Glow Parties and Gas Stations

Last Thursday afternoon and all day Friday saw an absence of Mashanda in my office. My boss Christina has her own office, so this meant I was alone for most of the time. One of the hardest things I have been trying to do so far is meet all of the students and try to remember their names. However, on Thursday I had the chance to watch over a study hall with two Sophomore guys. I ended up being a bad influence and talking to them half the time when they should have been doing their homework, but it was great! Anytime I get a chance to hang out with the students, it makes all of the monotonous work worth it.



So this weekend was definitely one that was full of excitement. On Friday we had our Verbum Dei staff "Luau". This was my first experience as to what an office party was like, and it was actually pretty fun. It was an afternoon event (from 4-5:30ish) so nothing too crazy happened, but it was fun interacting with the faculty/staff on a more casual level. Following the luau all of the JVs in LA (current and former) were invited to Homegirl cafe for a welcome party. Our program coordinators showed up too and it was a fun opportunity to hang out as one large JV community.



On Saturday I got to go to lunch with my cousin Zach who is in LA for the summer and his step-uncle (I think that is what he would be called....) David. David is an actor/producer who has lived in LA for around 13 years or so. He has been on Gilmore Girls, a bunch of Lifetime movies, and a lot of other things. So pretty much it was my first celeb meeting! We just hung out and chatted for probably 3 hours, and it was a blast. That night a former JV who is an attorney had a 30th glow in the dark birthday party at her apartment, so my house decided to bring the overall age of the party down and showed up.



Sunday brought plenty of LSAT studying, a free Shakespeare play in the park, and just hanging out.

Part of my job is to take all of the vans the students ride in when going to work and filling them up at the gas station down the street. Normally this is a job that I would not enjoy doing, but that all changes because of the people that I interact with. There are three main employees that I get to interact with almost every single day. Hubert and Kenny are the two guys that help with the basic upkeep/running of the station. They wipe down the machines, take down the number of the van I am filling, and always have something to talk about! Yesterday I found myself in a conversation with Hubert about his trip to Palm Springs and the Friday before I was talking to Kenny about how he doesn't like the Lakers anymore. Liz is the cashier at the station, which in this neighborhood means that there are several inches of bulletproof glass in between us. That being said, she is always kind and willing to help me out when I need it. Who would have thought that a guy from South Dakota would be making friends with gas station attendants in Watts? Probably not me, but I love that it is happening!

Don't forget those who normally get forgotten

Last night as a house we had our weekly spirituality night. One of my roommates John brought up in discussion that one of the best services that people can do for one another is to simply treat others kindly. It seems so easy, but many of us fail to do it.

Educators, teachers in particular, are very overworked and underpaid. That being said, many of them have huge hearts that keep them going. Even more overlooked than the teachers/administrators are the janitors. Here at Verb there are two full time janitors Lupe and Gustavo, that are the epitome of service through kindness. Lupe has been here for over 30 years and is still going strong. When I was here for orientation he told me that this place would seem foreign at first, but after awhile it becomes home. When we has faculty/staff Mass he gave everyone in the room the sign of peace, this place is his home.

Gustavo has been here for 15 years, almost the entire time he has been in the US. He immigrated from Honduras, lives with his father, and takes the bus 45 minutes each way to work alone. Most of his family is in Chicago, but he cannot afford to take time off work to visit. He is one of the nicest people here and always talks to me when I see him.

Never be above anybody, and always try to treat people kindly!

On a side note, Creighton started today. It makes me sad that I am not back there this year. It went too fast!

My First Real Post

Hey everyone!

So I just finished up my first full week in LA and I decided that it was time to get this blog started…..

I spent the first five days of my JVC experience in Apotos, CA at orientation. It was at a retreat center called St. Francis located right on the pacific ocean about 45 minutes from San Jose. It was an absolutely perfect place for the year to begin. The orientation was for the 90 or so people participating in JVC in the states of California and Arizona.

I arrived in San Jose the day before orientation began and spent the night with 6 other future Jesuit Volunteers (JV’s) and 4 JV’s that were on their way out at one of the houses located near Santa Clara University. 2 of the future volunteers happened to be two of my roommates: Julie and John. Everyone was great and it was a fun, less stressful way to begin my JV year. The next morning our program coordinator (Andrew Carrol) picked us all up in a van and took us to Apotos.

That first afternoon a few of us decided to walk up and down the coast before the retreat started. I have never spent much time by the ocean, and it was pretty surreal to think that I will be living near one for the next year of my life!

Everyone I met at the retreat was great, and it was amazing to find myself a part of such a large, united community. Probably the most important people I met were my four other roommates. John is from Massachusetts and went to Fordham in New York. Cara is from a suburb of Washington D.C. and went to St. Josephs in Philadelphia. Carolyn is from a suburb outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey and went to school at Boston College. Julie is also from a suburb of Philly in New Jersey and went to school at George Washington in D.C.. We all found out who we were going to be living with in June, so it was great to finally be able to put faces to the names of my roomies for the next year.

Orientation was overall a very good experience. The people I met were great, the food was good, and the location was beautiful. However, by Tuesday I was getting pretty anxious and just wanted to get to LA instead of waiting in Northern California for another couple of days. Wednesday we had a missioning Mass in which we all officially became Jesuit volunteers and were given a cross to symbolize it.

Thursday morning some of us woke up at 5:30 and drove into San Jose to pick up rental cars. After a quick prayer, all of the casas (houses) located in Southern California took off on our drive to our new homes. Our house got split up, so I ended up riding down with two girls from another house located in LA.. It took about 8 hours to get there, but around 5 we ended up at our new house!

When we arrived at our casa, we were greeted by three of the five people that lived in our house last year. Eddie, the JV I am replacing, took a full time teaching position at my high school which has turned out to be extremely helpful getting started. They pretty much gave us the run down of our house and gave us a few tips. If I have any advice for people who are still in college, it is to live less fancy while in school so that everything else after that seems nice. I loved my college house, but I must say that this JV house is an upgrade. It is located about a mile from USC’s campus (beautiful!), and it isn’t in too rough of a neighborhood. It is definitely a lower income neighborhood, but it is mostly families and seems to be fairly safe.

The next day one of my roommate’s bosses picked us up and took us to everyone’s work sites so that we could see what everyone would be doing. John is working at an employment agency called Chrysalis located in downtown LA. Cara is working at Homeboy industries, which is a place designed to help gang members get a fresh start. Julie and I are both working at Verbum Dei High School located in the Watts neighborhood in South East LA. Carolyn is working for an afterschool program called Urban Compass, which is located on Verbum Dei’s campus. It was a fun day and a great way to see all of the locations we will be working at.

The next day we needed to take care of some basic house duties: grocery shopping, buying a vacuum, and various other things. We are limited to spending $90 a month per person on food and $100 a month per person on whatever other expenses we have. It isn’t a lot of money, but it will help us try to rid many luxury items from our lives and force us to depend on one another for things like shopping for food.

At the end of the night we managed to make it to Santa Monica pier just around sunset, and it was great. However, I didn’t take into account that it gets pretty cold on the ocean in California so we didn’t not stay too long. After the pier we met up with another JV house in LA and went to a Spanish bar called La Cita in Downtown. They had free concerts all night, and it literally felt like we were in a foreign country. Everyone was speaking and singing in Spanish. Even though I didn’t understand much (I will try I promise!), it was a great experience.

My Spanish got even more practice when Julie and I ended up going to a Spanish Mass on accident the next morning. It was a holy day that had something to do with Mary, so the place was packed! It was a great church and I am sure we will go back soon.

Monday marked my first day of work. It was orientation for seniors and freshmen at the school, and it was also orientation for me. I was introduced to all of the freshmen as Mr. Petersen, and let me tell you how weird it is to hear a little 14 year old boy in a shirt and tie call you Mr. Petersen for the first time. It made me realize that I am not in college anymore and have to get used to the real world. I hung around most of the day with Eddie (the guy I am replacing) and my wonderful co-worker for he next year: Mashanda. I must say that she is about every personality that a person could have. She is hard to explain without meeting, but the best thing I can say to describe her is to picture a strong-willed, hilarious, hard working, middle age African American woman. I know it is going to be a fantastic year working with her.

I also found out that afternoon at the school BBQ that moms are pretty much the same wherever you go. When I told one of the student’s mom’s that I wanted a hot dog, I was handed a plate with 2 hot dogs, mac and cheese, beans, and corn on the cob. When we were walking to lunch, Mashanda turned to one of the students who was walking by and said: “Black man eating watermelon, now that’s a stereotype right there.” I could have died laughing hearing that!

The rest of that day and the next was filled with meeting 266 students that I was trying (and failing) to remember names, being called Mr. Petersen, and filling out seemingly endless paperwork in order to get the students ready for school. Being a Cristo Rey school, all of the students are required to work jobs in order to supplement their tuition. Mashanda, Christina (my boss), Larry (the guy who sets up the jobs), and myself are essentially in charge of the work program that the students participate in. And trust me, the process of setting up jobs for 266 high school boys is not an easy one. If you want to know more about the school and the Cristo Rey system, check out the link below to watch a quick video made on the school.

http://www.verbumdei.us/video/snapshot/snapshot.html

Tuesday night was the first spirituality night that we had as a house. As part of JVC, every house is supposed to have one spirituality and one community night a week. We started off the year by each stating our hopes and fears evolving the 4 pillars of social justice, spirituality, community, and simple living. It was a great way to hear everyone’s thoughts on something that is so crucial to the next year.

Wednesday and Thursday were on-site orientations for the students work sites. When I say that the students work jobs to supplement their tuition, I don’t mean that they are scrubbing floors at the high school. The majority of the students work for companies such as Nike, Sony, Delloitte and Touche, Law Firms, etc. Wednesday I had the chance to take a sophomore transfer student named Oscar to one of the regional Wells Fargo corporate headquarters in Long Beach. Since it was only an hour long orientation, I just stayed with him and got to meet everyone and take a tour of the office. This was Oscar’s first job ever. His immigrated from Mexico and are supporting his adult brother who has a learning disability. When I asked him why he transferred to Verb (Verbum Dei), he told me that it gave him a better opportunity to go to college.

It made me think of how everything was so much easier for me growing up where I did. I never had to worry about paying for school. Going to college was almost the rule, not the exception. The public schools in Sioux Falls were good; it wasn’t necessary to go to a prep school to get ahead. The kids I will be with this year have some major hurdles to get over, and it seems for a lot of them that the Verb is the best option kids and parents have to climb those hurdles.

On Thursday I took another load of 3 kids to Loyola Marymount for their orientation, but was not able to stay for the entire thing. When I picked them up (a Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman) I could just see the excitement in the freshman’s eyes and how he talked. It made me laugh and feel great for him. After doing plenty more filing back at the school, my house went to Santa Monica for a free concert series they have in the summer. We just chilled on the beach, drank some Two Buck Chuck wine from Trader Joes, and talked. It was a great community night.

Friday was our faculty/staff retreat at Loyola Marymount. I remember when teachers would have those back at O’Gorman, so it felt weird to be considered a part of a high school staff. Loyola is Gorgeous! It is on a bluff and overlooks the entire city of LA. The retreat was very laid back, and it was good to interact with the rest of the staff at the school. Two of the Homeboys from Homeboy industries (where Cara works) came and talked to us about their stories. The things that they went through are incredible. Hearing the stories of ex-gang members really puts into question the methods used for law enforcement in this country and how gang violence can be addressed. I am planning to read “Tattoos on the Heart” by Father Greg Boyle (founder of Homeboy) soon, and would recommend it to everyone.

The weekend brought about a much-needed break. We had a party at our house with all of the other casas in LA, because on $100 a month it is pretty hard to go out in a city like this. One of my cousins (also named Zach) was able to come too, so it was nice to reconnect with some family while out here. We have access to Loyola High School gym, so we managed to get there a few times to work out for free. Saturday took us to Venice Beach, which I must say is one of the most unique beaches I have ever been too. Muscle Beach, skate parks, street ball, a pretty awesome boardwalk, etc. It was a fun (and free) way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday was another chill day. We went to an English Mass this time, but the non-native speaker leading it might as well have been speaking Spanish. I managed to sneak off to USC for a few hours to do some much needed LSAT studying in one of their libraries. They had an alumni football banquette outside and fraternity recruitment, so me strolling through campus in a University of Arizona shirt and gym shorts kind of stood out like a sore thumb.

We had dinner with a former JV named Rose who is an attorney in LA, and it was quite the entertaining dinner. She ended up inviting us to her 30^th birthday party next Saturday, so the connections here are endless!

Overall it has been a great experience so far! I am missing all of my friends, family, Michelle, and parents. If anyone has any desire to escape the snow come winter, please feel free to head out this way. I would love to see some friendly facesJ

Sorry this was so long, I left some out, but I promise to make it more frequent next time! Miss and love you all.

Zach

Heading out today!

So tonight at 5:25 my journey will begin when I leave Minneapolis for San Jose, California. From there I will have a 5 day orientation with everyone in the Southwest region of JVC (90 or so people I believe) before I make the drive down to LA next Thursday. Hopefully then I can start updating this attempt and begin telling my story!