Cooking in an Industrial Sized Kitchen

Well, after the last post, I'm starting to realize that my time is potentially coming to an end in Guyan Valley and I'm already realizing things I'll miss. I spent two hours at the hardware store today. Only about ten minutes of that was actually business. My "mom" made dinner today. Down here, "dinner" is "lunch." I still get confused even though I've been here since September. Anyway, she made baked potatoes, pasta salad, corn bread, and pinto beans. When they found out I never had pinto beans before, they made me try them and "mom" said, "We're going to make a southern girl out of you yet!" The pinto beans were pretty darn good! The whole lunch/dinner was! So, I figured that, tomorrow, I should share with them some food that they never had.

I spent a few hours tonight cooking my favorite thing to cook: stromboli. I taught my roommate/coworker how to make it and she took pictures as I did it. Man, is it nice to cook in an industrial sized kitchen!! I have these super large baking sheets to cook on, a huge oven, a huge metal table to bake on and to rest my hot pans on, tons of storage space, and so much room to walk around. I really felt at home when I could smell the stromboli in the oven. It smelled exactly like Mom's kitchen in Springfield!!

Shelby (from Boston) loved stromboli. She had never heard of it before. I'm hoping the hardware store owners like it just as much tomorrow!!

Yummy!! 

Next up...

It's almost the end of March and my time in Guyan Valley is possibly winding down. It was nice to see my sister and brother in law last weekend and show them my job and I'm looking forward to a visit from my parents this coming weekend but I'd be really happy to see family and friends from home for a more extended period of time. I already know the transition back to PA is going to be really difficult. Wyoming County feels like my home now. I'm used to the winding mountain roads, the dialect, the lifestyle, and have a family here. And, although my job responsibilities feel crazy at times, I have a set routine. I know I meet new people every week, explain construction projects to them, run evening programming, work with our cooks, and manage our budget. I know what's in every aisle in Lowe's and our local hardware stores, how to work our dump truck, how to get permits for room additions, and how to work on very little sleep.

This job is the most difficult thing I've ever done. The summer is exhausting but there is a light at the end of the short, eight week tunnel. This year has certainly been something else. Although I'm beyond exhausted at this point after doing this job since May, I'm really thankful for this experience. I've been pushed to my limits this year in many different ways and learned a lot about myself. I'm much more of an independent person than I ever thought I was and have found that I can adapt to different situations pretty easily. For example, I meet new people every single week, get close to them, and then they leave and I have to start all over again. I've been forced to improve my communication skills this year through working with my staff, volunteers, home owners, and people in our community. I've also have been forced to learn what it truly means to "live simply." It takes me an hour to get to most stores and that has forced me to both be resourceful and plan ahead for things I will need. Also, seeing the situations that my home owners are in, I feel almost guilty buying as much for myself as I used to. I've found that I really don't need too much anyway. Plus, one of my families that I work for just made me this beautiful cross keychain one day as a "thank you" for working on her home.

There are so reasons I love this job. For me, it's the definition of a "dream job." I get to meet new people every week, get to learn constructions so I can fix up my own home later on in life, get to take road trips, got to experience Extreme Makeover Home Addition TWICE, get to drive around a pick up truck, dump truck, and huge van all the time and not pay for gas, and have gotten a chance to completely engross myself in a new culture for a year. I also appreciate the many little things that happen everyday that make me love this job. We just started a four room addition on a home. We're building a living room, kitchen, laundry room, and small dining area for this wonderful family! It's definitely the most intense project I've ever managed. The other day, we had torrential downpours and, when I walked up to the work site to check on the volunteers, I had found that they made their own tent to work under so they didn't miss a beat. Little things like that and, as I'm writing this, looking around on my back porch at the trees starting to turn green again have been making me really happy lately.

I've spent a year doing something I love but also putting other people's needs first and, it's really difficult for me, but my task now is to figure out what my next step is. I'm not entirely certain where I'm going to be in May once this contract is up but I do know that I'll be spending at least a few days on the beach or some other mini-road trip trying to sort it all out.

That's me driving my favorite truck-Augusta :)

Sisters at Twin Falls State Park

My hardware store that I brag about all the time <3 

I Love My Job

I always knew I loved ASP but, after this summer, I was really exhausted, missed my family and home and wasn't sure I could handle a year away from PA. Although I miss my family, friends, and home, I am convinced I made the right decision for this year of my life. Living in Appalachia has been an extremely enlightening experience for me. I have learned a lot about the world around me as well as myself this year as I have been able to self-reflect after being put in some very challenging situations. 

I have been extremely blessed to have met a lot of amazing people this year such far that have been very nurturing. I have written about my hardware store owners, The Cline's, in past blog posts. A recent example of how nurturing they are is that, this morning, I told Melvin that I'd help him deliver materials to a few mobile homes since I knew where they were. He came and picked me up at 7:15 this morning and had two new pairs of work gloves in the car. I already had gloves that he had given me a few weeks ago when I forgot mine and tried to load up lumber without them so I didn't need the new ones today. But, as he dropped me off, he gave me the two new pairs of gloves and said, "You might need these today. Go ahead, take them." He also kept his truck running when he came in to pick me up to make sure I stayed warm. Then, when I stopped in at the store after loading up supplies at one of our work sites today, there was a 2x6x16 hanging out of the back of our pick up so, when we went inside to say hello to his wife, we came out only to see that he had put a red flag on the back of the piece of lumber to make sure we were being safe and wouldn't get pulled over. The Cline's have done so many little things to take care of us since we've been here and I feel really lucky to have met them. Not only have The Cline's been great but also the postal workers, my fellow parishioners at church, and other locals have looked out for us since we first moved here. I can't say how much it means to me to have so many people look out for me in an area that I didn't know that well at first and, like any impoverished area, isn't the safest. But, because of all of the contacts I've made here, I feel very at home and safe now. 

Meeting and building relationships with locals has been amazing but being able to meet and learn from new volunteers each week or weekend has been a great experience as well. I have learned that, no matter how nice I try to be, it is impossible to get along with everyone. But, most people I've come across have been from all over the county and are all very generous and genuine people. It has been a very enriching experience to meet so many people from different walks of life who are all here for the same goal-to help others while also improving themselves. This week, we had a group from Orlinda, TN and another from Bound Brooke, NJ. We had to ask them to come a day later than planned due to the snow but, they were all very easygoing and understanding. Upon their arrival, they wanted to get right to work and, I can honestly say I felt respected all week long. Sometimes, when adult volunteers meet me, see my size, learn my age and my degree, they do not always believe I have knowledge about construction. But, this group praised me on my knowledge a lot and didn't give me an ounce of trouble when they were here. It was really nice to have the guys from New Jersey around because I could hear a similar accent to mine and didn't have to keep repeating myself or asking them to repeat themselves and it was as if I had 8 dads around all week. The guy would always ask if the girls and I had eaten enough, would help us if they saw us loading supplies alone, joked around with us, and would leave us little candies and other treats for our nightly meetings. This week was the first I cried when volunteers left. I just felt so comfortable with them and it was really nice to feel taken care of because it's my job to take care of others all of the time. 

This year has definitely had its ups and downs but, I feel really lucky to have had this experience that has allowed me to learn so much from others as well as myself. Just thought I'd share my latest thoughts...

Gearing up for the crazy season

It's almost March, which means my staff and I are preparing for the crazy season. That is, the college spring break season. Soon, the three of us will be managing 70+ volunteers each week and 9-12 projects. I'm excited for the season. We have chosen a lot of very deserving families and pretty awesome projects.

I had a chance recently to have a few exciting excursions. Last weekend, I went to Chicago to visit some friends. On the way, I stopped in Lexington, KY and stayed overnight. I explored The University of Kentucky (something I've always wanted to see). Anyone that knows me pretty well knows how much I love libraries. Well, the UK library was five floors and absolutely beautiful! The rest of the campus was amazing as well and one of my latest life goals is to be an elementary education professor at UK. I have had a lot of new goals lately so we'll see but, for right now, I'm excited about that one. After I left UK, I had a mini-excursion planned for Louisville. When I got to Louisville, I found out that the trip I had planned wasn't going to work out. I did get a chance to go to the art center and see "The Kentucky Show," which is a half-hour documentary about Kentucky. When I went in to buy my ticket, the woman at the ticket counter said I would be the only one in the theater so she just gave me a ticket for free!! Turns out, there was one other woman in the theater with her sleeping baby. I asked the woman who gave me the ticket where else to go and she told me about this really neat art exhibition a few blocks away. When I went in, the two guys at the front desk asked if they could help me. I decided to respond by saying, "I hope so. I'm from the Philadelphia area and only in Louisville for a few hours and was told this was a neat place to come to. What do you recommend I take a look at?" They gave me a few pointers and I had a great time exploring. When I was about to leave they asked how I felt about everything and then I asked them for a few suggestions to take myself out to lunch at and other places to go. They suggested the Louisville Slugger Museum and I'm so happy I went there!!! I was able to make a few friends on the tour and they took my picture holding Mickey Mantle's bat!! The guy leading the tour was giving me a hard time about being a Phillies "Phan" but afterwards, he asked me to wait up and went into the back room to get one of Shane Victorino's bats!! He let me see it and I jokingly asked if there were any that were messed up that I could have. He went in the back to check and, when he came out, he told me he was looking for a Shane Victorino bat to give me but couldn't find one that wasn't gong to be shipped to him so he brought me out a pink bat that they give to the players to use on Mother's Day games for breast cancer research instead. Best tour guide I've ever had!!

I also saw a sign for "Shelbyville," so I had to stop there as well. One of the girls I work with is named Shelby so I stopped in the Cracker Barrel there, asked if there were any Shelbyville post cards and explained why I needed them. They didn't have any but the friendly worker told me where the center of town was and suggested trying there. When I went into the center of town, I saw a really cute store called "The Keepsake Shop." I went in and met Jane, the owner. Jane bought an old house and turned it into The Keepsake Shop. It was the cutest store I've ever been in. I was the only customer so I stayed in the shop for about an hour and learned about how she started the business and unique customer stories. I bought an apple container for my potential classroom, some Shelbyville post cards, and a pretty charm.

After those few excursions, I was off to Chicago! My friends made reservations at The Signature Room which is on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building. It was a snowy day so we couldn't really see the city but it looked like we were eating lunch in a cloud which was awesome! I also went to the Shed Aquarium and then we had a great time at some of their favorite hot spots in town. My personal favorite - the Unique Good Will store and the Habitat resale store.

We're having a pretty bad snow storm right now so we're staying with our hardware store owners' son in Bluefield, WV. We're going to be headed back to Brenton in the morning and then our volunteers come in tomorrow afternoon. We're hoping we'll have power in the county so we can get some good work done this coming week!!

That's the update for now. Miss you all!

Positives About Living in a Small Town

Before Thanksgiving, I was going a little crazy here. I didn't have cell phone service, I had to drive an hour to get to any store I'd want to go to, there wasn't anything nearby to do for fun, I didn't have any friends in the community that I could just go hang out with, it's a three hour drive to go visit my friends in Kentucky, and I lived in a school.

Now, I feel completely different about my small town lifestyle. I felt completely at home in Springfield and it was really nice to be around family and friends again, be able to communicate with others easier, and be within a fifteen minute drive of any store I could possibly want to go to. But, although I felt completely at home in Springfield, I was anxious to get back to West Virginia. You know the saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder?" Well, that saying holds true for me and my West Virginia home.

I was excited to get back here and not have cell phone service. It's annoying at times but it's provided me the opportunity to have a lot of pen pals, get to know my co-workers families when they call our center phone, and have more time to think about what I want to be doing once May comes and my contract is over.

I was also anxious to get back to my families here in West Virginia. I didn't realize until I left that I do have family here, too. I care about them and they care about me. It felt really nice to get back to my hardware store and hang out with them again. A definite positive about living in a small town-business owners know who I am and care about my well-being and also have the time to help me figure out what to buy when I'm stuck. I was also anxious to get back to my cooks. I don't have much of an opportunity to get really close with my morning cook because she's here from 5 am-8 am and I'm either on my hardware run from 6:30-8:30 or managing the volunteers from 7 am-9am when they leave for the worksites. But, I have gotten really close with my evening cook. She's here from 3 pm-7 pm most nights. My evening cook loves to gossip (small town style), makes me soup when I don't feel well, and got me a Christmas present. She's been a great person to talk to about my future after May. She's really supportive of us because she knows how demanding our job can be at times. It was really nice to get back to our cooks. I don't foresee many opportunities to have a similar relationship with someone I manage in the future.

Before Thanksgiving, I was really frustrated that I didn't have much to do on the weekends. This weekend, I was reminded of that when Friday afternoon rolled around and my co-worker looked at me and said, "So what are you going to do this weekend?" I literally had nothing on my schedule for this weekend. At home, that never happens...ever. What was I going to do? Turns out it was a great feeling to not have any plans for the weekend. It gave me an opportunity to relax, clean, take care of myself, talk with my mom and sister for more than ten minutes, take my time to write my pen pals back, and have some quality bonding time with my new staffer. It felt so nice to not have to rush around this weekend. I think that's definitely another positive of living in a small, isolated town.

Another positive about my small town-my church. At home, I haven't felt as much of a connection with a church as I do down here. There are so many people at my church and, at times, it just feels like I'm following a routine. Here, my church is so much different. Yesterday was the first time I went to church since before Thanksgiving. I work a lot of Sundays so it's really difficult to make it to church because the only service is at 11 am so by that time, I'm usually working. There are usually about fifteen to twenty people at each service so I've gotten to know them pretty well. When I woke up yesterday, I saw that it had snowed again so I didn't think church would be that crowded. When I pulled up to the parking lot, I saw two cars. I walked inside and one of my favorite parishioners was talking to the priest in the center of the aisle and one other woman was sitting in a pew. "Where have you been hiding?" That was the first thing I heard when I walked in. "In Pennsylvania," I told them. The priest and my favorite parishioner asked me about how my visit home was and how work was going. It's so nice to feel like I have family within my church, also. There were eight people at mass yesterday, including the priest. So, when it was time for the homily, the priest didn't do his normal routine of walking in the middle of the aisle. Instead, he came and sat in the pew in front of all of us and gave his homily there. Then, he did something that I never saw in church before. He said, "Well, that's what I think. What kind of thoughts do you have after those readings?" It was a nice change to be able to discuss during a homily. Then, when it was time to say the Our Father, the priest invited us all to the altar. We all made a circle, held hands, and said the prayer together (that part isn't new-we do that each week it's just that we usually do it in the middle of the aisle). After that, it was time for the peace offering. Every week at this church, instead of saying, "Peace be with you" and shaking the hand of the few people around you, everyone walks around and hugs everyone and says "Peace be with you, ____." They usually add something else in there also like "How's the hip?" or "Nice to see you again." It's very personal. After that, instead of going back to our seats, the priest said for us to stay where we were. We then passed the communion around to each other and wine. Then, the priest gave the final blessing. I can honestly say it was the most personal mass I've ever been to and I'm really grateful for it.

I'm no longer frustrated with living in a small, isolated town. It's certainly a lot different from home and it's kind of hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I'm completely comfortable in Springfield and Brenton. Living down here also means more road trips. When everything is an hour away, it doesn't seem like a big deal to drive three hours. So, this weekend, one of my friends from the summer is volunteering in Jonesville, VA so I'm going to go to the food bank Friday morning and then drive to Virginia to see her. Next week, the three staffs are meeting in either Virginia or Kentucky and, if it snows, we're having a toboggan race (we have to build one this week). Should be a lot of fun.

Well, I'm off to visit some houses. There's a group coming in from Duquesne University in February and one of my community contacts asked me to help them find some projects to work on. I'm excited because there were certain families that I wanted to work for but the projects were too aesthetic. Since we're an emergency home repair ministry, it was hard for me to justify picking those homes but Duquesne can work for them!

Talk to you all later!

Latest Adventure

The girls and I got home late last night after our latest adventure. On Tuesday morning, we took a five-hour drive to Knoxville, TN. There, we met our friend, Sam (another staffer). She let us stay at her house for the night. We went to Knoxville for another episode of Extreme Makeover Home Addition. I know, I know, the show is going to be cancelled BUT they are gong to air the Knoxville episode at Thanksgiving 2012 and the NC episode Christmas 2012. 

On the way home from TN, Marika saw a sign for Dollywood and said she'd always wanted to go. We weren't in too much of a rush to get home so I took the exit and we explored a bit. We found out that Dollywood was closed but we found a replica of the Titanic, a Christmas village, and a few cheesy coal mining stores. It was a lot of fun to just explore and not be on a set schedule. 

In Guyan Valley news, we FINALLY finished cleaning our two story shed!! It looks great! I should post pictures when I get them. It has taken us since September to clean out the shed since it's been used for 15 years now and everything has accumulated and became disorganized but it was worth it to see the finished product. We definitely had a lot of staff bonding time getting the shed together which was great, too. 

My birthday was a good day. It was my first birthday away so I was a little nervous but it turned out great. I got a lot of birthday cards in the mail, birthday emails, and birthday facebook posts. My friend Sam also took us out to a hibacci place in Knoxville before Extreme Makeover Home Edition and then our CEO took us out to Waffle House at 12 am when we finished up and we had a cake that Sam made for me. Delicious! 

That's the update for now! 

What you been up to, Bub?

That's the first thing I heard when I got back in town and I knew I was back at my WV home. Instead of saying "Hi, how are you?" or "What's up?" like we do at my PA home, here most people start with "What you been up to?" or "What you been gettin' into?" I like it. Starting out a conversation this way can lead to pretty interesting conversation starters about what needs fixed (no one says "to be" here) or what they are fixin' for dinner or anything really.

I had a decent drive back. I left at 5:15 am and got here at 4:30 pm. I told my hardware store that I'd be in at 1 (they are who I'm supposed to check-in with here and they asked me to call them when I got back to PA). I hit three big sections of traffic then some snow and I also stopped in Winchester and went to a great GoodWill store and got a cute new candle holder that looks like a lamp for my new desk. When I got in, I checked our center out and then got to unpacking. I moved into the Center Director's room which means I now have a window and a dresser. Moving all of the mail I hung up on my wall in my old room to my new room was a great reminder about how much support I have from back home. I also switched my desk to the Center Director's desk which has better drawers than my other one did. It's the little things that make me happiest.

Today, it was back to work! We have volunteers coming in tomorrow at 3 pm. Before the volunteers arrive, I needed to sign a work agreement with two new families, write work orders for the crews coming in, go to the hardware store and get materials, get food for the volunteers to eat, make sure the cooks know the volunteers are coming, clean the center and the shed. There's a whole lot of preparation necessary to have a smooth volunteer visit. I'm pretty excited about this season. We're working for a new family that I really love. The little girl was practicing writing her name today and gave me the sample to hang up in my room. She's real sweet and I think the volunteers will love her.

We don't have too many crazy projects lined up yet. Three porches, underpinning on two trailers, a bathroom floor repair, painting, and putting in a new door. This week we only have four work crews but in March and April we could have eight at a time so we'll be sorting through our 300+ applications again soon to find more homes to work on.

I had a great time at my PA home but it was also nice to get back to my WV home. When I first moved here, I didn't know anyone so it was a bit overwhelming. Now, the ladies that work at the gas station, my facility manager, and our hardware store workers gave me a big welcome home. Carol, my friend from the post office would have I'm sure but she's in Wyoming. I found that out today when I went into the post office. I never bring my post office box key because Carol always just gives me my mail when I walk in then we talk for about ten minutes each day. Well there was some random guy in the post office today and when I told him I forgot my key, he made me show him my ID and then was only going to give me the mail that said "Jacqueline Glace" on it but, when I explained that no one's ID was going to say "Appalachia Service Project," he decided to give me everything in our box but told me he'd appreciate it if I didn't forget my key again. I definitely miss Carol.

I didn't miss anyone as much as I missed my hardware store owners and workers. I called them on my way home yesterday to make sure the roads were all right. They got about 5 inches over the weekend and I didn't know how icy the mountain roads were going to be. Melvin, one of the owners, had my call him when I got back home and today when I went in, he told me I should have slept at his house last night because he knew I was at the center alone. I think I'll take him up on the offer next time if I'm ever alone again because it's a bit scary at night staying in a big school by myself. I didn't have too big of a list for the hardware store but I ended up staying for two hours. This store is a whole lot different than Ace hardware or Home Depot or Lowe's back home. Here, when I go in, I sit on one of the small ladders, catch up with everyone for the first 15 minutes or so, then I tell them what I need, they help me load it all up, and then we usually sit by the fire and talk some more. Today's visit was 2 hours long. I missed them a whole lot. The two owners are Gail and Melvin and they live right next door to the store. The guy that helps me load up everyday is Rambo or Destry. Then there's Charles who helps out at the store a lot. They all look out for me which is comforting. One day there was a miner looking at me in a way that I didn't want him to and Charles glared at him, stepped between the two of us, and said "Don't you be lookin' at my woman." Today, when we were loading concrete, I told Rambo how I heard a strange noise today and was nervous about it, he said he'd talk to the Sheriff and have him and his guys drive by and check out our center late at night from now on because "no one's gonna be hurtin' my woman." I'd probably be really angry, no, I'd definitely be really angry if someone at home referred to me as "their woman" but here, it's a lot different. I know they're doing it out of kindness and just being protective of me. I certainly appreciate it because I need locals looking after me.

Well, it's time for me to get back to work! I'm happy to be back and have a busy schedule again and to not have cell service. I found I don't like being on-call as much as I thought I did. In a few months, I may not say I like not having cell service but it's definitely nice to have a break.

Love and miss everyone!