December (Christmas Time)

OK, so next-day isn't so bad...much better than I was doing =/

So, what happened in December, you ask?  Let's see...There was Christmas all around here in Scranton and the JVs jumped into everything from light displays up at Nay Aug Park to the Christmas events my company organized for the season.  There was also a brief journey into New York City with some Villanova friends to attend the annual Villanova Alumni Christmas party, and my kids had their first major performances of the Michael Jackson Review.  All in all, a fairly busy month, so let's see if I can't fill you in on all that happened:

The "Holiday House" just down the road from us on Moosic
Street, they decorate with extravagance for every major holiday.

It was Christmas time in Scranton!  Which, as a small town that was founded predominantly by Catholic immigrants many years ago, meant a whole plethora of different annual traditions from the lighting of the Times Tribune Tower (affectionately known to the Scranton house as "The Christmas Pole"), to the annual light show up at Nay Aug Park.  We had some fun getting into the season by visiting some of these festive spots around town:

The Guadalupe House Christmas Tree!
Decorated by yours truly, I might add.

We also had a few Christmas-related events at UNC throughout December.  We kicked off the month with the inaugural installment of a program called "Pop Up Studios" which features local artists who organize fun, quirky events around town, usually during Scranton's First Friday activities.  For the month of December, they paired up with the kids at our program to develop The X-Mas Games, a mash-up collaboration of traditional Christmas activities with themes of The Hunger Games, a popular teens novel series by Suzanne Collins (which, if you haven't read, I highly recommend).  The event featured activities such as marshmallow catapults with the objective of scoring points in cups of hot coco, ornament, cookie, and stocking decoration stations, as well as our very own student DJ providing Christmas music for the event.  It was a blast and I think the kids really enjoyed the opportunity to share their work with the Scranton community, and we had a surprisingly high turn out for a cold Friday in December!  

The other major Christmas events at work included a Christmas toy drive, at which any of the families who have children in our programs throughout the year are invited to come to a massive toy giveaway and select presents to wrap for their kids that Christmas.  It was an absolutely enormous undertaking, just to give you an idea of how many toys were given away, here's just one section of the "toy store" we had set up:

But I'd be lying if I said that any of these events were my favorite part of work during the month of December, no, my favorite event was definitely the theater kid's performances of the Michael Jackson Review.  I had the chance to work with these kids for about three months leading up to the performances, and as the musical director of a primarily music-driven show, I was probably more nervous about how it would go than the kids at times!  But the performances were fantastic, a really great way to give the kids a sense of great accomplishment as we packed the house of our small auditorium for both night's performances.  Here are a couple of the highlight moments from the show:

Malakhi in his "Billie Jean" leather jacket

The girls performing "I want you back" and "The Love you Save"

The whole cast at the end of "You are not Alone"

The little ones and their performance of ABC

The youngest member of the cast performed two big numbers in the show, this was "Rockin' Robin"

Three of our all-star girls performing "Ben"

Our biggest mash-up was a song combining parts of "Billie Jean",
"Dirty Diana",  "The way you make me feel" and "Beat it"

The finale with the kids singing "Heal the World" ...and our
very literal representation of this concept.

 Finally, I had the chance to leave the Scranton area for a short time in December with a visit to NYC for Father Peter's annual Christmas party at the New York Public Library.  It was so good to see some friends from school and the event was certainly a different atmosphere than our simplistic lifestyle back in Scranton.  All in all, though, it was a great little break from work and a reminder of some of the many different ways in which people celebrate the holiday season.  Of course, no trip to a 'Nova event is complete without getting to see some of my great friends, Madeline Reynolds and Sarah Loveland, who both attended the event as well.

So that about wraps up December in a quick few paragraphs.  It was definitely a great way to end 2012, and I'm almost caught up to present 2013-status!!!! Thanks for reading, I'll be back with one more post to update the New Year shortly!

God Bless,
Tom

November Recap! (Kindness)

So, you may have noticed the recent activity (or lack thereof) on my blog.  I am so sorry that this has taken a backseat to 1,000 other things lately.  BUT I promise to make it all up to you, in the form of some quick - appropriately titled - Monthly Recap Posts! yayyyyyyyyyyy....OK, here goes.

November:

Things that happened in November in order of importance:

1. I finished my first ever 1/2 marathon on November 18th, 2012 in the beautiful city of Philadelphia!

2. I spent Thanksgiving at home with the family on Long Island and it was a much needed break from the hectic day-to-day of JVC life in Scranton.

3. It started Snowing in Scranton! (please note: this will become a recurring theme of the winter season)
4. This month is the farthest back and, unsurprisingly, I can remember the least about it. Whoops.

#1.  The Philadelphia 1/2 Marathon:
So for the weekend of the 1/2 marathon myself and several of my roommates headed down to America's first capital, Philadelphia to stay with the Philly JVC house.  The JVs down there have become some great friends of ours and so every chance we get to spend some time with them is warmly received.  As I may have mentioned before my good friend and former roommate, Mike Meizoso and I had signed up to run the 1/2 marathon together some 5 months earlier and so we met up the night before to prep ourselves and swap stories of how training had gone.  The anticipation I felt that night trying to get some decent sleep before the run can only be compared to the type of giddy Pre-Christmas morning butterflies you experience circa 5 years of age.  Well, sooner than I would have liked, morning came and so did the race.  It was incredible to see all 15,000-some people who had come out to run all in one place.  Despite some knee pain at the time, I managed to perform very well during the race.  I found myself engrossed not just in the adrenaline-pumping nature of the event, but of the spectacle we (the runners) had created on the streets of Philadelphia.  I would pass people on miles 4...5...6, expecting to see less and less of the crowds as the miles went on.  Yet, surprisingly, the throngs of cheering strangers continued for most of the race, keeping me on pace and strengthening the smile on my face each time I would hear an encouraging scream or read some witty piece of signage.

My housemates & Villanova friends who came out to
 cheer on Mike & I in our very first 1/2 Marathon!

This brings me to what I learned that weekend of the 1/2 marathon (what? you thought I'd tell a story without an all-important moral fulcrum? c'mon now...).  A lot of my experience this year has involved relying on the kindness of perfect strangers.  Whether it was my first several weeks in Scranton, needing help navigating the labyrinth of local bus routes or consistently receiving generous support from local FJVs and others who know about our little house of volunteers, I can honestly say that this year has taught me the incredibly power of kindness (in particular, kindness toward strangers).  It would be an understatement to say that the hordes of people who came out to line up and cheer myself and my fellow runners on that morning helped me to finish the race.  They showed me the type of kindness and support that we hear about in prayer, the kind we are promised in the speeches of politicians, and the kind we scarcely feel except for in the wake of some great tragedy. I experienced first-hand the kindness of strangers one other time that weekend, on my way to Mike's apartment.  Please keep in mind, I had never yet visited my friend Mike's place when I began my journey there at approximately 8:00pm Saturday night.  Still, I plugged the address into my trusty GPS and proceeded to "follow the road".  As luck would have it, I had made an error in entering the location on my phone and as a result, the directions led me to a little town several miles North of where Mike actually lives.  As more luck would have it, just as I was calling him to get the correct address, my phone died.  And there I was.  Alone, with no phone, no address, no clue where I was in the middle of a small suburb outside of Philadelphia.  So, what to do, you ask?  Well, I tried my hand at something I had found myself on the other side of for quite some time now, relying on the kindness of strangers.  I pulled into the driveway of a house that looked well-lit (that's always the prerequisite for safety in these types of stories, right?) and approached looking for some kindness, a simple outlet to plug in my phone so I could call my friend and get back on the road.  What I found was so much more than I could have ever expected.  I met a woman and her foster children that live in the house, the boys were having some friends over for a night of video games, sports, movies and very little sleeping-"sleepover".  As I waited for my phone to charge, they shared with me their excitement at my participation in the race the next morning, the youngest sharing that he runs cross country at his school and one day wants to run in a 1/2 marathon of his own.  Even after my phone was charged and I got the address I found an outpouring of generosity as the woman volunteered to mapquest the directions on her own computer and print a copy for me, so as to avoid similar disastrous charge-related incidents from occurring.  With some last minute well-wishes and an offer of a drink for the road, I left the home of these perfect strangers.  Strangers who shared with me the same type of kindness that I saw in the faces of thousands more strangers several hours later as I ran 13.1 miles through the heart of the city of brotherly love.  I've kept that story with me for some time (admittedly, partly out of the embarrassment surrounding my dependence on my phone's GPS function) and in time some of the minutia of the story will inevitably fade from memory, but that feeling of genuine kindness, the kind that can seldom be expressed except in these moments of utter dependence on others, will endure.

#2. Thanksgiving at home was a blast.  I absolutely love my extended family, quirks and all.  To sum up the visit, this picture should suffice:

Visiting home and getting to witness the type of family upbringing that has made my life possible made me very grateful for all that I have and, I think, helped me to truly embrace the spirit of giving thanks.  It's hard to put into words, even by use of some quirky exemplar, how my cousins and family make me feel, perhaps I'll give it a try in another posting.  For now, let it suffice to say that my family made the list of "greatest things about November" and as a close 2nd to one of my greatest moments of the year, which should give an indication to how much they mean to me.

“I sustain myself with the love of family.” 
― Maya Angelou

#3. The Snow!  As you may have guessed, it's cold up here in Scranton.  I am continually reminded of this fact every time I wake up and my feet have managed to leave the comfortable warmth of the blanket, or in the icy cold shock of the run - no, mad dash - from the shower to the dresser drawer.  I thought some of those in more temperate regions might enjoy this snowy sight from our backyard in Scranton.

And soooooooooo, that's pretty much the month of November in a nutshell!  A posting on December's events to follow shortly (ie. when I get home tonight...I hope)

Yours,
Tom

A day off...to catch up!

Hello everyone!

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.  

Tim, our wonderful tour guide

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!

Our group on the steps of the
University of the Arts in Philadelphia! 

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.

Oh, and brunch...rocked.

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

Run, Joey Run!

This morning was the Steamtown Marathon, an annual event here in Scranton and a fantastic opportunity for me to see downtown all hustle and bustling before 11am.  I decided to go see the event at the finish line as it's right down the block from our house and I thought I might find some good inspiration for me as I continue my training.  Yup, that's right, I'm signed up to complete my first 1/2 marathon next month in the Philadelphia Marathon and I'm really excited for the challenge.  If you know me, you'll know I was a big runner back in high school on the cross country team and then had a slight "hiatus"- let's call it - during my time at Nova.  But in addition to the challenges of working and living JVC this year I've decided to add some additional challenges to my roster, one of which has been to work my way back into running shape.  So I will be running in the Philadelphia half-marathon next month (Nov. 18, if anyone's in the area!) and I'm really pumped for it.  

Anyway, I went to the event this morning and I had an absolute blast.  At JVC orientation, they taught us about a concept called "Self Care" which essentially means taking some time for oneself to recenter and keep yourself sane, in a way.  I've been using running as my preferred method of self care this year, as it gives me time by myself to think and clear my head.  This event, however, gave me so much more than just a clear mind.  I spent the morning watching loved ones cheer on Fathers, Mothers, Children, Friends and everything in between.  The entire time I was there, I must confess I felt nervous that at any moment someone was going to stop me and ask "Hey, who are you here for?" and I would have to sheepishly confess that I didn't know anyone running in this race.  That I was that creepy guy come to spectate without knowing any of the participants.  I continually had to remind myself that no such accusations were going to happen.  Firstly because this was not some sort of members only event where proof of membership would need be presented (although Pennsylvania does have events like those - see Election Day 2012).  And secondly because this was not the kind of event at which people need a "good reason" for being there.  We're all there for the same good reason, to congratulate and cheer on the runners as they complete this incredibly challenging test of physical endurance.  So after that initial discomfort, I found myself among a crowd of supporters cheering on each individual as they came down the last 200-m stretch.

^There were teams of volunteer medical staff on hand at the finish and then throngs of people there just to provide food, water, an encouraging word, whatever the runners needed after they finished their grueling 26.2 miles.  Among the crowds, there were families and friends, fellow runners who had already finished the race and just about everyone had a sign in hand, cowbell for ringing, or the sheer strength of their vocal chords to add to the roar of cheers.  Some were more light hearted and this one in particular made me laugh:

Anyway, I tell you this story because of the impact the event had on me and my life journey today.  Seeing all those runners complete the marathon gave me such confidence in my own ability to do the same next month (alright, mine's only a 1/2 marathon...but gimme a break I'm working up to it!).  I decided to head out for my "long run" today as my schedule calls for an 8 miler to keep up with the training and so my housemate Caroline and I went up to Lake Scranton to run.  I had such an amazing run today and I'm sure it is in part due to the enthusiasm I experienced at the marathon this morning.  Actually, as I made my way around Lake Scranton twice today, I happened upon 3 other runners who seemed to be trekking equally far and at about the same pace (we were running in opposite directions on the lake's path, though, so we passed each other 3 times).  On the third time around we broke the usually unspoken rule about contact with strangers during exercise and exchanged hi-fives and encouraging words as we passed each other.  When I finished up, we got to talking and I found out that they too were training for a half marathon, theirs later this month in Hershey, PA.  

Though these events may seem trivial, I couldn't help but appreciate the connectedness felt between these strangers and myself as we bonded over a common cause.  It was the same connectedness that I found meeting and congratulating strangers today at the marathon.  For just a brief moment, all of these people become equally important, no matter their gender, education level, socioeconomic status, etc.  When you cheer them on as they're finishing that race, you're not cheering them on because of any of those ancillary aspects of who they are.  You're cheering for them as a person, another person riding around on this little blue sphere of ours and for a brief moment we experience what it's like to really love another person for being just that, another person.  I have found running to be an excellent method of Self Care over the past few months as it's a means of separating from other people and refocusing my attention.  But today I found that running can act as a means of care for others as well, that when we drop all our pre-judgements and assumptions about other people and just see them as people there's the potential for connectedness with strangers that would not otherwise exist.  So I'm gonna keep on running and hopefully continue to discover that connectedness with other people as I do so.  

Thanks for reading!

Tom

P.S. to explain the title...that song was just stuck in my head all morning as I watched the race.  I know, kinda cheesy and not at all the theme of the post if you know the song, but there it is.  

P.P.S. Had to attach one more picture of a Scranton sunset from yesterday, it kind of reminds me of the fictional sky city from the Star Wars movies.  Thoughts?

Home Sweet Scranton

^ In case anyone was wondering, this is the sign you'll see when you're approaching the exit for Scranton, PA (ya know, if you were feeling adventurous and wanted to come visit the Scranton JVC house *wink*wink*).

So recently I've been settling into things here in Scranton, getting acclimated at work, starting to develop a normal routine of things around the house, and the like.  I've also been creating some good "blog karma" by following some of my friends respective web-ventures as they embark on similar service experiences, or study abroad opportunities.  As it just so happens, I read a very interesting post by my friend from school, Anna, about her time spent studying abroad in South Africa this semester.  Anna's posts are typically packed with quick-witted little quips about her adventures within the program and the people she meets along the way. This post was markedly different from posts I had read in the past, most notably because it wasn't full of happy-go-lucky anecdotes or incredible pictures of mountains that you might liken to a work of artistic brilliance.  Her post centered around her apprehension with accepting the less exciting parts of her journey in South Africa.  She came to realize that in order to immerse yourself into another culture, you need to develop a sense of "normal" there - not that fun hiking trips and bungee jumping adventures aren't awesome, of course - but it's unrealistic to think that when spending an extended period of time in a new place, there won't be times when things slow down and you're just there, and that's OK.

I tell you this story because (and I'm not sure if it's in larger part due to my reflecting upon Anna's post) time in Scranton seems to be slowing down.  Not literally, of course, I'm not talking about some Sci-fy time travel plot reminiscent of that awful J. Timberlake movie "In Time", but just that the weeks start to become more routine as we adjust to our lives here and get comfortable with the Scranton area. The real question then becomes, how do we address/view/understand this standardization of our weekly routines?  Do we settle into the comfortable pattern we've developed and allow time to pass by without interruption?  Or perhaps we actively work to disrupt this pattern, for fear of the dreaded monotony of "the work week".  I think the answer is somewhere in between.  Yes, we want to make the most of our time here in Scranton and the journey we're on as Jesuit Volunteers and there will definitely be times during this year when we do, see, and experience some incredible things.  But that's no reason to frown upon the moments that aren't quite as awe-inspiringly eventful.

In fact, those exceptions might not define our experiences as much as we like to think they do.  After all, there's an Aristotelian quote that comes to mind, "we are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."  So are we boring people if our lives start to consist of repetitive routines of eat, work, sleep, repeat?  I don't think so.  I think the perceived monotony of routines is solely a product of our choice to see those experiences that way.  Perhaps by simply framing the situation differently in our minds we can avoid the negative self-talk that occurs when we think of falling into routines in our lives.  So yes, I am developing a routine here in Scranton, and yes, that routine does get repetitive at times, but I choose to frame that reality as a positive thing.  I wouldn't be developing a routine here if this place wasn't becoming more comforting to me, if it wasn't becoming a place I can call home.  I wouldn't be developing a routine here if I wasn't enjoying the company of my housemates, coworkers, and all of the people I've met on my journey thus far.  And I certainly wouldn't be developing a routine here if I wasn't - in small ways - falling in love with Scranton and my life here.  It's not to say that every moment of the journey has been (or will be) incredibly amazing/exciting/life-changing, but that I'm accepting of the way in which the journey has been unfolding, both the good times and the bad.  So, no offense to Aristotle, but perhaps it's not what we repeatedly do that makes us who we are, but how we do what we do that defines us.  So I'm striving to do my year of service with a smile on my face and love in my heart.  Because if smiling and loving become indelible parts of who I am, I figure I can live with that.

All my love,
Tom

Make the Days Count

We're quickly approaching the completion of our first whole month of JVC!  September 9th will officially mark that day, but some of our FJV support staff are coming over for a celebratory/thank you/'yayyy it's the weekend' dinner this Saturday in honor of our first big milestone!

So, what exactly have you been doing in Scranton for the past few weeks, you may ask?  Well as I alluded in my last post, my roommates and I have been adjusting ourselves into a regular work schedule.  Most of us work normal Monday to Friday type jobs, although Abbie works every other weekend, David's Youth Group meetings are on Sunday nights, and my hours are 1-9pm Tuesday-Thursday...so scratch that, none of us really have "normal" jobs.  But I guess that's kind of the point, right?  There's nothing entirely "normal" about what we're doing here this year.  

A few of the talks at orientation centered around the concept of the counter-cultural nature of our work with JVC.  Essentially, how it is that much of our American culture does not condone the idea of going off to live in a city you've never been to before, to live with people you've never met before, and work a job you've never done before...without being paid.  And trust me when I say that this reality hit hard for me as nearly every conversation I had about my decision to join the JVC served as a constant reminder.  Questions of: Why would you do that?  How are you going to survive?  Do you really think you're going to change the world, or something, by doing this? all swirled around my head as I prepared for the upcoming year.  As I had very little knowledge of the program, my job, or Scranton in general, my answer was always somewhat lackluster and centered around feeling as though it's what I have to do.  But, I must say, after just this short period of time here I'm starting to see why I felt so called to be here. 

Let me explain, this weekend (as I'm sure you know) was Labor Day weekend.  In the holiday spirit, the Baltimore JVC house - another house of 5 JVs centered in MD - invited other JVs from the Northeast to a party at their house.  If you know me, you know that it would take an act of God to keep me away from a good party, and so my roommate Ally and I went to Baltimore.  Getting to see and hear from all the different people I had met at orientation just a few short weeks ago was amazing.  They all had such rich and varied stories about their respective cities, the type of work they've been doing, as well as many of the challenges that arise living in accordance with JVC's core values.  Strange as it seems, although it had only been about two and a half weeks since I had last seen these people, it felt as though it had been years.  The experience gave me a heightened sense of awareness to the value of being present in our daily lives, of choosing to actively participate in the world as opposed to sitting idly and watching life pass by.  I have a 'Quote of the Week' type project I've been working on, and this week on my whiteboard I've featured Muhammad Ali as he once said "Don't count the days, make the days count."  I feel as though that's part of what this journey has taught me already, that making each and every day count and valuing each moment of the time we have here on earth is what life is all about.  And so, my apologies if it's not the momentous epiphany you were expecting, but JVC has taught me to make the days count, and I'm grateful for that.  

View from the Baltimore Harbor during our visit to the JVC house down there.

In less "self-reflective" news, work has been going pretty well.  I work for United Neighborhoods Centers of Northeast Pennsylvania (or UNC for short).  My official duties will entail coordinating programs for youth in the area to participate in as an alternative to them being on the streets after school.  I'm most excited for the diverse populations of people and experiences I'm sure to encounter during my time at UNC, it's an enormous non-profit - the largest in the area - and so there's no shortage of programs to get involved with this year!  Also, much to the envy of my roommates, on my first week of work I was invited along on an photography outing with the kids who participate in the after school photography group.  We went to Penn's Cave and had a blast!  I have some photos, but don't be too critical!  It was only my first day of photography class.

The entrance to the cave

Big points if you can differentiate Stalagmites
& Stalactites! (Sorry, science major habit)

Other fun things in Scranton? Well, they're big fans of festivals around this town.  We've been to two in the past two weeks.  Last weekend for Labor Day was La Festa Italiana, which features some of the most delicious Italian food ever created in the Western Hemisphere - I had amazing calamari as well as buffalo hot wing pizza (A favorite from Mary's back home).  Two weekends ago was a parish festival that supports one of the biggest parishes around, and coincidentally the one my roommate David works for, St. John Neumann.  At that festival Caroline and I were talked into working (imagine that, volunteers...volunteering) and I'm proud to say that in one night I not only tasted my first potato pancake, but I also mass produced about 500 more!

My novice skills were put to the test fairly
quickly that day - I didn't burn too many! 

So far I've pinned Scranton as a place of many churches, a place with almost as many - if not more - pizza joints, and I'd like to add one more to that list.  I'm not sure if it's just the time of year or the Pocono Mountains in the distance, but Scranton has some of the most beautiful sunsets you can imagine.  We've seen some great ones over there past few weeks and I wanted to share one in particular with you.  It's a constant reminder that though our year of service may get hard at times, God is undoubtedly present here with us to help us through.  We can see it in the beauty of the world that surrounds us, if only we are present enough in our lives to take the time to notice.

God Bless,
Tom

The House on Moosic Street

Sorry it's been such a long time since an update!  The last two weeks have just been a whirlwind of activity and new things, I hardly find the time to check my computer (which makes the Simple Living commitment easier, I suppose!).  But so how about I catch you up in chronological order?

First, I headed off to JVC Orientation on August 9th and found myself in Blue Ridge, PA.  Shortly thereafter, I was SURROUNDED by other young men and women who were committing a year of service to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  I have to admit, it was nice to meet so many people who were going through the same things I was, asking the same questions and harboring the same concerns about the year ahead.  Suffice it to say that the 5 day Orientation program did a fantastic job of quelling many of those concerns as we spent time getting to know the JVC staff for the Baltimore office (responsible for all of the volunteers serving in the NE United States).  We listened to talks given by former members of the Corps (knows as FJVs - Former Jesuit Volunteers) as well as professionals in areas like conflict management and spiritual development to help us prepare for the year ahead.  Perhaps most exciting of all, though, we were introduced to our NEW HOUSEMATES for the upcoming year, and I met: Abbie, Ally, Caroline & David (you may have guessed...the people in the photo above! In order, skipping me) Who I will be living and serving with for the next year in Scranton, PA.  But I'm getting ahead of myself, we did some pretty cool stuff during Orientation in addition to hearing talks, for example the retreat center bordered an entrance to the Appalachian Trail and one morning about 13 of us got up at ~5:00am to hike 8.5 miles of the trail for one crazy morning workout!

We hiked across the Mason Dixon line as we crossed into Maryland.  And Emily was SO ecstatic to recreate this moment from "A Walk to Remember"

A dramatic interpretation of "what lies ahead" as we begin our journey hiking...and with JVC.

Quick! Photo shoot on these cool rocks!

As it turned out, only a few of us actually made it to the TOP of the mountain (there was a time crunch to make breakfast...and certain priorities simply trump all else) BUT! My roommate Caroline and I were among those who successfully scaled the top of the mountain, and I shot this pensive pic of her from the top.

View from the top of the mountain, worth every step of the journey to get there.

After that crazy adventure, I was sure nothing else was going to top my list of Orientation moments.  But, as I'm becoming accustomed to with this program, nothing is ever quite as I expect it's going to be.  We spent the last two nights of Orientation celebrating the mission the 80-something of us were about to embark upon.  A Jesuit priest came to bless us on our journey and to commission us into the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  That was perhaps the first moment at which reality fully set in and I came to understand the magnitude of what I'm attempting to do this year.  As overwhelming as it was to see all of the JVs from the Northeast together in one place, I was in awe of the significance and impact JVs from all across the country and the globe might have as they set out to work towards common goals and ideals.  Little did I know, I was still ostensibly missing the 'big picture' still.  But I'll get to that in just a bit...

This is the sunset from Blue Ridge, PA on one of our last nights together at Orientation.

I had met so many great people at Orientation and I had just begun to feel comfortable and adjusted to that place when, you guessed it, we picked up and moved again!  This time to our final destination of Scranton, PA.  Admittedly, leaving orientation was quite difficult for me, although I knew I would see these people again at other retreats throughout the year - and perhaps on some fun visits throughout the year - there was something special about the newness of those relationships that I was hard pressed to leave behind.  Still, I was ready and willing to commit to the program I had signed up for, and we loaded up our cars and drove to the buzzing metropolis of Scranton...OK, so it's not quite a metropolis, but it has some city-esqe features.  My housemates and I were instantly surprised at how nice our accommodations in Scranton were.  We live in an old house on one of the major artery roads of Scranton, Moosic Street.  The house used to belong to our current landlords great grandparents, and had recently been reacquired into the family and renovated for use as the JVC house for Scranton (we are only the 2nd group of volunteers to live here) and the house is just magnificent.  It has high ceilings on the first floor and enough bedrooms on the second for us each to have our own space.  In fact, I'm sitting in my room right now as I write this posting and - I dare say - this is arguably the biggest amount of personal living space I've ever had.  

To add to our initial positive impression, we were greeted on that first night by 4 FJVs from the local Scranton area, two couples, who played instrumental roles in establishing the JVC program here in Scranton and keeping it going by acting as a support team for the JVs living here.  They cooked us dinner and answered about 1,000 questions we had about Scranton and JVC.  Not to brag, but in one short week I'm starting to really get the hang of this city!  And as if the warm welcome from our FJV friends wasn't enough, they held a party for us (at our own house!) at which we got to meet several other FJVs in the Scranton area, all of whom extended their warm welcomes and offers to help us in any way we might need.  It was perhaps at this moment - shortly following the party - when I came to discover the underestimation I had made in my previous understanding of JVC.  The network of this organization stretches beyond just current volunteers serving across the U.S. and the globe, to members who have served in all of those places over many years and give so selflessly of their time and energies to continue this program.  I suspect it has something to do with the core purpose and commitment of the program that really resonates with volunteers and stays with them long after they complete their year(s) of service.  Either way, I'm more excited than ever to be part of such an amazing group of people and to begin my own journey as a JV.

And so, finally this week my housemates and I have begun work at our respective job placements.  Two of my roommates work at a center for individuals with severe mental and physical limitations called St. Joseph's Center.  One of my roommates is serving as the Youth Minister for two local parishes (Scranton, by the way, is perhaps the epicenter of the world, where churches are concerned.  I haven't seen so many churches in one city since traveling Italy, and still this town may take the cake).  Another roommate will be working right across the street from me at a resource distribution center called Friends of the Poor.  And I will be working at United Neighborhoods Center (or UNC...yes I confused it with the school at first too).  I'm working with the youth programs there, although the organization is so large that there seem to be opportunities to get involved in just about anything you can think of in the Scranton area as a part of UNC.  I've thoroughly enjoyed my first few days of work so far, although I'll have to update you on more details of the job after I've got a little more experience under my belt.  As it's getting late, and I have work early in the morning, I think that'll have to be all for now.  As always, thank you to whoever is reading this for your support.  Know that I think of everyone back home often, and I'm praying you guys are off to as awesome a start to the next year as I am!  For peets sake, just check out the view from my office window:  

...and I was worried Scranton was going to be an ugly place (don't quote me on that come winter time, though!).  

Love always, 

Tom