Monday, September 9, 2013

Fundraising Tennesseems Completed

This Picture is Unsettling
(Holding Local Honey while Wearing a Bee Shirt)


Hooray!

I got word from my home church, Alma First Presbyterian, that I have successfully completed my fundraising!

This is great news, but don't let your support stop there! Please pray for me, my fellows YAVs, and the YAV program.

Thanks to everyone who made it possible with any form of support! Thank You Notes are on the way!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Reverse Culture Shock Tennesseemed Scary

Friends Blowing Kisses To Their Adoring Fans?
I Guess Some Things Never Do Change
Courtesy of Wesley Smith


            Initially, I dreaded the idea of coming back to the states. Not because I didn’t want to come home, but because I had heard so much about reverse culture shock. Though, to be honest, so far it hasn’t been too bad. It’s been surprisingly easy in some ways. It’s amazing how things come right back to you. Driving, friendships, returning to your old haunts: all things that worried me about coming back. I couldn’t help but worry that since I’ve changed, my hometown has changed, and my friends have changed…are all these changes going to correlate and make room for each other? For the most part, they did. I’ve enjoyed the progress my town has made, and fortunately, talking with most of my friends came easy, almost as if I never left. I really do have incredible friends everywhere I’ve been and I’ll never take that for granted.
            I do miss Belfast. I do miss my old placements there. I do miss the people there. A lot. Even more than I expected. But I also miss people from back home. And people from camp. And people from Chicago. I think that's just something that's always going to happen to me, especially if I keep moving around like this. But I've gotten better at handling missing people. I just gotta take all that nostalgic energy and transfer it into the present. So currently whenever I start to miss someone or some place, I focus all my attention to all the wonderful people I’m meeting in Nashville, to my awesome roommates, and to another fresh start in an awesome city.
            Of course there are moments that are out of my control. Small things are still weird to me. I can use my debit card here and not get charged a big amount because I’m not overseas. I have to remember to reserve a little extra cash for the tax that comes with every purchase. If I don’t, I sound so pretentious:
“Sorry. I just lived in the UK for a year, and in the UK whatever is on the price tag is what you pay.” *smug laughter and monocle adjustment*

Reunited And It Feels So Good
(Fell Right Back Into Place With These Guys)
Courtesy of Luna Anna Archey

I am also sometimes surprised that American friends can reach me again, that I can text them, that I can call them, that I don’t have to always schedule a skype call. I think in some ways, access to people has become my biggest struggle, not necessarily in a bad way, but in a kind of overwhelming way. It’s as if the good ol’ US of A welcomed me back by saying:
“Hi, T.J.! Here are all the people from your life that you have talked to for a year through your computer! You have less than two weeks before you move to Nashville—don’t forget to pack!—to see as many of your loved ones as you can while simultaneously reacquainting yourself with Michigan and America. Don’t forget about the churches you need to speak at, the YAV documents you never turned in, the thank you notes you need to write, and the fundraising you need to get at! Well, welcome back! I’m going to go be a jerk to someone else now.”
            My adjustments, however, are of course straight-up for babies. These aren’t real difficulties, especially compared to my other YAV friends who have returned from Guatemala and Kenya. I can only imagine the adjustment struggle they are going through.
I’m not going to shorthand the cultural differences between Belfast and the USA, but I’m also going to point out how subtle they are. If you haven’t lived in Belfast and you’re just visiting, you may just notice the fun accents, the cool architecture, the pub culture, the kind people, etc. You may not go into areas like the Shankill and see FAP written on the walls, or catch a flute band marching around Carlisle Circus, or see a giant bonfire on the 11th of July. And even if you did, how much digging would you do to see what that’s all about?

Whenever I Miss Belfast...
I'll Wear a Belfast Shirt, Drink Dunkin Donuts, and Chill with these Fine Ladies
Courtesy of Alaylay

This isn’t a criticism because I’d definitely be the same way. All I’m saying is that many cultural differences* between Belfast and the U.S. are beneath the surface. Guatemalan or Kenyan cultures are obviously an in-your-American-face difference, let alone beneath the surface. I don’t envy the reverse culture shock my friends are going through, so I’m definitely not going to complain about mine.
I’m already extremely grateful for the challenges, growth, and experiences this year will give me. I asked to be a part of The Room in the Inn because of how curious I am about homeless communities. You all know the cliché “Knowledge is power!” (By the way, did that saying come from the classic 80’s cartoon G.I. Joes? I feel like it did). The point is, I don’t know much about the homeless, and I no longer want to feel powerless and/or awkward when talking to a homeless person just because I don’t know what our middle ground is. I just want to chill with them and learn about where they are coming from. Hear what they have to say. Learn to meet them where they’re at. Homelessness is worldwide and I’m going to keep encountering it, so I can’t wait to do what I can at Room in the Inn.
Also, I start at Room in the Inn tomorrow. It’s a half day. I’ll write about it soon. Later!

*And similarities too, but that’ll have to be a blog for another day.

Nashville Tennesseems New



The Room in the Inn and the Nashville Skyline
(And apparently my square body...?)
Courtesy of Emma-Lemma

            It’s that dreaded first entry. The one I will cringe at when I look at it later on in the year. After I have more of a grasp on Nashville’s struggles, after I know its geography better, after I can list stronger comparisons/contrasts between midwest and southern culture, after I’m no longer honeymooning, and after I’m no longer transitioning back into the States; I will undoubtedly look back at this piece and make fun of myself.
What I’m trying to say is bare with me. This blog is coming at you only after living here for a week and not officially starting work at my placement yet.
Now, when I say new in the title of this entry, I don’t just mean Nashville is new to me. Natives and locals alike have been telling me how progressive this city has become and how Nashville sticks out from other southern cities in America. I haven’t been to many other southern cities, but based on observations and hearsay, I’m going to take their word for it. Some of the choices Nashville is making are new. Many Nashville communities seem eager to give back, there are enough nonprofit organizations here for 8 YAVs to serve with, the population is steadily growing, many restaurants are focusing on healthy meal options using local areas as food resources, and even recycling habits seem to be on the up and up. Obviously Nashville still has plenty of needs, but has been passionately tackling issues involving education, racial division, gentrification, homelessness, refugees (and so much more) head on.
            Nashville is also warm, both with the weather and with the culture. I love Chicago, but I’d say Chicago is just polite, which isn’t a diss. People are nice there for such a big city, and you can find kind people who will make enjoyable small talk with you, or help you find a place you’re trying to get to. But Nashville is warm. The people are friendly. Small talk often begins with a smile rather than a stationary face, and it ends with a laugh rather than a chuckle.
            The pride here for the Music City is fascinating, too. If it’s not originally someone’s home, it is now their home, and they’re here to stay, and they’re going to tell you about all the places to eat, and all the people to meet, and all the places to perform or see great live music. Many celebrities even reside in Nashville because they get harassed less and there isn’t as much of an alarm for paparazzi disturbances.
            I think it’s also a testament to Nashville about how they treat their music scene. Although I’m sure it can be competitive—what music scene isn’t?—cutthroat is not a word I’ve heard tossed around. From what I hear, in Nashville, collaboration is key. Weaknesses are not looked down upon, because maybe if you’re a great songwriter but you aren’t the best singer, someone else in Nashville will happily sing the song for you, allowing both you and the other artist to benefit. It sounds like the musical artists of Nashville don’t always try to be everything at once, which sounds so humbling to me. Maybe that’s why so many of the stars that come from Nashville are known to be humble.

A Splendid Hike Around Radnor Lake
(Bob, Alasia, Me, Emily, and Marsha)
Courtesy of Marsha

            Oh, and speaking of stars, a couple of country music stars live in my neighborhood. There’s no denying it. We live in a nice area, a stark contrast from Skegoneill’s grit in North Belfast. Skegoneill is, without a doubt, an extremely safe place to live, but you may not feel that way when you first walk through it judging by its looks. Green Hills is sooooo nice. Everyone is really friendly, and we live right on church property.
Our place, owned by 2nd Presbyterian Church, who sponsors the Nashville YAVs and enrolls us into their Nashville Epiphany Project (NEP), was even fixed up by the church this summer right before we arrived. Our house was endearingly nicknamed The Tool Shed by former YAVs because, well, it felt like they lived in a tool shed. From what I hear, it was a bit dim, rather dingy, and infested with bugs (including the poisonous Brown Recluse Spider). The Tool Shed has been thoroughly cleaned, painted with brighter colors, has more lights installed, more storage space, and the bug infestation is all gone. It’s a super nice place to live in a super nice neighborhood. We’re aware of how nice we have it, and are going to keep it that way. We plan to clean up regularly, especially dishes and food items, otherwise the Brown Recluse Spiders will come because they are attracted to food sources.
By “we”, I mean me and my two YAV roommates, Emily and Alasia. If you’re interested in their stories, and you will be, you should hit up the “Other Tales” tab at the top of my page. I have links there that lead to their blogs. Emily, from Kentucky, is a second year YAV who just spent a year in Denver working with refugees. She’ll be working with refugees again this year, volunteering at an organization called Nations. Alasia, from northern Minnesota, spent the last two years as a veterinarian, and is at Preston Taylor Ministries, working with at-risk youth. They’re cool roommates, and thus far, we’re all on the same page about loving Nashville.
            We’re also in love with our support system here. We have people from the NEP Board, local churches, and the Young Adult Volunteer Alumni looking out for us. In addition, our site coordinator, Megan, has been really excellent with leading us in orientation and introducing us to Nashville. This is two years in a row where the YAV program has blessed me with people who care about what we’re doing and who we are as people. They’ve taken us out to eat, made us dinner, hiked with us, showed us where they live so we can stop by, and paraded us around the hotspots of the city. Since I’m new, it’s really nice to know that people are already going to be there for me, even though I don’t really know them.
            That’s it for now! I’ll update “ya’ll” later.