanding there are two reasons this violence has gotten so out of hand, and both are thanks to the individualistic, self-serving policies and perspectives of the US population (Can you sense the brooding frustration :) )

The number one reason, which I will do my best to outline here is our US drug consumption. The other would be our unjust trade agreements, but I will leave that for another time.

According to a speaker at the Latino Congreso, the US has 4-5% of the world population but 1/4 of the world drug consumption, 25% of the prison population (much of which is associated with drug based offenses) and 50% of the drug base of Mexican/US drug smugglers money is from Marijuana. What is my point with all this? Well, first, US Americans need to have some self control. Your drug problem is killing people and not just you. Second of all, Marijuana is safer than booze so why is it still illegal?

My argument is that we should legalize, at least Marijuana. Then it can be regulated and we can tax the heck out of it. Those taxes could be used for drug rehabilitation to help people overcome addictions instead of just locking those people up in jail. This would also reduce our jail/court costs because sooo many crimes are linked to pot. It would all around be a financial asset to our society. Some people are also going to smoke the stuff, like it or not. If it is regulated, at least you know your kid is going down to the corner pot store with a fake ID instead of going to a shady ally or risking life or limb to get a hold of pot. While drug dealers are not all sketchy people, some are. Additionally, it would help to cut the legs out from under the drug traffickers, which would save innocent lives. It could also be grown and sold locally, which has further financial benefits. Yes, there are other drugs and that problem should also be addressed but Marijuana is a start. I am sorry I don't have better statistics for all y'all on this but I don't take enough time to research and document my musings they just build up in my head after hearing things from many sources.

Soooo my messages from this blog are: Smoke local, it saves lives. And Don't do drugs, it is killing people.

Can't wait to hear your reactions, thoughts, and musings in response.

Interconnectedness of Social Justice

2010-01-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

I wrote this about a month ago and forgot to post it... Again I apologize for the rant. Hopefully it will breed discussion and amusement :)

In my attempts to escape from reality a while today I ended up watching Food Inc. An AMAZING film documenting what the US food industry has become. For those of you who have netflix accounts it is one of the films you can stream for free to your comp instantly, for all others it is worth renting.

I feel like that film alone gives me a good reason to say why I am a vegetarian. Our meat industry is dripping with injustice toward the animals, yes my bleeding heart cares about the animals, but also towards the human beings working in the industry. Ignoring the unhealthy product that we now are recognizing as meat. The meat industry has been getting much more attention recently I feel. The New York Times have featured it multiple times since I have been in El Paso. It really scares me what my grandchildren will be eating, or if food as we know it will seek to exist at the point. Yet another good reason to not reproduce :-P. Random side note on that topic, did you know turkeys all must be artificially inseminated because we have modified them to have big breasts so they can't reproduce. One of my roommates enjoys sharing this fact with us anytime another is eating turkey of any kind.

I may not have grown up on a farm but at least I know what one looks like. I have picked berries off a bush with my own hands and shoved them greedily into my mouth til my lips matched those very berries. It terrifies me that soon that will not happen. I guess I am a person who ties all my actions very closely to the moral implications of them and what sort of effect they are having on the world but how could one not? If by what I choose to eat I am choosing to make someone's life healthier and happier or condemning them to a modern day slavery where they will probably be injured and then out of a job binding them and their families in a life of poverty, is the decision really all that difficult?

Yes, I will acknowledge not everyone has the monetary ability to decide on their consumption based on the moral implications but for those of us that have monetary cushion, it seems to make sense to make moral food decisions instead of buying some commodity item.

This movie also reminded me how all social justice issues are so interconnected. It touches on how many immigrants who are coming with or without documents to this country do so because they were forced to by our foreign policy decisions, ie NAFTA/CAFTA. These folks are then exploited to provide us with cheap food. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I also think of the connection to the current healthcare crisis. The number of 'health problems' we have in this country seems to have a direct correlation to the high fructose corn syrup and other processed foods we consume. Those individuals that most tax our healthcare system are those who end up in the emergency rooms, unable to pay, or with severe chronic conditions. Arguably those who are economically poor most often fall into this category because the only foods they can afford (both economically and based on the expendable time they have) is food which is not healthy. This leads to many health problems, a large number of which drastically correlate to obesity and poor eating habits that exist in our country, throughout all economic levels. This then leads to our insurance companies getting bogged down with all the major healthcare issues relating to obesity alone. But what are we doing about it?

All this goes to say our food industry can be tied to two of the most debated domestic policy issues today. But that is never brought up in the debate because the food industry has such a strong lobby. To end, so as not to continue my rant as probably only about ten of you are enjoying this :). It makes me think how we should all question if the bills our government are attempting to pass are simply band-aids for a gushing wound or the forethought to prevent that wound from reopening.

I hope you have enjoyed knowing what goes on in Karen's head often while she should be sleeping :) It is a troubling place :-P Love you all! Take Care!

525,600 Minutes

2010-01-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family,

I hope this finds all of you well and that you had a good new year and holiday season. I will soon blog again on my life at the border, currently it entails ear infections, sinus infection and my body generally waging war against me. I am writing to ask for your prayers. As many of you have no doubt seen on the news one of my fellow '09 UP classmates didn't survive the Haitian earthquake that occurred on Tuesday. Molly Hightower, the laughing lady in the picture, was a good dormmate and friend to me throughout my college career. She was working at an orphanage in Haiti. Whether singing Disney songs or telling of the latest dilemma she had encountered, her smile and love for all were contagious. I ask you for your prayers for her family, friends, and those in Haiti in this particularly difficult time. Especially for another friend and classmate, Rachel, who survived the collapse of the building Molly was in.
Molly was a fellow blogger of her service adventures, and much better than I at updating the blog, if any of you would like to read more about her and her experiences. Also if any of you were wanting to donate to the Haiti relief efforts, Friends of the Orphans, the organization Molly was working with is taking donations. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, crossed fingers, and love. As always with tragedies like this I am reminded how much the people in my life mean to me. Thanks for being such great friends and family. I love you all.

-Karen

Black Friday

2009-11-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, I am going to put my stories of immigrant stories on hold. I have been working at assembling a list of online stores which promote just-shopping, as shopping does need to occur to maintain a capitalistic economy, though the shops we patronize could be ones that promote a decent life. Sooo in this blog are my reflections on consumerism as well as a list of websites that promote just-shopping.

Through my life, and especially this year, I have been able to reflect on consumerism and in my opinion the United States American Dream which seems to equate buying more and more to satisfy a loneliness and longing within us that can only be satisfied with a deeper human connection not more stuff. In a book, Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin which came out over 15 years ago it was talking about how material stuff tends to complicate our lives. Keeping up with the Jones leads to unneeded stress. And worries of cash to buy the next new gadget will plague us with anxiety. It proposed four questions for examining whether purchases are life giving or life draining. (I would love to hear any of your reflections on these) The questions are:

"1. Does what I own or buy promote activity, self-reliance, and involvement, or does it induce passivity and dependence?
2. Are my consumption patterns basically satisfying, or do I buy much that serves no real need?
3. How tied are my present job and lifestyle to installment payments, maintenance and repair costs, and the expectations of others?
4. Do I consider the impact of my consumption patterns on other people and on the earth?"

With Christmas less than a month away there is always a push to spend and buy. Plus we do enjoy showing we care to one another and gift giving is the culturally encouraged way to do that. But my challenge for myself, that I invite you to join me in this holiday season is to one, show we care in more meaningful ways, as this Christian Movement Advent Conspiracy encourages. Such as spending time with the people we love, instead of the spending that time in a shopping mall. Making gifts, which are more meaningful and simply. And generally living more simply in our consumption. Buying just to buy doesn't really serve a life-giving purpose and is not really the true meaning of Christmas in my mind. And two, make those gifts I do buy something that promotes a greater life for the maker as well as the receiver. What if everytime your loved one carried the purse you got them they thought of you and a woman in Uganda who is providing for her family? Many argue that 'fair trade' products are not things you normally buy or are two expensive. In regards to the first, below are links to dozens of options with everything from clothing to food to footballs. And to the second, is cheap really better then supporting another human being to have a decent quality of life?

I hope some of you find this list of links helpful. All of the names are links to the websites if you click on them. I am not being paid to endorse any of these places I just think they are a good option and I encourage you to share the list with others who may be interested. Thanks for reading and humoring my shopping challenge. Please feel free to post as comments other stores or reflections. Peace and Love!

Global Exchange
Sells:
Men/Women/Kid Clothing, Accessories, Jewelry Holiday items, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Chocolates, Household items, Stationary, Journals, Dolls, Toys, Games, Books, Movies, Music, Gift Packs
-All items are fair trade. In the descriptions you can learn more about the people who made your product.

Trade as One
Clothing, Food, Drink, Jewelry, Stationary, Journals, Bags, House and home goods, Sports, Toys, Health and Beauty
-This group has many practical everyday items that are made in a just manner. I especially took note of the soccer balls which are notoriously made in bad work environments because the sewing of stitches is best done by small child hands.

Fair Indigo
Sells:
Men/Women/Kid Clothing, Accessories, Jewelry, Stuffed animals, Holiday items, Home items, Coffee, Tea, and Made in the USA products
- I have shoes from this place and they are amazing. All their clothing is of very high quality.

Better World Books
Sells:
Books
-Part of the profits here go world literacy efforts

El Castillo del Cacao
Sells:
CHOCOLATE
- This place is in Nicaragua. The chocolate is good and the factory supports sustainable development (I was supposed to visit it while there but it fell through, still should support)

Cafe Justo
Sells:
COFFEE
-Supports US/Mexico Border Towns

Cafe Campesino
Sells:
COFFEE, Tea, Mate
-These folks sell Nicaraguan Coffee from some of the places I went to :) One of my roommates also markets this here in El Paso

Esperanza en Accion (Hope in Action)
Sells:
Artisan Crafts and home goods
-I visited this place in Nicaragua. They are doing a lot to empower individuals to provide for themselves and creating jobs in a country that has EXTREME unemployment.

Fair Mail
Sells:
Greeting Cards
-These cards are fair trade and designed by underprivileged children in Peru and India

Koinonia Store
Sells:
Pecans, Chocolate, Coffee, Other Food items, Crafts, Books
- This is a communal living farm that I stayed at for a few days a couple of years ago. The founder of Habitat for Humanity lived there. They are in GA and all about working for peace and justice. The chocolate pecan stuff is AMAZING :)

TASSATAG
Sells:
Luggage Tags
-This organization works to stop human trafficking. I did research with them my sophomore year.

Amnesty International
Sells:
Clothing, Accessories, Books, Toys, Games, Calendars, Planners, Movies, Music
-Profit benefits Amnesty Internationals human rights campaigns

Invisible Children
Sells: Men/Women's Clothing, Bracelets, Bags, Films
-Invisible Children are young adults and children whose lives have been ravaged by war in Uganda. The bags, under the label of Mend and you can actually read about the exact person who made your bag.

Conscious Consumer Marketplace
Has links by the categories of:
Groceries, Clothing, Green Office, For your home, Back to School, Transportation and Travel, Energy, Electronics, Baby Products, Pet Products, Socially Responsible Products, Charitable Donations-these are alternative type gifts.
-Through these links you can find almost anything your heart desires.

Econcious Market
Clothing, Furniture, Home Decor, Face and Body Care, Babies, Kids, Yoga, Sports, Kids, Bags, Books, Music, Toothbrushes
-Some are organic and fair trade items, all are eco-friendly

Alternative Gifts:

Oxfam
You can help individuals in developing countries finance a business or get medical care or whatever your gift receiver is interested in, you can find a gift that will be meaningful to them. Buy a chocolate lover "helping someone else start a chocolate growing business" or the sports lover "sports equipment for kids in a developing country."

Heifer International
You can buy animals for individuals living in third world countries to help them feed their families or communities as well as establish subsistance farming methods.

Advent Conspiracy
You can give money to build wells in developing nations and provide clean drinking water.

What story is my life telling?

2009-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, Before we get to the blog I know you all love pictures. These are of: A benefit dinner for my non-profit. We have a very diverse staff. I will let you guess who each of these folks are: a)Kirk from El Paso b)Ileana from Cancun, Mexico c) Ashley from Otis, OR and d)Susan from Nigeria/London :-P You can figure out which picture is a, which b, and so on. :)

Then we have all my roommates in character for a murder mystery dinner.

Followed by the Border Mass it was a mass co celebrated across the fence with the bishops of El Paso, TX, Las Cruces, NM, and Juarez Mexico. It was very touching to say the least.

Next is of a march in honor of all who have died crossing the Border held on all saints day.

Part of my Border Servant Corps group the night before Halloween when we camped out in a parking lot to protect stuff set up for a fundraiser the next day at one of our groupie's work.

Our Dia de los muertos alter, remembering our lost loved ones.

After two of my roommates tried to make chiles rellenos and terribly burnt their hands with chile juice I was comforting Ally by feeding her chocolate chips. That is true roomate love.

And then Sarah and Ally roasting the green chiles over our gas burners.

Now to the blog :)

Dear Friends and Family,

Everytime I think I am getting better at updating this thing I realize it has been even longer since the last update. I feel like the part of my life that I have not been documenting as much is my many ponderings. I have been thinking a lot on something Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) said at the Mobilization to End Poverty I attended in the spring. He said, [more or less] "Think of your as life a story, you are the main character in this story. What is the story you want to tell with your life?" Through many of the books I have found myself reading since this summer I find this same theme echoed throughout Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Native American faith teachings as well as much of eastern and western philosophy. It has further deepened my feelings that accompaniment and experience are the best way to learn. We can hear one another's stories and see the stories others are choosing to write with their lives. Soo before I jump into some recent 'stories' I have encountered, I will update you on my story.

I am still learning a lot from my El Paso experience. So far this chapter would probably be written about a girl reconnecting with what makes her happy. Being out of school and surrounded by no one who has known you is nice. People no longer have you in a box. And as many of you know last semester was a bit of a roller coaster so it is nice to just be able to read, research on social justice issues that interest me, email old friends, bake, walk, play games and share meals with new friends, and rest. I can also choose not to be a work-a-holic and leave the office after I have put in my 35hours required for the week.

I have learned that I will probably sooner or later need to return to graduate school because I find there are so many self-righteous, self-motivated individuals in non-profit work that ultimately many non-profits/service organizations are not fulfilling their missions, to help the most vulnerable populations. As I think I would enjoy attempting to run a service business that actually strives for meeting the needs of vulnerable populations I unfortunately will probably need a bigger degree. That being said, I am not writing more schooling into my life plan at this point. I still am young and uncommitted and thus would like to take advantage of that to continue to connect with humanity. Likewise, I have discovered that I love cooking for/baking for/feeding others and generally playing the 'parent'/caregiver role. Ok, so my roommates have pointed that one out to me. Though, at this point that does not mean I am going to write the settling down and having a family chapter into my life book either. [And no that is not only because CNN voted El Paso the city with the ugliest men in the US]. Soooo what does the next chapter look like? At this point international service seems to be what most calls, but we shall see.

Now for some other stories I have recently been privileged enough to experience. As I am working with the immigrant community I tend to follow immigrant news a fair amount. A common theme seems to be lack of understanding about why immigrants, especially Mexican immigrants journey to the US, I mean other than to steal jobs, bring down property values and rob our system. To keep this from running too long, I am going to tell you one 'person's' journey to the US and will try, very hard, to provide you with other examples in the next few days.

First story, this is the common one I hear while I am at work. About immigrants coming through marriage.
"We were in love, I thought he would take good care of me. He [normally a US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident] made me leave everything in Mexico and told me he would take care of all my needs. I thought he would be a good father to my other kids. We got here and it was ok for a while but he drinks a lot. He at first would never hit me but he would refuse to let me go out of the house without him. He would never let me have any money for anything. If I needed clothing or something for the house I would have to ask him to buy it or tell him exactly how much it was so he could give me just that much money. He won't let me use the phone. He won't let me spend time with friends. He won't let me talk to my family. He gave me a curfew. He would always cuss me out. When he was drinking it would get worse. He would slap me. He would kick me. He would punch me. He tried to strangle me. He tried to suffocate me with a plastic bag. He stabbed me. He tried to run me over with the car. He kidnapped my child. I never reported it because I was here without papers. He wouldn't arrange my papers because: he said I wasn't worth it; I didn't deserve it; why should he. I didn't report it to the police because I thought they would find out I was 'illegal' and deport me. He said he would have me deported if I told anyone. I thought I would lose my children and be deported. I didn't think the police would listen because it was my word against his and he is legal.

These women, and occasionally men, have every legal right to be here, as residents and USCs can petition for their spouses. However, their spouses used this as a way to control, manipulate and abuse them. Before starting my job I never would have imagined how many people this happens to. Sometimes nearly being killed brings them from the shadows. Sometime they have endured for years because they know their United States Citizen children would have a better life and better schooling here in the US. Sometimes they can't return home because they have become so US-ized here they would be returning to a 'foreign country.' Whatever their reason for wanting to stay in the United States by law that is their right. This is one part of the immigration population. Doesn't sound to me like they are out to get the United States Citizens. That is a peek into my daily life here or many of the immigrants who I work directly with.

Ok, now to keep from ranting at you too long, I will post more stories of other immigrant journeys soon.

Peace be with you,
Karen

Fall is here! Though you really can't tell!

2009-10-03T16:31:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures to start things off. The first two are from a photo scavenger hunt. We had to act out a sign for the first one (That is Mary Meghan who also has issues). The second one was act out a Youtube video and be in a fountain (extra points for two inone) The video is turtle man that some of the volunteers really like. That is the link if you want to see. The guy with the chalk was at this amazing chalk the block event. It was wild. Like Mary Poppins :) The car is at the Chicano car festival. My boss has an old car from .... I don't remember when but I couldn't find him at the show or I would have a pic of that :) The last pic is my roommate sarah and me at the Fall Festival a community event sponsored by a bunch of churches in the area. We were in charge of the kid craft tables. Specifically pumpkin decorating :) Now for the blog...

Hello All! So El Paso doesn't really look like it is the fall. It still feels like the summer. Though today was a beautiful day. It was overcast and drizzly. I spent probably an hour outside walking/sitting in the drizzle. Life has been full of ups and downs, as it tends to be. I just had a job shift and am now responsible for the battered women cases at my work. I think it will hold new challenges but it is good for me. I have learned a few things about myself. 1)I need to be in-charge of my own time 2) I like to facilitate (a woman's way of saying be in charge according to one of the Maryknoll Sister's at my work). 3) I work much better when things are close to chaos. 4) I am an extrovert, in that I need to have people around/interact with people/not just look at a computer screen all day. 5) Last, but not least, of my new discoveries I really can't stand bureaucratic processes, specifically those our government instigates, because they lack compassion and become more concerned about the process than the actual people involved. Other recent adventures include more Karen-time. BAKING! Lots of BAKING! and some reading... occasional movie watching... And spending time with my housemates, some workmates, and all the random people our program sets us up with.

Ok, so now for my dose of 'teaching' In working with the immigrant population I have recently been pondering the words of Emma Lazarus' Poem which appears on the Statue of Liberty:
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name,
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Working with one asylum seeker really made me start thinking on this poem. Especially the most over quoted, " give me your tired, your poor..." We do in fact welcome many of these described. If they are fleeing for their lives for reasons of persecution based on their political opinion, religion, race, ethnicity, or social group. Oh, and they have to be able to prove it in a court of law where there may or may not be someone who can translate accurately from their native language. If they have suffered abuse, rape, torture, or any other psychological trauma they then must prove it and retell the story dozens of times to complete strangers who generally seem to disbelieve everything and try to find any discrepancy. If one date is not remembered exactly correct then you must be lying. Since we all remember the exact dates of traumatic events from years before. But we do provide some support. These asylum seekers are put up at the expense of our government. They get a bed, 3 meals, and a set of scrubs that match all the others at the state of the art detention facility which is run like a minimum security prison. Their crime: Fleeing Persecution. We do put them up for at least a few months if not over a year while they wait for their trial. Again, someone else controls every aspect of their life, telling them when they can eat and sleep, and of course they are confined like animals unable to leave the one concrete building. But heck, That is what is implied by the statue's poem, right? Then if these asylum applicants are luck enough to be granted asylee status they are released from the facility. Literally, they drive them to the gate of the compound and let them out. They don't tell them where they could go. They don't provide them with any means or transportation. Explanation of what Asylum status means. They don't even make sure they have money to provide for themselves for the night. If you do want to pick someone up you get a range of time as to when they will be released. Sooo you just have to sit out front waiting for said person. Then, these folks are left to the generosity of strangers until they are issued a work permit, which can take months. This is after we have said, 'yes, we feel you qualify as tempest tost and worthy of our support.' Where is the justice in this justice system? Your chances of even winning that asylum case increase about 75% when you are represented by an attorney but the average attorney charges $10,000. Go figure, most of these folks forgot their ten grand when they were running for their lives. Disregarding the violations of human rights, of what we, the United States of America supposedly stand for, or if you are religious - what the Bible, Koran, Upanishads or any other religious teaching says about caring for the weak and vulnerable. It just makes your head and heart hurt.

I wrote most of this rant a few days ago, and then saw this newspaper article today, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100601639.html

Which does seem like at least they are trying. That is nice. So now you have the opinion of someone closer to the actually trenches of immigration than the average US citizen. Thanks for reading! And hopefully even if you don't agree you now have food for thought! I will include more 'facts' to support the argument in future posts but figured your eyes are probably weary from all the text already :)

Paix!

The Nitty Gritty of Immigration Law :)

2009-09-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Pic1 is my housemate Sarah and I at the Chili Festival, look at all those Chilis!!!!
These are my housemates. This is overlooking ElPaso. Pic 3 is the whole Border Servant Corps group with solar heaters at this local guy's house.

This is El Paso and Juarez the Mexico city we Border with. And some of us playing in the Border Patrol jeep at the Border Patrol Museum.

Hola Amigos!

I figure it is about time to update you again on my adventures.
I have now been here 3 weeks and am enjoying my time. My housemates are awesome. This morning there was a knock on my door (at... a very late morning hour) because they are used to me being up well before 8am and since I was still asleep they wanted to make sure I was OK. :) Talk about good community.
We went up to a place called Silver City in New Mexico for retreat last week. It was GORGEOUS and COOL! This weekend we went to the Hatch Chili Festival (I saw more chilis than I had ever seen in my whole life I think). There is a picture below. Yesterday we went to a Lutheran Church service, because the church wanted to welcome us, it was very similar to a Catholic Mass. We also had a BBQ with some people who support our group and are from another Lutheran Church near by.

At work I am learning TONS! And my co-workers are hilarious. Or I find them hilarious. My favorite story so far is the other day my supervisor left me to work with this client to fill out her work authorization and change of status form. He then disappeared but I needed him to look stuff over. I figured out he was in the bathroom talking on his phone, because that is where he takes personal calls. I waited for a little while and then after probably 5 minutes thought is was unfair for our poor client who had already been there for at least an hour bearing with my learning so I called him on his cell phone. It was pretty hilarious. He came out with a very sheepish grin on his face. Last time he leaves me to do his work :-P I am such a jerk employee :-P

But on to immigration stuff. At our office we deal primarily with U Visas, T Visas, VAWA cases, Asylum, work permits, and family based petitions. We also do changes of venue for minors. So what does that all mean. To qualify for a U Visa basically you have to have been victim of a crime, be able to provide information that leads to the prosecution of a criminal, etc persecuted by a US citizen. In very general terms, it is a crime victim. So if for example I was here without papers and witnessed my child murdered by someone, extreme example, I would be eligible for a U Visa. There are only certain crimes that qualify. The applicant also cannot have commited an aggravated felony, so we are not permiting hardened criminals to qualify. T Visas are for victims who have been trafficked. Human trafficking is amazingly a very real and significant problem in the US and actually in OR. So these individuals were brought here against their will to be used in any number of professions. Some are used as sex-slaves (which is what most people think of when they hear trafficking). Some are also forced to work as domestics, cleaning, caring for kids, etc, or to do field work. Human trafficking is something I actually did a big research project on in college and it is fascinating. Many of the traffickers will go to particularly impoverished towns and offer 'job opportunities' then when the individuals get to the United States they end up trapped either literally locked up in a house or the traffickers threaten to kill their families if they leave. Also many of these individuals don't speak any English, which further ties them to their abusers. This is really just one, example of human trafficking. For more info http://www.humantrafficking.org/ is a good resource. I am off track though :)
VAWA is the Violence Against Women Act which originally passed in 1994 allows individuals who are victims of abuse to file for Lawful Permanent Residency without the knowledge of their partner. For example, if I am married to a Colombian (This is the example my boss always uses) and I abuse this Colombian but I tell him, you can't leave me or you will get deported. He could self petition for his Lawful Permanent Residency without my support. Under VAWA, he could be granted a green card.
Asylum, I gave you the basics on last time. A work permit is exactly what it sounds like, it gives the person a legal right to work in the country. One that I filled out 2 weeks ago was for a gentleman from Somalia. He traveled from Somalia, to South Africa, to Bolivia, to Brazil, to Guatemala, and then up through Mexico to arrive at the US and declare asylum. His case was denied, he did not apparently prove that he would be persecuted if returned to his home country. However, as you may know Somalia is in an absolute state of chaos currently so the US government will not deport this gentleman at the present time, thus he is applying for a work permit so he is not just forced to beg on the streets or live off the generosity of others. He was very insistant that he look after himself.
Family Based petitions are the most common way for people to legally immigrate to the United States. This would be if my Columbian Spouse became a citizen (which is a long process) and wanted to petition for his parents to come to the US. Or if he had a child from a previous relation and we wanted to petition for him/her to come to the United States. There is a whole preference system for this which I will explain in a future post.
Then lastly the change of venue is largely what we do with children because the government tries to get them out of the youth detention facilities and placed with family members in the states or in foster care while their case goes through the system. El Paso doesn't have foster care for such cases nor do most of these kids have family in the area so their cases get transfered out to other districts.
Sooo hopefully some of you find this stuff interesting. I tried to include links so if you have a specific interest you can read more but those of you who don't really care are not subjected to it :) If you have any specific questions about any of this stuff let me know! I love going into teacher mode :)

My one last plug... My non-profit I worked at in DC is set up with goodsearch.com which is a search engine like google or yahoo. However, if you designate your searching to them (A Wider Circle) it will donate a penny to their organization for every search you do. I highly encourage you to set it as your homepage and use it to search. There is no cost to you but you are contributing to furnishing the homes of many in need.
Happy Labor Day! Have a great week!

New life in El Paso

2009-08-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

This here blog will be utilized for detailing the life of Karen. She loves life and many other things, thus the name the life and love of Karen. I should not make important decisions like what to name a blog after a day of travelling. Soooo many have been asking about what I am doing now and sooo I am hoping to update you all. I will also try to blog on a semi-regular basis.

So I am in El Paso, Texas. Hence the large map of Texas. See the far left. It is at about 4,000 ft, which makes running interesting when I am used to the valley floor :) It is warm and dry. Around the 90s-ish. It is also very flat, though they say they have "Mountains." Soooo far I love it. Though that description does nothing for the place :-P Also for those concerned at how close it is to Juarez, know that it is the third safest city of its size in the US, so you have no worries!

I am here working with an organization called Border Servant Corps. There website is a little out of date but it has the basics. In brief summary, I live in community (I have 4 housemates from NY, MO, CO, and Iowa) and there are 6 volunteers in another house 45 minutes away. My housemates are all girls the other house includes two males. We commit to live by the tenets of simplicity, intentional community, social justice, and spirituality. I am sure you will hear more on these later.

I will be working at least 40 hours a week at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. We just visited today and I am WAY excited. Apparently over 70% of children who end up in the United States and go to trial do not have representation. Since entering the United States not at a designated entry point and/or without papers is a federal crime these individuals go to trial, I believe they said about 600 in this area per year, just children. This can mean kids who some how cross on their own, whose parents are killed in crossing, or if family detention facilities are filled the children will be seperated from their parents-parents to adult facilities, children to kid facilities. In El Paso though 99% of ALL individuals have representation because of non-profits like Las Americas. They take about 1/3 of the kid cases in this area. They also do ALOT of work with Asylum seekers, for those who do not know to claim asylum these individuals must have one foot on US soil and then be able to claim a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country because of religion, race, nationality or membership in a certain social group or due to political affiliation/opinions. Lastly, they work a significant amount with women escaping domestic violence. I don't currently understand how all that works so I will save you many more words until I know the details. I will be working for one of the immigration attorneys with 3 full time staff, and a couple part time, two of whom are Maryknoll nuns.

Other major events include, attending a way cool concert right on the border, going to the Border Patrol Museum/talking with Border Patrol, and just getting to know my community members.
I think that is way too much info for you now. Thanks for reading!