Never Cry Wolf Rescue

An Amazing ISP:

So, I have to do 80 ISP (Independent Service Project) hours to graduate from this program; 100 if I want to get the "Presidential Award."  Today marked the last of my 100 hours!  And let me tell you, today was fascinating!

There's this place about 10 minutes from base called, "Never Cry Wolf Rescue."  The reason why it took us a full hour to find is because it is in someone's backyard.  Right.  You would expect a place with wolves to be out in the country somewhere.  No.  This place, home to 8 wolves, is located in a residential neighborhood...in a cul-de-sac, actually.  The wolf-dog hybrids are here because people who kept them as pets didn't realize what they were getting themselves into.  These animals don't do well in an apartment.  The retired sheriff who runs the place actually did a rescue before we got there this morning, and technically has 9 animals there for the next few days.  The latest addition is actually a dog, not a wolf.  It was tied up in a junk yard.  The owner thought he had a wolf on his hands, but it was in fact just a large husky.  Next to the actual wolves, though, this dog was tiny!  The guy who runs the place doesn't mind whether it's technically a wolf or a dog, he just wants to save its life.  You see, any animal that's classified as a wolf, whether it actually is or not, is euthanized once taken to a pound. 

Beyond saving the lives of these animals and trying to find them a new home, there are two or three wolves (the ones that he lets roam around his house...yes, actually inside his living room and kitchen) that actually go into schools and nursing homes to serve therapeutic/educational purposes. 

His way of handling these animals is to "ask" them to do things, but never to force them.  There's a policy of respect that wolves follow, and so he'll never make them do something they don't want to do.  If he brings them to a school, but they don't want to come out of their kennels, then they simply don't leave their kennels. 

One cool story that he told us was about how he finds them a new home.  He used to take the animals to downtown Sacramento on the weekends, to a park where there would be street performers and such...just an all around festival, I guess.  He had two or three of the wolf hybrids in the trailer, and a man showed up looking for a pet.  One of the wolves that had been at the sanctuary for about 5 years got super excited all of the sudden.  He tail and ears perked up and he got so excited that he started to rock the trailer back and forth.  The men where super impressed, but he was afraid that maybe it was a "false read."  He asked the man to come back the next day, to see if it would happen again.  Sure enough, when the man showed up, the wolf got super excited again.  These animals are extremely intuitive and read body language like none other, so with this sort of a reaction, he knew that this was a perfect match for that wolf. 

I have to admit, I was super nervous when we first showed up.  Literally, the second we walked up to the fence area, one of the wolves straight up jumped over one of the fences into another enclosed area like it was nothing.  Um...  Yikes.  They howled a bit at us, and paced back and forth.  Within minutes the guy had opened the gate and walked us in.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  These are powerful animals.  And I had just witnessed how little the fences did to separate us from them.  It straight up jumped over the barbed wire fence without even needing a running start.  And yet, here we were, actually walking into the fenced area with them.  By the end of the day, however, I felt so peaceful, and a bit sad to leave.  They were actually pretty darn social and cuddly, especially little Eddie. 

Our role there today was to help fill in some of the holes these animals dug...but quite honestly, that only took about a half hour.  The most important thing that he wanted us to do was to help "socialize" them.  That meant cuddling with them and petting them, and more or less, having an amazing day.  What an experience!  The random stuff like this is part of why I joined Americorps...three days ago I had no idea that I'd be

nuzzled by a 200 lb wolf. 

Valentine's Day

Nothing Gold Can Stay:
This is my last week with my students.  We'll be doing custodial work at the school next week while the students are on vacation.  That means that this Friday will be our last day with them.  I sat up last night making construction paper valentines for each of my students, and it started to hit me.  Sometimes you forget how much love you have inside of you until a bunch of squirrelly, germy, adorable children pull it out of you.  Without a doubt, there will be students that I think about 20 years from now, and wonder where they're at.  I'll wonder if they ever became the veterinarian or artist they wanted to be, if they moved out of The Compound, or if they remember me...  The end of this week is going to be hard. 

I still am not sure what I want to do for my students in terms of a going away celebration.  Nothing seems good enough for them.  But then again, I think they'd appreciate almost anything.  My simple little valentines elicited about 100 hugs today from my third graders.

Also, some of my students were so excited that it was my birthday today, that they told their brothers and sisters, and thus word got around to the whole school...and I was serenaded with the Happy Birthday song about 10 times today.  So cute.  Until the students guessed that I was either 16 or 80.  Huh. 

A Valentine From a Second Grader:
One little girl in my second grade class sheepishly gave me a Valentine.  She walked over to me and handed me a folded up piece of loose leaf paper.  It had a J on the front.

I opened it up and saw that it was decorated in crayon with a heart, my name in bubble letters, and a rainbow.  Then in pencil, there was a picture of us playing together, and then a note:

You are the best helper ever.  I don't want you to go.  I hope you can come again.  Because I had a dream about you and it was about... you came to my house and we had so much fun together.  But now your going I don't think that I'm still going to have dreams.  But I will still remember you.  I will miss you.  Happy Valentine's Day!  Please don't go!

Oh my gosh.  Heartbreaking. 

To break up the sappiness just a little bit though, one of my third grade boys ripped up my valentine right away and said that he just didn't want it.  Haha, oh boys...

Some Other Updates:
Did I mention yet that my team is back down to 9 people?  We apparently can't hold onto the guys on our team.  Kristopher, our newest member was only with us for about a week.  I swear we don't bite that hard!  Apparently his paperwork wasn't going through quickly enough to work at the school with us, and Americorps didn't want him just sitting around waiting, so they switched him to another team doing environmental work.

Also, this last Saturday was the first time in my life that I have ever gotten up at 4:30am for a job.  On the weekend.  Well, ever, technically.  We had an independent service project, working a run that was happening in town.  Besides getting up freakishly early, and being freezing until the sun rose, I had the joy of watching a bunch of people jogging with their dogs.  Now I kind of want a boxer.  Kind of a lot. 

Also, also, my guitar is in the process of being fixed!  :)  I talked to the guitar shop today and they said that things are going smoothly, but that the wood bending and gluing process takes a while, so it won't be ready til Wednesday.  Unfortunately, given my work schedule, I probably won't be able to pick it up until next Monday.  Either way, it's being fixed!!!

Thanks:
Thanks so much to all of my family and friends for the sweet birthday wishes...and to Madre y Padre and Grandma and Nat and family for the birthday cards/packages.  Perfect timing...that made my day! :) 

Nat and Mom, you might like a song I've been listening to lately: There's Hope, by India Arie.  It's a good one.  Possibly the next one to learn on my guitar, once it's back in my hands.

Another Week Down

It's a Boy!:
So, upon leaving the school earlier this week, my team leader had a surprise game for us to play.  As we rounded the corner, we ran smack-dab into a Superman piñata.  With each hit, out poured yummy Starburst candies, and eventually, a balloon.  This was not just any ordinary balloon.  (Coli can never quite be straight-forward with us.)  It was, in fact, a little blue balloon that said, "It's a Boy!"  Umm...who's pregnant?!  After we realized a piñata is probably not how she would tell us she's pregnant, we switched gears.  It turns out, we have a new teammate, and it's a boy! 

This could be very good for our team, given that we've been a team of 8 girls and 1 boy since partway through Catalina.  (Two of our male team members got voted off the island about half way through.)  So now, our token guy, Chris, has a buddy.  His name?  Kristopher.  Thankfully he goes by his full name.  We met him that night at dinner, but have yet to work with him.  He's waiting on his paperwork and fingerprints to go through before he's allowed at the school.  But we're all excited!  He was previously on an FMT team (Fire Management Team), but decided that the work wasn't for him.  All of the FMT team members just had their final fire drill test, and I guess he just decided it wasn't what he wanted to do. 

Introductions:
So, tonight we get to introduce him to the first grade teacher that I mentioned in my last post.  That's right, she's having the team over again for another dinner.  The crock-pot has been going all day, and she's dug up some old board games from when her boys were young.  It's not quite the wild night everyone was imagining for a Friday, but how can you turn down such a sweet lady?!

This is actually quite convenient, considering the food hall is being evacuated tonight.  Bug bombing again.  They also just re-bombed my building.  Scabies is persistent!

Life After Americorps:
My teammate, Lindsay, has fallen in love.  With a city.  With San Francisco to be exact.  She has fallen in love so much that she has already checked into apartments to rent in August, possible grad schools, jobs, and roommates.  Roommates...  I am one of those possible roommates.  My original plan for the year following Americorps was to teach abroad after spending about a month or so back home.  She is determined to delay that by about 9-12 months, though.  She has already found me some potential math tutoring jobs, education positions, and an affordable 2 bedroom apartment.  Hmm...  Haha.  We'll see how this goes.  Life changes so fast!

My Guitar:
This is a subject that I maybe don't want to get myself started on.  This is what happened:

About 2 weeks ago, my guitar dropped from the cubby that I keep it on. 

I frantically searched it over but found no cracks. 

The bug bombing happened, after which the rooms need to be ventilated.  Thus, the air temperature changes.

Wood expands and contracts.

Guitars crack open.

If you don't know me well, then you might not know how much this would upset me.  The night I saw the damage, and it's not minor, I looked up 3 guitar repair shops in town.  Upon calling them the next day at lunch, I realized how incredibly expensive fixing a guitar can be.  I can get a free price quote, and I will before I leave the convenience of having a project in Sacramento, but I can't do it yet.  I put my guitar in the closet so I wouldn't have to look at it.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss. 

On a lighter note, the teachers at the elementary school stepped right in to help.  They wrote out directions and drew maps to the nearest guitar shops, and one even offered to lend me her son's (since he doesn't play it much anymore) to hold me over.  I didn't take up their offers, but I was tempted to.  It's still playable and sounds ok right now, but I'm afraid to aggravate the wood futher. 

Last Night's Team Meeting:
At our team meeting last night, we all agreed that this project is going by SOOO much faster than our first one.  It's amazing how much more pleasant the days are, and we as team mates are, when we have a warm bed to come home to at night... complete with carpet and electricity.  Also, the days go by much faster when working with children, as opposed to hacking down weeds on the side of a mountain.  The majority of the team is a bit hesitant to find out what our next project is going to be.  We're afraid of another Catalina.  We all thought we'd be ready to leave the city by the time this spike is over...  Granted, we have a month left, but I really don't see us itching to leave the fun and comforts we have here when the time finally comes. 

I'm not sure if it's the project, or where I'm at personally, but I realized last night that Americorps is starting to mean something to me.  It's more than just a way to serve and travel.  Although I'm sure I haven't seen the depth of it, I can tell that I'm getting close to my team.  I'm also growing as a person, although my stubborn pride doesn't always want to admit it.  College and student-teaching did a lot for me as an individual, more than Americorps has done so far, but I can't completely disregard what has happened while I've been out here.  First of all, I've never not been able to get home easily.  Does that make sense?  When at college, I was only an hour's drive from home.  And when I was in Peru, I was never more than a month away from flying back to WI.  I'm realizing that this trip is definitely valuable to me as a stepping stone to some of my future teaching abroad plans. 

Oh, future plans...

Free for the Weekend!

A Quick Shout-Out:
I have to start off by saying how wonderful it is to receive care packages!  Thanks, Madre, for all the necklace, shampoo, chocolate, and spices!  :)

There's Something about First Grade Teachers:
A certain first grade teacher, whom we will refer to as Mrs. H, decided to treat my ENTIRE team to dinner and a movie on Firday night.  She has a cousin who works at the theater in town, and was able to get us in for free!  The funniest part, however, was her plan to hook one of us up with one of her two sons.  It was hilarious.  As soon as we got there, she welcomed us, introduced us to her two boys (who are in their early thirites) and then conveniently disappeared for about 20 minutes to go pick up the pizzas.  The boys offered to get it (a bit overwhelmed by the 7 girls randomly appeared in their kitchen), but she insisted that they stay and visit with us.  Dinner was wonderful, and funny.  Mrs. H is one of those incredibly positive, genuine, funny older ladies.  And her two sons were quite a pair.  When it came time for the movies, she once again conveniently skipped out.  Her sons were to be our companions.  We saw The King's Speech, which was actually a heck of a lot funnier than I'd expected it to be.  I honestly don't think I could compare that movie to any other than I've seen before...maybe to Chocolat with Johnny Depp, but that might be stretching it.

Now let's skip to Saturday:
Saturday was beautiful!!!  The sun was shining so warm that I actually fell asleep out on the grass for a while.  My team played softball, I learned some Spanish by listening to a few lessons on my ipod, I played a little guitar, I got a few mosquito bites, and overall, I enjoyed the great outdoors.  Now, I have to be honest...there's a reason (besides the gorgeous weather) that we spent most of the day outside.

The reason was a little infectious issue known as Scabies.  Ewe.  Yeah.  So, apparently one of the other teams on campus started noticing a rash on their wrists, etc.  And then, I think I've mentioned this, there was the fact that some of the students at the school I've been working with exposed us to scabies.  Eitherway, scabies became an issue.  So, it was decided that our entire dorm building should be bombed.  Yup. From beginning to end, it was a five hour process.  Food, dinnerware, and toothbrushes had to be stored in our airtight mini-fridges to protect them from the harsh chemicals.   

Needless to say, my entire team will be going to the clinic tomorrow after school to get a prescription cream as a preventative measure.  Then we will be washing all of our bedding and clothing in hot water.  At least it's not lice, or bed bugs. 

Trying to Feel Pretty:
So, when something like a scabies outbreak occurs, it is pretty easy to feel gross and scuzzy.  Thus, I bought my first ever tube of lipstick.  Six of us girls decided to go out to dinner downtown and we were gonna look sharp!  It turns out, we found a Lebinese place, complete with tapestries on the ceiling, mats to sit on (instead of a table and chairs) and DELICIOUS food.  Oh yeah...and a belly dancer.  Hah!  The highlight of the night was definitely getting a free lesson with my teammate, Ali, from the belly dancer in the middle of the restaurant!  It only seemed right to end the day with dancing, given that us girls had begun the day with an hour of Zumba at the gym down the street.

I Almost Forgot!:
I have to admit a guilty little secret: I finally gave in and bought the Twilight book.  I was vehement about not being one of the millions of Twilight girls, but curiosity finally got the best of me.  My team made a pitstop for me at Walmart and I sheepishly bought the first in the Saga.  (FYI:  I like it.  I was up until 12:30 - while my roommates were out at the bar - reading my juicy teenage novel in my p.j.'s.  It's moments like those that I feel super cool.) 

Eitherway, just as we were pulling back into the parking lot, I got a text from a friend about meeting the next morning at 8:30.  What?!  Oh yeah... I had agreed to doing an ISP (Independent Service Project) on Sunday.  Oops.  Good thing she texted me. 

Everything turned out fine, and I can now say I am an expert at weeding flowers.  I worked for 5 hours straight at digging grasses, and who knows what else out of 15 rosebeds at the Rose Gardens.  Yeah.  I think I'm pretty good at that now.  Actually, it was a pretty nice day, and I can't really complain about spending it outside in a park in downtown Sacramento.

Venting

Stream of Consciousness:
Today I feel overwhelmed.

All of my students need my help.  Let me say that again.  All of my students need my help.  There isn't one who wouldn't benefit from a little (or A LOT) of one-on-one attention.  They need tutoring, they need mentoring... they need both. 

And how in the world are you supposed to decide which students are the lucky few to actually get it?

Maybe it should be the ones who are bold enough and driven enough to call out for my help?  But what about the shy ones who don't have the confidence to admit they need it?  What about the "trouble" kids who distract all of the other students?  They desperately need guidance and discipline and love.  But what about the average children who always gets overlooked?  And let's not forget about the really bright students who are bored and need to be challenged or they might become "problem" children themselves.

Seriously.  How are you supposed to choose?

Happenings of the Day:
One of my students came to school today with dog pee completely covering her uniform sleeves.  A CPS (Child Protective Services) report was done today for this girl's sister due to suspected abuse.  I'm guessing that both girls should probably have a report done.  Maybe I'm just being negative. 

Also, three boys in my afternoon class beat up a fourth boy from my class during lunch recess.  During third recess one of the girls from that class punched another boy from that class in the face.  That happened about 45 minutes after I pulled that same girl out of class because she was sobbing because she couldn't fit her legs under her desk.  Did I mention yet that the school doesn't have the resources to have P.E. class?  There isn't even a gymnasium in the school. 

At least my afternoon class got to go to recess.  My morning class had to sit quietly with their heads on their desks for the entire lunch recess because of an issue we had in the morning. 

Can you keep all of that straight?  I can hardly figure out how to coherently write it all down.

Trends and Speculations:
A few teachers mentioned a trend that they've noticed in regards to the worsening student behavior.  Keep in mind that this is just speculation and a definite generalization, but I had it explained to me at lunch that this happens every month.  Towards the middle/end of each month, the behavior gets worse and worse.  ("Just wait till the end of the month!" they tell me.)  Why?  Because many families (as a generalization) have a hard time managing money.  And by the end of the month, most of it is gone.  This translates into a few things: 1) More stress and chaos at home.  2)  Less food.  And thus, the children are more frazzled and respond by acting out. 

What to Do About It:
While driving home in the 15 passenger van today, these thoughts ran through my head.  I hardly talked to my teammates.  We're all a bit overwhelmed.  But what's the point of bringing it up?  Any suggestions anyone might have, we already know.  There's no magic solution.  I don't want to hear suggestions.  I just want to vent and recognize this harsh reality.  No one can actually provide an answer to these dilemmas.  And I don't want to hear opinions that will only make me more frustrated.

After arriving back at base I decided I could really go for something delicious.  A note on comfort foods: I know better, but I did it anyway.  Yup.  I bought a few yummy treats from a nearby shop, which I consumed on the walk back to base.  And I managed to consume 60% of my daily fat allowance within that 3 minute walk.  Great. 

But not to worry.  My appetite was quickly cut short when my roommate showed me a google image of scabies.  Why would she do this?  Well, three of my teammates are currently at the clinic.  One of the students they have been working with has scabies.  Guess what - that students got it from his brother.  Guess what else - I was sitting on the floor next to his brother for about an hour and a half this afternoon working on math.  Huh.  I'll let you know if I notice any bugs laying babies under my skin in the next week or so.  I figure it'll be pretty noticeable.  Just maybe a little itchy.

On the Bright Side:
My students may be a lot to handle, but while talking to my afternoon teacher, we both agreed that at the end of the day, they're incredibly sweet and warm-hearted.  It may feel like we're hearding cats sometimes, but they're adorable cats.  In all honesty, there's only one or two that I'd hesitate to say that about. 

Also, one of the teachers may be able to work her magic and get everyone on my team a free movie theater pass!  And let's not forget the thoughtful mother who made fruit jello for our entire team as a completely unexpected thank you gesture.

Also, Also, it was sunny and warm out today.

Also, Also, Also, my padre sent me a really encouraging text today.  Perfect timing.  :)  Thanks Dad.  Thanks to my entire family, actually.  I've always appreciated you and known you were great, but my roommate and I were talking this evening...  If we had the families of some of our less-fortunate students, would we have the inner-strength to pull through it and rise above?  I will never actually know the answer to that question, because I do, infact, have an amazing family.  My family and friends are so encouraging, and supportive, and caring, and kind, and thoughtful, and intelligent, and helpful, and accommodating, and patient, and giving, and warm, and attentive, and hard-working.  I love you all.  I appreciate you so much.

MLK Day

A National Day of Service:
Today began at 3:45am.  Yep.

My roomie's alarm clock rang bright and early at quarter to four in the morning, and I fought to stay asleep until at least quarter after four.  At last, I had to get up and take a shower.  Today was a big day!  Americorps NCCC celebrates National Days of Service such as Martin Luther King Junior Day.  My team contributed by beautifying a public/charter (a bit of a contradiction if you ask me) elementary school in a rough part of town.  The surrounding neighborhood is full of German Shepherds, Bull Dogs, and a freakish amount of Chihuahuas.  I will admit that I was a little uneasy sitting outside the fenced and chained up school for the hour and half that we did (the rest of our sponsors weren't quite as prompt as us) in the pitch black before the sun rose. 

The school's name is PS7, not overly creative.  Despite it's bland name, and sketchy location, it's actually one of the top performing elementary schools in CA!  Posted on banners infront of each classroom is that particular class' projected graduation day...not from elementary school or from high school, but from a four year college.  Starting in kindergarten they have parents attending college scouting and planning forums.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  The school itself was in rough shape, however, and the city of Sacramento felt that it was important to show the students and staff the respect they deserve by helping maintain the schoolyard and by doing a deep clean of the classrooms and cafeteria. 

My team, one other Americorps NCCC team, about 75 employees from a local health care company (that takes care of patients who have  no health care plan), and a few families of attending students showed up to help.  By the time it reached noon and we were wrapping up the project, we had already put in an 8 hour day! 

Here is a video of our work:  (The mayor Kevin Johnson...a former sports figure of some sort...and a ton of tv news crews kept us company.  Apparently we were at one of the more glamorous sites!)

http://www.kcra.com/video/26520442/detail.html

Needless to say, I came back to base and took a nap before doing P.T.  My team actually tried out P90X and got our butts kicked by the really questionable fitness guru guy who runs the workout video.  It was pretty entertaining.  Most of us actually stayed for a non-mandatory round 2 in which we worked our abs pretty intensely. 

Once that was over, I have to admit that I took a second nap for the day.  Then made dinner, and now here I am...about to go to bed.

I don't do early mornings.

A Pair of Brothers

The Boys:
I have two sweet little brothers.  One is in my morning class (3rd grade) and the other is in my afternoon class (2nd grade).  These boys, like many others, have had some very tragic experiences already in their young little lives.  I will call them Sam and Jon.


Sam is in my morning class, and for some reason is constantly getting in trouble.  I can't quite figure out what he's doing wrong sometimes, but nonetheless, he is often being scolded for something.  I've decided to help him stay on task and encourage him as much as possible.  He is so incredibly affectionate, and loves hugs.  He hardly lets go sometimes. 


His younger brother, Jon, is the complete opposite.  He actually doesn't talk.  He can, but he doesn't.  Not in school at least.  I've been told that he talks at home and that he has one friend that he'll speak to at school, but that's about it.  He is always on task, and is doing pretty well in school.  I just have no idea what his voice sounds like.  My teammate, Lauren, has gotten a high five out of him, but I have had no such luck. 


Their Story:
I don't know much about these boys, but I do know this:  They witnessed their dad being shot and killed about a year ago.  My heart is broken.  They handle it so differently, but they are two incredibly sweet boys.  I am so sad for them.  It can't be expressed.


Many Stories Like These:
They are not alone.  One of the girls in my class is displaying both behavioral and learning disabilities.  During a meeting with her mother, it was discovered that her skull was fractured as an infant.  A straight answer as to how it happened was never uncovered.  When the mother was asked if the little girl was on any medication, the response was, "yeah, sometimes I give her two white ones in the morning."


And let's not forget about the other little girl who lost her mom tragically (I don't actually know the details) a few years ago.


Or about the little boy whose dad came in the other day.  His dad paid more attention to me and the other students than to his own son.  The boy had lost something and was falling behind in school, and the dad just sat at a computer while I helped  the student search his backpack and desk.  No support.


Or the student who randomly told me at recess on Friday that, "one time, my dad had a real gun so he could protect me and my mom."

Or the student who attends school quite infrequently because the aunt who is taking care of him (or maybe she's the mom, or grandma...it's a confusing situation) is suffering from such severe depression that she can't get out of bed to go to work and take him to school some days.Or the other time when a little girl was crying silently at her desk because she was hungry.  Thank goodness the school provides a breakfast option.  We got her to the cafeteria quick.


The list goes on and on...