Getting in the Groove

Planting flowers

Ten months into my term of service and I’ve finally found my groove! It took me a while to find my place in the crush of kids that the Club receives every day, but once I made a couple of friends I’ve spent every day having all kinds of fun!

When kids are on the playground, I simply follow them outside and holler, “who wants to play in the garden?” and at least 7 or 8 come running. Our activities range from counting the flowers on our strawberry plants (we’re up to 8) to planting peas to a playground-wide hunt for bugs. We’ve examined the buds emerging on our newly-planted lilac bushes and learned about how the weather influences the growth of our plants. The first taste of lettuce was declared “scrumptious” by all. 

I consider these informal lessons ‘guerilla FoodCorps’ work- although I might have a general idea of what I want to teach, developing a lesson plan isn’t practical and I make it up on the spot. This is a challenge, but it has also been enormously fun. Not a day has gone by since I started working with the kids that a child has not come up to me and asked, “When can we go outside? I want to plant today!” At times I regret how small our garden is because it has little work to offer kids on a daily basis. But then I remember that we have to carry water from the kitchen to the garden, and the small size seems more practical. I’m doing a poor job of restraining my enthusiasm, however- a pumpkin patch has already expanded outside of our raised beds and the Club’s mentor program is putting in apple and pear trees. All of the kids have requested watermelons, so we’re going to give that a shot as well…

Working in the garden only takes up a portion of my time. The rest of my time I spend playing vampire robots, making games out of picking up garbage, and dodging basketballs to the head. 

Our thriving pallet garden

I’ve also been making enormous effort to get out of town on weekends and visit my fellow FoodCorps members. I’ve helped out at a garden work day and learned line-dancing at a fundraiser in Red Lodge, and ran my first 5k in support of Livingston’s Farm to School Program (and then spent the evening sitting next to John Mayer at the local bar! See the latest issue of People magazine for details, page 130-133! I’m not kidding!) My free weekends are spent in Wyoming, strolling through downtown Sheridan’s adorable boutiques, cafes and bookstores. 

As my end of term quickly approaches (July 21), I am spending an enormous amount of time thinking (and worrying about) what happens next year. I have interviewed for FoodCorps positions in both North Powder and Salem. Although North Powder was originally my first choice, my interview with the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation left me excited and eager to serve with them as well. I should be finding out in the next week or so, and I will gladly accept either position should it be offered.

 

All this activity leaves me exhausted with my head spinning every evening, but it is incredibly satisfying after having spent so much time sitting idle this year. I have work, lots of friends (who are all about three feet tall and wear ‘Dora the Explorer’ tee-shirts); all in this funny little community that has welcomed me with open arms.