In Spokane!

Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long to write in this thing. We don't get internet access in our house so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating. Anyway, I have been in Spokane for a little over a week. We arrived two Saturday's ago after a 5 day orientation in Portland. Orientation was fun but a bit overwhelming. There are over 120 JV volunteers in the Northwest so it was a lot of people to meet all at once. The best part was finally being able to meet my community members. I'm living with 5 other people-Sean, Emily, Katie, Molly and Kristy. So far it's been great, we're having a lot of fun together :) For the first time, JVC has decided to have 2 communities in Spokane so we are right across the street from 6 other volunteers.

Our house is really cute and cozy. JV's have been living in the house for years so there is lot of character. I'll take some pictures when I have a chance and add them to the blog so people can see it. I started my job at St. Margaret's last Wednesday. The first week was very overwhelming because Laurie and I (the other JV) were just thrown into the mix. It's pretty much all on the job training and learn as you go so the first week was a bit stressful. We pretty much will be doing anything the staff needs us to do. This includes answering the phones, going to the food bank, picking up furniture and helping with programs the staff has. I think the best part of the job will be is that Laurie and I are allowed to create and run our own programs and creativity and innovation are encouraged. Laurie and I have brainstormed some ideas and once we get a little more acclimated we hope to get things rolling.

For the past week we've been trying to get to know the city a little better. We are right across the street from a Safeway which is great because none of us have a car so grocery shopping is easy. We are also a few blocks from Gonzaga University and will have access to a lot of their facilities. Most of us are working at places through Catholic Charities so the executive director gave us all of tour of our workplaces. (The executive director was a former JV and a graduate of Fairfield!) Let's see, this past Saturday Molly, Kristy, Katie and I biked into downtown Spokane. The downtown area is really nice-lots of shops and restaurants but with our stipend of $80 a month we will only be able to window shop and stare at diners eating haha.

I'm currently at a wonderful little coffee shop right now. (sorry this entry is so random and scattered, if you're looking for a nice organized blog then you shouldn't be reading this!) They serve all fair trade, organic and shade grown coffee. It reminds me of Port Coffeehouse in Bridgeport. They have free internet access so I have a feeling I may be spending a lot of time here.

Well, that's all for now. I'll hopefully update the blog more often so people don't keep bugging me about it (*cough cough Dad :))