City of Bridges

Where do I start? STLF is so much more than I thought it would be. My vision of this trip went something like this: I get on a bus and listen to my iPod all the time, do service in cool towns, and sleep in run-down places. I couldn't wait for the celebration city at the end, so I could see familiar faces again.
Reality: these faces are more familiar to me now than any of the people from my own school.
After a long night of Mafia last night, the sound of "Jitterbug" at 7am was like a cruel joke. I haven't slept on a hard floor with a sleeping bag in a long, long time, and my back and neck reminded me all day. I pushed through the daylight, lethargic and sleepy, and hit the kitchen for some toasted bagels. I let most of the girls pump through the bathroom while I ate, then got ready quickly to catch the bus at 8. We loaded up, and some people had left a few items around, so the bus core made them sing or do something embarrassing to claim them. It's all in fun, I just keep a close watch on all my things :)
We took about a fifteen minute drive to the Columbus Zoo, where we met Ginger - a high energy volunteer coordinator who had an awesome project for us today. During the winter, the zoo hangs Christmas (or holiday) lights from the trees across the park. She estimated around 3 million strands of lights. It takes them three months to hang them, and about six to take them down, given the four areas of the park - north, south, east, and west. Our job today was to attack the west section, and that's exactly what our group of 45 did. For four hours we worked in bushes, trees, forests, and all kinds of shrubbery, pulling and untangling strands upon strands of lights and throwing them into buckets. We attacked the area so hard that the head groundskeeper (who has worked there for 15 years) said that's the fastest he's ever seen them come down. We succeeded in cleaning up the entire west section, eliminating one fourth of their work.
We had a couple small injuries, cuts, and bruises, and one allergic reaction. We worked near some trees that had a nasty dust-like pollen, in which a lot of people became itchy by. I had a bit of an asthmatic spell, but it was quickly solved with the help of some water and an inhaler. Another girl didn't do so hot and needed everyone to shake out their clothes if they were working near it. No problem - we ate, saw some bears and other cool animals, and took off for our next destination.
We were off to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A rush of excitement, anxiety, and nervousness came over me. I suppose Ohio didn't seem so far from home at the time, but as we were driving, this feeling of homesickness found its way into my head. People were dancing and having a great time after a bus-wide nap, but I just sang along and thought about how different this is from my strict routine of daily life. I fell into the funk for about an hour and a half. But when we stopped in the Station Square to take a ride up the hill to one of the top ten views in the United States, my fears subsided.
There was something about this place. We walked to the elevator that was to take us to the top, and held the hand of someone for whom heights are not the bee's knees. The photos do NOT do the skyline justice, and I cannot fully describe how breathtaking the view was. We took a group photo, danced a little, and separated to find food for the night.
I went with a group of people that wanted to explore the city, so we crossed the bridge back over to the fast-paced peacefulness that was the heart of Pittsburgh. We had an iPhone guiding us to a local's suggestion of a fantastic little restaurant called Palmanti Bros Bar and Grill. I had the best Pittsburgh-style Philly Cheese Steak with greasy fries and cole slaw on top. Yeah, ON the sandwich :) We ventured back toward the bus and found a cute little ice cream shop, where I got a Blueberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt cone and a chocolate covered marshmallow.
Best. City. Ever.
I immediately fell in love with this city.
Which I didn't even know was possible.
We're currently staying in the office of a former STLF alumnus. Sleeping in an office. Someone asked me if I had those files done yet. I told them to get off my back about it. We're family. Some people have actually started calling me "Iowa," which I'm okay with as long as they know my real name :)
We did some pretty deep activities tonight that taught us to value each other's opinions and strengthen our own individuality. They took a few hours, but I still didn't want it to end. It's only the second day of the trip, and it feels like I've known these people my entire life. I don't know how this trip could get any better from here, but I'm very excited to let you know every moment that takes this experience one step higher every single day.
As I told everyone tonight during discussion, I have to continually remind myself that I didn't know anyone when I got on that bus Friday morning.
It's a much different adventure than I could have ever imagined.

Giddy On Up, Giddy On Out

It's been a big day.
At 8:00am, I woke up to the sound of rustling bags and distant alarm clocks. I couldn't remember where I was for a split second...my mind still in disbelief that this is happening. Our group got ready in the Encounter house (which I've learned is just like La Vida, people at UNI) and ate a little breakfast. I bought some frozen waffles from Walmart the night before - they were great :) We sat and chatted, then took off for the buses at 9:00.
When we got there, we were checked in at the appropriate bus and separated out. I was shown around The Bone, which is their version of a union, then boarded the bus. We started eastbound and did introductions of the entire bus. After that, it was all chatting. The bus was alive with hellos, how are yous, and what's your names.
And this is how it stayed - for three hours.
I met a million awesome people. Well, there are only 45 on the bus, so I met a bunch :) The core introduced a game called "speed dating," where the people closest to the aisle moved one seat forward when they said to. We got about 2 minutes with each person, and I suprisingly remember a massive amount of names. After that, we had lunch, which was donated by an Italian pizza and sandwich restaurant near Illinois State. The bus core planned for everything, with chips, fruit, and even napkins. It was yummy :)
Still eastbound and about a half hour after lunch, the bus core told us to look around the bus for random letters taped in creative places, such as the overhead compartments, the bathroom, and under seats. Unscrambled:
COLOMBS, OHIO.
Yep, we lost the U.
The next two hours were a simple waiting in anticipation of the city ahead. We put in Despicable Me, but I decided to take a nap and chat some more. When we finally arrived, they let us loose for two hours, with an STLF traditional "Giddy - UP! - Giddy - UP! - Giddy - OUT!" And we all giddy out, giddy it? :) Two and a half hours of exploring the city and Ohio State campus.
Is it big, you ask?
Oh, its big.
I got together with a group of about nine people, and with a little beginning confusion, we decided on Barnes and Noble as the first stop. Ohio State was plastered EVERYWHERE. But that's expected, I suppose. We checked out the Union, or as I would say, all of the UNI campus condensed into one building :) The group went to an off-street restaurant called Phat Wraps. They fried the meat (shrimp in my case) with the cheese and the wrap, then you got to add your own veggies. It was super convenient and super good, as little restaurants tend to be.
We were to be back at the bus by 7:30, and everyone was on by 7:29. Yeahhhh buddy! The bus trekked out to the Methodist Church that we'll be staying at tonight. We did a quick serious activity about our struggles and successes with a postsecret type thing, then we partnered up with our Accountibilibuddies. Just sound it out :) We had a quick chat, then the games ensued. Since then, we've been jamming out, dominating Wii Sports, and playing Catch Phrase.
Saying that I'm having a good time is a gigantic understatement. I've met some wonderful people that have welcomed me into the family. I can't wait to know what mysteries are waiting for us tomorrow.
Bring it, Columbus.

A Very Normal Place

It's day one...well, technically day negative one of our big adventure. We tripped down to Normal, Illinois, home of Illinois State University, today at 4:00. The ride was four and a half hours of bands of Iowa highway. And if any of you know what that entails, that's a boring ride. But I don't want to get to that yet.

Let's back up a little.

First, I need to give a big shout out to my good friends Jennifer and Karly for helping me pack my massive amount of items into three small bags. ...that are bursting at the seams :) My packing list consisted of many "just in case" items because technically they can't tell me any specifics. Nine days worth of clothing. Warm clothes just in case, not-so-warm clothes just in case. Active clothes, a couple pairs of shoes, shower stuff, and toiletries.

Doesn't sound like much, right?
WRONG.
But I'll survive by schlepping around my dorm room in a bag.(Thanks Professor Meier for the cool word.)

Anyway, the buildup and preparation for this trip has been accumulating for about a month now, and its crazy that its already here. We left UNI at 4:10 today - eight of us and all our things. Two cars, one pit stop (because some of us REALLY had to pee), and a couple tacos later, and we arrived in Normal. The jokes ensued. "There's the normal gas station!" "Normal Shoe Carnival up ahead!" Haha :)

We're staying the night at the Campus House, which seems to be a basic Christian ministry house. We met a couple people from the trip, but they were holding some activities in the house, so we had to find something to do for about two hours or so. We piled in cars again, and while the other was lost or not lost or I don't really know what they were doing, our car bought a few things at Walmart. We were in contact with someone here who lived in the dorms and graciously let us shower since the house didn't have one.

Navigating around this campus is quite the feat, and we ended up putting almost every address in the gps. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. By the fourth or fifth time we circled campus, our driver pretty much had it down (kudos!). The dorms are gigantic. Think about the UNI towers times a billion in size and quality. Yeah. So I took a pretty nice shower, which is great, because I'm not sure how long it will be until I have that again. The luxuries we take for granted...

Now we're back at the house, chit chatting a little before we get some rest. So far, I'm having a fantastic time. Everyone here is so hospitable and kind, even though they kicked us in basketball last week. That probably doesn't matter to a lot of people :)

To summarize today, let us look at it this way...

This afternoon, during lunch, I bit my tongue so hard while eating a hot dog that I had a noticeable bump on it all day long. And it still hurts - seriously, I can't make this stuff up.

But if that's the worst thing that happens to me in the next nine days, I'm in for the best time of my life.

You Can't Know Where You're Going...

Until you know where you've been.

This is my first post in my first experience with an official blog. Congrats for taking this journey with me! I've always wanted to start a blog, but I've never thought my daily life was interesting enough for one. I would much rather tell it all to a friend or keep it to myself. But in this particular upcoming week (that just so happens to be spring break), my life is about to get a TON more interesting.


I'm going on an adventure.


Let me tell you a little bit about this trip. I'm involved in a particular group called Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF). A committee from UNI just joined this group this past year, but as it turns out, there have been 10,000+ participants across the United States. Illinois State University was the 10,000th participant on March 4th, 2011. STLF began as a group of four freshman guys at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities who wanted to make a difference in the world, so they set up this organization on September 18, 2003.

Since then, the organization has taken off and soared to heights they never expected. The group is focused on service, education, and reflection and centered around four core principals: trust, initiative, passion, and support. They have many opportunities for tours in middle school, high school, and college levels. And they also have a great website where you can find a lot more information about the group. Visit: http://www.stlf.net/home for more information.

The tour I will be participating in is called a Pay-It-Forward Tour (PIF). Tours consist of a various number of buses that travel to different cities across the United States, doing service in each city. As of now, this is really all I can tell you about the logistics of the tour. Not that I don't want to tell you, but simply because I don't know. Like I said, this will be an adventure :)

A core committee of eight students from UNI will be traveling down to Normal, Illinois tomorrow afternoon to meet up with the Illinois State participants, who already have a tour planned for this year. Besides going on an awesome, exciting spring break trip, our core will be taking notes for the planning of our own next year. (So any of you from UNI that are super interested in something like this, keep that in mind!) This year, Illinois State is taking three buses. The first is South-bound, the second is going East, and they call the last bus the "mystery bus." I'll give you one guess about which one I'll be riding on...okay, two...you got it! The mystery bus. Those of us riding this bus have no idea which cities we will be stopping in until...well, until we get there! Oh, and the best part? I'm the only one from UNI riding this bus.

Wait.
So you're saying that you'll be on a bus in which you have no idea of any destination, and you'll be joined by complete strangers?
...Yep, you've got the gist.

If this didn't sound much like an adventure before, I hope I have finally made my point. Tomorrow, let the games begin!