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!