Life Lately: Having Fun

Hi readers! It's been more than a week since my past post, and for that I apologize. I keep thinking of things to write about but don't set aside the time to put it out here for you.

There were a couple of cool events that happened since I last posted. One of them was that I went on my first community service project with the service group I moderate at school. We went to the Ronald McDonald House, located conveniently right across the street. They have gone there frequently in past years, and while this year are hoping to branch out to other organizations, were still interested in going back.

Service groups have been a favorite part of my high school and college experiences, and now going as a moderator was no exception. It was many of the student's first time visiting the organization, so I was able to experience the service project through their eyes as well. Our intended purpose of volunteering was to cook a meal for the children and their families staying at the house. The students brought the food we prepared- spaghetti and meat sauce, and garlic bread. It turned out great, but since so many students wanted to volunteer, we faced an example of 'too many cooks in the kitchen'. Turns out it doesn't take 15 kids to make a pot of pasta.

But they were there and eager to help, so with the volunteer coordinator on site, we managed to find a number of other odd jobs to help with. They watered several gardens and plants outside of the building, as well as washed down the organization's van. As could be expected, this turned into a wet mess with a couple of rouge hose sprays, but at the end the car was gleaming bright.

Our timing of cooking the food was a bit off, as was the amounts we'd prepared, but the guests who were there were certainly grateful for a night off from cooking. For me, the best part of the afternoon was getting to interact in a service setting with the student volunteers. We'd been able to meet and talk with them about service plans for the past two months now, and it was wonderful to actually be there during the project itself. I am always inspired by getting to work with non-profits, and seeing the students experience that similar joy was another sort of privilege. I'm definitely looking forward to their next project!

The second fun update: yesterday morning I went hiking to a place called the 'Aztec caves', and then played some Ultimate Frisbee! Hiking is the sort of adventure I'm accustomed to, joining an organized sports game was a whole other challenge.

Both of these adventures happened with a couple of wonderful new friends. I've been wanting to hike in the Franklin Mountains surrounding El Paso ever since I arrived 2 months ago, and was so excited to actually go. It was a chillier morning than I've been accustomed to, but definitely warmed up as we scrambled up the mountain. Everything was also so green, a result of the excessive rain this season. There were wildflowers and buzzing bees everywhere. The view at the top of the mountain was spectacular, we were afforded a beautiful view of El Paso and Juarez. The caves themselves were also fantastic- it looked like something out of a storybook. There were also a couple of ancient cave paintings on the walls! They were just out there in the open to the elements and tourists, which I thought was shocking but pretty cool.

After we conquered the caves, which only took about 2 hours, the friends I was with invited me to go play Ultimate Frisbee with a team they're on. They'd asked me to come before, but since I consider myself pretty horrible at anything involving a field and hand-eye coordination, I'd always declined. This time, though, with my athletic gear already on, and nothing to do for the rest of the day, I somehow found excuses harder to come by. I went.

It was an informal pick-up league sort of team, but everyone on it still seemed really good to me. I practiced throwing the disc around for a while on the sidelines, and sooner than I'd expected, was called in to replace someone who wanted a break. It was terrifying! I made a bunch of mistakes, but all throughout some of the more experienced players were giving me advice and encouragement. No one ever put me down, even when I threw the disc into the dirt on a short pass. A few times, I even properly caught and threw the disc (they don't call it a Frisbee), which may seem a silly accomplishment, but gave me the confidence to stick it out.

While the whole game was stressful, it was also fun in a way I hadn't expected. I'm still really apprehensive with any sort of competitive sport, but I think I'll probably go back. It was such a welcoming environment, and this seems as good a time as any to really try out something new.

I'll let you know how it goes- who knows, maybe this year will make an athlete of me yet. (Ha!)

Thank you, always, for reading. :)