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Frozen Zapata Falls
Sarah and Sally (one of the new volunteers who arrived in February) climbing up to the top. Spring is very slowly getting under way here in Alamosa. I am sitting outside on what has been a very beatiful day with about six months left to go in my term with Americorps. While it is probably about 55 degrees outside with plenty of sunshine and birds chirping like crazy, I say spring is coming slowly because last week it snowed three times... I have never lived anywhere that gets snow in April, but I'm learning that it is a very important thing here because we don't get much water otherwise. The snow serves to irrigate things pretty well as winter is ending, and then helps stock up the groundwater until the rain comes in August.
I've been on a few trips in the past few weeks - visited several frozen water falls and took some nice hikes. No crazy stories, but check below for some beautiful pictures! A couple weekends ago, we also took Kevin (the German volunteer) to his very first American baseball game - which also happened to be his very first professional sporting event and the first time he has ever seen 35,000 people at one time. Coming from a town of 700, he thought
Zapata Falls
You could see the water flowing behind the frozen part the whole thing was pretty awesome! Oh course I rooted for the Phillies who beat the Rockies, and while our drive up to Denver was pretty rainy/snowy, the weather for the game couldn't have been more perfect. The only downside was that the Rockies have banned tailgating in their parking lots! What the heck is that about? We might have snuck a couple beers in while we sat in the car, but we were hoping to give Kevin the full sports experience. Even though we could BBQ outside the car, he is all ready to go back for another game.
Things are also getting going more intense with the gardens. Our kick-off potluck party was this Wednesday, April 22 - EARTH DAY! We had over 60 people attend - which is the most they've ever had. There was music, delicious food, and gardening activities. Last week I also began to read stories in the two local schools where the gardens are located and helped the kids plant a seed for each of their classrooms. Working with the kids is one of my favorite parts of the job, so I hope everything continues to go well. We have also been
working on the Geodesic GrowingDome that was donated to La Puente. It's almost finished, but we still have to build raised-beds inside of it for growing all of the food in. We decided to make the walls out of aluminum soda cans - a pretty cool way to recycle and a cheaper way to get the walls built. Just one more thing I've gotten to learn in Alamosa!
So, since I have only six months left here, I thought I would run through a little list of new things I have done/seen/learned since moving to the lovely San Luis Valley. To start it off, I really have to say that as much as I thought going into this that I was going to meet new friends and learn a ton about them and what's going on in the valley, I have learned so much more about myself than anything else. Being in the middle of nowwhere with relative strangers, you spend a lot of time thinking (fortunately and unfortunately). So far, I think I'm coming out of this with a better idea of who I am and where I want to go with my life. One of my friends
here, Mark, and I were discussing how much self-discovery has happened to the both of us, and we agreed that this should mean that we don't have to go through a mid-life crisis. Our quarter-life one was good enough! Anyways, here's my list. Enjoy the pictures and I'll write again soon.
1) Lived in a valley
2) Lived at 7,500 feet in altitude
3) Learned to drive a stick-shift (which also happened to be a pick-up truck with a giant freezer in the bed).
4) Went backpacking, which also involved real camping with no running water - not the kind we did when I was in Girl Scouts
5) Learned to drive a fork lift
6) Become a certified Master Gardener
7) Am growing my own food
8) Seen the Milky Way (and more stars than I ever thought possible)
9) Learned to mix concrete
10) Watched a meteor shower from a U.F.O. Watchtower
11) Realized that you find friendship in unexpected places
12) Have now visited 29 of the 50 states
13) Slept in a Wal-Mart parking lot
14) Gone snowshoeing
15) Seen a frozen waterfall
16) Gotten a speeding ticket :-(
17) Learned German (or at least
some German...)
18) Learned to knit and crochet
19) Punched a cake
I'm sure there are more new things, but I'm maxed out on thinking of them. Perhaps more will come to me later.
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Sister Catherine
non-member comment
Hi
I came to your blog to see how your garden is yielding this summer and to find out where you stand on your service in Alamosa. Seems like yesterday when you were here and planning to go out to CO. If you get the chance, do pass along a bit of an update. Our six Amigos de las Americas volunteers will begin returning from their summer volunteer adventures starting today. It will be so good to hear their stories and share the enthusiasm that they will bring home with them. What a blessing their gift is for the people they serve, the whole Saint John's community - and, perhaps more than anything, for each one of them. You must understand that like no one else! If you want to learn more about them, you can go to the SJC website and under academics look under Academics for the language department and then follow the links to the page called "about the department" and our students. We are getting set for a new school year and I have just about finished up writing letters of recommendation for college for the rising seniors. How quickly the years of high school fly by. Hope all is well and thanks ahead of time for your response! Hermana/Sister Catherine