Welcome to Raintown

Tell anyone who lives outside of the Northwest that you live in Seattle, and the response will either be: “Wow, I’ve heard Seattle is great!” or “You all get a ton of rain over there, don’t you?” Obviously, the first statement is completely accurate. The second, however, is a bit farther from the truth.

Contrary to popular belief, Seattle is not the rainiest city in the US. In fact, Seattle doesn’t even enter the list of the top 25 rainiest cities (based on annual rainfall). Houston, New York, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami all receive more annual rainfall than Seattle. So why does Seattle have such a rainy reputation? Here’s the bottom line: Although the rain never amounts to much, there is still a very high frequency of rain in the city. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rain falls an average of 150 days per year in Seattle. Now that’s a lot of time in the rain! Additionally, Seattle experiences an average of 201 fully cloudy days per year and just under 100 partly cloudy days. So it feels like it’s raining, or might rain, or should rain, almost all the time. Hence Seattle’s nickname—Raintown.

Being a Midwesterner, I find the rain in Seattle to be extremely frustrating. I mean, it never really actually rains! It drizzles, it sprinkles, it mists, but it never falls from the sky in the terrific, torrential downpour that characterizes Kansas thunderstorms. And the lack of thunder leads me to believe that Seattle children probably don’t grow up reading Thunder Cake. Sigh.

The high number of rainy days in Seattle has created a very specific “rain gear style” that immediately enables local Seattleites to identify tourists and newcomers. As one of my co-workers put it, “All I have to do to tell a seasoned Seattleite from a newbie is look at their shoes.” Acceptable business causal rain shoes have a sturdy heel, are closed-toe (duh), and made from leather, rubber, or durable weatherized suede. They are ‘practical’ and fashionable in an “I want you to think I bought these at a thrift store but they’re really $100” sort of way. In addition to the “right” shoe, a black/dark raincoat with a reliable hood is a must. Especially on hipster Capitol Hill. I, however, break the norm with my neon white raincoat, pink/yellow scarf, and flowery umbrella. Especially when it’s not sunny for days—why not wear bright colors to lift the mood?

Seattleites are so used to rain that the city will proceed with business as usual, no matter how much rain falls from the sky. People run in the rain, sporting events happen in the rain, markets are open in the rain, picnics aren’t rescheduled due to rain, and the weather is not an acceptable excuse for being late. A few weeks ago my co-worker and I had scheduled a Middle School fieldtrip to a corn maze as a teambuilding activity between foster youth who attend different schools. When the day of the field trip arrived, rain fell from the sky in a constant and disgusting drizzle. I naively assumed that the corn maze would be out of the question, what with the mud and grossness that rain causes. My co-worker laughed when I asked if we were going to reschedule. “Really?” She laughed. “When would we reschedule it for? Because I promise you it will rain that day too.” So we picked up our students and drove to the corn maze and had a tremendous time in the rain. Even though my students were wearing short sleeve shirts and ballerina flats with no socks. One of my students looked at me and asked, “How did you know to wear hiking boots and a raincoat?” I guess they still have a few things to learn from me.

Here's to finding the sunny side even on the cloudiest of days, 

The Sunny Side Will Return...

This Tuesday, November 16th!

I've been out and about doing Sunny Seattle things like spending time with my visiting parents, going on field trips with energetic teenagers, and celebrating my birthday. But never fear, I'm still blogging! 

Hope your days have been sunny and bright! See you Tuesday, 

Food, Glorious Food

Delicious and Enormous Pulled Pork Sandwich at Bainbridge Island BBQ in Bainbridge Island, WA

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."  

-Luciano Pavarotti

Nearly each evening, when I arrive home from work, I stroll into the kitchen to find my housemates leaning against the counters, munching on leftovers and chatting about the events of the day. It's funny how the kitchen so often becomes the social headquarters of a home. Dinner for us is not only a time to nourish our bodies, but also to share stories, de-stress, and build community. The evening meal is often the only time of day during which we are all gathered together, and as a result, food has truly become a unifying force in our lives. A majority of our discussions during the week seem to revolve around food--who should buy it, where we should buy it, what types of food constitute "simple living," whether we should consult the weekly coupons, who is preparing dinner, who claims the leftovers, who cleans the cooking utensils, who takes out the compost, and who makes the coffee. Food truly can dictate our lives, for better or for worse. 

Grocery shopping for seven people is truly quite an event. Buying in bulk is cheaper, but the logistics are difficult without a car. Suddenly, the purchase of every item is a major event. Is it more cost efficient to buy the frozen can of orange juice or the bottle of orange juice? Should we buy the $8 olive oil now to save money in the long run, even though it means sacrificing another staple for the week? Are bagels and cream cheese too extravagant when you already have bread and butter? How many apples do 7 people need for a week? Is 49 cents per pound of tomatoes cheaper than tomatoes that are $1.29 each? These are questions that any dedicated voluntary service shopper is sure to ask. 

During one recent grocery store outing, I was studying potato prices when I heard a voice behind me say in surprise, "Seriously, guys! We can not afford grapes this week!" I turned around to find a group of seven 20-somethings hovering over the fruit, lengthy list in hand, cart full of cheap staple food items parked at their sides. I thought to myself, "This just HAS to be another Voluntary Service house!" I mean, the scene was just all too familiar. Sadly, I didn't have the guts to ask them if they were Jesuit Volunteer Corp members, but I did offer them some quick advice on when grapes tend to go on sale :). 

Although our food budget is tight, we've learned to manage just fine on $90 per person per month for food. With enough coupon clipping, careful shopping, and avoidance of impulse buys, we've made the money stretch far enough to save a little bit per month for our "Cost-Co Fund." Some day we will make the trek to the giant Cost-Co aisles, full of bulk dish detergent and free samples. But even though we've been able to stick to our budget, my housemates and I have still worked tirelessly to become free meal experts. Whether it's a church potluck, work-sponsored lunch, cook-out with friends, or a neighbor spontaneously bringing over a giant pot of freshly caught crabs (true story!)...we can scout out a free meal from miles away. 

The power of food obviously extends far beyond our own household. I'm always amused at many of my students' relationships with the topic. Each afternoon, our Tutoring Center is transformed into a shopping mall food court as the smell of fried chicken, greasy pizza, McDonald's hamburgers, and 7-eleven slushies fills the air. It's like high schoolers are incapable of driving/walking/riding past a source of food without stopping to buy it if they have the cash. In some ways, it's a status symbol--"I have enough freedom and spending money to buy a hotdog after school, and you better believe I'm gonna make that clear." I've listened as students literally beg an older peer with a bus pass and a job (read: money) to just "Please ride over to McDonalds and buy me some fries. PLEASE. Just some fries, man! Come on!" While some of our students live in homes that struggle with food insecurity, many have access to very healthy and regular meals. So I don't feel sorry for those students at all when their buddy responds "No, dude! There's NO WAY I'm going to McDonald's just for you!" 

The more frequent scenario is general distaste for the provided snack we offer to our students each day. "But, Alyssa, I HATE peanut butter!!! Don't you have anything else??" Or, my favorite: "Alyssa, only adults eat apples! Nasty! Why you think we're gonna eat some gross adult food??" Thankfully, I'm usually able to stand my ground and insist that it's either the "nasty adult apples" or no snack at all. 

Most of our students, though, are more than willing to try the snacks we provide. A few weeks ago, one of my students brought in a Kiwi Strawberry Iced Tea to wash down the granola bars we often offer. When I commented that I hadn't eaten Kiwi in years because I'd never liked it as a kid, this student looked at me and said, "But everyone loves Kiwi! You have to try it!" So she promised to bring me a kiwi in the hopes that my taste buds have changed. I haven't seen a kiwi in our tutoring center yet, but what with all the grocery shopping, free meal searching, and Tutoring Center food-consuming, I'm sure I'll run across this potentially tasty fruit in the near future :)

Keep on the Sunny Side (eggs, anyone?),

Tales from a Public Transit Traveler

It's funny what seemingly insignificant events in a person's everyday life can suddenly become the scheduling focal point of an entire day. For me, that seemingly small event is transportation, specifically the bus. After just over two months in Seattle, the King County Metro Transit Bus schedule and route information now officially rank third in the "Alyssa's Thoughts That Require the Most Brain Power Rankings," just under thoughts about how to improve the lives of my students and thoughts about how to live on $200 per month. So, in honor of this third place ranking, I dedicate this blog post to the public transit busses of Seattle. 

Having never lived in a city without either a car or an expansive metro train system, bus riding was nearly completely new to me when I moved to Seattle. And let me tell you, riding the bus is not as simple as it may sound! First, there's the matter of planning your route. What would take a mere 12 minutes by car will likely take up to 45 minutes on the bus, so learning the ins and outs of the most efficient routes is key. And while Google Maps Directions might give you a good idea of the route you need, the cross streets for the bus stops are never 100% accurate, and you can usually anticipate adding an extra 10 minutes of leeway into your estimated travel time. Second, there's the issue of paying for the bus. Luckily, MVS Employeers pay for unlimited "Orca" (affectionately called "Dork-a") monthly passes that you simply tap on a card-reader when you enter or exit the bus. However, if you happen to forget your Orca Card, then you'll be paying $2.50 each way during rush hour and $2.00 during off hours. Finally, there's the issue of timing your arrival at the bus stop so you aren't stuck waiting somewhere because you missed the bus by 2 minutes. For the longest time I was simply in awe of the people who would literally come out of the woodwork and arrive at my morning bus stop literally seconds before the bus arrived, while I had been standing out in the rain for 15 minutes. What was their secret? Turns out, there is a texting service that allows you to text the bus you are waiting for, and you'll receive a text back with a very accurate estimate of the number of minutes until that bus arrives at your stop. Nifty, huh? 

Although a great deal of Seattle residents use public transit as their primary mode of transportation, the demographics of bus riders vary greatly depending on the route. Each morning I wait alongside suit-wearing professionals at the bus stop nearest my home in the rather ritzy Capitol Hill neighborhood. Two busses use this stop: My bus and Everyone Else's Bus. When Bus 43 to the University District arrives, literally everyone standing around me climbs onto the bus of UW students, professors, staff, and businessfolks. Then the bus driver looks at me as if to say, "Uhh, aren't you getting on??" and I usually have to shake my head to indicate that, believe it or not, I am waiting for a different bus. 

My bus, the 8, travels to the Central District, where I work. It's one of the most racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the city, and includes everything from houses that are about to be condemned to newly renovated mansions. The riders on this bus are primarily mothers with children and single men. The sociologist in me is constantly analyzing my surroundings when I'm on the 8. Most people seem to know each other, and riders are frequently waving to others in the back when they board. The bus begins to get pretty crowded as we near the Central District, so nearly every seat is taken. No one ever seems to want to sit by me, however. The seat next to me will often be the only seat left, and yet a newcomer will often stand instead of taking the seat. I can't know for sure what the reason is for this behavior, but I do know that I do not match the general profile of most riders of the 8 during rush hour. On most days I'm one of the only women riding alone and I am also usually the only white woman on the bus.

Despite my seemingly out of place presence on the 8, I have made several "friends" on my morning bus ride. One of my favorite friends is an adorable 4-year-old boy who rides the bus to daycare every morning with his mother. He and his mother usually sit directly in front of me, and the boy frequently turns around to make bus-wide announcements like "We're turning left now!" and "The firetrucks are outside of their garage today!" and, my favorite, "I only fly Alaskan Airlines because it's the best." In September, the boy and his mother weren't on the bus in the morning for nearly a whole week, and my morning rides were significantly less enjoyable. Then, towards the end of the month, they returned to the bus one morning and sat across from me instead of in front of me. The little boy didn't see me until he got off, and as he stood up, he turned around and caught my eye. Beaming, he pointed to me and exclaimed, "Ta-Da! SHE'S HERE!" His mother and I shared quite a laugh. Ever since then, we've been bus buddies, and he never fails to make my morning with his charm and hilarity :). 

Until next week, keep on the sunny side! 

And so it begins...

Welcome to The Sunny Side! This storytelling blog has been in the making for quite some time, and I'm so glad my idea has finally become a reality. Thanks for being patient with me as I've been adjusting to my new post-grad life in Seattle. I finally feel ready to take the step into the blogging world, so here we go! My vision for this blog is three-fold: First, to tell everyday positive stories from my life after college graduation. Second, to document my thoughts, experiences, challenges, and realizations during my one-year Mennonite Voluntary Service term here in Seattle. And finally, to keep in touch with my incredible support network in Kansas, Iowa, California, South Carolina, Minnesota, and the many other states my friends and loved-ones call home. I plan to update this blog every Sunday, so stay tuned!  

My term in Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) is off to a whirlwind of a start! I think I envisioned having ample free time every evening/weekend to just relax and unwind from the work day/week, but so far things have been such a blur! And while it's stressful and exhausting, I'm loving it! There are seven of us living in the house--5 men and 2 women, including me. The house is absolutely huge! It's three stories plus a basement, and we all have our own bedrooms, which is very nice. The house is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which honestly feels a lot like the Grinnell campus, only more hipster and with fewer people running around stressed. Here's a picture of the front of our house:

The other female housemate, Candace, and I have the third floor all to ourselves, which is wonderful. We even have our own small sitting room on the third floor, and I'm sitting in a comfy old rocking chair in that room this very moment. The house is definitely old and could use some serious repairs, but it is very livable, and we are all doing our best to make small repairs when possible. We live right next to a Montessori preschool and daycare, and I love waking up to the sounds of children laughing in the backyard of the preschool each morning.

I'm really enjoying getting to know my housemates. In some ways we're all very similar--we have all previously attended Mennonite churches, we're all in our early 20s, and we've all recently graduated from college. But in other ways we're very different. An example: Only myself and one other housemate did not attend religious affiliated colleges, so it's been interesting to hear how different our college experiences were from those of everyone else in the house. I feel like I have a lot of History of Religion catch-up to do! :). Many of us also came to MVS for different reasons, and we all have very diverse interests and skills, so it makes for quite the eclectic and dynamic group! Fortunately, we have some tremendous cooks, handypersons, peacemakers, musicians, adventure-seekers, and penny-pinchers. In other words, we have the bases covered!

My placement is very different from those of my housemates. I am the only one working with youth, which is surprising. But everyone seems to really enjoy their placements, which are: Activities Director at a home for formerly homeless retired men (2 people have this placement), Home Delivery Coordinator at a food bank, Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator at a food bank food distributor, Assistant Manager at Ten Thousand Villages, a Paralegal at a pro-bono law firm, and then me—Education Success Coordinator at a non-profit that works with foster youth. I've decided not to use the real name of my organization on my blog, just to emphasize that my blog is in no way sanctioned or sponsored by them. I haven't come up with a pseudonym yet for my organization, but perhaps I will. 

My job position has changed a bit since I’ve started working, and I’ve been so grateful that the organization has adapted my position to fit my skills and interests. I’m now splitting my time between working in the schools (co-leading College and Career Planning group meetings with Middle School foster youth) and working in the Learning Center located at our office (tutoring and providing homework help to elementary-high school aged foster youth in math, English, history, science, and foreign language). I feel like I’m constantly learning every day at my job. There are so many different factors that come in to play when you work with foster youth, and I had just never realized how complicated the most basic things would be. For example, the seemingly simple act of getting a permission form signed can take months because students’ caregivers, schools, and addresses are constantly changing. And it’s nearly impossible for our organization to keep an up-to-date database of the youth it serves because the youth are constantly moving, their cases with the state are being open, closed, and re-opened, and sometimes students even drop out of the school system and never re-enroll. Fortunately, we have a team of 30+ Educational Advocates who travel all over the state and advocate on behalf of foster youth in the school setting, doing everything from ensuring that Special Ed testing occurs to convincing schools to lessen Suspension times because foster youth have extenuating circumstances and already miss triple the amount of school days than their peers.

Despite all the challenges they face, though, many of the foster youth I work with are doing extremely well both socially and academically. One young woman I work with in the Learning Center even came in on a Friday afternoon when the tutoring center is usually closed, and asked the receptionist to call back to my desk to see if I could help her with her Algebra homework before she went to the Freshman Dance that night. The next week she earned an A on her math quiz and rushed back to my cubicle, grinning ear-to-ear, to thank me for all the extra help. Moments like these constantly re-affirm my commitment to working with youth, supporting non-profits, and serving in MVS.

More to come next week. Thanks for reading! 

Here's to celebrating life's sunny moments,