Girl Scout Urban Campout

Last Friday, a bunch of Rotarians got together to volunteer at the Girl Scout Urban Campout fundraiser.

The patriotic themed event was just getting started at the time of my arrival.  I was assigned to be a flagger during the live auction, which wasn’t until the end of the program.  So this gave me an opportunity to enjoy the festive atmosphere and meet different people who were there to support the cause.

I think my favorite part of the program was the dancing presentation put on by a group of Native Americans.  I haven’t had a lot of exposure to their culture, and I found the choreography and clothing fascinating.  Following the dancing and some singing, it was time for the auction.  This was where the big bidders got a chance to donate and send young girls to camp.  The best prize was a small terrier puppy that I was inclined to try and run off with myself!  Completely adorable.   Very generous offers were made on all the prizes and it seemed like the event was a huge success.  I look forward to hopefully lending a hand at next year’s Urban Campout.

Providing a New Place of Learning

This month’s trip to Casa de la Esperanza left us very dusty and sore.

Our goal at the Tijuana orphanage was to restore the children’s library to a condition where it was safe and accessible.  The hope is that with an organized library, the children would be allowed to enjoy the books and promote their reading and learning skills.

When we first opened the abandoned room, there was a layer of dust settling on massive piles of books covering the shelves and table.  I think it was a bigger project than most of the volunteers had anticipated, and I was positive that we wouldn’t finish in the amount of time we had allotted.  But by pulling together we somehow plowed through the work.

We sorted the piles, removing books we thought wouldn’t be used and reorganized the remaining books onto the newly cleaned shelves.  At the end of the project, I was amazed at the result.  We actually managed to create a decent place where the children could come and expand their knowledge.  I think that the only issue now is making sure that the orphanage administrators continue to provide access and support some kind of reading program.  I have a feeling we’ll have to take it one month at a time.

Giving a Thousand Smiles

My New Friend, Leslie.

The Thousand Smiles Foundation is an amazing Rotary-sponsored program that has given thousands of children a new chance at life.

Last week, a group of five of us headed down to Ensenada, Mexico to contribute our time and services to the cause.  Thousand Smiles volunteers meet there every quarter to provide dental services and to operate on children who suffer from severe facial deformities.  They also provide follow up and several other necessary services that other similar organizations tend to overlook.

While the dentists and oral surgeons examined the children, the other volunteers and I organized and made the children at home.  Many of them had been coming to the clinics their whole lives.  One little patient, named Leslie, asked me to draw a picture with her and proceeded to give me a Spanish lesson.  I gave her a lesson in English.  She was my little sidekick for the rest of the day.

I never understood why people became dentists.  Now I can see it.  You can literally see the lives you are changing.  You can see the parents’ faces as you bring their child out of the operating room.  You can hear them thanking you for making their child beautiful.  It’s an amazing thing. A beautiful thing.

Check out photos from the Thousand Smiles clinic!

Finally a Member of Rotary International

It’s official!

I’m finally a member of Rotary International, one of the largest service organization in the world.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to become involved in continuous service projects, and hopefully be able to contribute some innovative ideas of my own.

I look forward to the oncoming challenges and hope that I am able to live up to my commitments and really make a difference.

Quilting for Humanitarian Aid

The Quilting Party is Just Getting Started

Today, a group of men and women got together to sew and mark over 70 quilts for donation.  Something I discovered very quickly…I am not very talented at sewing.  Knowing that marking quilts probably took less precision, I quickly volunteered and grabbed some chalk and a ruler.  After about an hour of marking I started to get the hang of it and after that, my partners and I started going through quilts very easily.  With the addition of interesting conversation with new acquaintances, three hours of work few by.

This is a huge, statewide project that is coming to an end.  There are still many quilts to make, so we will be regrouping on Thursday to try and complete as many as possible.

The quilts will go to Deseret Industries, a welfare organization comparable to Goodwill.  From there they will be distributed when the necessity arises.

Casa de la Esperanza Orphanage

Today I fell in love with 50 boys and girls in a Tijuana orphanage.

Around 14 volunteers woke up this morning and headed across the boarder towards Casa de la Esperanza, one of the few orphanages in Tijuana.  I hadn’t been to Mexico since a service trip I took during my junior year of high school, or even an orphanage since I was in France in 2006.  I completely underestimated the impact that these young children would have on me.

We arrived after the children had finished their breakfast.  At first, there was no sign of life outside of the bright yellow buildings.  But soon the sounds of boys and girls running and playing filled the air.  Several of the volunteers went to a nearby field to play kickball with a couple dozen energetic boys.  I took a walk around the facility to meet some of the orphans and observe the atmosphere.

Most of the other volunteers spoke Spanish and were easily conversing with the children.  With my background being French, I had to rely more on eye contact and facial expressions.  Luckily, that appeared to work.  Although we couldn’t understand each others words, we were able to share laughs and the experience of the day.

One of the trip’s leaders came prepared with an art project, which the boys and girls enjoyed and shared with one another.  The project leader told me that she was a part of an international art exchange.  That art is a universal language.  Watching the children create their personal works of art gave me a glimpse of who they are, where they’ve been and who they hope to be.  I pray that they find the opportunity to follow their dreams.  It breaks my heart to think that they might not.

After the art project, they gave the volunteers a presentation of song and dance.  The young Mexican boy to my left became a photographer as he used my camera to excitedly document the festivities.  I held a young Alejandro on my lap, completely content with the idea of taking him home with me.

Following a lunch of pizza baked fresh from their oven, it was time to leave.  I think my favorite memory was Alejandro smiling up at me when I went over to him to say goodbye.  This is a monthly service trip, so I hope that I get to see him again.  I hope that their drawings come true.

Check out photos from the Casa de la Esperanza service trip!

Meeting the New Generation of Rotary

Service Committee Meeting

Service Above Self

I have always had a great respect for the Rotary Club, an international service organization dedicated to goodwill and peace.  When I was in high school, they helped fund Interact Club service projects and humanitarian trips.  It was also the organization that sent my sister to Germany to study and foster intercultural understanding.

I had always wanted to contribute and “pay it forward” as a member of Rotary.  However from what I had observed, the generous members tended to be business owners of greater financial means.  Then a close friend of mine mentioned that there was a new evolution of the organization.  Clubs that tailored to a younger group of working professionals, with fresh and innovative ideas.  This was exactly the kind of group that I had been looking for.

Last night, I visited the Rotary Club of La Jolla New Generations to see what they were all about.  As with the other clubs I had seen, it was full of kind and motivated people who were very welcoming.  They discussed business and shared what they had been blessed with in their lives.  There was a very helpful and humorous guest speaker that we all enjoyed.  Afterward I stayed to check out the Service Committee meeting, since serving the community is my primary goal.  There was a huge list of possible and in-progress activities that benefited not only our immediate area, but people internationally as well.

I look forward to the next meeting and getting more involved!

Full Time Reservist…or Student?

It’s been a month since my Navy Reserve orientation and there is still a lot that is up in the air.

I had to make the decision whether to pursue a full time position as an IT and take the remainder of my college courses as I was able to, or to just be a “weekend warrior” and use my GI Bill money to go to school full time.  With the second option I would try and switch to a different job and go back into the military full time as an officer after obtaining my degree.

After going back and forth with the decision, I finally determined that I would register for a full schedule of classes and knock my degree out.

The next day, I went to speak to the career counselor at COMTHIRDFLT (my reserve unit) to see about putting in a conversion package for a new intelligence job.  But when I went over there, I was snagged up by a petty officer in my division who introduced me to a lot of key senior enlisted members.  Apparently, they are lacking IT watchstanders and are very interested in acquiring another full time reservist.  So they took my information and said that they would see what could be done.

I hadn’t heard anything in a couple weeks and am not in a position to rely on hopes and dreams.  So I have been setting up all of my college courses and proceeding as if I wasn’t going to get the full time position.

Today I checked in with COMTHIRDFLT and they told me that they had in fact highly recommended me for a six-month to 1-year position, but the request hadn’t come back yet.

So I’m in the same boat.  Leaving it to fate.  Even if I don’t get the full time position, I still have my education plan backing me up.

That’s the update!  Hopefully I’ll know more before the fall semester starts.

Father’s Day on the USS Midway

I always knew we’d end up behind bars!

Since my sister and I were out of the country, we decided to celebrate Father’s Day a little late this year.

We wanted to take our dad to the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum in San Diego.  Neither my father or sister had ever been on a naval ship, so I was pretty excited to take them aboard and show them a little bit about what ship life was like.

My mom joined us and we set out to not only spend a beautiful day together, but also to spend time just being ourselves.  We saw all of the exhibits and walked on the flight deck to check out the restored aircraft.

After seeing and learning about the ship and naval history, my family enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner.  We all had such a great time!  I would consider Father’s Day a huge success this year.

Check out our gallery from the USS Midway!

Taking Tokyo by Storm

I recently had the opportunity to visit a good friend of mine who is stationed in Japan.

Previously most of my traveling had been in the European and Middle Eastern regions, so I was really looking forward to experiencing an entirely different culture.  I found an awesome deal on a flight to Tokyo and began my adventure to the other side of the world!

The first day my friend Clay and I took a bus ride up to Mt. Fuji.  We were lucky enough to be able to see it’s peak before being covered in a dense fog.  What was unfortunate was that we were two weeks too early for the climbing season. So close!! I suppose I’ll just have to go back

On the way back we took a boat ride on Lake Ashi.  It was a short ride, but the scenery was absolutely beautiful.  After that we took a cable car up Mt. Komagatake for a “view” of the valley and surrounding areas.  Unfortunately, by the end of our cable ride we were completely surrounded by fog and could barely see 10 feet ahead of us!  We had fun though, exploring the mists to find excitement before catching the bullet train back to the city.

The next day we set off to explore Shibuya and see the busiest intersection in the world.  This area was basically what I imagined the flashy, bright lights of Tokyo would look like.  We also checked out the Ueno Zoo and later Tokyo Tower, where we were able to get some great night photos of Roppongi.

On the final full day of my trip, Clay and I set out with the mission of finding the Great Buddha.  Due to a series of navigation mishaps, we spent hours on trains going in a lot of wrong directions.  But we didn’t give up!  Eventually we did make it to the wonderful town of Hase.  Hase was a very traditionally authentic-looking area.  The houses were close together and the main street was lined with shops that contained items that weren’t just “souvenir” quality.  We decided to ride through the town on a cart pulled by a very animated man named Yoshi.  The lively gentleman would stop the cart to take a photo of us or to point out anti-ninja fencing and tell us a little about Japanese history.  Soon he took us to the Great Buddha and our mission was accomplished!

As a bonus we were also able to investigate the Hase-Dera Temple on the way back to the train station.  The temple was beautiful!  The shrines and statues were very interesting and definitely made me want to learn more about their religious culture to fine out what everything represented.

All in all, my trip was fantastic.  I had great company and there was so much that I was able to experience and see.  The Japanese are a very kind and respectful people.  I look forward to possibly traveling to other countries in that region in the future.

Check out photos from my Tokyo trip!