Quinoa Bean Salad

The LVC experience encourages simple and sustainable living, and there is no place that is more evident than in the kitchen. Living on a small budget means you often have to get creative with food. By cooking from scratch and searching for foods that are simple, close to their natural state and life-giving, eating healthy comes more easily. It certainly has its challenges, but occasionally you find a gem.

I'd like to share with you a delicious healthy recipe that I concocted myself with some guidance of the LVC cookbook:

1 cup quinoa
Handful spinach
Handful lettuce
1/2 15-oz can "salad" beans - mine was a combination of garbanzo, red and pinto
1/4 cup sliced cucumber, chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped - any bell pepper would do
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of salt

Cook quinoa a rice cooker or on stovetop with 2 cups of water. Combine spinach and lettuce in a bowl. Drain and rinse the beans (this eliminates much of the sodium in the canning process), and add to the bowl along with the pepper, cucumber and garlic. Once quinoa is cooked, add and toss. Add lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Serves 1 hungry girl with possibility for lunch leftovers. Best with blended frozen strawberries in orange juice to drink.

Renewed Faith

It's been quite a while since I updated this blog. I have begun a new year of LVC, moved houses, gained seven new community members, taken on more responsibilities at work, started biking and recently returned from a re-energizing retreat on the Chesapeake Bay.

I hope to go into more detail about some of these developments, and although I didn't mean for this blog to become a political soapbox, I thought I would break my silence to say that I am thrilled that the House passed the health care reform bill. While I don't think any of us really knows enough to predict if it's going to solve all of America's health care problems, I do think that a reform bill this comprehensive was a long time coming and we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Knowing what I do about how damn hard it is to get this kind of controversial legislation to move, I think it's quite amazing that it was able to pass at all. Because if this kind of reform can't pass now it never will. Although why health care coverage is controversial I don't entirely understand.

If the response of the bill's opponents was this, then I say shame on them and I am glad they lost. If Republicans' response to the health care crisis in this country is "if you want health care coverage, pay for it yourself" then I have no problem with this political victory for Democrats. In this case I do not believe that the invisible hand of the market will provide, as it currently does not for the 47 million people in this country without health care coverage. I have no problem with costs going up for everyone if it means more people can get coverage.

I feel a sense of renewed faith in the democratic process, and renewed hope that I haven't felt since November 4, 2008. I am so proud of the President and of the House of Representatives for making this such a central issue this year and I will continue to pray that their efforts result in greater public health for the people our country.

Inauguration Day '09

It's been quite some time - and yet here I am posting on the same topic. Ah, well, here goes!

In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, I was surprised at how many people I spoke to - coworkers, family friends - who hadn't planned to actually attend the swearing-in ceremony. And given the logistical nightmare the weekend was starting to sound like what with street closures, crowds of millions, and bitter January cold, I guess I couldn't blame them. Like me, many of them had grown up in the DC area and were a little jaded by all of the hullabaloo that happens every four years. But for me that was all the more reason to be there in person. This was likely the biggest and most important event to take place in recent history, and living two miles away from it in my own hometown meant that come hell, high water, or tourists, I was going.

Luckily, I had many new non-DC-native LVC friends who were just as excited as I was whose attendance was also without question. Residents of the Emmaus and Bon Houses along with Casa Caritas visitors set out on foot at 7am. Seeing streets that were usually filled with cars traveling in either direction to have shoulder-to-shoulder people stalled in line facing only the direction of the mall made it feel like a different street entirely. The number of tents and stands selling warm food and Obama paraphernalia reminded me more of open-air markets I'd seen in other countries rather than downtown DC.

While waiting, we watched a guy climb up on a streetlight, who reported on the status of the crowds. The streetlights kept changing despite the fact that none of us could control whether or not we were "jaywalking." We stood near several other apartment buildings whose residents were watching us from the warmth of their living rooms. Sara from the Bon House created a visual scavenger hunt including items such as "llama hat" and "redhead with glasses" which helped pass the time. Finally, we heard that the line was just too long fur us to expect to get through the security checkpoint, which was only admitting a few people at a time. We opted to walk another ¾ of a mile and easily found a spot to stand behind the Washington Monument, where we could see the tip of the Capitol dome and a digital screen that would show us everything going on underneath.

We were surrounded by happy people from all walks of life who had come from all over the country and the world to watch Obama take the oath of office. I thought about how fortunate I am to live in a city and have an LVC placement where I can work on influencing the democratic process. I thought about how privileged we are to live in a society where, as Senator Dianne Feinstein put it so well, the ballot prevails over the bullet. And here I was, watching a peaceful transfer of power in my own hometown. I don't think I will ever again in my life hear three million people cheer for one person.



Emmaus / Bonhoeffer/ Casa Caritas Inaugural Route



Cold but Happy LVCers



President Obama on the JumboTron


Festivities aside, it's important to note that George W. Bush was president for most of my formative years, at least politically. The following illustrate where I was as a person in January 2001:

* All of my grandparents were alive.
* I had never seen an episode of the West Wing.
* I had only spent ten days out of the country.
* September 11th was a different anniversary.
* I had only driven a car once in a parking lot.
* I had never had a regular paying job.
* I had never heard of Grinnell College or Barack Obama.
* In all likelihood, I was unclear on the differences between the House and the Senate.
* I had never attended a protest or voted.
* I had never been to the Midwest.
* The only places I had ever received mail were in Virginia and I had never been away from home for longer than two weeks.
*If you had told me I would someday grow to like the taste of beer or coffee, I'd have laughed in your face.

I have clearly grown a lot in the past eight years. I don't really know yet what it's like to have a president I admire or whose policies I agree with. I like it so far, though.

A new dawn of American leadership is at hand

Election Day began in Arlington at 4:30am. I had spent the night at my parents' house to vote at our precinct in Lyon Village. The Virginia polls opened at 6:00am and I absolutely had to be in DC by 9:00 to meet my colleagues and leave for a meeting in Baltimore. So we were up before the dawn and luckily, before swarms of voters. I hope it neither offends nor surprises anyone that I proudly cast my vote for Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our next President and Vice-President of our country, along with votes to send Rep. Jim Moran and Mark Warner to Congress. Reporters from Good Morning America asked us to describe our feelings after voting in three words. Our picks were "yes, we can!"

After a productive but blessedly short day and making dinner for my housemates, Nicole and I decided that we were going to join the community of Washingtonians. We decided to head north on 14th Street from Emmaus House and check out what looked promising near U Street. After running into several people we know (Allie from Grinnell, the LVC short-term recruiters, and some of Nicole's volunteers), we decided against any of the bars and headed someplace we knew we could sit and get a bite to eat: Ben's Chili Bowl. Ben's is a DC institution: it was one of the few places on U Street (a landmark of DC's African-American heritage) to stay open during the race riots of 1968 following Martin Luther King's assassination. Luckily, last night they had several TVs showing CNN, so Nicole and I had several good heart-to-hearts to kill time as we watched the results pour in. Shortly before 11pm, CNN called Virginia for Obama, and I was ecstatic. I ran outside to call friends, and this is how one conversation went:

Me: I can't believe this! Everyone's going crazy! They're hoking horns in the streets and running around with Americna flags.
Spencer: I know! We are too!
Me: I'm so happy for Virginia! The way people are reacting, you'd think he won the general already!
Spencer: Nora... they did just call the general.
Me: WHAT!?
Spencer: That's why I called you!
Me: I HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!

I sat there at Ben's as we watched Obama's acceptance speech in silence and I finally let all the excitement and the brouhaha subside and the fact that Obama will be the man to lead our country sink in. Both McCain and Obama's speeches were heartfelt and moving: I never believed I could feel this inspired by a leader I could call my own, one whose ideals and beliefs are the same as my own. (And to think I can finally call a blue state home!)

Around midnight, Nicole and I decided, as we heard others were doing, to head to the White House - you only live once! In doing so, we had to walk past what I now know is a historic intersection. The 1968 riots began at 14th and U Street once people began to hear the tragic news. Forty years later, people gathered to celebrate, the likes of which I have never seen. I have never seen so many people from all walks of life be so happy: grinning from ear to ear, honking their car horns, playing music with creative percussive instruments, chanting and singing. They had to shut down parts of the street. I liken the scene last night to:
- Bourbon Street/Mardi Gras
- Christmas morning (as though a savior had been born)
- 10/10
- the day the Berlin Wall fell
- New Years' Eve
- the Red Sox winning the World Series/Cal Ripken breaking the home-run record
- a World Cup victory in any country other than ours
- the day Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina
- any general take-to-the-streets pots-and-pans-banging other countries engage in for political events

I had to beg to use a bathroom at HR-57 on 14th and R, but the people working were in too good of a mood to mind. The White House was full of people chanting, singing, taking pictures and running around full of happiness. I regret not bringing my own camera, but the memories are worth it. There's a reason this feels like a new year's celebration, because it is a new era. To bear witness to a moment in history, in which a man whose chances seemed so small and whose message is so hopeful promises change for this nation, truly makes me feel like anything is possible.

I have such high hopes for the next four years and I know they will be long and difficult. But I think last night's results prove that this country is ready for a change, one my generation with the help of our new president will bring about. He's right that it could take 100 years, but someday my grandchildren could see leaders from every possible walk of life and demographic, universal health care, gay rights, fair and humane immigration reform, an end to torture and inhumane detention, renewed credibility in the eyes of the international community, safe and informed reproductive choices for all, increased educational opportunities, a love of volunteer service, and much, much more! In the words of Nelson Mandela, "[Obama's] victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place." Yes, we can!

Some links I've enjoyed either today or during the campaign:
*"A new era for America:" the absolute best summary I've read that outlines the reasons I support Obama's policies.
*Quotations of international leaders' reactions to Obama's election
*a photographic illustration of Obama's reassurance
*"...to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world...
*Maya Angelou on Barack Obama
*Obama's possible Chief of Staff was the basis for Josh Lyman
*A very honest and insightful article about race relations in Montana.
*Our Town: "Politicians run against it. Tycoons sneer at it. But I'll stick up for Washington."
*A love song for Sarah Palin
*Daughter of slave votes for Obama
*The Sarah Palin pity party
*I Spent Years as a POW with John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button
*Podemos Con Obama
*Barack Roll
*Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
*(Placeholder for a video my dad called the most powerful thing he'd seen this entire campaign - a dialogue-free ad that had pictures of home foreclosures and hospital waiting rooms along with a title card reading "It's time for a change.")
*Just Like Me - I hope not
*"Yes We Can" music video
*Rapture in the Streets as Multitudes Cheer Obama and Celebrate America, about DC

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, We Can." - President-elect Barack Hussein Obama

Kitchen Experiment

When weekends come, our house still tends to be stocked with plenty of leftovers. I knew I wanted to make some type of soup tonight, so I consulted allrecipes.com for what I could make, given what we had in the house (such a great resource!). My search yielded the following, which I doctored a little to my own tastes and available ingredients. The result was delicious:

Quick Tomato Soup
2 8-oz can of V8 Juice (mine was low sodium, works in many soups)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic (we can't get enough in this house!)
1/2 tablespoon of fake butter
corn to taste
basil leaves
oregano
sprinkle of flower
salt to taste

Mix in a saucepan over low heat. Feel free to add any other veggies (my new favorite thing is to puree them and add them to other things). It's hearty but not thick, so if you're really hungry I adding suggest some shredded cheese or bread. Incidentally, it happens to go great with cheesy bread, another Adriana favorite. Serves one hungry girl.

Privilege

I have already come to discover that what I will learn the most about this year is privilege. One of LVC's tenets is simplicity, which different people interpret differently, and every LVCer experiences them differently. For better or worse, many of us begin their year with some type of privilege (ranging from white privilege to college education to supportive families) and I don't want to assume that every privilege I hold is one I can get rid of. But I hope to highlight either the things my peers and I go without this year or the things I've realized I'm lucky that I don't have to go without.

The Metro. At $1.65 a ride during rush hour, the Metro would cost over $60 a month if you had to ride it to work every day. For those who are unable (either geographically or physically) unable to walk, the bus is the cheapest way to take advantage of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority if you purchase weekly unlimited passes for $11. (Not to mention that driving a car or being able to walk to work is a huge privilege in and of itself!) As a suburban girl, I had never regularly ridden the bus; on the rare occasion I had to use public transit, usually to travel to DC, I took the Metro. The trains run more regularly, have more predictable routes, and run 10 or 15 minutes faster. But the Metro wasn't going to cut it on my stipend this year, so buses D1, D3 and D6 have become my fast friends for my commute to work. The bus isn't really so bad. For one thing, it often runs more directly than the Metro does and has stops in more locations. I've gotten to see so much more of the city than I would from an underground tunnel. And it's much easier to sneak a bite of breakfast or a cell phone chat than it is on the Metro.

Living near a grocery store. I'll primarily refer you to my friend Allison, a fellow Grinnellian and DC LVCer, for a personal account of this issue. But I will say that urban living doesn't necessarily lend itself well to grocery shopping, especially if you don't have a car, and that the LVC houses are fortunate to have carts and reusable bags to get back and forth the 8ish blocks we have to walk to the grocery store.

UPS. The first package I was supposed to receive at Emmaus House never came. As UPS only delivers from 9-5, none of us are home because we are, of course, at work. I'm still not certain if the problem was that they needed to get inside our gate and don't have a key or if someone to sign for the package because of its value. Either way, it was a huge hassle and I finally had it delivered to my office, which I was lucky to be able to do. It had never occurred to me that it would be a problem to do something as simple as receive a package, but I know that I won't take it for granted again.

I realize these are small adjustments, but they are adjustments all the same and my guess would be that the people who enjoy any of these things often don't think twice about the fact that others don't. I know because I was one of those people not too long ago. The great thing about LVC is recognizing these small things, appreciating what you have, and learning to make do with what you don't.

Food

One of the challenges of LVC is struggling to stay within the $100/month individual food budget. We are expected to pool our money and cook together to make it last. Many have expressed doubt or worry that I would be able to eat well enough on this amount. However, so far, the Emmaus House has pulled it off beautifully. Here are a few of our tricks:

- No processed or packaged foods. This means no granola bars, no individually wrapped snack goods, no desserts and no junk food. Luckily, this hasn't yet meant having to go without any of these items! Anything you can buy in a box you can make yourself, and we've already had great success baking our own bread and cookies. Adriana is now famous for her "Best Ever" Emmaus House Banana Bread. And of course, it's made us be healthier and easier on the environment.

- Little fresh produce. Sadly, this does mean that we are eating less fruit and vegetables in general. But most vegetables do come frozen and if you don't overcook them, the USDA states that they are just as healthy as the regular kind. Broccoli, green beans, carrots, corn and cauliflower are frequent dinner ingredients, and frozen berries make their way into . Don't worry, we have already had plenty of money for enough fruit for us each to have a piece daily, the occasional bag of spinach, and as much garlic as we could ever need.

- No meat. With the exception of lunch meat, we very rarely have any with meals and often find ourselves making vegan meals. It's a good experiment in finding other forms of protein.

- Leftovers. In addition to the full spice shelf we were greeted with when we moved in, we also found plenty flour, sugar, rice, beans and other canned goods in the cupboard. We have yet to run out of most of these items, and when we do, they are easily and cheaply replaced. Leftovers also refers not only cooked dinner left uneaten, but any items that went unused for cooking. For example, Nicole bought a green pepper and bag of baby carrots for her dinner and now we have crunchy veggie snacks to last the rest of the week.

- Staples. We tend to spend a big chunk of our money on bread, milk, cheese, eggs, and cereal. For lunches and on the weekends when no one is assigned to cook (the five of us take turns Sundays through Thursdays), it's quite easy to make a meal out of these items or any leftovers.

- No boys. Last year's Emmaus House included three men out of the five residents, and they went through significantly more food than our four women and lone man do this year.

- Free food. During our LVC year, we are not supposed to accept funds from friends or family or take additional paid jobs as the point is to live a simplified lifestyle. However, there's no rule about accepting extra food! We all often get free lunch or snacks at work or told to take home leftovers at parties or other events. I, of course, am lucky that my family lives close by and are good for the occasional dinner out or bag of apples. While I am trying not to abuse this and stick to the spirit of LVC, we definitely benefit from the generosity of people outside of our community.

So far, we typically spend between $90 and $100 each week, allowing an extra $15 for house necessities like dish soap or a mid-week milk run. To give you an idea of the types of dinners we've been cooking, I've made broccoli pesto with pasta, Ecuadorian locro soup, African groundnut stew (thanks to Mom), salad with strawberry vinaigrette, and New Orleans red beans and rice (although I'll have to try it again - them just didn't have that ReNew feel). And tonight Adriana and I made a delicious pizza since no one was assigned to cook.

Sorry I've been so lazy about updating this blog! I hope to make it more regular. I'd love to hear from any of you who read this.

Beginning LVC

A week ago today, my dad dropped me off at Luther Place Memorial Church along with friends and fellow volunteers to begin our year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. We are headed to all different cities, but all LVCers come to the national office in Washington, DC for an orientation on LVC logistics and three tenets: community, sustainability/simplicity, and social justice.

Orientation was a whirlwind week, the highlight of which was a non-violent urban safety training with Marty Langelan, a woman who has worked on sexual harrassment-related issues in DC and nationally for at least fifteen years. In an effort to cheat at this whole blogging thing, I encourage you to click here for an excellent summary of her techniques. As my friend Megan would put it, she was life-changing. She taught the most practical methods for addressing and combating violence and oppression I have ever heard. I now feel totally equipped both to work on social justice and walk down any street at any time of day.

I am living at the Emmaus House (all houses are named for a spiritual/social justice idea or activist) in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Northwest DC. It's a two-story unit in a larger row house that has far more amenities than I would have expected for simple living: dishwasher, laundry, and wireless internet (which we of course have to pay for). I will post pictures soon!

As part of intentional living, we are expected to be very invested in our house community: cooking communally with our meager stipends, having weekly house nights, and exploring ideas of faith and spirituality once a month. So far, I really like the idea of having a built-in support community of people who are close to my age and have similar goals and values, as opposed to a hodge-podge of unknown housemates that I might have otherwise had. My roommates and I are getting along very well so far: opening a communal bank account, splitting up rooms in the most equitable way possible, and scheduling cooking and community nights. We even have dry-erase boards and calendars to organize it all!

I am lucky to have a friend in each of the other two DC houses, as well as many Grinnell friends living in the city along with Arlington friends scattered around the area. Allison, Caitlin and I did some intense people-watching in DuPont Circle on Saturday night and I will likely see them again in the next few days before work starts.

Mostly, I am looking forward to living in DC, a city close to home that is not quite home. I am looking forward to learning how to live on a tiny budget (don't worry, my housing, health insurance, and public transportation are paid for), the likes of which many people in this country have to live on for longer than a year. I'm interested in learning more about other people's faiths as well as my own. And I can't wait to start work on Wednesday!

Transitions

My life has changed quite significantly since the last time I posted on this blog. I returned to the States last summer, interned at WOLA, had an awesome senior year at Grinnell, and, oh yeah, graduated from college!



Grinnell was an amazing experience for me and leaving was difficult. But life goes on and I knew I would see many friends again in the near future, some as early as this summer and fall.

In July, I returned to New Orleans to do rebuild work with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, where I had spent several school breaks in the past. Rebuild Director Katie Mears is an '03 Grinnell alumna and does a great job of recruiting current and recently graduated Grinnellians, so I knew I'd be in good company for the month I was there. As an intern (trained crew chief for short-term volunteers), I was put on the flooring team along with dear friends Josie and Spencer, along with new friends Anne and Cari. The work of subfloors, cement and tile, as well as teaching and supervising volunteers, was both challenging and rewarding.



I lived in Chapel House, a shotgun in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, with several warm, funny and intelligent people close to my age from all walks of life. Lindsay, another close friend from Grinnell, lived in an apartment complex not far away with other interns (there were 20 of us total at any given time). We had a great time getting to know each other and the city:



going jogging at Audobon Park in sweltering heat, trying the Tchoupitoulas Challenge at the Creole Creamery, meeting dogs and crashing birthday parties at "the Fly," late-night adventures with the flooring team, late-nights out dancing on Bourbon street and at F&M, watching 4th of July fireworks from the Quarter, Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, trips to the Gulf's beaches in Mississippi, $2 pitchers at Reginelli's, dinner at Bennechins in the Marigny, hookah on Magazine Street, long talks about heteronormativity and the social construction of race, crashing the set of a Carmen Electra movie, brunch at Slim Goodies, shopping at the Buffalo Exchange and Funky Monkey, daiquiri walk up St. Charles, NOMA, the World War II museum, the Maple Street Bookstore and public library book sale, nectar snowballs, Italian soda, and ice cream soda, and of course, po'boys.

As for the state of the city nearly three years after the storm, I always tell people (and joke with friends who have been there) that New Orleans is very much like a developing country and, in many ways, was so pre-Katrina. The 9th Ward, where 3/4 houses I worked on this summer were located, still has many houses that have still only been gutted (had contents removed) and many businesses that have not yet reopened.



The 9th Ward is just downriver from the French Quarter, the heart of the city's tourism and economic activity, but most visitors see the 9th Ward only from the window of a tourbus.



I went home to Uptown and went jogging near the most beautiful houses I have ever seen in the Garden District, which was heartbreaking to compare to the homes my coworkers and I encountered.

Which is my way of saying the income inequality, particularly as it is related to race, is a major problem for disaster relief. The wealthy, particularly white people, have the resources and the know-how to get back on their feet much more quickly in a system where both the local and federal governments are providing very little. The poor are at the behest of non-profit and faith-based organizations, who I believe are doing amazing and effective work but are perhaps not the most sustainable or resource-efficient. I'd love to go into detail about ideas of "sweat equity," home ownership, who "deserves" "help," but that soapbox is perhaps best reserved for a better forum.

I love New Orleans as a city. Part of the "developing country" idea stems from the fact that its Creole culture reminds me so much of being in Latin America: the kind people, the subtropical climate, the European architecture, and the way I feel completely free to enjoy myself while I'm there (despite the fact that I was getting up at 6am to do manual labor!).



But alas, I came home to Arlington in early August to get ready for my year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. I hope to update about this new experience as well!

Return to Quito

I left Cotacachi this morning with my friends Grace and Emily, graciously driven by Grace's host family. It was very hard to say goodbye to Digna, Ernesto, Tamia, Huaita and Karen. They said they hoped God and the Virgencita watch over me, and wished me luck with my studies and happiness in life. Digna, who embroiders beautifully, gave me a cloth calendar with my name on it, as well as a square with "pictures" of our terreno on it. They are kind, wonderful people and I will never forget my month living in that village.

That being said, it was just as nice to come home to my Quito family. Angelica, who was at home for the day because it's the Ecuadorian version of Labor Day, ran out to greet me. She, Consuelo, and Marita were all happy to see me and showed me the new carpeting in my room, as well as the desk, bed, and excercise bike that for whatever reason are now in it.

I'm messing around on the Internet at the moment, had a very good talk with my friend Allison with Grinnell on Instant Messenger, and should eventually take a shower and get to work on my monografia. However, despite the fact that I smelled the smog for the first time and hated the smelly city after being in the fresh mountain air for so long, it's good to be back. It's a beautiful day today.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6598749.stm

The above link is a fairly good, concise explanation of Ecuador's recent political situation.

http://grinnell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009021&l=7e5ee&id=22500005

The above link includes my recent pictures, of spring break and the first few weeks in Cotacachi.