Days 12/13: Nourishing the Soul

I was too tired last night to post a blog, so I'm doing a joint post for this weekend!

My SF Family <3

Saturday was one of the most beautiful days since I have been here, literally and figuratively. The weather was great, work ended early and some really beautiful things happened. Firstly, after we finished our last-minute preparations for the first day of school on Monday, we had a little fun. We played a game of Jeopardy to review everything we had learned (and my team and I got every question right, I am proud to say!) We then took turns sharing the "Kudos" notes we had written to show appreciation for each other. I was truly humbled by the notes I received and I was even happier to be able to express my thanks to the many new friends I have made.

Which was fuller: my stomach or my heart?

Once all this was done, we had a little graduation ceremony where we got a certificate of completion of training, a staff t-shirt and the name of our "secret buddy" for our summer-long gift exchange. When all this was finished, we all walked outside and were shocked by what we found. Several students and their families had prepared a gigantic barbecue feast for us and were gathered around applauding us as we left the school. One of them, whose daughters were in the program 3 and 5 years ago, stood up and gave a speech which brought tears to all of our eyes. He expressed how, even if the students don't show it to us immediately, we are truly making a difference in their lives. He explained his frustration that there are not more programs like Breakthrough designed to help academically-average students from areas where they do not have the resources available to guide them in social mobility. He ended by saying, "You all really are those superheroes whose pictures you've put on the walls. You are nourishing our children's minds, so let us nourish you." After two weeks of self-doubt, anxiety, late nights and lots of sweat and tears, this completely shifted my headspace to one of excitement and gratitude for the experience of which I am too fortunate to be a part.

The meal was delicious. Many of the families brought traditional Latin dishes such as homemade guacamole, fresh-pressed strawberry juice, some sort of peach and garlic-bread skewers, ceviche, dumplings with pork, cabbage and corn, and a variety of fruit and desserts. Of course, there were burgers as well, but I made a concerted effort to try a little of everything. Aside from the overwhelming cilantro (of which I am not a fan), the food was all delicious. They even bought a sheet cake wishing us luck. Getting to meet these families along with a few of our students and spend some time in the sunlight just enjoying conversation was wonderful. After the families said goodbye and we cleaned everything up, we did some last minute touch-ups in the building and headed home.

Oakland!

I decided to take a power nap upon returning home, but was awakened about an hour later by a phone call from Cisco who invited me to join him and several other teachers on a trip to visit Lake Merritt

So many geese!

in Oakland, led by Tyschell who grew up in that area. Following my initial promise to myself to never say no to new experiences while I'm in CA and being always game for an adventure, I tagged along. Despite some unpleasant interactions with a swindler in the BART station and a hippie in a park, our group had a blast. The area was absolutely gorgeous, sunny without the fog that affects SF and much quieter than I expected. As Tyschell explained, while SF is known for being liberal, Oakland is particularly recognized for being a hub of social justice activism. I found the area in general to just have a calming aura about it. I had a bunch of great conversations with my fellow teachers, we watched the sunset over the lake, got chicken wings and gelato at local restaurants and then headed home after dark. I got home around midnight and passed out almost immediately (after thoroughly washing my hands, because BART was kind of grimy).

Sleepy teachers

Braden and Harry leaving Home Plate

Despite promising myself I would not sleep in, I decided I needed the rest so I did not wake up until about 10 AM today. I had made plans to hang out with some Mask and Wig peeps today, so after I got ready, I was picked up by Billy, Braden and Harrison Lieberfarb, the Sec-Treas from my freshman year. We headed toward the Marina and Harry showed us the area, taking us to his favorite little
Ethiopian coffee shop called Bereka (which I thoroughly enjoyed, now that I'm a coffee drinker myself) and brunch joint called Home Plate (which was delicious). We were joined by Noah, one of my biggest college role models who now works for Google and is doing really well for himself. After brunch, we went (/ I went BACK) to the de Young Museum to climb the tower and look over the city. This was nicer for me than last time because the weather was nicer and also I had more time to really stop and see all 360 degrees of the view. I thought about the concentric circles we as humans all travel in and how we build homes for ourselves, typical philosophical me.

See the Golden Gate in the background!

On the opposite side of the previous photo...

We then chilled in the Japanese Tea Garden and Harry and I swapped stories of our family members accidentally killing their pets (cough cough, Aunt Leah ;-P). Noah had to leave, so we drove him to his friend's house and then made an impromptu decision to go see the new Jurassic World movie. It was nothing special in my opinion, though I've never been a huge fan of big summer blockbusters like that. Still, it was fun to see with friends and a good way to de-stress before my big day tomorrow. Harry dropped me back at home, I made plans with Billy and Braden to go and see The Book of Mormon later this week (details to come!!!) and we said our adieus. I then spend the rest of the night inside the dorm, doing laundry and prepping last minute things for tomorrow.

This weekend was really wonderful and full of unexpected surprises. I did a lot of reminiscing as well as looking ahead. I feel ready and excited to finally meet my students tomorrow and to kick this adventure into high gear. I know I have this reputation of saying I am thankful so often that it sometimes seems fake, but I really mean it. I keep thinking about the song "Letter to Me" and how if I could write a letter to myself four or five years ago, I would not have believed a word of it. I find myself at a loss for words every night as I sit down to write these posts because I am experiencing and learning so much that I am on sensory overload.

Sunset over Lake Merritt

I hope my students can help me to continue to expand my mind and I will do my best to reciprocate. As I head to bed tonight, I am reflecting on my students from last summer and how unexpectedly inspired I was by each and every last one of them. To take a word from the Questbridge handbook, I want to use this momentum to carry me into tomorrow, viewing every one of my students as a miracle with their own challenges and gifts, every last one a blessing. I have had my fill; now is my time to nourish them.

Who knows what they will teach me?

Until next time,
Nate