30 Hour Famine!

Well this past weekend was the second annual 30 Hour Famine at Hamline. I think it went over pretty well. Friday evening there was a simulation of what it would be like to be a child in Africa and then we cut out a whole bunch of paper people to represent how many kids die in a day due to hunger and preventable diseases (29,000 a day). Next was the 1st annual 10th Hour Concert - Feast your Ears. It went over quite well. We had a lot of really great acts and the attendance was decent as well. Saturday morning the group split into 4 and went seperate ways. I went to go work on a house for Habitat for Humanity. It was really great! I'd like to share a moment that I had while at working for Habitat. It was about 1pm and I had gotten less than 2 hours of sleep the night before. I had been working in a garage where the only heat was a massive propane torch which filled the room with a lot of fumes. We were sanding, sealing, and polyurathaning trim, doors, molding, etc that was supposed to go in a few of the houses. The group of houses that we were working on was a block of 6 houses across the street from a block of 4 houses. So, I am extreemly tired and the fumes are making me sick and nautious and I haven't eaten for over a day. I realized there are people who live like this every single day of the year. And unlike us, they don't know where or when their next meal is coming. Every year I do the Famine I learn new things. This year that was my realization and I think the number of 29,000 was made more real to me through some of the things that we did and my reflection upon them. I will post a total amount of money raised as soon as I get that number. For now - I'm off to class to learn about the brain!

What does privlidged mean?

This evening as preperation for a Spring Break trip to New Orleans there was a Learn to Serve program put on by the Office of Service Learning here at Hamline. One of the things we discussed was what privlidged really means. We began by reading various statements that privlidged people would be able to say. Some of them would include:
I can marry the person who I love legally.
I don't have to be conscious about taking the best lit path home every day.
I can safetly assume any store will carry makeup etc that compliments my complexion.
I have never had to show proof of payment before getting services.
I have never had to order through a plexiglas window.
I don't have to think about being able to sit in a chair at the movies or on an airplane.
And the list continues.
I have always thought of myself as privlidged. Well that is ever since I came back from a trip to Kenya, East Africa right after Christmas of my 8th grade year. When I was shoved headfirst into a culture that was 100% different from the one I was used to and shown what another culture sees as the norm I realized I had more perhaps than I deserved. This is once again shown. There were so many things that were read that I don't have to consciously think about, however being female I do have to consider when walking home at night what the safetst way home is and how to stay safe. Even though I have to consider this every time I go home I am still privlidged. So, obviously one of these events doesn't make you underprivlidged. But what does make you or me underprivlidged? Question for thought!

Simpson Emergency Housing

So this evening I went to Simpson Methodist Church that houses a homeless shelter at night. I went with a friend of mine and her parents and their church members. We arrived at 6 or shortly thereafter and cooked dinner for the men (it is a men's homeless shelter). Dinner for the evening was chicken patties, beans, chips, pickles, and banannas plus lots and lots of desserts. We served about 80 men as well as the volunteers and ourselves. After we were done serving I grabbed some food and sat down to talk with some of the men. One of the men I was talking to was telling a story about getting out of the cities where he said drugs and other shit were rampant. So last year he went to Iowa to get away from it all. He managed to get a job and some housing as well as his truck with insurance on it. His brother got into some trouble with the police and at the same time this man got laid off from his job. He had lost the income and had to make a decision. He had to 1)give up his housing or 2)give up the insurance on his truck and probably not be able to get a job. He then moved back up here for reasons he didn't say and is now back into the shelter system. By the way his decision was to give up his housing. What would you do if you were in that position. It amazes me how quickly a person can be on top of the world and on the next slammed back to the pits. Another man I was talking to was very quiet at the beginning when I sat down, I figured he was simply shy. A third man and myself were talking about the wonders of superglue (he had just used it to fix his watch) and the shy man finally spoke and the two of us talked for 10 minutes about how duct tape and superglue could fix absolutly anything. He had used duct tape to fix a pair of shoes he had because he didn't want to throw them away. I need to find myself some tape to fix a pair of shoes I have! The thing that struck me yet again, this seems to happen every time I go out and do something about the things I am passionate about, I saw how real these men were. They're not just statistics and without this shelter they would be out on the streets where tonight it is supposed to get down to -10 F. Many of the men came back to get 3, 4 even 5 banannas because they haden't had fruit in such a long time. We need to find a way to stop this horror once and for all.

The Beginning

Hello all,
Well really right now it is me....but anyway. This will hopfully be a way for friends/family to keep track of all that I'm doing and I am super excited about my new blog. I'll do my best to keep it updated and share wonderful stories etc. So check back often and experience the life of me!