Windows and Elementary School

Everyone has recently caught a cold and my head is throbbing while i write this. This weekend has been so busy. I attended a Tai Ji workshop which focused on the new year of the ox. I have been doing tremendous amounts of reading and have not had any free time. Over the weekend i wrote two papers and ended up cleaning windows at this guys house and made $16! Today i woke up at 7 and rode the bus into downtown where i spent the day at Garfield Elementary. I tutored in two first grade classrooms and mainly helped with reading and math. Over my lunch break i got some amazing pizza from Vic's which consisted of olives, peppers, and pesto. When i finally arrived home i felt so sick and took a little nap then sweat out my cold in the sauna. For dinner Ezzy and i went to the greenery where they had prepared special food for the new year. Just have a bit more reading then hopefully i can get to bed soon

Pack Forest

These past few days have gone by very fast! On Tuesday morning we left school at 10 so that we could view a little of the inauguration. The drive took about two hours because we got lost on Mt. Rainier. We finally found Pack Forest and after unloading we were assigned into cabins. The cabins were very nice and had electricity and bunk beds. Later we attended a lecture about the forest and ecology surrounding it. After this we went on a short hike to view the plants which lived in the forest. Most plants were frosted over, and ponds and lakes were iced over. We also did a charcoal art lesson later. The forest workers cooked us diner, in a large dinning hall, which consisted of pasta and salad. Unfortunately we could not have a fire that night due to a burn ban because of heavy fog. We had a fun music jam session that night and then went to bed.

We had breakfast at 8 on Wednesday. The food was very gross and the vegetarian options were fake meat. We left camp an hour later and drove to Nisqually and Michell river. Both rivers are huge and the Nisqually is very cold and dirty from glacial melt. We saw a juvenile bald eagle and learned about the trade of land between the government and the Native Americans. We then drove to Eatonville where a unhealthy salmon spawning river runs. This river had been destroyed due to loss of plants on the banks and flooding. We also found a little pond which was frozen about two inches. We drove back to camp and for lunch had make your own sandwiches. After lunch a group of us drove to the trail head of some waterfalls. We had a long intense hike through mud and icy rocks, but eventually found the falls. The waterfalls consisted of two separate falls, each one at least twenty feet high in the middle of a dense forest. After the hike we met with a special team which trains dogs to track animal scat in order to obtain data for information about certain animals. This is currently being done around the world with tigers, orca whales(tracking is done on boats. orca scat floats)... This technique is considered better because it does not traumatize wild animals, but can still extract data from scat. We then had a pastel art workshop which was fun. Dinner was gross and i mainly ate bread and fruit. After diner we had a night seminar then got together and kick it in a cabin.

On Thursday after breakfast we left camp at nine and drove to a wildlife refuge and learned about the restoration process. After this we headed home and unpacked. I went to the gym and sauna to rejuvenate myself before our night class. At six Ezzy and i went to a required theatre performance called Salmon People which was amazing! Now i am currently catching up on reading and work. The elementary school internship starts this Monday and i will be working from 9 till 3. I will also begin a small job aiding an elderly man with house and gardening choirs. I will post pictures soon!!!

Sunny Weekend

This weekend had been very nice. Friday our class went to downtown Olympia and talked to local businesses about community events. I ended up getting amazing Vietnamese food! On Friday night Ezzy and i went to a basketball game. Our team is surprisingly good and we defeated some christian school. On Saturday i ended up getting almost 16 hours of sleep!!! I was so exhausted and hadn't slept long in a while. Later Ezzy and I played some racquetball and worked out in the gym. On Tuesday my class will be going to Pack Forest which is on Mt. Rainer. We will be staying in cabins and learn about many environmental issues!

No Relaxation Time

Wow this past week has been a blur. I have been extremely busy and things are just starting to calm down. In class on Monday we starting doing print making in a very fancy studio. We are using linoleum for the stamp and will be printing them using presses and nice paper. I have had an immense amount of work this week including readings, translating the Dao De Jing(this book is amazing!!!), writing ssynthesis papers, and learning how to identify plants in winter. Last night i attended a great lecture from Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan on "Where Our Food Comes From: Restoring Diversity to Farm and Table". His speech was very interesting and mention the problem of crop diversity, seed banks, and growth from a changing climate. Today i woke up very early and caught a bus into downtown Olympia at 830. I had an interview with the principle from a local elementary school which went very well!!! We are just working out the schedule but soon i will be interning at Garfield Elementary. I will be working with kids of 1-5 grades and will mainly be aiding students with reading and math, but will also aid the teacher. I'm also eligible for an AmeriCorps program called Students in Service which would aid me with tuition vouchers. On the way back to campus i stopped at grocery outlet and found loaded up on cereal and milk. Soon i will be starting an independent project where i will be painting in my dorm stairwell. I'm still working on the sketch draft but hopefully i will be able to commence soon. Tomorrow my class is going to downtown Olympia to learn about art and activism! Well i NEED to catch up on sleep now, and will try to post to this blog more often. Also kinda interesting news, a cougar was spotted on campus today!

Seattle

This week has been super packed with many fun, yet stressing things. I met with the organization CCBLA(center for community based learning and action), and was referred to Garfield Elementary school. I still have to talk and meet with the principle, but things should work out. I would be leading small tutoring groups which sounds like fun. The school is located five miles away but luckily the bus runs right past it! Yesterday i drove to the Seattle Art Museum. It was a pretty relaxed drive until we got to the museum parking garage and the van did not fit the clearance. To make a long story short we eventually parked and the luckily the roof only got a little scratched. The museum was very interesting and had a very cool pacific northwest Native American exhibit. Today i washed an immense load of laundry and have just been getting little things done. Its raining now but hasn't gotten to cold yet.

Snow

Its mostly been raining but here a sideshow of snow pics at Evergreen http://photo.evergreen.edu/portal/SnowdayatEvergreen/index.html. Im narrowing my focus for my internship down to nature conservation and education. I have found many schools and groups in the area which hold many opportunities. I spending today finishing work and readings then i hope to get to the gym and sauna. I also have the first day of my painting class today which im excited about!

Back at School

I had my first day of class today, and it went very well. This quarter we are doing internships (which start very soon), printmaking, photography(darkroom), and will be translating texts such as Dao de Jing, Torah, Quran. We also have many trips and this week we will be going to the Seattle Art Museum, then a trip to downtown Olympia(cultural and activism aspects) the next week, and finally a trip to Pack Forest which is in the foothills of Mount Rainier the week after. Today i was fortunate enough to get to got to the gym and sauna!!! The weather has been better these past few days for it is only raining, however there are large piles of snow scattered around. Only one person has moved out of our sweet and his spot was filled with Kyle who i haven't talked to yet.