Conversations with Caitlin

Monday, November 9, 2015

To the Woman Who Bought My Chai Latte:

Thank you.

I do not generally stop by Ebenezer’s (a cute, local coffee shop) because I do not drink coffee or many hot drinks. Today, I stopped by on my way home from a day well-spent at museums. I wanted a chai to warm me up and prepare me for an evening of writing a grant proposal and working on homework. I walked in and felt a little dreary and tired from walking all day. But, you quickly turned my evening around!

At first, you thought you had gotten in front of me in line. Once I assured you that everything was fine, you listened to what I ordered, watched me dig my wallet out of my backpack, and then told the cashier that you would be paying for my chai. I was in too much shock to disagree with you. Then, you asked if I wanted food to go along with my drink. I politely turned you down, while saying “thank you” for what seemed like one hundred times.

Thank you for reminding me how important it is to be kind. Thank you for being, not only generous, but the friendliest person I encountered all day. Thank you for reminding the cashier and me that it was not a “pay it forward” action, but an “every once in a while, it is nice to be nice” action because everyone should be nice every once in a while (as you said your dad tells you). Thank you for making my day.

As I sipped on my chai during my walk home, I could not help but to think of you for the entirety of my stroll. Why was I so surprised that you had been kind? Why was I in shock that a person would generously purchase a young woman’s unnecessary chai latte? Why did you choose to “be nice” to me, as you phrased your action?

You reminded me that we are all in need of love, kindness, friendship, and generosity. As I pondered about your generosity and friendliness, I thought about what it means to be in relationships with people; what it means to love your community; what it means to be thoughtful; what it means to go out of your way to make someone’s day a little better; and what it means to just be nice.

What a better place the world would be if everyone had traits similar to yours! My chai latte certainly did not change my life. But, your kindness and generosity did. Often times, I only think about “helping” those who are visibly or physically in need (such as the homeless community, immigrants who need translation services, or people with disabilities, etc). Maybe, if more folks like me acted, toward everyone in the world, the way you acted today, there would be less violence, hatred, greediness, and unkindness in the world…maybe, just maybe!

So, thank you to the kind woman at Ebenezer’s. Your action prompted me to think deeply. Generosity and friendliness radiated off of you. Now, I am going into the world, thinking about you and the relationships and actions I make each day.

With Peace,

Caitlin

To my followers:

I had already drafted a blog post about all of my favorite places in D.C. But, after this occurred today, I could not help but to reflect on it immediately. Favorite D.C. places soon to come….

XOXO,

Caitlin

View of the Capitol from the Newseum

Laughing, as usual, with my favorite Nueva Vida volunteer, Liliana from Colombia.

Nighttime in D.C. with my roommate and some of the boys from Mexico

This is the Indian Taco from the Native American Museum's cafe.

Hanging out at the White House...thanks to the Newseum :)

Photo op with John Boehner

My most favorite place...Union Market in NoMa

D.C. trip to the National Zoo!

Nighttime in D.C. with some friends!

Halloween well spent in Baltimore as a pirate :)

The art of Baltimore

Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD

Indian food from the cutest Indian restaurant across the street from my apartment

2015 High Heel Drag Race with a friend from Puerto Rico

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Week 7

One of my good friends just reminded me that we are in Week 7 out of our 13 weeks in D.C. I am so sad! Time passes very quickly here in D.C. As I have mentioned before, there is always somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to see. The past two weeks have been filled with visitors and reminiscing on old times with old friends while learning about my new friends.

My birthday was October 8 and I had a hard time understanding that as I grow up, not every birthday will be as crazy or spectacular as the last. But, life is not always thrilling and exciting (I am just lucky enough that my life generally is). However, birthdays always have been and always will be special days. I woke up to a video from my sister and her roommates who video recorded themselves singing me "Happy Birthday." I received many voicemails from singing loved ones and a super special video was left for me on Facebook. I received birthday cards, birthday hugs, and many birthday calls. My mom even brought me homemade pumpkin bread and gifts along with homemade cookies from Janie the day after my birthday! My coworkers took me out to lunch. We ate El Salvadorian food (one of my new favorite types of food) and they all made me feel very special...a birthday would not be complete without "Happy Birthday" in English and then 3-4 versions in Spanish (thank you to my coworkers and the Bolivars for that!). I had night class and a midterm on my birthday and ended the night with one of my best friends from Queens, friends from TWC, and my group members from a class project. My birthday was different, it was not overwhelmingly exciting, but I felt special. I think I learned that growing up is not always exciting, but there is always someone or something there to remind you how you are loved, whether it is your oldest friends, family members, or new friends from group projects!!

My birthday celebrations ended with a birthday lunch that included my mom, sister, and five friends. We went to a Mexican restaurant (I cannot stray away from Mexican food on my birthday, although I really miss La Fiesta!) and then enjoyed walking around Georgetown in the afternoon. My mom and Rachel spent the weekend in D.C. with me. We did lots of tourist activities and went into Old Town, Alexandria for brunch on Saturday. My sister was able to go on two college visits and we were all able to spend lots of time together (including all sleeping in the same little room!). I loved being the tour guide and spending time with them in a new place.

The week after my birthday was my first long week of work, meaning that I was busy, busy, busy and felt stressed for the first time since being at my internship. I had a really weird experience because I was stressed and exhausted, but I was gaining tons of valuable experience at the same time, which led me to be super excited!

I was able to continue being a tour guide when my best friend from Troy came to D.C. for her fall break. We enjoyed all of the tourist activities together and it was so fun to be reunited in D.C., of all places! We went to the MLK Jr. Memorial for both of our first times. I think it is a beautiful memorial with a very good idea behind it, but I wish that it was more on the main line of memorials instead of off of the Mall. But, either way, it was neat to see a new memorial and of such an important and influential man. I was also able to take my friend to one of my seminars for TWC. We went to the Human Rights Campaign building and learned all about their programs and how their large non-profit is run...it was a very cool experience to share!

My last two weeks in D.C. have been different and exciting. I loved having my family and then my best friend here. I feel like it is my job to make everyone love D.C. as much as I do. I ended my crazy two weeks by reading my dad's blogs of his last month of sermons. Now, every time I am using the map app or taking a selfie, I am thinking about his sermons and the context and connections those provided for me! Needless to say, I do miss FPC Troy, but connecting through the blogs was a nice way to end my Sunday night.

The next couple of weeks promise to be thrilling, as I like them to be. Tomorrow, I will attend the finale of Hispanic Heritage Month with some of my coworkers. This Friday, I will have a photo-op with Speaker Boehner. This Saturday is Nueva Vida's Annual Zumbathon, which I have been helping to plan and prepare for so I am excited to see how everything turns out. On Sunday, my friends and I have plans to carve pumpkins and drink apple cider. Next week, I will focus on learning new tasks at work and maybe dive into some grant-writing.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and for reading my (sometimes silly) blog posts. I love catching everyone up on life in D.C. and maybe you will fall in love with D.C. through my writing and decide you need to move here, too :)

D.C. with my BFF

Birthday Lunch

Typical tourist photo with the fam

Reppin' Nueva Vida's new shirts at work

Lincoln Memorial, Snapchat Selfie

Saturday, October 3, 2015

#LifeOfAnIntern in Photos

I know it has been a while since I have posted, so for now, here are some photos and descriptions to depict what I have been doing for the past few weeks. I have always led a busy life, but in D.C., I never take a break and I LOVE it.

I have been volunteering as much as I am able and have also had many different informational interviews. I have had the exciting opportunity to run with homeless people at 5:45am on Friday mornings with a nonprofit organization called Back On My Feet. One of my friends meets me at my building at 5:30am and we journey to the "starting line" for morning stretches and the Serenity Prayer before we embark on our 2-3 mile walk/run. I truly believe that Back On My Feet is a start to resolving the issue of homelessness. Please look them up if you are interested in knowing more about them! Another exciting opportunity I have had is to volunteer with KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now). KEEN is a nonprofit organization that promotes sports and activities with kids with all types of disabilities. I spent 4 hours volunteering with them today and was reminded of my passion of working with children with disabilities. I am looking forward to doing a project on their organization and to volunteering with them as much as I can before the semester is over. In between interning and volunteering, of course, I have managed to have lots of fun...

Jumping into the river in Baltimore

My friend and I spent 6 hours at The Baltimore Book Festival....books, education resources, art, music, vendors, writing workshops, and so much more....we had a perfect day.

Baltimore, MD

Birthday Dinner in Georgetown for a friend's birthday

Lunch at a Pupuseria....El Salvadorian food....with my coworker who is from El Salvador...I was the only gringa in the restaurant and made everyone in there proud by devouring every last bit of my pupusas, tamales, and fried yuca!

The back of the Capitol

Reconnecting with Kevin, the leader from the USA (when I was a Junior Counselor at the Village in Brazil)...not to mention, eating a delicious brunch (D.C. is Brunch City!)

This painting was in the auction for Nueva Vida's fundraising art exhibition....it has become somewhat of an inspiration to me as I work each day. This child's mom died over the summer. I love my internship more and more each day.

My first outreach event was with a community of women from Mexico who live in a trailer park community. The women had their graduation from community strengthening/building classes through a local nonprofit organization. My coworker and I recorded intake assessments in-person (so we could navigate them to appointments for mammograms and pap smears as soon as possible) and then we engaged in an amazing feast of homemade Mexican food! The women welcomed me with open arms and this was the day that confirmed to me that I am meant to work in the Human Services field and that I love community outreach.

As I work engaging in community outreach, recording intake assessments, and talking with Latina women on the phone (I had one of the most incredible phone conversations last week with a woman who spoke enough English to help me understand her address and tell me she wanted to meet me), I am also helping to organize our Zumbathon! I began with the task of simply getting raffle items donated. Now, I am helping to find big sponsors, get food donated, and draft different letters and email. I even created the slogan we are using, "Jump, Jive, and Join Nueva Vida..."

So, jump, jive, and join with me on my #LifeOfAnIntern journey. I promise to try to update my blog more often. I am literally having the time of my life. Thanks to everyone for their love, support, and prayers.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

#LifeOfAnIntern

Let me begin by letting y’all know, I was MADE for the city. I love walking everywhere. I look forward to long metro rides and the interesting people I will meet (“the metro was running slowly” is not a bad excuse for being late to meet friends, either!). I cannot contain my excitement when I see food trucks along random roads. I meander into every corner of the city during my free time. I wear comfortable shoes for the commute and change into cute shoes for my work day. I have decided that I want to live in a big city and that when I do, I will not have my car with me. Most importantly, even my feet and my blisters are beginning to get used to the city life of walking, walking, walking, and walking some more :)

The last three weeks have been a blur. I feel as if I have been living in DC for over a month. My apartment feels like home. My roommates and friend, whom I barely know, feel like family. My metro routes have been determined. My SmartTrip (metro) card has been refilled multiple times. I have been lost in the city on numerous occasions. I have been here less than a month, yet I am ready to be here forever!

One of the parts of big city life that I was not prepared for is the fact that public transit systems never run on time. This is not a huge problem if you have a short commute. But, I have about a 40-50 minute commute every morning and every afternoon. While I love my metro commute, I do not love that sometimes it takes 40 minutes and other days it takes 70 minutes. I take two different metros to Alexandria and then a bus from there to my internship. I have learned to be patient and that I discover a plethora of new places when I have spare time and decide to walk to work instead of taking the bus. I also always enjoy chatting with new folks on the metro.

I am interning as a Patient Navigator at a non-profit called Nueva Vida. Nueva Vida works with Latina women who have cancer. I spent my first four days learning how to navigate the online case management system (where the files of the clients are stored in a uniform manner). Now, I spend time making phone calls to women to remind them of their appointments and recording the information within the online system. I also am working on creating a smoother process for keeping track of the recordings, phone calls, and letters that we send. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be able to work at our annual Art Exhibit fundraiser and to meet our Board of Directors and spend time getting to know our Executive Director. Today, I traveled farther than usual to meet a group of women at their community building class in the community of a trailer home park. I was included in their community, engaged with them during the class, spoke Spanish for two hours, helped the women fill out their medical history on the forms for mammograms and pap smears, and enjoyed homemade Mexican food. Not only am I in love with DC, but I am in love with the non-profit sector of DC and with Nueva Vida.

First Day

Washington Nationals Game with My Rommates

Oh, Georgetown Cupcakes, too!

Nueva Vida Art Exhibit Fundraiser

Snapshots of DC

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Closing: Tico Talks

After over two months since my last blog post and almost two months since returning home from Heredia, Costa Rica, I am finally finding and making the time to intentionally reflect on my five month experience abroad. The last two months have been a whirlwind. I nanny 50 hours a week and try to spend time with my Charlotte people! Each day, I search for people with whom I can practice my Spanish. So far, I have met a Peruvian man (at Freedom Park) whose daughter plays for Colombia’s national soccer team, a family from Mexico whose children spoke to me in Spanish during our wait for a table (at Olive Garden), a group of friendly folks who work at Laurel Market (a delicious local deli), multiple servers at my favorite Mexican restaurants, and a plethora of new friends out and about in Charlotte! The Spanish language is my newest passion (and obsession, at times!) and I only have Costa Rica to blame. J

I believe that I shared most of my favorite and challenging experiences within my blog posts when I was abroad. Now, I want to share some of what Costa Rica taught me:

1) Possibilities and explorations of travel. I learned that I could travel alone or with a group of people. I entertained myself for 7+ hours while on a bus without air conditioning! Hostel life is the best life. I connected with anyone and everyone…at the hostels, while enjoying alone time at restaurants, on the bus with the woman next to me and the two men in front of me. Most importantly, I discovered that Argentinian empanadas make the best travel survival kit!

2) Power of walking. I walked and walked and walked and walked. My 6 minute walk to the corner store, the bakery, and my bus stop became my favorite walk of the day. I walked at least 5 miles a day!

3) Importance of Public Transportation. Every day, I miss my bus! Costa Rica would not survive if it were not for the public bus system. Someday, I want to live somewhere in the world where I do not own a car and I only utilize the public transportation system.

4) Cooking. Each day, I ate totally homemade and totally fresh food. Costa Ricans rarely eat at restaurants and I think the reason is that the food at home is some of the best in the world! Now that I am back in the USA, I cook more than I ever imagined. I recently made four different meals that all turned out perfectly (for those of you who know me, you know this is close to a miracle!).

5) Spanish! When I arrived to Heredia, I literally knew close to no Spanish. I could not express myself. I knew how to say the basics, but my grammar was almost all wrong. Now, I have never been more proud of myself in my life! When I walk down the streets, I eavesdrop on conversations of the Latinos around me. I love to listen to the radio in Spanish (I even have one Spanish channel programmed in my car). I enjoy watching the morning news in Spanish as well. Most importantly, I have landed my dream internship…..and I owe it all (almost) to my experience in Heredia, Costa Rica.

While I was in Costa Rica, I was accepted to an internship with The Washington Center program in Washington D.C. for the fall semester of my senior year. Since returning home, I have had about 10 phone and Skype interviews with different non-profit organizations in D.C. I had two interviews that I was super excited about. After the second of those interviews, the woman told me that I would receive a phone call in 2 or 3 hours for my interview in Spanish…..15 minutes after my interview in English ended, I received a phone call. The woman said “Hi, Caitlin!” and then continued in Spanish for the next 12 minutes. I could not believe it. I had my first interview in another language, the woman understood everything I said, I only messed up my grammar a little bit, and I understood everything she asked me! I know that this never would have happened 6 months ago. Costa Rica and learning Spanish led me to my dream interview which turned into my dream internship. Speaking Spanish has already opened so many doors for me and I cannot wait to work with the Latina women that have cancer at Nueva Vida this fall.

Each day I think about my internship and look forward to an amazing fall semester. For those of you who are wondering, yes, I will be obtaining academic credit and I will graduate on time (I will earn 15 credits). I am ready to begin this journey! I own new business casual attire (thanks to hours spent shopping and organizing with my mom), I will have a few days to explore D.C. (and become comfortable with the Metro system) with my papa before my internship begins, I will walk down the same streets that my Grandmother walked down 70 years ago, and I will serve the Latina population of women who have cancer at Nueva Vida. I plan to make every day a day to learn and serve and make a difference in people’s lives. I look forward to speaking Spanish….all day, every day (thank you, Costa Rica!).

Once again, thank you to everyone who has followed me for the last 6 months. Your “likes,” notes of encouragement and support, and prayers mean the world to me. I plan to blog during my time in D.C. this fall, but as we all know, it might be another month before my blog is updated!

If you are interested, Nueva Vida is who I will be interning with and this is their website: http://www.nueva-vida.org/

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Mixed Emotions

I started this post a week ago. I want to tell everyone how I feel and how everything is going. However, the truth is that I do not know how I feel! Every minute, I change my mind and I feel a different emotion. And, I cannot decipher the emotions that I am feeling! I can’t wait to drive my car and see my family. But, I am sad to leave my home here. I will miss my Barva-Heredia bus dearly.

Yesterday, I was feeling really down about leaving Heredia and about not being with my family in Chicago for a wedding (the gloomy afternoons do not help much!). I made myself feel better by laughing and eating dinner with my family. I told a funny story and my host mom and sister were laughing hysterically (this proved to me how much my Spanish has improved since it is hard to show personalities in another language and because humor usually gets lost in translation). We ate a delicious typical soup and relaxed together. I was sad, happy, unsure, and a little confused.

Tonight, I do know that I feel happy….on top of the world, on Cloud 9 kind of happy! I had an amazing day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and at Volcan Poas. I enjoyed time laughing and taking selfies with new and old friends. Tomorrow I am going to another city with my host parents to visit some family. Tonight, I am thrilled (and exhausted). In an hour I will probably be sad to leave as I continue to pack. In two hours I will probably be sad because I will be looking at photos from the wedding in Chicago. And in three hours I will be happy again, falling asleep in my perfect bed in my perfect room with the fan on “high.”

I am not sure if I will post again before I leave (I leave one week from today). I will be sure to post a final reflection at some point and maybe some last-minute photos once I finish exams this week. On a final note, I think I am going to pass all of my classes here!!! Woohoo.

Volcan Poas in the clouds.

Jumping in the waterfall!

Little candid photo.

The best director in the whole wide world!!

La Paz Waterfall (one of about 6 or 7 in the Waterfall Gardens)

Some of my favorite ladies.

Silly people...using a gigantic leaf as an umbrella.

Volcan Poas (last time we went it was all white!)

He just decided to perch himself on my arm!

The new group of ISEP students and me.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hoy en La Feria...Today at the Farmer's Market

Hoy en La Feria….Today at the Farmer’s Market (well, yesterday!)

1 lemon tree (lemons to make lemonade)

1 HUGE papaya

2 pineapples

1 HUGE watermelon

6 maracuyas (the fruit that makes my favorite juice in the whole wide world!)

12 sweet lemons (taste like oranges)

5 large mangos

I have decided that you have not experienced a true feria (the equivalent to “farmer’s market” in Spanish) until you have carried everything you bought through the streets in 90 degree weather with beating sun. I went to the feria with my host mom yesterday. We bought tons of fresh food. After adventuring to the hospital (I have never seen the hospital here, thank goodness!) and through the 8 blocks of the feria, we decided we should take a taxi home. We journeyed to find a taxi since it would be a long walk carrying pounds and pounds of fresh fruit and a tree! As we struggled to walk, four taxis flew by us while we desperately waved our hands at them to stop for us! We couldn't help but to laugh hysterically, stop every few minutes to take a break, and continue until we finally found a taxi to drive us home!

Once we got home, we planted the lemon tree together. My favorite part of my house is still our garden. I am glad I am not the one doing the gardening! But, I did enjoy being a part of shopping for the tree and then planting it! Yesterday was the perfect Saturday morning!