My apologies that it's been so long since my last update. I'll begin first by saying that we are safe & sound here in Scranton, we took extra precautions to prepare for Sandy's arrival and she turned out to be quite mild in our area. We have not lost power and any damage in our area has been minimal. That said, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were not so fortunate and are struggling to get through the effects of the storm.
The past month has been quite a whirlwind of activity here in Scranton. Our house has been up to some pretty cool stuff, so I'll do my best to fill you in (in chronological order)! First, earlier this month two of my roommates had commitments out of town, which would normally mean a quiet weekend here in Scranton. Instead, I had some visitors come up from Villanova to visit! Mike & Ian drove up after work on Friday and Brookie - after an unfortunate oversleeping incident due to her wacky hospital shifts - made it up on Saturday. We had such a great time just catching up on all that's happened in our lives since graduation a few short months ago and I was so happy to introduce some of my friends from my home in Villanova to my new life here in Scranton. I managed to take them up to Lake Scranton during their visit and I can't wait to see them all again soon when I head down there in November for the 1/2 marathon!
With Halloween a few short hours away, we've been prepping to get into the holiday spirit here in Scranton. We went a few weekends ago to a locally owned family farm in the area called Roba's. They have a "Mega Maze" that we spent the better part of an hour trying to navigate, marshmallow toasting for s'mores, and a giant inflatable pillow that kids can bounce on (and they let "big kids" on, too!). We also got the chance to bring home our own pumpkins from the farm which we later carved but are now sitting safely inside our house as the winds of Sandy certainly won't bode well for our jack-o-lantern's candles! The girls had a blast posing for this pumpkin shot at the farm:
We also got to enjoy the beautiful changing seasons up in the Northeast PA region. Last weekend, we were invited on a hiking trip to Rickets Glenn, a park area about an hour outside of Scranton known for it's beautiful waterfalls. We were accompanied by Tim Holmes, our tour guide extraordinaire, a local Scrantonian, father of an FJV who served in Portland, OR, and he just so happened to have his whole family in town last weekend for a surprise wedding proposal party...which we were also invited to! Suffice it to say I had a very interesting weekend with the Holmes family, hiking by day, videoing proposals by early evening, and living it up in downtown Scranton into the wee hours of the night. I cannot express how unbelievably grateful I am to have found such supportive people who have welcomed us into their homes and their lives over the past several months. I am discovering an amazing part of the connected-ness this program provides it's volunteers. The support of my immediate community members and their collective commitment to live the values of the JVC has been spectacular, but to see such a commitment echoed by communities all across the United States, and in the hearts of so many who have served in the past, their families and friends, is truly awe inspiring. We were nervous to attend this family event for a family none of us actually belonged to by blood relation. Yet in the midst of all the celebration & happiness, people thought nothing of it to stop and introduce us around as "these are the young men and women who are doing the program Emily did last year", and we were continually received with warm welcomes and smiles.
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| Tim, our wonderful tour guide |
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| Our campus tour guide! Taking me back to my BK days... |
On the work front, things have been going very well. I actually just ran my first ever, totally mine, planned-by-me event for the kids at UNC. We did a college visit field trip to Philadelphia to see two different colleges, followed by dinner and games at Dave & Busters, which the kids were all about. As I slowly but surely start to solidify my many roles at work, it's nice to know that I can work on and develop programs that can have such an enormous impact on the futures of the kids at the center. The weekend trip to Philly and the response among the kids that went has got me all psyched about the potential for even more academically-focused programming at work, from SAT preparation and college applications, to scholarship information and campus tours. It's all very lofty in terms of goals, but I'm still hopeful about the possibility of building up a strong education resources center at my office during my year long placement there. We'll have to see how that goes, but I'll keep you posted!
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| Our group on the steps of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia! |
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| Some of the kids on the trip with us at D&B |
And then, of course, there was this past week, spent hunkering down for the hurricane, explaining to some of my more Westernly-oriented housemates what a hurricane is and how we deal with one, to another surprise visit into our lives by an FJV. We were invited to brunch by an FJV and her mom, two Scranton natives that were both ecstatic to hear about our service in Scranton thus far and quick to offer some helpful advice and perspective. The place we ate at was unlike anywhere I had ever been before, a Mecca of brunch spots, nestled into the woods of Clarks Summit, PA.
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| Oh, and brunch...rocked. |
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| There was a contest going on for most creative pumpkin decoration! |
I quickly learned that our generous brunch-time benefactor was not the only one in her family to have embarked on such a countercultural adventure as JVC, her sister had served in the Peace Corps and she had several cousins who were also JVs, or members of AmeriCorps. or Teach for America. As we drove home from brunch I couldn't stop thinking about how blessed I was to have met these people, to have found that in my call to serve I have been joined by so many others who hear a similar call. It got me thinking of a personal favorite quote of mine that I'd like to leave you with, by Margaret Mead.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
All my Love,
Tom
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