Los Angeles I'm Yours

Revisiting the concept of surreptitious meetings between people, I have had quite a few unexpected interactions and experiences riding public transportation in both San Francisco and LA which have been quite entertaining and enlightening. I have been spending quite a lot of time alone in the last couple weeks, as my aunt and uncle have gone out of town until next week. Therefore, I have spent a lot of time either home alone watching “That 70s Show,” baking crisp, watching soccer highlights, going on runs in this extremely hilly neighborhood, and writing posts like these or spending time people watching while walking in the neighborhood, taking public transit, and riding the wave of the crowds downtown.

I will start with LA, the city that this post is named after (I’m really not that enthralled with LA, I just like the Decemberists’ song “Los Angeles I’m Yours.”) After I left the highly emotional and over stimulating environment of Youth to Youth at Claremont McKenna College, I boarded the Metrolink train at the Claremont station bound for Union Station in downtown LA. I hadn’t seen one of my best friends from high school, Ester Kim, in over a year and was on a mission to get myself into the city so that I could spend the evening with her. Alone once again after spending a surreal week surrounded with people, when I arrived at the Claremont station, I was first unsure what to do. The station looked deserted and closed, so I panicked for a second whether trains were actually running. I walked around the station to see an older man probably in his 70s sitting complacently on a bench and saw a train ahead fast approaching the station. I didn’t have a ticket, so I asked the man how I could buy one. He said I wouldn’t have time as the train only stopped for a few minutes at a time.

The thing that I find most interesting about public transportation is that no one talks to each other. I ride the BART or MUNI to work every morning with hundreds of other people at a time I have not had one vocal conversation with any other commuter yet. Similar to my reflections on Youth to Youth, you never know when you will connect with someone at any time, including strangers on a train! I have always believed this to be true, but have never had a real captivating example of human connection until I rode Metrolink.

So, I boarded the train with the older man, sitting across from him because he seemed knowledgeable about the system and would be able to explain anything to me. He was holding a thick book that was written in what looked like Spanish or Italian at first glance. After a couple minutes of silent thought, I decided to surpass my fear of awkwardness and break the conversation barrier, asking the man if he took the train often. It turns out that this was all I needed to begin a captivating conversation. The man’s name name is Jerry and he rides the Metrolink often to go into the city for lectures and meetings for Los Angelian artists and visionaries. He is a retired art history professor and lives with his partner in Claremont. He taught at Pomona for years and now spends his time writing about how to teach art/painting or about very specific moments in Church history as they relate to sacred art. It was fascinating talking to him and even though he was somewhat hard of hearing, he sensed my interest in his stories of traveling abroad and studying art. He is fluent in Italian, German, French, and English and can get by with Spanish and various Scandinavian languages. It was unbelievable! His eyes would light up when he talked about his academic/professional interests which were also his personal interests and he liked to quote classic writers including one that I don’t remember who geniusly quoted, “For every language, there is a soul.” It’s so true! I feel like somewhat of a different person when I speak French and Jerry explained how a different personality of his comes out when he speaks German. He also explained the nuisance of just learning how to speak Italian…because one uses different muscles to speak this language, Jerry’s lips were often sore by the end of a day in Italy. These are only a few of the captivating stories that Jerry told me on this hour-long ride. We both enjoyed each other’s company, and it was interesting how eager he was to talk to me about his interests. Was he lonely or just excited to have someone to talk to about his interests?

After my overnight stay in LA with Ester where I discovered “LA Live,” a restaurant that had 138 beers on tap, and the fact that downtown Los Angeles is actually more green and tree-laden than downtown San Francisco AND Seattle (but not holding a candle to Portland), I took the Metrolink out east once again. This time I sat across from a middle-aged African American woman who I connected with right away. She was visiting LA as well and was riding the Metrolink for only the second time, just like me. She had come into the city to attend Michael Jackson’s funeral a few days prior and was staying with her cousin out east. Turns out that she is now living in the East Bay, so close to where I am currently living and had previously lived in Seattle for 13 years! Not only that, but she had lived in Shoreline where I lived only a month ago! Before that she lived in Portland!! Her brother lives in the same neighborhood that I grew up and he works at OHSU where Dad works. Finally, she had spent some time in Eugene where her daughter went to South Eugene High School, where my freshman roommate, Dewey, went. What a small, small world! We laughed together about all these crazy coincidences and she kept saying, “You are following me, girl!” It was awesome. When she got off the train, I realized I didn’t get her name.

These two stories reminded me of the fact that everyone on this planet craves human connection and meeting other people. It’s funny to me that I had to travel to LA to really realize this…who knew LA was so personable! Sharing stories is one of the most basic ways we can share our common humanity with each other. Once you break the invisible boundary with a first “Hello” or smile, you become acquainted. What’s crazy is that’s all it takes.

youth to youth

After returning from my week-long trip to the LA area (Claremont), it’s taken me a couple days to step back and process/reflect on my experience there. Coming back to the “real world” of sorts has not necessarily been a rough transition, but certainly an interesting one.

I alluded in my last post that I was going to Claremont for a week to help facilitate at a drug and alcohol prevention conference hosted by a national organization called Youth to Youth. I flew down on Monday and arrived at the Ontario airport in the afternoon unaware of what to expect or what the organization really did…there is only so much that you can glean from a website! I was picked up by Kris who was holding a sign with my name on it! That was the first time that had happened for both of us (holding a sign for someone at an airport) so we were excited. Kris took me to the Claremont McKenna campus where I checked in and put my bags in my room. I spent the next 3 hours until training started exploring the Scripps and Pomona campuses and strolling through the small town which was charming and blended in perfectly with the campuses--kind of bizarre.

At 7pm I arrived blindly at the training room literally knowing no one, nervous if I would fit in or not. When I walked in, the room was filled with teens and adults, all greeting each other with excited hugs and exclamations. They obviously all knew each other already. I quietly walked over to an empty seat and sat down but was quickly greeted with a huge hug and a “nice to meet you!” by another staff member. Thinking back on this scene and my introduction Youth to Youth, it’s hard to imagine that 2 months ago I did not know this organization existed. It’s hard to imagine that only a week ago I was arriving in Claremont. And that 2 days ago I got back to San Francisco. So removed now from this community and family that I completely immersed myself in for 5 days, it’s hard to label my week as anything but surreal.

After the first night where I got to meet the other youth and adult staff members and after the first day when I got to know them all very well, I felt as though I had gone through a grueling crash course. Even though I relished meeting all of the staff members and having the opportunity to get to know their stories, I was still far behind the adults who had been working for Youth to Youth for 20 years, other adults who had been attending the conference since they were 14 years old, or teens who has spent their entire adolescence in the program. I learned a lot about drug and alcohol prevention and that this conference had nothing to do with rehabilitation or treatment. Youth to Youth’s four pillars are drug free fun, education, personal growth, and community change, all of which I felt like I could stand for and all which had nothing to do with substance abuse or treatment. Some of the people who came through the program could have used in the past, but this was not really part of their present or intended future. And if it was, it wasn’t really mentioned.

Being an “outsider” to the program, in other words, I have not been involved with Y2Y for most of my life and have never made such a serious commitment to a drug-free lifestyle, I felt in the beginning as though I was somewhat of a “fake.” I still feel like that to some extent, but I learned by the end of the week that this program is more about community building, leadership development, and authentic relationships than it is about checking up on people’s individual lifestyle choices. The first few days made me think a lot. What would my life have been like if I had made such a commitment in high school? Not much different, but a community like this would have been pretty special. How would my life have been different if I had gone to a public high school, where pressure to drink or do drugs would have been more real beyond my academically-focused life at SMA? Who am I to myself and others? How can drugs or alcohol change a person’s priorities or way of presenting themselves in the world? Have I ever let that change me? How do I model good behavior? Who looks up to me? What is good behavior for myself and my core values? What am I passionate about and want to retain close to me? Who do I look up to? These questions were constantly circulating through my head as I tried to take in the whole experience, especially when the pace picked up as the middle/high school participants arrived and I began to form bonds with them and hear their stories.

At the end of the week, when I was completely overwhelmed with the experience and the incredible people I had met, I began to realize how non-coincidental it all was. Sometimes you meet people and experience things at just the right time in your life and they catch you off guard. That’s what last week was like to me. Meeting a woman who I will now look up to and emulate as I pursue my career path in education and writing…my discussions with her and her presence in my life cannot have been random. Or meeting a 16 year old young woman who is now like a little sister to me…discovering that my age means that I am now suddenly a role model cannot have been random. Facilitating a group and meeting the 9 amazing high schoolers in our group cannot have been random.

I have begun to take this summer in stride: to let the people that I encounter and my experiences in California to affect me. To let them fall into place in the jigsaw puzzle of my life and my path. My personal philosophy (or as we say it at Shinnyo-en, my “path to peace”) is that improving the world and my experience in it will ultimately come through connections and relationships. Balancing a strong sense of self with the relationships that I form and being transformed by what I see and experience will change my consciousness. Doing this will allow me to see the world differently and act more compassionately because I understand my place. These realizations are what Youth to Youth has given to me and I hope that it continues to give to me as I maintain the relationships I have established. I hope this esoteric reflection has represented a minutia of what I have been discovering and grappling with, but if not, just trust me. Life can just hit you sometimes.The Youth and Adult staff at Youth to Youth!

couch sitting among more exciting activities

though i have been couch sitting quite a lot due to my unexpected sickness last week, i was still able to enjoy the holiday weekend. contracting some sort of viral illness wasn't all a surprise because of my high pace of life leading up to this summer and the thousands of people i have been around since i arrived in san francisco (conference and public transit) not to mention the entirely new environment and new lifestyle.

even though i have joined the ranks of the commuting elite in san francisco, taking the BART everyday into the bustle of downtown, my pace of life after the workday has slowed down considerably which has been wonderful. i love being able to come home and want to hang out with my family, cook dinner, and watch Fox Soccer Channel. i love being able to watch the sunset from my aunt and uncle's deck in an old rocking chair with peeling white paint. i love being able to walk outside and pick blackberries and logan berries, bring them inside and make a fruit crisp with them. i love being able to sit on the couch and read for pleasure with a glass of lemonade. i love being able to go on runs and view the entirety of the city of san francisco from the top of the hill. i love being able to journal and reflect and make lists...

this weekend was a great mix of lounging and exploring. i've come to terms with the fact that i will not be exploring the entirety of the city in a weekend, so i've just been taking it slow and taking it all in. aunt ann says that she didn't even really have a grasp on san francisco until 10 years after she moved here so i think it's an accomplishment that i can have my bearings and be able to master BART in two weeks. on friday after a blissful, slow, lethargic morning of no work holiday, i dragged Dylan out onto a walk with me. he had to get a book and I wanted to go check out a bead store on 24th Street. we made our way through the neighborhood, me pointing out countless antique stores and asking dylan about his opinion on restaurants as he bopped along listening to his techno electronica rap music in one ear bud. we got to 24th street and discussed our family, school, and friends while we were serenaded by a bluegrass band in front of an empty lot. i looked in my bead store and saw many pretty glass creations but did not purchase. we continued down the street, accompanied by young couples and baby strollers and stopped at a neat used book store with a very helpful, quite attractive employee who was intrigued at my interest in finding dorothy day's autobiography. they didn't have it in stock. then dylan introduced me to cactus tacos at a mexican restaurant down the street and we ended our excursion by stopping for truffles and gelato at the corner of sanchez and 24th. we got a triple scoop of mango, pomegranate, and blackberry/chardonnay which really did taste like wine.

the next day, after ann/steve/dylan left for the airport at 6:30am, i slept in and woke up by watching "the devil wears prada" for free on on demand. then i hopped on BART and traversed across the bay to Berkeley. there, in the land of bikes, farmers markets, used book stores, trees, and birkenstocks, and co-op living arrangements, i met up with my long-time friend from elementary/middle school, sam. we hadn't really hung out since middle school so have not ever really had a mature, adult, intelligent conversation but have always shared an interest in academia and booklearning. it was comfortable company and i was very glad that i was able to fit in with her circle and that we were able to catch up in such a congenial way. we bought lettuce at the farmers market, made salad with her friend alyssa, ate some fantastic veggie bbq patties with avocado, tomato, and onion, ate some more dessert of chocolate fondue and cherry/blackberry pie, and ended up at the bluff to watch the fireworks show. the group participated in the typical "american" tradition of watching colored lights in the sky and discussed the fact that of course we would celebrate our country by shooting off gunpowder and potentially violent substances. after, we wandered the neighborhoods and played apples to apples in a quaint, colorful berkeley artist apartment.

the next day i went further east on BART to visit my friend Andy from Seattle. they were in the midst of moving everything out of his childhood house so we sat at the kitchen table and played a poker-like card game with his friend. all his aunts and uncles buzzed around us and i sipped sparkling berry lemonade. i headed home after a few hours as they lifted heavy furniture into moving vans.

i'm now preparing to leave miss piggy the guinea pig in an empty house for a week as a travel down to claremont, CA for a drug/alcohol prevention conference for high school and middle school students. i will be a staff leader and have NO idea what to anticipate. so more to be discovered. please excuse the previous post if it is not working correctly. it doesn't show up sometimes, so i might fix it soon. safe travels!

whirlwind

Beginning life in San Francisco has been quite the adventure! It is hard to believe that I have been here for only one week and that so much has happened since I arrived. One step at a time, so I will now try to recount the happenings in the Golden City. There is much to tell so beware of the length of this post.

I have been immersed by the intensity of my first week as intern at the Shinnyo-en Foundation. It felt as though I arrived in San Francisco very high energy from my immersion trip, did not have any time to let down, and then dove right into working from a very high place. Monday through Wednesday was the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. A big deal especially because Shinnyo-en was a co-sponsor! Their name was very prominent which was exciting for such a small organization…there was a lot of buzz at the conference about SEF and people were very impressed. I think I have realized that SEF is becoming a lot bigger deal even by the day than I would have thought! I have begun to learn a lot about how the organization started and the fantastic places that they are going. My supervisor told me that they have begun to receive more money from the Shinnyo-en Order because of the Obama Administration’s focus on service and the fact that “community” and “service” have become hot topics in our country recently. Obama’s election, this conference, and Shinnyo-en’s growth seem to have all happened at just the right time. It is so exciting to be part of an organization that is, right now, growing very fast and going in such an exciting direction and it is amazing to me that they are able to maintain their integrity as they grow…

Since Monday was the first day of the conference, Shinnyo-en started off big. They had an opening, very formal luncheon where they announced their annual “Pathfinders to Peace” awards. I was able to sit at one of the back tables, eat a fantastic lunch, and watch Maria Shriver get her award (along with many other amazing people).

Lunch and Maria Shriver

After the luncheon, the two other interns and I went to the Shinnyo-en booth in the main building of the conference. The booth was fantastic! We got many comments on its aesthetic appeal throughout the week. Pictures speak louder than words:

What's Your Path??

I worked at the booth for most of the conference, which meant that I didn’t get to go to many workshop sessions, but I did get to talk to many conference participants about their organizations and work and then talk to them about SEF. It was so cool to see the variety of service being done all over this country and what great endeavors people are immersing themselves in. Talking to so many people reminded me why I feel so aligned with the work of SEF and why the work of selfless service and integrity in everyday life is so important for people to dedicate themselves to. Monday evening was the highlight of the week. At the opening ceremony for the conference, we got to see many high-profile speakers in the service field, people who are excited for the new direction that our country is heading. Most prominent were Nancy Pelosi, Ahhnald Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Bon Jovi and….MICHELLE OBAMA!

Michelle Obama (in real life and on the big screen)

Hearing Michelle speak was incredible. She is so articulate and I felt quite honored that she is our first lady. How refreshing it is to have such authentic leadership in the White House! She spoke of this renewed era of service in America in which every citizen can engage in, helping to build and sustain their own communities. How inspiring to hear her words.

The rest of the conference was spent at the booth: selling t-shirts and mugs, talking about Six Billion Paths to Peace, and conversing with passersby. I was also able to attend Faith Day where we talked about the integration of interfaith dialogue, service, and community building domestically and abroad. All very fascinating. I was also interviewed three times for online news sites and was asked to write a few articles for the SEF website so stay tuned for those!

Thursday was my first day in the office. It was supposed to be the first day of orientation, but instead we were interrupted by an office-wide trip to the airport. Bishop Ito, the husband of the head of the Shinnyo-en Order, had been visiting San Francisco as a very respected delegate, representing the Order at the conference and at the awards ceremony. He was there with other high-profile Shinnyo-en members, so all of us at SEF went to the airport to see him off. In typical Japanese style, we lined up to bow and say our words of appreciation to the Bishop. And in typical SEF style, we took a group picture, all in the middle of the airport. This last week has certainly been an immersion into Japanese language and culture as half of the SEF staff is from Japan and maintain their cultural customs in the office. We spent Thursday, Friday, and Monday orienting ourselves to the office and its culture. This consisted of general office standards but also reflecting on the conference, discussing our values and learning goals, as well as talking about our ideas about peace and what our path to peace may be. It has certainly been a rich and intentional experience thusfar. I feel at peace just knowing that the organization I work for values each of its employees and his or her life’s path. Yesterday I began work on a couple actual tasks! I started to compile a “Six Billion Paths to Peace” sourcebook for the Shinnyo-en Fellows that will be arriving at the office in July for a Peace Studies Institute. Two are from Seattle U! This project has been exciting and has been primarily compiling articles and source materials into a single document. I have also been corresponding with all the Shinnyo-en Fellows from SU. I know all of them and it is exciting that they will be down here soon for the institute and retreat.

Aside from working, it is hard to believe I have lived in this city for only a week! It has been good to change my pace of life from 100 miles a minute to maybe only 70. J I have learned how to maneuver BART and will soon start on MUNI. I have been walking around the neighborhood of Noe Valley quite a lot and have begun to run again as well. There are some views of the city from this area that are just breathtaking. I have also already finished one book! “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and it was indeed very splendid—highly recommended, sad but real. I have seen two concerts, one of them being Eric Clapton on Monday night which was highly unexpected but amazing to see people that are in their 50s or 60s party hard and rock out! Kiera and I had such a fun time observing the hilarity of the audience that we were at least 30 years removed. This weekend I also picked loganberries and blackberries for a pie, went to the Pride Parade, and went to an exhibit at the DeYoung about King Tut complete with artifacts! Stunning!

Ann, Steve, and Dylan head east to NYC, Cleveland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island on Saturday for 2.5 weeks so it will be a quiet 4^th of July weekend for me. Next week I will be going to LA to be on staff at a conference for middle and high school students (http://www.youthtoyouth.net/). When I get back I hope to take advantage of the quiet house to exercise, practice guitar, read, watch sunsets from the deck, cook and bake, collage, and take the bus to explore different parts of the city. More adventures to come!

View of San Francisco from the deck!