The Adventures Continue!

On Saturday, Cilla and I went to West Seattle, which is just across the Harbor from downtown. We went to have breakfast at a bakery near Alki beach, and then spent some time hanging out at the beach. The waves weren't exactly comparable to those in the Gulf of Mexico about a month and half ago, but it was fun to be near the shore and feel beachy -- plus, it was sunny, so it almost felt like summer! There's some fun driftwood on the shore and Cilla and I sat and listened to the USA/Ghana match that was coming from the bar across the street that was packed with "fans."

This is my roommate. She's pretty. And awesome. Pretty awesome.

Oh yeah, that's me. I'm smiling at you! I didn't want you to forget what I looked like.

The ferry. And a seagull!

Liked this view of downtown from across the Harbor.

The tower with the clock in it is the Starbucks headquarters! You can see the green mermaid sticking her head up from above the clock if you look closely.

For Baby Ben - this is where the Mariners play. Josh - your Cubs just played here this weekend!

Cilla's car broke down on our way back from Alki (Sad!) But her sister and brother-in-law were able to drive us down to Tacoma to her parents' house to pick up a car to borrow. We went down to their dock and sat on the lake with our feet in the water -- you can see Mt Rainier in the distance -- it was clear on this day! This picture doesn't do it justice.

This is Stadium High School in downtown Tacoma -- the school where 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed! It's an incredible building -- it was originally built around the turn of the century and intended to be an awesome, ritzy hotel, but the project was abandoned once the Depression hit. After the depression, the city bought the building and turned it into a school. And then Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles fell in love here!

The Stadium stadium! Haha. You might recall the scene when Heath sings "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and dances down the stadium steps: here's that video clip.

The last two Sunday nights we've gone Swing Dancing at the Century Ballroom in Capitol Hill with a group from RUF. It's been a lot of fun! Once a month they have a live band play, but the nights I've gone it's just been swing music played by a DJ. This week afterwards we played kickball and soccer in the field across the street around midnight. Lots of fun times all around!

Love

Katie

The Adventurers Part One!

My roommate, Cilla, and I have a list of adventures to have this summer. It is an epic and awesome list, and we have put things on a colorful calendar so that we remember to do them. Our list included going to the neat Gelato place downtown, and then exploring downtown including Pike Place Market and Westlake Mall. We did all of these things last weekend, and had great fun! Here are some pictures documenting:

Roommate! and Gelato! On the left is Caramel and on the right is Raspberry. I ate them separately and not together. Tasty!

Yours truly!

The most beautiful fruit tart we'd ever seen.

A cake made from Gelato! Like ice cream cake! Their desserts were incredibly elegant and beautiful.

The next several are from Pike Place Market! I have talked about the market before, it's a historic part of downtown, and the original Starbucks is just across the street from it. But in essence it's a huge awesome farmers market - they sell everything! It's awesome.

The flowers that the vendors sell at the market are incredible and beautiful!

Accordion player in the street outside the market! Too cool!

Roommate! Outside Westlake Mall -- really cool place!

After our downtown adventuring we went to Target because I needed some things -- this was too epic not to document: an ESCALATOR for SHOPPING CARTS. It was beyond awesome.

Loving you all and missing you!

Katie

The Day We Wandered into Washington

Last week, one of my oldest Seattle friends (which means I've known him since Day 2 of being here, even though that was just 4 weeks ago), Randy, offered to take me on a tour of the UW campus! My roommate, Cilla, came with us and we had a grand time walking around. The campus is gorgeous, and here are a few photos documenting our explorations. :)

The sign! Which makes it official that I was actually there.

The bell tolls from the tower of this hall! Too bad it doesn't play "Boomer Sooner." :)

This is called a "monkey tail" tree. How could I not take a picture of this?

It was a beautiful day when we were walking on campus! Here's one of the halls just off the Quad.

Their equivalent of the South/North oval: this is called "The Quad."

Their buildings are beautiful and I especially like the gothic architecture/red brick theme they had going on some of these! (Just like O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a)

They call this place "Red Square." That's right, SS.

School of Music! Laura, Maggie, etc, feast your eyes on this because I thought of you in this moment.

On a clear day you can look down this way past the fountain and see Mt. Rainier! Too bad it's only clear 13 days of the year. (Okay, probably more).

The Suzzalo library on UW's campus! Really beautiful building!

I just really like staircases.

The Suzzalo equivalent to Bizzell's Great Reading Room. This room is AMAZING.

My friend Randy, who was also our tour guide, took us to the part of the library where he works: with the newspapers from around the world! They get sent here, and they're available for viewing to anyone who wants them! Then after a certain amount of time, they catalog them on microfilm and then they're available forever! It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen! Here are some of the recent newspapers from around the world that we got to see:

Russia! It's the newspaper! For Sally and Josh.

The latest from the French world for Lindsey, Kyle, Claire, et al.

Here's some Svedish news for you, Natalia!

For the German speakers I could think of, Daniel, Thomas, David, and sometimes Justin.

The Husky! Their mascot. Looks friendly!

They have a bowling alley in the basement of their student union. Don't even get me started on how awesome this is.

These pillars look (kind of) like the MIZZOU ones, so I took this picture for Doug and Julie!

What a fun day! A nice man sitting near the pillars offered to take our picture together. Voila!

Things that make Seattle Legen wait for it DARY

I've been too lazy (I would say busy but that's probably less true) to upload pictures recently and then have been using that as an excuse not to post a blog. Plus, I've been pretty convinced that if I were just blogging on a particular topic, nothing could top the last post, and so I haven't even attempted. Here's a (feeble) attempt at something (marginally) entertaining in the meantime.

Awesome things that are too awesome for words but don't have uploaded pictures yet:

1) Sidewalk accordionists
2) Late Night Swing Dancing at the Century Ballroom
3) Pike Place Market (!)
4) Cakes made out of Gelato
5) BENAROYA Hall (let that word slide off your tongue a few times and you will begin to feel the awesomeness)
6) The University of Washington Campus
7) Bowling Alleys in the basements of Student Unions (!)
8) Newspapers (!!)
9) Monkey Tail Trees (!!!!!!)
10) Shopping Cart Escalators (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

PLUS

1) My roommate is awesome
2) My roommate's brother just let us take his keyboard to our apartment
3) My roommate's brother MAKES GUITARS in his BASEMENT

Things just really could not be better. Oh, except for if people who lived in Norman lived in Seattle instead.

OH and I saw Mark Driscoll.

On Bus Riding

As my plans for Seattle were materializing early this year, my parents and I had to make the decision about whether or not my 1996 Honda Civic was going to make it to Seattle and back this summer. This would be over 3,000 miles, in addition to the many miles that would be earned driving around Seattle all summer. It was decided almost immediately and unanimously that it would not.

But because Seattle is a metropolitan area, it has a very efficient public transit system that I began to explore as an alternative.

I had never ridden a city bus before. To my knowledge, at this time, I rode my first public bus just over two weeks ago.

But it is WONDERFUL. I LOVE RIDING THE BUS. In fact, I love it so much, that I just recently ordered an "ORCA" card. This card works like a debit card for all the public transpo in Seattle - buses, trains, ferrys (!). This is the best thing ever! Because here is the thing:

I am, by nature, not a cash carrier. When I have cash, I think of it as a separate pool of money than my checking account money, and that somehow it is "already paid for," and so generally I spend it almost instantly after getting it unless I put it in the bank right away (I am aware and understand that this is a problem).

BUT the bus requires CASH. This has meant that several times I have had to find a nearby Walgreen's or Safeway in order to buy something that I don't need, get cash back, and then ask them to make my change in dollar bills so that I can take the bus.

So the ORCA card will change my life, I think. And save me some money in the long run (so that I'm not buying three packages of gum a week all summer).

But also, if you have ever enjoyed people watching at all, the bus is absolutely for you. There is every kind on the bus. Last week a former man-woman asked me for change at the bus stop. Today, I sat next to a woman eating malt-o-meal out of a tupperware.

But the bus is also very considerate. The bus rides on hydraulics of some kind, and so the step is a little high. Sometimes some more elderly bus patrons are not able to board the bus. So the bus driver will let out the hydraulics on that side and basically tilt the bus so that the step is lower and the elderly friend can board. There's even an extendable ramp for the incredibly feeble. How very thoughtful.

Here are just some of the reasons why the bus is awesome:

Pros:

No carbon footprint

No gas expenses

No maintenance expenses

No finding parking

No paying for parking

No getting ticketed when parked illegally

No driving through Seattle traffic

No rules about texting+driving

ANY wreck you get in will not be your fault

No getting lost

Bus's consideration for the elderly

PEOPLE WATCHING

Cons:

When the bus is full, you have to choose which stranger to sit next to (this could also be a pro)

When the bus is full, waiting to see which stranger will choose to sit next to you (this is almost always a con)

It takes a really long time to get anywhere

CASH

Needless to say, I am a bus believer. I am learning the routes and most of the Seattlites are impressed by my Metro knowledge. I will be such a pro by summer's end!

Love,

Katie

The First Half of June!

The first thing that I want to mention is that today is my parents 24th wedding anniversary! They are wonderful, beautiful people and I am so blessed to get to see them love one another daily.

I've been caught in a whirlwind of things going on this past week and I've had trouble processing everything in order to put it into words here. I've also done a crappy job of taking pictures of everything, so you'll have to show me grace in that. :)

work has been so great! Brynn, Tyler and I got to take about ten youth to go white water rafting on Wednesday on the Wenatchee River, about 2 1/2 hours East of Seattle. This was so awesome! First of all it was TONS of fun for me! But even more awesome was that it was so fun and great to watch our youth having the time of their lives! The smiles on their faces were absolutely priceless the entire day. We got to have a cookout afterwards and played some frisbee, and the whole time was really awesome. It's been really great too, because some of the youth are starting to get where they know me and recognize me and we're connecting and that's been really awesome.

It's also been awesome to get to be learning so much from the staff. On Wednesday I got to go with Kate to "Cop Talk," which is once a month and a police officer from the U District comes to talk to some reps from the UD Service Providers about what's been going on and to just be in communication and keep one another informed. On Thursday we had our first staff meeting since I've been here, and I got to meet Liza, who is on our staff as a counselor. The next six weeks in staff meetings we're really evaluating our organization and our strengths and weaknesses and working on producing some 3-5 year goals that we want to work towards. I think that getting to be a part of this process will be really awesome!

ruf has been so wonderful as well. They had their last meeting of the semester on Wednesday, and it was their finals week so they just did a movie night and snacks and stuff. But everyone has been so friendly and welcoming! On Friday I got to meet the campus minister's wife, Amy, and talk to her at Abby the intern's wedding shower. She was absolutely wonderful and I'm so glad that they will be around this summer and I can hopefully get to know them better. On Sunday I took the bus to church at Greenlake PC, which is where Ryan and Amy go and some other kids from RUF. The ones that I had met before, Carter, Mark and Nate were so friendly when they saw me there, and when they found out I had taken the bus to get there offered me a ride home and then took me to lunch! This weekend Randy texted me and asked if I had gotten a chance to walk around the UW campus yet, because I had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had wanted to. Since I hadn't yet, he offered to take me on a tour today! It's just been such an awesome blessing to have this community here who hardly knows me but yet has been caring for me so, so well. It's really just beautiful.

home is finally a place now! After staying with Abby for a week and then at an RUF girl's apartment for about 3 days, I got to move into my permanent apartment with Cilla on Wednesday! It's a one bedroom loft above a pizza place named Zeke's. It is precious and adorable and I love it. Cilla has been great, and so welcoming and it's been great to get to know her better these last few days. I don't think I'd realized how much my wandering had been affecting me, but it's made such a difference to be sleeping in a bed and not living out of a suitcase anymore.

weather has been beautiful this week! I love the sun and cool weather combination, and it's putting everyone (me included!) in a much better mood!

Love

Katie

It's 3AM

I guess that makes me Sleepless in Seattle.

Let Me Fill in Some Gaps (This is going to massive)

Hello Friends & Readers!

I wanted to tell you a little bit more about the organization I'm working for and what I'm actually doing in Seattle this summer. I know that I didn't get a chance to talk with all of you about this in detail, and thought that it might be helpful and encouraging for you to hear, as well as helpful and encouraging for me to talk about it!

the basics

The organization I'm working for is called Street Youth Ministries. They work in a neighborhood of Seattle called the U District. This is the area of town surrounding and including the University of Washington. Right now estimates are that there are about 1000 homeless teenagers (we classify these as ages 13-22) in King County on any given night. Last year, SYM was able to serve 700 youth that came through their doors.

cooperation

Street Youth Ministries is one of the University District Youth Service Providers. There are several others, such as Roots (a shelter), TeenFeed (a meal program), the 45th Street Youth Clinic (medical provider), University District Youth Center (a combination of several of these), Sanctuary Art Center (a really neat organization that allows a venue that gives youth access to the arts), and Seattle Education Access (helps with GEds and other educational things). We are the only faith-based UDYSP though, which definitely puts us in a unique role in our community and among the youth that we serve.

I have been really impressed by the strong communication system that these organizations have among one another. They have all gotten together and made their service schedules such that they are an efficient system - the services that aren't offered every day are organized so that, for instance, SYM serves meals the nights that UDYC might not be. Even last week I got to attend a meeting of leaders from several of these organizations who were getting together to discuss recent trends in youth attendance and activity and to really just communicate with one another and work as a unified system. I think this is awesome to see.

support

SYM is supported through private donations and grants, as well as the support of the church that we operate out of, University Presbyterian Church. They give us the space for our drop-in center and for our offices. We're technically separate, but we get a lot of support from UPC, which has its pros and cons, of course.

mission

SYM's ministry, in the words of Tyler Bauer (our Program Director who I have mentioned before) is, "to love kids who haven't been loved by their parents." Most of the youth that we serve are throw-away youth rather than run-away youth. Basically, this means that the majority of them actually made a good decision by leaving home. They are safer on the streets than they were in their home environment. This is an extremely interesting demographic to be working with, in my opinion.

This work happens in several ways.

Our Case Manager, Kate, works alongside youth one on one to try to help get them the resources they need in order to continue progressing. This can mean planning for temporary or more permanent housing options, helping them apply for job options, getting money to pay their bills, helping them with social or legal issues, and generally just providing counsel. Brynn is our Life Skills and Activities Coordinator, and she plans relationship building activities to do such as rafting (which we got to do yesterday!), surfing, rock climbing, and other smaller things like playing the wii or doing art projects or going on hikes. She also teaches a Resume class, where she and some other instructors help teach youth how to write and distribute their resumes and look for and apply for jobs.

In addition to these things, we have a drop-in center that is open five times a week. At our drop-in, we serve food and give things like hygiene items and socks and clothes to anyone who needs it. We have facilities for youth to take showers or do their laundry. Bigger things, such as bus tickets, blankets, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc we have the youth do chores in exchange for. Sometimes we do activities at drop-in, and mostly we just hang out and let them have a safe place to hang out for the evening.

While these things are awesome and so necessary and I think are making a huge difference, it is the little things that have really impressed me the most over the last ten days or so. I'll tell a few stories.

story number one

One of the first days I was working in the office, two youth came to the office around 11 in the morning. One of the boys said that he had to go to court around 1, and he really needed some clean clothes. Tyler went with him to find him some clean and presentable things to wear, but they couldn't find any pants that fit him. Tyler had ridden his bike to work that day, and so had brought an extra pair of clothes in his bag. He told the youth to give him just a second, he would change and the youth could have the clothes that Ty was wearing. He gave him his pants.

story number two

Another day, a youth came in around 12:30 and told us that he had court at 1, but had missed the bus downtown because he had overslept. He asked if someone could give him a ride. We were about to go to work over at the drop in center, but Tyler asked if we could manage without him to take the youth to make it in time for his court appointment. Tyler dropped his plans and drove the youth downtown.

They visit their youth when they hear they're in jail. They write letters to their youth that are in prison. Tuesday night, Tyler left drop-in to visit someone in jail who was going to be transferred to the prison soon. Kate has been working with one youth in particular who is about to graduate high school. They went and got ice cream the other day. Kate is planning to be at her graduation ceremony. She's the first youth I've met since I've been here who has been in school at all.

me

I am the intern. The "temp."

This summer, I'm going to spend time working with each of our staff. I will get to talk to them about their jobs and all that it includes. I will get to see what they do and shadow them. I help with any projects that need doing. But so far, what has been awesome is that I'm in the office when they're doing their work. When youth come in to talk or because they need something, even though I'm not always directly participating in those interactions, I get to observe those interactions. I get to see how the staff relate to them and how they approach them. I'll work at drop-in twice a week. I'll get to know some of the youth through activities. But I'm learning so much already, and I think the rest of the summer is going to continue to be an awesome and intense learning experience.

I know that this was an enormous amount of information. But now you know it! I'm trying through this blog to paint a picture of my life and work. To tell a story of a group of people doing some really awesome things. Their organization is not extravagant. It is not enormous. It's mission is really very simple. But it is Gospel-living in a really incredible way, and I hope that I am able to convey this to you all this summer, that the Lord is really working in mighty ways all over our world, and this small experience that I am having is an example of the work that is being done.

Pray for me. Pray for our staff. Pray for our youth.

Love, katie.

Some Photographic Evidence to Corroborate My Story

A Photo Blog with Short Blurbs!

THE SPACE NEEDLE!

We went to the Northwest Folklife Festival! A big music festival and all free!

This guy had a contraption on his bank with different things so he was a one man band! It was funny.

This was a street piano player who was super awesome! Apparently he brings his piano and sets it up around town and plays in the street! I love it!

SALLY!

This is my favorite place near my house! It reminds me a lot of Cafe Plaid (in addition to the names being similar) and they've got really good food, good atmosphere, and wi-fi! Win!

This is the ORIGINAL Starbucks! It's pretty much exactly like every other Starbucks ever!

This is Pike Place Market, a really famous part of downtown! I want to explore it more thoroughly soon!

A downtown coffee shop I visited on my explorations! Had some good quiche here too!

A shot in downtown!

This city is just b-e-a-utiful.

This is where our staff office is! We're downstairs! I forgot to take a picture of the inside, will do soon.

This is where our drop-in center is! The door goes into the lower level of this part of the church. It is awesome!

This is the Program Staff! Our Exec Direc isn't in this picture, but from L to R it is Kylene (Volunteer Coordinator), Brynn (Life Skills/Activites Coordinator), Tyler Bauer (Program Director and Biffle), Kate (Case Manager), and ME ("Temp")!

We had a youth barbeque on Friday that the University District Service Providers put on at this cool, cool park called "Gas Works Park!" The park used to be an industrial place so all the pipes and stuff are still there, everything just is painted and fun! In the movie "10 Things I Hate About You," Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger go on a paintballing date at this park!

The Seattle skyline from Gas Works!

We made this awesome prize wheel for the youth barbeque we had Friday! It was a big hit!

Spinning the wheel :)

More photos to come! Hopefully I'll get to tell stories along with photos rather than having them all at once, but I wanted to share some with you of some of the things I've been writing about! More soon!

Love,

Katie