Hodgepodge!

The following is a collection of things that I want to share but do not want to make separate posts for:

1. All by Myself is my new fav song to karaoke to.
2. My Grandma has been sprouting her own mung bean sprouts and it makes me feel so wholesome when I consume them. I’ve heard wonderful things about Ezekiel sprouted bread but I think I’ll stick to my normal bread. I used to buy Orrowheat bread because its baked in Bimbo bakeries. I then switched to Earthgrain because the packaging features Rockwell and I think its groovy that I recognize the typeface! I then switched to Milton because its pretty local! The bakery is located in California. Right now I have a loaf of Milton Whole Grain PLUS in my kitchen. 
3. I recently received an advertisement for this SAT prep company and my sister’s ex boyfriend is apparently an instructor! There was a picture of him and a nice little blurb of his qualifications on the ad. What a small world.
4. On Saturday I volunteered at a fair with Anna and Sofia. I was saying that it was “hot like Mexico” and this little boy in front of us who had his face painted like a tiger started singing Alejandro to Sofia and I. Precious!
5. I always use bullet points so I thought I’d mix it up with some numbers!
6. I just checked out the book “The Numbers Behind Numb3rs” from the library. Its about the math used for investigating crimes!

Adventures: Instalment the Eigth!

The one where Joanne switches things up (in a literal I’m going to sleep on a different side of the bed sense as well as in a I’m going to experience new things sense)

June 28th, 2010

Today was a day of many firsts! I shall bold them all for easier reference.

I changed up my sleeping arrangement this morning! Well I changed things up for the following night’s slumber. I usually sleep on the side of my bed closest to my night end table but this morning I placed my pillow on the side closest to the wall so that that night I would sleep on a different side of the bed. I used to do this regularly when I was child. Kind of like how I used to flip the couch cushions. You know I was debating between saying “couch cushions” or “sofa seats”. I adore alliteration!

I love it when people at work talk to me! I recently met some Lynbrook alumni at the pool! Two of them went around the pool screaming “SHALALALA!” It reminded me of The Little Mermaid, more specifically Sebastian the Lobstah, everytime. They then surfaced from the water and talked to me! At one point, one of them sucked in their stomach and another one of them stuck their stomach out CRAZILY. He said that he learned how to do so when he learned how to pop. I then told him that Lynbrook now has a bboy club and that the bboys have matching crewnecks. I must confess I was not a good pool monitor today because I let them drink beer but they were on their way out so its not like they were going to wreak drunken havoc on other swimmers. At work today a man who used to be my Grandmother’s neighbor struck up a conversation with me! I used to visit California every summer and I remember changing this man’s son’s diaper one summer. I also remember there was this girl who lived in the community who always wanted to go biking with me but I didn’t know how to bike then (Ok this is embarrassing.. I legitimately learned how to bike two summers ago) so I always made up excuses about why I couldn’t join her.

After work I hung out with Fenfen! I got ready in record time: five minutes! And then we were off to the movies. Two badass occurrences happened at the movie theater: (1) We got in for child price ehehe! (2) We snuck into the opposite wing in order to see a different movie. How do we manage to be so badass? I’m afraid I cannot divulge my secrets. After the movie we went to Target and found a pair of lost flip flops in the parking lot. We ventured inside and tried to find onesies that we could rock and wear for funsies but our efforts were futile! Onesies were not to be found! To appease our broken souls we sauntered over to the sunscreen (I vaccilate between saying sun block, sun tan lotion, and sunscreen although sun tan lotion is used to tan isn’t it? You know, I’ve never used any tanning agents because I do not like being tan) and lotion aisle. We smelled a couple of lotions and I think the winner was a pomegranate scent (I always say flavor instead of scent!!) We then went to the nail polish aisle and Fenfen painted my nail this mulberry colour. Later Troy and Audrey met up with us at Target! Shortly after we scampered over to Yogurtland but it had just closed so we got Sundaes at Mickey D’s instead. I got to walk through the drive thru! 

With sundae in hand we decided to go climb up onto Miller’s roof! So I received a lotttt of help (and a mean a lottt.. to the point where I was basically carried) climbing up the roof but I got up there! I spat off the roof… that’s slightly vulgar but I was on “first” roll!

We climbed back down and listened to the different sounds the sprinklers made when they hit different surfaces, identified the big dipper, and got ambushed by bats! After a while we went back to Fenfen’s house and I used a bb gun! We drove to Safeway to buy soup in the wee hours of the morning. Safeway in the wee hours of the morning is exciting! Everyone’s unpacking and restocking the shelves. I kind of want to work the night shift at Safeway second semester next year. I want to see what its like to work night shifts and sleep in the day time although I’ve heard the darkness triggers your body to produce hormones that make you sleepy and I’m pretty sure my circadian rhythms would be thrown out of whack but I would still like to try it!

bauldoff:

Days with My Father is a contemplative and incredibly moving photographic journal, documenting Philip Toledano’s relationship with his aging father over a span of three years.

Two years ago, I posted about the site. I am excited to share that the complete project is now available as a book.

Also, here is a video of Mr. Toledano talking about the work on CNN.

(Thank you, Phil)

Day 5: June 23rd, 2010

Todays happenings had so much impact on me. We visited the poorest parts of Tijuana and it was unbelievably eye opening.

On our way to the houses we were told about this satellite scandal. A satellite company had gone around giving everyone in Tijuana a satellite dish for cable television “for free.” What he didn’t tell them was that after four months the service would no longer be free and he could go into their houses and take anything of value if they could not pay. How repulsive! It’s not like he even needs the money so why trick these people?! I’m sure the television that the satellite provides is entertaining and I couldn’t help thinking about what would happen when the four months were up. Some families will probably be robbed of what little valuables they have. Other families might use the money that should be spent on food and school on television instead.

We visited four families:

• The first family consisted of a Mother, Father, and 3 or 4 children. They had received a house a few years back but because they did not own their own land they had their house built on boards on top of the land. I thought this was an ingenious way of providing this family with a house even though they did not own land. 
• The second family consisted of 6 or 7 children. One of the children had just had surgery for a sinus problem at the parish clinic. I was relieved that she was able to receive medical help. I really hope that the parish clinic continues to be able to provide.  Another girl had just celebrated her Quinceanera. I was told that a Quinceanera is a huuuuge deal and was elated to see a shelf in the corner of the room with shiny birthday decorations, a birthday bag, and a Barbie doll. Even though it wasn’t a huge celebration I was glad that she was able to have a special day. Right outside their house was the Lady Guadalupe statue to commemorate the sighting of Lady Guadalupe. The statue was magnificent. The statue was unconventional in that it wasn’t a statue of Lady Guadalupe’s figure but rather an outline of her figure with rays reaching outwards from the outline. The statue was decorated with mosaic tiles – some were blocks of various shades of blue and some were actual shapes like fish, pigs, stars, etc. Graffiti is a problem in Tijuana but I am happy to report that only person had etched their name into the statue (and we promptly took care of that.) 
• The third family we visited consisted of a Mother and her two children. The Father had been arrested and put in jail for 4 years for stealing copper wire. Stealing is common in the poorer parts of Tijuana because this is how many people acquire enough money to provide for their families. The Mother showed us some of her Father’s intricate drawings and even offered to give us one of his drawings. At this point I could feel my throat choking up. These two children were going to spend 4 years without their Father and their Mother had just offered us one of her husband’s drawings even though she probably wanted to hold on to whatever she had that reminded her of him. 
• The fourth family we visited consisted of a Mother and her four children. The Mother was burning trash right in their front yard. As stated before burning trash is common in Tijuana but it still kills me that these people are exposed to these fumes. What’s worse is that her children weren’t even fazed by the fumes because they were used to it. It upsets me that these children accept this because it’s not healthy for them. I walked into the house and saw the dirt floor. I went into this trip knowing that most families don’t have a foundation for their houses and have dirt as their foundation but seeing it for myself really hit me hard. I looked around and saw a swarm of flies buzzing around everywhere including their food. The children were once again not fazed by the flies even though flies are dirty insects and were contaminating their food. As I stepped out of the house I had tears down my face. One of the boys saw me crying and ran over saying what I assume meant, “What’s wrong?” I hurriedly brushed the tears off of my face and smiled at the boy. It struck me how these children were so incredibly happy despite not having a lot. I definitely feel refreshed with a new sense of happiness.

Near the last house we visited was this store selling soda. The man working there offered to give us the soda for free even though he was by no means well off. He didn’t let us pay full price for the soda and I wish the group had insisted to pay him in full. Everyone we met today really touched me with their righteousness (I can’t find the right word to describe their awe-inspiring goodness of heart.)

I remember reading this story in Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul about this Mother who did not have enough money to buy Christmas presents for her children so instead she made crafts and wrote letters to her children saying how much she loved them for a variety of personalized reasons. Later on her children identified this Christmas as their favorite Christmas. All of the families that we met today didn’t have much but they seemed so much more appreciative.

Day 4: June 22nd, 2010

This morning we left a little earlier so that we would be able to visit another work site before getting back to work on our own house. The house we visited was spectacular! (Everyone called this site “Salina’s House.” I don’t really know why but I will adopt this name for convenient reference.) The Salina’s House featured a frame built by 2×4’s instead of garage doors. It also had brand new windows and doors and was going to have cabinets, recessed lights, and a bathtub installed. Whereas our group consisted of 15-17 year olds their group consisted of more college aged people and adults. They seemed like they had more experience and had actually built their trusses (the structure that supports the roof) in their wood shop class. I am looking forward to returning next year with more experience, better plans, and better materials and hopefully build a house as magnificent as the Salina’s House! We would have to fund raise quite a bit but I’m seriously thinking about getting the word out to schools around the area and perhaps some schools back in New Jersey and kicking off some fundraisers.

Though the house we visited was definitely impressive, I still thought our house was verrrry nice (While in Tijuana we, okay maybe just Melissa and I, had this ongoing joke where one of us would say, “Verrrry nice” and the other would follow up with, “How much?!?!” ala Borat which neither of us have watched by the way.) As stated before most of us do not have much experience but I think it’s this lack of experience that makes our house more personal. There was a lot of uncertainty and we had to improvise a lot which made our success even more of an accomplishment.

Sometime during the work day, Jessica, her little sister Gavriella, and Jessica’s friend Isis came over. They brought tambourines and I asked if they could demonstrate how to play it and they taught me a tambourine dance! It’s wonderful how even though there is a language barrier we are able to communicate and enjoy each other’s (attempts at choppy) conversation.

When the work day ended and we drove back to our dorms the adults stepped out and Johnson told them that he was taking some of the teenagers out to visit the Salina’s House. They had made some substantial progress! It was really motivating to see how much progress they had made and how much progress we could have made if we had more experience. Johnson was going to let Jerry drive on the way back but as Jerry was scrambling to sit in the front seat we heard the furious pitter patter of feet. These footsteps belonged to Father O and Vincent. Father O reprimanded us for leaving without telling anyone (even though we told four parents…) but I have to say I was more focused on the bugling vein on his left temple.

On a side note, I hate it when people treat me differently just because I’m a girl or because I’m younger and this automatically correlates to inexperience, obvi. Agggh! For example: I was tracing a piece for the trusses when John Moore told me I had done it all wrong and proceeded to snatch the template and pencil out of my hand and trace just as I was. It took him a while to realize that I had been tracing correctly and thankfully he apologized but arghs it was frustrating! (2) Sometimes when I asked if I could help it seemed like I was going to be assigned something to do UNTIL they saw that I was a girl and muttered, “Oh, no nevermind…” Wait wut? (I feel like the w-u-t spelling of what is appropriate for this situation.)

Lessons learned:

• I dislike it very much when people underestimate me or are condescending towards me. I thought that I would become passive aggressive but I’ve learned that I have quite the attitude. I used to care quite a lot about offending others and how I was perceived by others and was thus cautious about angering others but I’ve learned to act for myself instead of for others. I used to be extremely codependent but I am on my way to being independent. I still care about offending those that I care about but my actions are becoming less and less dictated by how others will react.

Roy Orbinson – Anything You Want, You Got It

http://assets.tumblr.com/swf/audio_player.swf?audio_file=http://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/750453480/tumblr_l4sg1mbYV21qzgik0&color=FFFFFF

You Got It by Roy Orbinson

Day 3: June 21st, 2010

This morning I woke up pumped to get back to work! I usually tire easily and I was initially a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the work but when you’re truly passionate about something the task at hand becomes so much easier.

We arrived at the work site a little past 8 and Johnson, Melissa, Eric, Denise, Jerry, and I began measuring and creating an outline of the arced windows on the wall. Neither Jerry nor I have much experience with architecture so we approached the task in a roundabout way. We were planning to measure the width, mark its midpoint, and mark the height from this midpoint, and then create a semi-circle tracing. Thankfully Johnson came over and offered his method: measure the length up until the point where the window starts to curve, hammer in a nail at this midpoint, attach a string around the nail and another loop around a pencil, and finally trace the arc. I can be quite stubborn when accepting help from others because it makes me feel a little inadequate (I know its kind of lame to fear inadequacy and failure. This fear does hold me back sometimes so I’m working on it!) and so I was pleasantly surprised by my acceptance of Johnson’s suggestion. Using his method, we were able to finish tracing the windows much faster. One of the proudest moments of today was when we installed the first window. Shortly after we took the window out though but only so that we could film ourselves installing the window hehe.

One of the most memorable moments of today was when Jessica, a 14 year old girl, came over to the work site. She brought a plate of pizza and I jumped to the conclusion that she was trying to sell us pizza. We were told not to purchase anything from people who approach us so I began to flip out about how terrible I would feel if we had to turn her down. I called John Moore over and it turned out that Jessica had bought the pizza for us! I was extremely touched that someone who does not have a lot themselves can be so willing to give. This exchange reminds me of this one social experiment I read about this one man who stood on a curb holding out money and a sign that said “Free money” The people driving by in Mercedes and expensive sports cars where eager to snatch the money away whereas the people who seemed in need were apprehensive about taking the money. I imagine this has to do with the wee bit of shame attached to receiving help from others.

Two other memorable parts of the day:

• when Austin “sweater” played catch with Damien by catching the thrown tennis ball in his hat
• when Damien’s mother came home from work and he ran outside to greet her

The two chefs are soso sweet. They are so eager to provide for us and always make sure that we have had enough to eat even if it means they have to cook more and stay longer to clean up. I am especially touched by their willingness to prepare vegetarian meals for me even though it is a hassle. Such genuinely nice people.

During reflection, Johnson talked about Mexico’s education system. Schooling there is split into two sessions and the children who can afford the cost of a uniform ($40) either attend morning session or afternoon session. Each session is only 4 hours long and as a result, these children are not receiving a comprehensive education. I catch myself complaining about school quite a lot and I really needed to be reminded of how privileged I am to have such an excellent education. I should really be grateful that school is the only thing I have to worry about.

I was a little worried about hygiene before I embarked on this trip because I can be pretty paranoid about germs. I surprised myself with my disregard for being completely clean and comfortable. I attribute this change to three factors:
1. Comfort just isn’t your main concern when you’re taking on a task like building a house. Having seen how families in Tijuana live, my worries about cleanliness were no longer pressing.
2. We were so fortunate to even have showers. Many families in Tijuana do not have showers and instead shower with water that has been heated by being placed in a container that has been strapped onto the roof.
3. I really gained an awareness of my water usage. We aren’t used to Mexico’s tap water and were told to use bottled water to brush our teeth. When you pour the water into a cup before you use it to brush your teeth you become so much more aware of how much water you use. For a while I would not turn the faucet off while brushing my teeth. I knew it was wasteful but I didn’t really bother to amend my careless ways but my experience in Tijuana has reminded me not to waste water.

Today we put in two windows and constructed all of the trusses. I was very proud as I looked back on our house as we drove away from the work site.

On a sillier note:

• Ulric walked in on Father O in the bathroom twice
• in the morning Denise placed Melissa’s sunglasses on the back of Austin “sci-fi” head and used it was a mirror. Austin forgot to take the sunglasses off so he was walking around the sunglasses on the front and back of his head for five minutes. The back of his head was truly ridiculous.
• we held a saltine eating contest at lunch today. Although it seems like no big deal it is impossible to eat six saltines in a minute!
• Jerry drank a nast concoction of juice, salsa, tomatoes, beans, and I don’t even know what else for $10
• Austin “sweater” was hammering a nail into concrete. When he was just one hammer away, the head of the nail popped off! I laughed, attempted it myself, and the head of my nail popped off as well!

Lessons learned:

• I need to work on not letting my fear of failure hinder my experiences
• Approach other’s ideas with openness
• Do not make snap judgments! I was embarrassed and ashamed that I would assume what Jessica’s intentions were. I need to approach situations and people without prejudice. 

Day 2: June 20th, 2010

Today was our first day of building! Here’s a rough schedule of our daily routine:

6:00 AM: wake up and get ready for the day!
6:30 AM: morning mass
7:15 AM: breakfast
8:00 AM: arrive at work site and begin unloading supplies
12:00 PM: lunch
1:00 PM: back to work site/resume work
5:00 PM: wrap up and begin loading supplies/cleaning up
6:00 PM: dinner
8:30 PM: reflection
10:30 AM: bed time (psh.. more like 2AM+ for me, Joanne BAMF Wu)

We got to the work site a little after 8. It was the first time that I saw the concrete base that we would be building a house for five on. It was about the size of my garage. We were to construct the walls with garage door panels and re-use old doors and windows. I was told that the concrete base and recycled windows and doors were considered luxury compared to many of the other homes but I couldn’t help feeling like I wasn’t giving this family enough. At one of the all hands meetings one of the Fathers talked about his experience growing up with his 6 brothers and having to share a 7 bunk bunked bed and right before I left for Tijuana, my Grandmother and I were talking and she told me how in Hong Kong it is fairly common for two people to share one bed – one person working a day shift and sleeping at night and the other working a night shift and sleeping during the day.  I, along with many of the youth in my generation, are fortunate to have grown up in entirely different circumstances but with this good fortune comes a sort of ignorance and unfamiliarity with the tribulations of growing up in such conditions. It was unbelievably eye-opening for us to gain awareness of the fact that there are still plenty of people in the world living in poverty.  

Next door to the building site there lived a family with a few children. One of the children, a young boy named Damien, was usually out in front of his house playing with his few toys. Even though this boy didn’t own a lot of material goods he still ran around with a huge grin on his face. It made me reflect on how materialistic society has become and how obsessed we are with getting rich that we have become less mindful and appreciative of the more meaningful intangible things.

We did quite a lot of moving heavy objects. I am by no means strong but when a whole bunch of not incredibly strong teenagers work together the task at hand becomes much easier. Adding to this teamwork spiel: at the end of the work day we were told to move all of the 2×4’s and materials inside the gate. I groaned and complained in my head but then Denise mentioned something about working together and when we all pitched in we were able to finish in five minutes!

There were times throughout the day when I wanted to sit down and rest but I thought about what Melissa and Denise said about not being able to finish their respective houses their first years and I was motivated to get up and work, work, work!

We put up three walls and a room today! I was a little unsure about my ability to hammer and engage in other constructing activity but I’d say I did a decent job for my first day. The only irksome part of the work day was having to strip all of the garage doors of metal because it was time consuming and time is precious when you’re trying to construct a house in five days.

During tonight’s reflection, John Moore told us that within a 6 mile radius there live 4.5 million people. The reason being that the factories in Tijuana offer $10 a day – double the normal wage elsewhere. Although I’m glad that these people are earning more to provide for their families I am also saddened by the idea that $10 a day for intense labor is considered a lot. At home I earn $8 an hour for sitting on my butt and monitoring (basically looking at) a pool. I feel guilty that my life is so much easier and confused as to why I am so fortunate while others are not but I am most importantly refreshed with a new appreciation for my lot in life.

John also told us how during the peak of the drug wars, someone murdered a drug cartel’s daughter and in retaliation someone else killed 50 or so people and hung their bodies up on the highway to evoke fear in the civilians. I was shocked to hear about that as I was ignorant to the fact that such atrocities still occur.

To wrap up reflection, Father O taught us a Spanish song called “La Guadalupana.” The two verses we learned and their translations follow:

Desde el cielo
Una Hermosa manana
La Guadalupana
Bajo al tepeyac

On a beautiful morning Lady Guaddalupana descended at Tepeyac

Desde entonces
Para el mexicano
Ser Guadalupana
Es-algo esencial

From that time on, the Mexican’s love for Lady Guadalupana was essential.

On a sillier note:

• Ulric used lotion as toothpaste this morning
• First injury – a splinter from carrying wood without my gloves on 
• Second injury – having a garage door drop on my fingers

Lessons learned:

• Teamwork is essential!
• Once again: Appreciate!! I cannot stress this enough. Such an eye opening first day.
• I shouldn’t underestimate my abilities! My mindset and attitude are my biggest obstacles. I’ve been working on throwing myself into new opportunities and not worrying about the repercussions.
  

Day 1: June 19th, 2010

This morning my Mother and I woke up at 5:30 AM and drove to St. Claire’s church to meet up with the rest of the teenagers and parents that we would be spending the next five days building a house in Tijuana with.

I felt a wee bit awkward around the other teenagers at first because most of them are in Watermark, a catholic youth group, together but I decided to insert myself into their conversations and get to know the people that I would be living and constructing with. We experienced a bit of a delay because one of our vans had not yet arrived so we decided to play some card games. Melissa kicked our butts at Egyptian war regardless of how many cards she was dealt in the beginning. After a little more than an hour of card gaming we departed on our 7? 8? hour car ride!

My van consisted of Melissa, Denise, Jerry, Austin “sci-fi”, Siyang, Siyang’s mother, “Sci-fi” Austin’s father, Melissa’s father, Johnson, and my Mother. The teenagers and Johnson passed the time by playing two truths and a lie which segwayed into a free for all discussion consisting of hysterical and mildly vulgar anecdotes:

• Johnson has these two veins on the back of his knee that diverge and then come back together and he used to skate with Tony Hawk.
• Jerry shoved a bead up his nose when he was younger (to which I) and he has pooped a variety of colours including copper brown, green, blue, and red.

We stopped every 3 or 4 hours for bathroom breaks or food. At one stop we stopped at In-n-out for some nom noms. One of the cashiers had a booming announcing voice that would put Morgan Freeman’s voice to shame.

When we first crossed into Mexico the city seemed fairly decent. There were shopping plazas, public transportation, and paved highways. Within a few miles, however, everything changed. The people taking public transportation turned into weary people traveling on bare feet and the shopping plazas turned into ramshackle stores with graffiti scrawled across the walls. As the paved roads turned into bumpy dirt roads, I thought of how in America, we would probably consider these good paved roads bad. I looked out the window and saw piles of trash burning and ashes of the trash that had been burned. I looked out the window and saw densely packed dilapidated houses. I looked out the window and saw a family of three: a Father, Mother, and little girl – all bare foot trekking to some location that I was not privy to. I could see the weariness in the Father’s eyes but there was a brave glimmer of perseverance in the concentrated furrow of his brows and the creases in his forehead.  As Austin aptly stated, “Tijuana is around 10 minutes across the border from the San Diego area. In that time, you witness the transformation of a beautiful, rich area to a poor, desolate land.”

Lessons learned:

• Always challenge my comfort zone! Even though I felt awkward around the other teenagers at first I made myself talk to them and we got to know each other very well! By the end of the week we had bonded incredibly.
• Keep things in perspective & appreciate appreciate appreciate everything. I am so incredibly privileged.
  

More journals after I run some errands with Mother and get off work.

(via fuckyeahmath)

What’s so special about this number?