it's opening ceremony today. i got up at 5:30 to get to oshkosh at 9? we, of course, were late. it's beyond me that the standard expectations of the programs aren't extended to all members. i'm going to leave that as vague as it is, but i'd appreciate it if everyone respected the constitution.
we didn't leave esperanza unida until 7:30. i recall there being a specific mention that we were leaving at 6:45. we arrived at 9:00, the event began at 8:00 with a breakfast and interaction. we missed the opportunity to introduce ourselves. once again, we are dishevelled public allies. we are rude, loud and late. we spilled into the auditorium bleachers. a poor speaker delivered a read speech on behalf of senator kohl. utterly disengaging.
we said the americorps pledge as a group and each participatory organization was introduced. what can i say? public allies represents.
bob pedersen of goodwill spoke to us. easily he was the most charismatic fellow they'd got. he covered just about every situation and colored each one with stories of hope and inspiration.
on the bus on the way here, jessica, mike and i were having a conversation about this crackhead called "knowledge." mike said he had gotten his hair cut by someone named knowledge; i asked if he meant the crackhead. that led us into a discussion on what knowledge, knowledge had. mike said, "underneath all that crack is a person." it was a really interesting discussion, a change of perspective for those of us who have parents in the same situation as knowledge. are we seeing the person, or are we seeing the problem?
being here at this conference is making me wonder if we aren't the cocky ones of the whole organization. we are the program that is groomed for leadership, yet we can't accomplish the simple tasks of timeliness and responsibility?
the other workers seem very humble, a quietness about them sets us apart. it's not to say we won't do good things, but i wish we could start doing this good and spending less time with this distracting waste.
over all, i'd say this wasn't very efficient, that we'd have been fine at a local non-profit office workshopping. there was a lot of being talked at, as opposed to being talked to. most of our time was spent at lunch... which we should have together more often, during our meetings perhaps.
however, i will say, as rambunctious and rowdy as our class is, we certainly can have a good time. everyone is their own distinct person, each a facet in the gem of this experience. so, perhaps today wasn't wasted. perhaps we could have done something else, but perhaps we did.
as for the americorps members, we didn't really get to meet anyone. we missed the first wave of networking potential, and we stood out. we also left early. was this what that the experience was meant to be? of course not. i want to get more out of these experiences than a free meal.
