This is gonna be long one.. I can feel it...
Oh-si-yo my friends. For those of you that don't know, that's how you say hello in Cherokee. I just got back from an absolutely amazing week in the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. I learned so many things about so much, my heart gew 5 times bigger for the youth in this world, and for the people that I shared this experience with. I've gotten so close to the people on that trip, that I don't know what I'll do next year when some of them leave. There's so much I want to say about the trip, but I'll go on forever.. so I'll just give some of the highlights...
1. A 20 hour car ride to Tahlequah
2. Stop at Lambert's Cafe (Home of the throwed rolls)
3. Almost dieing at the Oklahoma border so we could get a picture w/ the Welcome sign
4. St. Louis Arch
5. Horseback riding in Arkansas
6. Getting lost 5 billion times
7. Our poop/reflection/shower house and our everything else house
8. Working in and around the head-start facility
9. Painting
10.Drying out over 4,000 Christmas ornaments, and barely making a dent in the stack.
11.STICKBALL vs. Grand Valley!
12.The warm weather
13.Living by the river for the week.
14.The country smell that reminded me of home.
15.The beautiful sunsets
16.Getting to spend my last day there with the kids that I though I'd never get to see.
17.A full-immersion Cherokee classroom.
18.Spending a week with some of the most amazing people on this planet.
There's so much more to tell, and if you want to know more, please ask, I'd LOVE to tell. I miss it so much, and it's really hard to adjust back to the SV life... craziness and lots of things to do. I wish I could just live in a world like Tahlequah, no drama, everyone loves everyone, and a culture that is so respectful, that I wish I were one of them.
After being back, I've had so many thoughts and feelings, and I love every single one of them. I cried when I read my letters from fellow breakers, realizing how much we really care about each other. I felt so comfortable spending my Sunday with Aaron, the whole day, I haven't done that in a while, and it was amazing. There's so much that I'm looking forward to, and I can't wait for new things to happen. I want to get a house, I want to graduate, I want to be able to just work and not have 5 billion other things to do. I just want to be grown up. I feel like I'm ready, but there is so much I still have to do... so I'll just have to wait.
So until then, I'll just enjoy what I have.
I'll never forget you Tahlequah...
1. A 20 hour car ride to Tahlequah
2. Stop at Lambert's Cafe (Home of the throwed rolls)
3. Almost dieing at the Oklahoma border so we could get a picture w/ the Welcome sign
4. St. Louis Arch
5. Horseback riding in Arkansas
6. Getting lost 5 billion times
7. Our poop/reflection/shower house and our everything else house
8. Working in and around the head-start facility
9. Painting
10.Drying out over 4,000 Christmas ornaments, and barely making a dent in the stack.
11.STICKBALL vs. Grand Valley!
12.The warm weather
13.Living by the river for the week.
14.The country smell that reminded me of home.
15.The beautiful sunsets
16.Getting to spend my last day there with the kids that I though I'd never get to see.
17.A full-immersion Cherokee classroom.
18.Spending a week with some of the most amazing people on this planet.
There's so much more to tell, and if you want to know more, please ask, I'd LOVE to tell. I miss it so much, and it's really hard to adjust back to the SV life... craziness and lots of things to do. I wish I could just live in a world like Tahlequah, no drama, everyone loves everyone, and a culture that is so respectful, that I wish I were one of them.
After being back, I've had so many thoughts and feelings, and I love every single one of them. I cried when I read my letters from fellow breakers, realizing how much we really care about each other. I felt so comfortable spending my Sunday with Aaron, the whole day, I haven't done that in a while, and it was amazing. There's so much that I'm looking forward to, and I can't wait for new things to happen. I want to get a house, I want to graduate, I want to be able to just work and not have 5 billion other things to do. I just want to be grown up. I feel like I'm ready, but there is so much I still have to do... so I'll just have to wait.
So until then, I'll just enjoy what I have.
I'll never forget you Tahlequah...