Goin' back to Minny

Note: I have posted my last two entries within an 8 hour span. Please scroll down to Week 11's posting if you have not yet seen it.

25 hours in a car. It sounds like something most people would dread, but this three-day journey from Richmond to Minneapolis turned into one of the most enjoyable stretches of summer. Kari, Timmy & I embarked on 3 capital cities, 4 college campuses, a brief moment of fame on the radio, and, of course, food, friends, and fun. Now back in Minneapolis, I am trying to balance my time between spending time with family, catching up with friends, reflecting on Richmond, and preparing for Ecuador.

The first day of our road trip extraordinaire took us through a beautiful stretch of country in the Appalachian Mountains. We made a rainy stop in Charleston, WV for a tour of the capital square. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience in a state that was once called the ‘bastard child of a political rape’ by a former governor of Virginia. That evening we arrived in Milan, IN and the home of Debbie, the lady who had hosted me on my journey out to Richmond. We had a wonderful home-cooked meal and all relived the memories of our previous visits to Milan on the Pay it Forward Tour.

Speaking at the governor's podium

The next morning we headed up to Oxford, OH and the campus of Miami University. Here I had a few friends that I met back in January on a crazy road trip called the Campaign For Community (see www.campaignforcommunity.com). One such friend was Denny, a faculty member with some sort of fancy title, but more importantly a great guy who loved to connect people. Together with my college-aged friend Meredith and a few of Denny’s other friends we shared lunch and later toured the beautiful campus.

Our next stop was Indianapolis, IN for a last second addition to our itinerary. The previous night we learned that Debbie’s daughter Kendra had just moved onto the campus of Indiana University Purdue University- Indianapolis (IUPUI). Back in June, I had attended Kendra’s graduation party on my stop in Milan, and ironically the Wednesday that we visited her in Indy was her first day of class. Along with her three roommates (all from Milan) we walked to downtown from her apartment. I was quite impressed with downtown Indianapolis, especially the special monument that was erected in the very center and then surrounded by skyscrapers. While walking around Monument Circle, we were approached by a man who introduced himself as John Counts from AM 1070. He was simply visiting with people around downtown and recording the conversations to broadcast on the air shortly after. Since Tim, Kari, & I were all sporting University of Minnesota garb, he had reason to approach us. Consequently, we shared our story of why we were in Indianapolis and gave our opinion of the city, all in a lively and humorous fashion. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reach a radio by the time the segment broadcast.

Havin' a good time on the radio

After a couple hours spent at IUPUI, we headed another 2.5 hours to Normal, IL for our night at Illinois State University. With corn fields surrounding nearly every road leading in and out of the city, there’s no wonder the city is named Normal; however it was the people we saw and our timing that made this stop anything but normal. We stayed with Phil & Casey who had just moved into a beautiful new apartment. The next morning, they invited us to participate in a service project of helping setup from ISU’s big Festival where all the student groups attempt to promote their activities for the upcoming year. Getting up at 6:30, we worked hard for a few hours and were rewarded with some fine t-shirts.

The entire ISU crew

Planning to be in Minneapolis by midnight, we made a quick stop for lunch in Chicago with our friend Mike. Our plans to stop and visit in Elgin were ruined by some severe weather, so it was onto our final stop in Madison, WI to drop in on our friend Carli’s potluck dinner. She was gathering all her high school friends up for one last time this summer before moving back to the U of M campus on Friday. We happened to enjoy all the food without even bringing our own dish!

As we entered back into Minnesota and eventually Minneapolis, I had the immediate sensation that I was home again- no question about it. It was definitely a feeling of comfort and familiarity- something that was difficult to come by over the past 3 months. However, this next week will be anything but relaxing as I prepare myself for what will be the most challenging and unfamiliar experience of my life. Luckily, I also anticipate it to be one of the most rewarding and memorable, and my excitement and anticipation keeps growing by the day!

This will be my last post until I am in Ecuador, so look for something around the second week in September! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Week 11: A Final Goodbye

Note: This entry covers Monday, August 13 through Monday, August 20- my last day in Richmond.

My last week in Richmond was undoubtedly the most memorable, emotional, and eventful of my entire summer. It was highlighted by guests ranging from Alabama to Minnesota, a new temporary home and roommates, visits to some of the most historic and beautiful places in Virginia, and, of course, saying goodbye to Boaz & Ruth and all my friends. It was a bittersweet moment, but the longing and the letdown of leaving such amazing people and places was lessened by anticipation for Ecuador.

This week I made the most of my evenings, spending time with friends for perhaps the last time (hopefully for only a couple years). It was a strange feeling because I had put so much time and energy into developing these friendships that now needed to be ended rather abruptly. Obviously I knew these days would come, but nothing could prepare me for seeing people for what may have been the very last time. It was difficult to tell people I wasn’t sure if or when I’d be back. Interestingly, I believe the timing of my journey to Ecuador will keep my mind off my Richmond friends. It won’t be for another 4 or 5 months until I truly discover the extent to which I miss these folks.

On Monday evening, I got out on the golf course for the first time with my buddy Dan, which justified bringing my golf clubs and storing them in my room the entire summer! Tuesday was also a memorable night, as it was the last one that Kevin & I spent in our apartment. Two of our apartment neighbors- Jess & Courtney- cooked us a wonderful pork roast dinner which interrupted a very late evening of moving and cleaning. I moved into a house on the east side of Richmond with another Boaz & Ruth intern and his three roommates. I brought with me John from Alabama, who had been staying with me since Saturday night. Wednesday evening consisted of dinner and a movie with a friend, and Boaz & Ruth brought the Highland Park community out on Thursday evening as they enjoyed a catered meal and watched fellow community members perform in the Discovering Diamonds Talent Search.

Our neighbors Courtney & Jess

On Friday, the moment I had been waiting for since mid-July finally came, as my friends Kari & Tim flew into Washington D.C. However, earlier in the day it was looking like I was not going to be able to drive up there unless I scrambled to borrow a friend’s car. On my way to work that morning, my car’s transmission began to fail, refusing to shift out of first gear. So unless I wanted to put along at 20 mph and take 6 hours each way to D.C., I needed to look for other options. Even more fearful was the fact that I was about to make a 1500 mile journey in only 4 days, so this problem had to be taken care of ASAP. Alternative options like renting a car or even buying a new one were not looking too favorable. Thankfully, the third transmission specialist I called could actually see me that day, so I putted on over to their shop for an inspections. To my delight and surprise, the transmission would not need to be rebuilt and I would not need to shelf over a couple thousand dollars; instead a simple switch had gone bad and they had a used replacement part that they did not even charge me for. So for $40 in labor, I escaped what could have been a major disaster!

When my friends finally arrived safely, we had a weekend to remember. We got to see and experience fascinating things that I had not yet seen myself in the Richmond area. Saturday was a complete day of adventure in the Charlottesville area- only 70 west of Richmond. The day started off at Monticello, the home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson. The house itself is planted atop a large hill just outside of the city and offers over 65 miles of views to the east and west horizon. It was a wonderfully peaceful and enchanting place filled with magnificent gardens just as Jefferson had them in his day. The most memorable part of our visit was a guided walking tour of plantation life on Jefferson’s slave community. Our tour guide David was extremely insightful, explaining that Jefferson had reservations against slavery, yet still owned slaves because it was the economically and culturally viable thing in the south. Another irony pointed out by David was the fact that the author of the Declaration of Independence and believer in all it stood for actually owned slaves, an action that obviously contradicts much of the language in that document. He stated that Jefferson owned over 200 different slaves throughout his life and made improvements to their living conditions for both humanitarian reasons and economic reasons- healthier slaves meant longer life spans, more productivity, and more offspring. Because Jefferson kept such good records, he also gave the personal accounts of a few select slaves. There was one woman who toiled for 15 hours a day, 6 days a week in Jefferson’s fields until Jefferson passed away and all his slaves were put up for sale to pay off his massive debts. This woman was 55 years old, no longer capable of bearing any children and limited in the work she could do; therefore a value of $0 was placed on her at the sale- her life was worth absolutely nothing.

Tamara showed us the gardens

David told us about the plantation life

After Monticello we drove further west for hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a place called Sugar Hollow. We saw spectacular scenery and even stumbled upon a natural pool where we jumped off 10-foot high ledges murky, chilling water. Later in the evening, we enjoyed the quaintness of the University of Virginia and a meal along Charlottesville’s downtown mall.

Sugar Hollow

UVA

Sunday was spent seeing more of Richmond and introducing Tim & Kari to a lot of my new friends. The most interesting aspect of our day was a visit to the Museum & White House of the Confederacy. The fact that a museum even exists to honor and remember this part of history in our country is a bit strange, but in the old capital of the Confederacy, nothing is out of the question. Along with learning about the Civil War from a heavy southern perspective, we enjoyed a tour of the home of Jefferson Davis when he was President of the Confederate States of America. Just like at Monticello, the tour guide is what made this tour memorable, but not in the same impressive fashion. This guy was much too memorized and rehearsed, completely changing his tone of voice when having to improvise the answer to a question. He spoke of the people who helped reconstruct the condition of Davis’ home as being ‘sympathetic to the Confederate cause’ and at multiple points described Davis as the ‘President of a nation.’ I left this place feeling confused and wondering how much longer this place would last. It has already survived over 100 years, so anything is possible in Richmond.

Not surprisingly, the hardest part of departing Richmond was saying goodbye to my friends and memories at Boaz & Ruth. I will have more time to reflect on my accomplishments and growth as a whole over these upcoming weeks, but I left feeling nothing short of spectacular in my decision to intern there. The biggest challenge in leaving will be staying in touch- more of a challenge than with other friends outside of the organization. This is because the typical ex-convict in the program is not exposed to the normal methods of communication that a young adult has. Many of my closest friends don’t have a cell phone or an email address they check consistently or even at all. And the few addresses I did get are almost certain to change in the near future because of the volatile living situations of these folk. Even worse is the stark reality that the negative influences in their lives could come back without warning- such as a relapse into an addition or re-arrest and imprisonment. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in life, which is especially true for the urban poor.

On my last day, Monday, I tried my best to give Kari & Timmy a full immersion into Boaz & Ruth and what exactly my summer consisted of. As they attested to, the only way to truly understand this dynamic and sometimes chaotic organization is to visit. As they did, it’s spending time packing books into boxes with Doug, sitting in on class focusing on the obstacles to employment facing ex-offenders, or stepping onto the construction site of the historic firehouse and hearing the pride in Melvin’s voice as he describes this project that begins to reveal the Boaz & Ruth experience.

Melvin describing the work being done on the Firehouse

Corrie, another intern at Boaz & Ruth

There are many more final reflections I have to give on Boaz & Ruth, which I will post over the next week in a reflection paper that I intend to write on my experience. Please stay tuned for that.

As I look back, my final night in Richmond could not have been spent in any better way. I gathered up a bunch of my friends, which came from about 3 or 4 different social groups, and attended a Richmond Braves minor league baseball game. Even the gloomy and hazy skies could not dampen the spirits of everyone as we endured the Braves losing in 12 innings. I could not have left with a better memory than the one of all my friends, most of whom knew less than 1/3 of the 15 or so in attendance, enjoying the company of everyone who was there.

Tuesday morning will kick off the road trip of the century- a 3-day grand tour that will cover 8 states and bring Kari, Timmy, and I in contact with long-distance friends and unforeseen adventures!

Week 10: A Frenzy of Activity

Good day! I sure have been cherishing these last few days of summer in Richmond- I can’t get over how fast the time has gone! Only one week remaining in Richmond, and what a week it will be. There will be lots of spending time with friends for the last time, not to mention friends visiting from Minnesota for what is sure to be a weekend for the ages. However, I do not to overshadow the week that has been, as it was memorable but passed quickly because of how busy things have been.

Especially at Boaz & Ruth, things are busier for me than they have been all summer. My attempts to finish many of the projects I have been working on throughout the summer, combined with a few new projects, has left me little time to even stop to think during the day. Luckily, that’s the way I like it. One of the most exciting pieces of the week was being heavily involved in the interview process for potential interns. Conducting interviews over the phone and evaluating applicants was a new and valuable experience for me. It is just another example of how much responsibility and trust is placed with all the interns at Boaz & Ruth. I believe this, more than anything, has pushed me to grow both personally and professionally.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the week was the “Intern Bash” we held at Martha’s (Founder & CEO) house on Monday. Most of the B&R summer and year-long interns gathered with some staff and volunteers for swimming, food, and fellowship. Martha prepared a family recipe that has been around since the time of the Native Americans- a pork roast baked covered in about 10 pounds of salt! Once cooked, the roast was removed from the salt, leaving a hollow space surrounded by the still-ridged shell of salt. It was quite a sight to behold!

At this party, and in just general conversations about leaving, I have come to realize just how hard it is going to be to leave Boaz & Ruth. For many reasons, it seems like saying goodbye there will be even harder than leaving more developed friendships outside of the organization. One, the lives of those at B&R are more fragile and unpredictable than others, and for that reason I can’t be sure that I’ll ever get to see some of these folks again. Second, many of these people don’t have cell phones or email, so I will be harder to stay in touch. Finally, no matter where I go, I’ll be able to make friends like those I made outside of B&R, but the opportunity to develop relationships with others from such a diverse and unique background may not present itself so readily in the future.

Another one of the joys of the week has been welcoming John into our apartment for the week. John is the boyfriend of Laura, one of my good friends in Richmond, and is visiting from Birmingham, Alabama for the week. He will be leaving Richmond to go back to UNC-Chapel Hill. I am excited to get to know him and talk to him about his summer, which he spent in Peru with an organization that does microfinancing and lending to the poor. This is very similar to what I’ll be studying and learning about when I’m in Ecuador.

Speaking of Ecuador, I am growing anxious and excited for my next adventure. I am glad to be going there right after my Richmond experience because it has given me something to look forward and will make the departure from Richmond less bittersweet. In preparation for speaking Spanish, I have been trying to expose myself to more of the language on a daily basis by reading Ecuadorian newspapers or listening to Spanish radio stations. Another great experience for me was speaking Spanish for an entire meal with a friend who had studied a semester each in Panama and Mexico!

As if all that wasn’t enough to fill a week, I had quite the weekend becoming even more familiar with the intricacies and history of Richmond. Saturday morning, I strapped on my roller blades and headed for Hollywood Cemetery a few miles down the road. So why would I ever be excited about visiting a cemetery, you might ask. Well, besides the fact that President Monroe, President Tyler, and Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederate States of America) are buried there, I heard it was quite a spectacle to see with views overlooking the downtown skyline and the James River. And indeed, it was a spectacle not only for the views it provided, but also for the magnificent and unfathomable marble tombs , monuments, and headstones that covered the rolling landscape. I never thought I’d be so in awe and at peace in a cemetery of all places!

Jefferson Davis

A 90 foot pyramid commemorating the Confederate soldiers



President Monroe

President Tyler

The afternoon on Saturday was also an event I had been looking forward to for quite a while- the wedding of two Boaz & Ruth graduates. In a sort, simple, and beautiful ceremony, Geraldine and Kelvin tied the knot after meeting at Boaz & Ruth just over two years ago. Everybody was in their best attire for the occasion!

Kelvin & Geraldine

Albert & I

Kevin & I

Block & I

Finally, Sunday afternoon was the much awaited Watermelon Festival in the Carytown restaurant and shopping district of Richmond! A nearly 8-block stretch of Cary Street was blocked off and packed with vendors and mobs of people, not to mention countless watermelon stands where you could buy a small cup of watermelon cubes for $1. Sights of cucumbers and pronto pups on a stick, along with oppressive sun and heat, were particularly reminiscent of the Minnesota State Fair.

My friend Kathryn

Street Performers

Well, like I said, this upcoming week is going to be a fast and fitting end to my time in Richmond. I will be sure to keep you all informed! Have a stellar week!

Week 9: Hitting Full Stride

This week was unlike any other in Richmond- it was memorable and joyous not because of any special trips or events, but because of the feelings that come with being truly accustomed and acclimated to a situation. This does not mean that I consciously felt uncomfortable or unfamiliar in my journey before this week, but I believe that subconsciously there was a piece of me still feeling like an unbelonging foreigner. This may just be a part of the natural cycle of emotions that one goes through when becoming acquainted to new surroundings (I recall the same feelings my freshman year of college).

Ironically, these feelings are coming in the wake of my apartment being turned into a barren landscape. Mike, the guy who I am subletting from, moved all his furniture out a week ago, leaving me nothing but a borrowed air-mattress in my room, and nothing but a single chair, computer, and computer desk in our living space. The heat has also been oppressive lately, causing me to seek other oasises of air conditioning where I can read and write. Tonight I am enjoying the studious atmosphere at one of VCU’s libraries.

Couches are gone

So is my bed, desk, and dressers

All we're left with in a computer

In addition to feeling more “at home” in Richmond, I reached a point at Boaz & Ruth where the intricacies and inter-workings of the organization are finally becoming familiar to me. I never would have envisioned a nine month process of acclimation, but with a client base as unpredictable as ex-offenders, a high staff turnover, and a multi-faceted program it is understandable why it has taken so long. Now, I am prepared for, or at least insensitive to, the low-points in a day that used to take more of a toll on me. I am learning more a more about the way a criminal lifestyle affects behaviors and thought processes, for some even after they have moved passed the low points in their life. This understanding has come with increased one-on-one time with apprentices.

For example, I interviewed Melvin for about 2 hours on Monday for a fundraising appeal letter I was writing in which I was going to use his story. While he wouldn’t go into too much detail about his specific criminal activity, he mentioned repeatedly how he felt like he was “outside of his mind and looking back at himself” while he was committing the crimes. It was almost as if this removed mental state was what allowed him to justify his actions. Later, we stopped by the DMV so he could determine the accumulation of fines and tickets he needed to pay off before pursuing his license again. The total was well above $2000, mainly due to a night, as he recalls, which involved at least 10 police cars chasing him. Knowing Melvin as I do now, I could not imagine him as even a petty criminal, which is why his “out of mind” theory strikes a chord with me.

On Tuesday evening, I got the chance to spend a few hours with Doug as we working together on a side-job of moving some furniture that he had lined up. Douglas is a spirited and hard-working individual, so I was happy to help him out and make a few extra bucks while I was at it. At the same time, he can be sneakily manipulative, often calling on me to help him rearrange furniture in the store during the workday when plenty of others without work to do are sitting around. He claims it is because I help him out without complaining, while everybody else makes a big deal about him telling them what to do. I could see this side of him come out again on Tuesday. Since we were charging by the hour, he told me that we should, “work real hard in the beginning to show her that we weren’t messing around, and then milk the clock a little at the end.” Whether this is just part of Doug’s personality or a result of his criminal background, I don’t know. In fact, I’m not entirely sure these things are separable once one becomes a criminal.

A while ago, Melvin told me I should treat my experience at Boaz & Ruth as an opportunity to observe the interaction of “all these criminal minds.” While I don’t often think of my internship in this regard and I try to look past the negative history of these people’s lives, it does help to take a step back at times and remember the tendencies of those I work with.

Surprisingly, that’s about all I have to write on this week. My weekend was pretty uneventful minus two concerts I attended- Nickel Creek and The Black Crowes. In fact, it was good to have time to relax by sleeping in until noon and to attempt to stay cool in the stuffy apartment. I am recharging for what should be an incredible sprint to the finish, which now only lies two weeks away.