Sea Mart milk man, welcome to Sitka

So I got home yesterday and as I was walking in the back door I noticed that the refrigerator door was open. As it didn't close as I walked in, I kind of turned the corner. Very confused. Well, Nick and Natalie were putting yogurt and milk in the fridge. Actually, trying to put yogurt and milk into the fridge would be a better statement. See, the Sea Mart milk man dropped off 8 gallons of milk (in the form of 16 half gallons) and at least 75 yogurts. Probably above 100. We just didn't feel like counting. What's the catch? 8 of the half gallons expired 9/12. The other eight expired 9/17. So most of those are frozen. Our entire vegetable crisper is filled with yogurt. There are random yogurts (all of which are also expired) just strewn across the landscape of our fridge. So, I will be consuming a lot of dairy over the next few weeks. Just another random moment in Sitka...

Well, the honeymoon is over. Work has begun to become challenging. I have started to gain the kids' trust as the weeks progress, so that has magnified their reactions to me. Both to the positive and to the negative. The highs have been higher, and the lows have definitely lower. Last weekend was especially tough for a few different reasons. Teenagers, as all of us know from experience, can be extremely volatile. No different with these kids. My job has kind of evolved in a way to just making sure the kids know that the members of the staff, and especially myself, are not against them. But the flip side of that is to try and draw that line of friendship clearly in the sand, that we aren't friends. While I am a support and I am there to talk to the kids about what is going on with them, I do have other responsibilities, primarily keeping within their treatment plans and the regs of HH. That has been the toughest aspect because I do really like these kids.

I finally got the, "Well you're only doing this for the money!" Ha. I started laughing (not really the best move at the time) and kind of explained what exactly I was doing in Sitka and why I am at HH. Diffused the situation really well. But that has spurred a lot of conversations about my life and the decisions that led me to join the JVC and what the program entails. The toughest one came yesterday at school. During lunch now a lot of my clients come and sit in my office and talk and give me crap. One of them asked, "So wait, you are only going to be here for a year? And then what? Are you going home?" My response was, "Well, maybe, probably. Its tough to be away from my family and friends." The next comment caught me off guard. "Well, you should stay." Not entirely sure how to respond. Still not entirely sure what to make of it. I muttered something about nothing is set in stone, I still have 11 months, etc. But yeah. Not sure where to go with this train of thought, so I'll just move on.

We have continued to meet people in the community. As the cruise traffic has slowed down (the last boat comes in Thursday or Friday), the town has started to settle. We've begun to see the same people in the same places, so we have started having conversations with these people. We also are starting to form our niches here. Katie helps out with the Youth Group at our local parish. Nick is trying to figure out a role within the parish as well (he was going to help out with the sacrament classes, but the time commitment was insane). Natalie is looking to help out with Chelan, the produce truck. Evie got an application for the White E, the local thrift store. I am going to be helping out with, if not running, an extracurricular for the school system (might be a drama production with middle schoolers...). I might try to start an ultimate club as well, possibly getting some high schoolers involved. I had a meeting with Annette, the executive director of YAS yesterday and she told me to think about my skills and different ways I would like to be utilized by the agency so I am also looking into that (I get kicked out of my office in the high school at 1:30, so we are trying to look into different things I can do).

We have made pretty solid contact with the Americorps here (well, some of the 19 that are here right now). I have met a few people through playing ultimate on Sundays. We had a bunch of them over last night, and it was a lot of fun. Not a huge blow out party, but we played corn hole, cards, Bananagrams, and just sat around and talked. We had about 20 people here and it was just a solid time. We've met some really fun people, and a lot of people have extended invitations to us. I guess what I am trying to say here is despite all the troubles, the anxiety, and the frustrating situations this place is really starting to feel like home. It doesn't feel like I am on vacation with four people I just met; when I leave work it is starting to feel like I am going home.

And I was going to talk about the Bills game. But there would be a lot of expletives and typing in caps lock a lot. So I will spare you that. However, Notre Dame might choke more than the Bills. But their o-line looks really, really good. Cards need to get their act together. Ohio State needs to learn how to use Pryor. Penn State hasn't really played anyone. Ditto Florida (the Citadel and Troy? "But they looked really good during those games!" Yeah, schedule someone tough). Those are my minimal, random thoughts on sports going on. And I am writing this while watching football....yeah...

If you can't see it, don't worry about it. If you can, you'll see why I get along so well with these people.

One of my community members organized a beach combing trip last weekend. There was a story in the paper about it today, and she had to submit some things for it. The caption of the picture read like so: "Organizers said the trip left everyone smiling and just a little wet." She had no idea what she did.

The best part? I was not the first person to say it...

If I am having a boring day that means someone else is having a good day.

Natalie said that on her way out the door one afternoon following lunch and it has stuck with me throughout this time. Especially during my time in the high school when I don't really have too many kids come through my office (although that has begun to change a bit, which is awesome). I have really started to settle in at my placements. The relationships I have started to form are seemingly worthwhile. There are definitely challenges (and boy, have there been some challenges recently), but they are adolescent teenagers; what did I expect? (This is really hard with the whole confidentiality thing, if you hadn't already picked up on that) But I really enjoy it. Still happy, still good, just starting to move into that challenging aspect of the placement, which was expected.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I got off work at 11 pm on Wednesday. I had a staff meeting from 8-10 on one side of town. Then I had to ride my bike to the other side of town to the high school. Then I rode my bike back to the other side of town for another staff meeting, but when I got there found out it was canceled, so I rode back home. Which is right by the high school. Oh yeah, and it was 55 degrees, pouring rain, and the wind was gusting up to 40 mph. I guess you could call it my 'Welcome to SE Alaska' moment. I have 2-3 months of that ahead too. Glad I at least got to see some nice weather before it turns real crappy...

Things here, while hectic, have started to settle into a routine. Our door is constantly opening and closing, people are cycling in and out. We are figuring out how to handle maintaining our community while juggling our crazy schedules. And you know what? It is going really well. We are starting to settle into our 'roles' in the house. Mine is that of the father (I know, right). Last week, Katie (or Kakevin) decided that we were like the family. I was the father because I am somewhat responsible, get everyone motivated and excited, and everyone is scared of me (their words, not mine). After a certain amount of laughter she looked at Nick and told him he was the mother. Evie is the oldest sister, Katie is the middle brother (her level of maturity is roughly around 14 years old), and Natalie is the youngest sister. Since then, we have participated in family-centric activities, such as boys vs. girl cornhole. Katie and I won. I like to watch football while Nick does the dishes. Katie likes to pull pranks and antagonize everyone in the house. Its a pretty interesting dynamic.

With that being said, our community experience has been very strong so far. Our nights are highlighted by our card games, cornhole games, watching a movie or t.v. show (we ran through seasons 1-4 of 'The Office.' If anyone has season 5 that they want to donate to the house, let me know...), or just silently reading together in the living room. Our dinner conversations swing from the ridiculous (see roles, family) to the fairly deep (health care reform, American life) and back again. Empty threats fly around the house at a fairly frequent pace. We even fart around each other (Let me tell you, nothing builds community like farting with someone else...). I really enjoy coming home after work and just relaxing with everyone. Our lack of expectations for each other and open minds has really led to a great dynamic in the house. I could go on for a really long time about the community, but I will stop here.

Last Monday (August 31) we had the most incredible weather. I had off from work so I decided to hike up Mt. Verstovia, a mountain overlooking the town. It was my favorite moment of being here so far. Now, going by myself? Probably not the smartest idea that I have ever had (bears are pretty heavy right now, steep climb, etc) but completely worth it. The hike started uphill and only really got steeper. It was uneven. Rocks could be pretty tough to get around, and everything was really slick. I had to stop every couple of meters just to relax and catch my breath. But so beautiful. Every time I stopped I was able to look around and appreciate what it was that I was seeing. When I got to Picnic Rock and able to look around I was stunned at the beauty. After seeing that I knew I wanted to get to the peak of Verstovia, so I went down the trail. It wasn't as clear, or as clean. I had to blaze my own trail at points. Had to climb a few rock facings. But the scenery kept getting better. It wasn't as tiring, but I found myself stopping more just to take in the area. All the mountains were visible. The Inside Passage was laid out before me through the islands and mountains. I worked my way to the base of the peak...and found that the fog had rolled in. The trail got a lot thinner and there was less margin for error. So I stopped. But still, in that time I was so happy just to be out and moving around. And then to be in the presence of that untouched scenery. Stop me if I get a little wordy or seemingly emotional and corny...but wow...Probably my favorite moment of being out here, that hike. And from what I understand there are a number of significantly better hikes out there. Yeah, I'll be exploring those.

Hope you all are doing well. I miss you guys a lot, and love to hear about what is happening down south. Keep me posted and keep in touch.