just one in one thousand

Student 1: Do you have any kids?

Me: nope! maybe one day.

Student 1: Well, how old are you anyway? 19?

Me: 25!

Student 2: Well my mom is 27 and she has 5 kids. When are you going to get on with your life?!

I must admit, I've been avoiding writing in this thing.  The last several weeks have been, well, challenging.  School is in session so I have been busier at work. Further, the honey moon is over -- winter came in with a bang (it was in the 80s two weekends ago, it's in the 40s as a I write this), a fairly serious case of stolen identity left me without access to any money for several days, been pretty sick this month and I  can't figure out why, and a number of events back in NJ (both good and bad) have made me feel all sorts of guilty about being so far away. I've also been dealing with the stress of probably having to move, but that's another story for another day.

Then the cherry-on-top of the crappy September arrived last Monday. I am currently serving in a federally funded & administered position. With the government shut down,  I'm not technically furloughed because my pay is considered a 'living stipend' not a salary (meaning, I still have to work), but my pay is suspended, indefinitely. From what I understand, If the shutdown goes over thirty days, the positions could lose their funding. At the same time, we are prohibited from having other jobs, even through this situation,  so that we "work at the income level of those we are serving." I hate feeling angry, but for the last several weeks I have just felt so much anger about how stupid this whole situation is. One of my coworkers who is in a similar position, was supposed to have her contract renewed this month. It may be pushed back another three months (which she won't be reimbursed), and she was living just at the poverty line before this. 

For all the complaining/joking I may do about living in this  small town in the middle of nowhere, they have really had my back. Between the identity theft and then the shutdown, for the last month I had to be super careful about the money I did have access to. People have just been so amazing; driving me all over creation, offering up tons of free food, taking me out of town just for mental health breaks, surprising me with drinks and coffees just because (well, also for mental health reasons I think!). My roommate even paid my rent this month without telling me until I get a paycheck again. Can't really complain about that!

Besides all the stupid  stuff, there have been some fun things going on the last few months. My job is REALLY picking up. I have been doing a lot of work in the Middle School with Science and Tech classes, which I love. I may even be going on a trip with some of the kids to Washington, DC with some of them -- more on that to follow in the coming weeks! My boss has been encouraging me to get a teaching certification -- I don't know though; i'm not sold on teaching yet! I have been able to take some nice "work trips" on one of the grant holder's dimes, including one to a beautiful lake nearby. Hopefully there are more of such 

Ever since I started working with the kids I have consistently been asked 2 things -- "Are you Mexican?" and "How old are you?".  I'll be posting some of these conversations in the next few days -- they are hilarious.

I have fallen into a nice comfortable group of friends (as well as basically been adopted by some women who are 50+ haha) lately. We ended the summer at a demolition derby (exactly as it sounds -- cars crashing into each other while people drink beer)! It's hunting season now which mean's lotsa bright orange and camo around town and even some dead-deer-tied to car sightings! It's a trip. 

Now that winter is coming, people in the hills are starting to "winterize" everything: cutting firewood, bring animals in form pasture, getting snow plows, tire chains and tractors ready, etc. We can see snow on the Cascades from here, and I have encountered frost a few times in the mornings already. Even though I live in the valley (at about 900ft-- most people live in the surrounding hills), I am still terrified about winter. The days are getting awfully short (I am at a very high latitude) and I just don't think I will survive! At least I get to know that I will be visiting home in a few months -- something to look forward to. It's also apple season, and I live in apple country, so that's pretty awesome! My orchardist friend is bringing me some fresh apples, and they are so delicious everywhere! You can buy fresh picked apples from all the distributors in giant boxes for super cheap. One of the perks of living out here. 

I have also gotten fairly serious about running lately (especially with all this extra anger), and hopefully will be running the Seattle Marathon this December! I have travelled to a 5k and 10K race with my friends here, and done same crazy long hill runs as well. I know I am in the middle of nowhere when my fears while running included getting eaten by a cougar, getting chased by dogs, or getting shot at because I was mistaken for a dear. So far, so good! Maybe the gym is safer. 

Well as I write this it looks like the government has been refunded until January at least. So looks like I can hang out here at least through the winter. PHEFW. 

i think your tractor's sexy! lol

view on one of my runs

reading back my last post, it looks like i left you all hanging last month! did i make it to seattle? did the sheer abundance of people and traffic and foreign cars cause my brain to explode and leave me lifeless somewhere near the space needle?! i made it just fine, of course. minus a little sensory overload the first day, and a bit of a bike accident due to my own klutziness of course, the weekend was excellent.  happened to hit the city on a weekend when it was 82 degrees AND sunny. my cousins in seattle made sure i had continual access to ethnic food and wine the whole weekend. what more can a girl want?

i made it to Canada a few times as well. in tonasket, i'm about 25 miles from British Columbia. the second you cross the border, ranchers and their chevy 1-ton trucks are replaced by wineries, skater kids, and retired Albertan oil-money. apparently the part of british columbia that i am near to is the warmest part of Canada--go figure. 

also got to spend a week in LA for work training. the most enjoyable part was visiting with my little sister of course! (well that may be tied with eating sushi again -- yum) it's days like today though that i am reminded how far away from the 'comforts' of my former home though. i'm sitting on 8 hours worth of buses to make a trip from an airport that is only 2 hours away. because there aren't enough people that travel my way to warrant a more direct service. and as you can imagine, there are some interesting people on the bus with me...

to sum up my transition? beach trips have been replaced with lake trips. the mental anguish of driving in traffic has been replaced by the physical pain of walking/biking up hills. went from rarely having a date to needing to push away middle-aged (or married, or both) men on a regular basis.  i used to pay $9.99 a month for a gym with 11 locations, full class schedules and numerous machines. now i pay $25.00 dollars a month for a gym with three treadmills, no joke (upside, no meatheads!). the threat of hurricanes is replaced by the threat of wildfire...there were 64 wild fires in one day in my county last week! and  instead of drinking red wine and g&ts i've transitioned to….eh screw that i will never turn into a coors light drinker. never!!

(the entire gym)

just so ya'll know…while you're tucking yourselves into bed back East, I'll be at the Omak Stempede…Okanogan County's biggest rodeo. ha…can't wait...

with love,

the tannest caucasian girl in the whole darn town

One month-aversary! And what an interesting month it's been.

So, I think I finally understand country music. Most of my life I have found it slow, whiney and downright annoying. But here I am now, SURROUNDED by it -- in cars, in the bars, everywhere. I was dying just to here some cheesy pop music that I could sing and dance along to. But now a month in I find myself singing along to the top country hits. At first I was basically horrified. But I realized why it's so popular here (catchiness aside) those whiney country songs really, accurately, describe rural life! Case in point, the top hit at the moment, Blake Shelton's "Boys Round Here": 

Even the part about the chewing tobacco is true (not for me of course, EW!) Plus, what better way to show people that you care about their interests and way of life than by listening to their music? I do miss my Z100 though.

Had another interesting week! Went to an outdoor concert in the mountain town of Republic, WA (for reference, SARAH PALIN spoke at their high school graduation -- of 26 students). We went to this brewery there that was so totally HIPSTER I thought I was in NY or something. Great vibe, awesome decor, and their home brewed beers only cost 3 bucks a pint. Win.

Republic:

Fourth of July rodeo was AWESOME. You know you are in a remote location where the only cell service you pick up is one bar...from Canada!! Everyone kept telling me it was a "real" rodeo, as opposed to commercialized ones I guess! Run by some local ranchers. I especially loved the chicken chase. Little kids got to chase chickens around the arena and keep them if they caught them. Most of the chickens ran out of the arena and then the event organizers couldn't catch them either. Too funny! Lots of rodeo pictures available here (even if you don't have facebook): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200421398240819.1073741829.1332000005&type=1&l=a03c620f08

I spent this weekend putting up insulation at my friends house. Cause, you know, people build their own stuff here. Though Sandy volunteering familiarized me with REMOVING insulation, it was nice to learn how to put stuff together. Freakin hot though -- we had to wear long sleeves and pants so weren't all itchy, and of course no AC in a half-built house. In true Jersey style I used my big pink sunglasses as safety goggles. 

Headed on a totally random trip to Seattle this weekend! A bit antsy to be around so many people and cars again...but SO excited to eat some ethnic food.

Oh, unrelated, but, before you die, make sure to eat eggs fresh from a chicken. The shells are hard to crack, but omg DELICIOUS. I can't even describe the difference. Just yummy.

Till next time,

i can't take credit for the fabulous title of this post. that was actually written on a shirt I saw here. love it! 

sorry it's been so long since I updated -- I feel like so much has changed. my second weekend here I fell into this "why i am in the middle of nowhere, what am i doing with myself? i am so different than everyone here!" rut. i was still feeling kinda sick form the weather and altitude change, and just didn't know what to do with myself and all my free time!  then i decided to just live it up. maybe i'm not as liberal as the hippies or as conservative as everyone else, or good at really anything outdoorsy, but that doesn't mean i just can't throw myself into things. had to be okay with showing up to places alone and just hoping things materialized from there. it helps that the girls i work with are fabulous and have taken me to meet tons of people.

result of the new attitude, over the last two weeks I:

-shot a PISTOL for the first time…holy crap! apparently there are photos and videos of my big firearm debut 

-took two awesome backroad road trips around the county in a big 4x4

-rode a 4 wheeler for the first time! also scary and we were going so slowly 

-shot a homemade bow and arrow! 

-tried homemade kahlua (yum)

-went to a super-hippie overnight festival, where i camped in a tent for the first time (and didn't die or get bitten by snakes! haha). i did work the beer garden in the end. it was super easy and we got free meals, beers and tips! can't beat that. 

-hung out at the vineyard/farm of a celebrity's parents

-made a rancher give up his cowboy hat just so i could take pictures in it haha (though he ended up being a weirdo. long story)

-saw a really great band from seattle

-and most importantly, FINALLY biked up to the top of the hill i work on without having to get off and walk the bike haha

i still have to learn how to drive stick, that's on the bucket list. but i have plenty of time, plenty of available teachers and PLENTY of cars to practice on. 

 my 4th of july plans are awesome--going to the ghost town of chesaw (population aprox 10) for a rodeo. events include wild cow milking and a cross country saw contest. that should be a hoot. im also going to seattle the weekend after next. so that'll be a nice break from the rural.

leave me some love! michele

country roads

this is how light it was at almost 10pm the other day!!!

well hello friends! i seem to have finally enabled commenting for guests...so leave me some love if you wish!

it's my week-iversary!  finally really started work this week. i'm pretty much starting a program from nothing, so it's going to be a LOT of work! but i'm loving the creative freedom. the goal of the program -- develop activities (events, projects, internships etc) to get girls involved in science and technology! 

some things i love/find crazy about the new job:

-it is super casual. jeans, flip flops, whatever. i used to have to dress up for unpaid internships, so this is crazy to me

-people are so nice. everyone extends invitations to their homes, to their farms, to come skiing in the winter, to hike, whatever. and i think they actually mean it! i've been to my friends house and my bosses' house in the mountains already and it was beautiful. 

-no stigma about socializing with colleagues no mater the age difference. people go out and hang out after work. there are only so many people around after all ( 1 in 1000 remember?!)

-i finish work at 4. which means i'm home by 4:05!! ill have to get some hobbies

this isn't to say that people aren't nice at home. it's just...different! it is a small town though, so it definitely gets gossipy. i'll just have to try my best to do nothing gossip-worthy!!

this is the view from outside of my office:

can't beat that, right?! that's the school down below. i work in a district office up on the hill. 

so the other day i had nothing to do after work so i just walked into the one public bar in town. it's recently redone (used to be called the tonasket saloon -- isn't that awesome? haha). i don't think i would've had the guts to do that at home. one of my friends ended up walking in a few minutes later. she introduced me to a ton of people and we had a great night! karaoke night friday...that should be interesting. 

went for mt first run this week because i am training for a few events around here. i only made it two miles because i thought my legs would fall off!!! i'm just not used to all these hills. pretty cool in just a few miles though you see lots of hills and a river and basically the entire town. here's a little selfie of me on my first run by the Okanogan River.

i may go camping this weekend. for those of you who know me, you know how terrifying that statement is. i'll be volunteering at a beer garden for this outdoor festival in a few weeks, and there is a clean up at the festival site this weekend before the festival. so a bunch of people are camping there. i dont know! we'll see about it...

Me: When would you like my first rent payment?

okanogan county is aprox 5,300 sq miles. it's the biggest county in washington, the third largest county in the country, and it's aprox the same size as connecticut. there are four intersections in the whole county that have traffic lights. i saw three of those day.

this is the hill i will have to bike/walk up to work everyday:

this is how i feel about it:

4 days and 16 mosquito bites later, time to finally write something here. i know i said i'd update this thing frequently, and with mostly photos, but this is overdue and text-based, oh well. the rest will be brief, i promise.

journey started pretty uneventfully...newark to san fran, san fran to seattle. brought more than my body weight in luggage + a bicycle and all arrived intact and in the correct location. amazing. the real adventure began once i was picked up from the airport to make the 4 hour journey to seattle. my colleague, and now friend, greeted me in true country style in a 1990s f150 with plenty of space for all of my crap. 

one sushi stop (they don't have such delicies in tonasket!) later and we were on our way. somewhere in the middle of the cascades, in the middle of the day, the main highway we were on was closed for an hour for "rock blasting." no detours, nothing. you just sit in your car (or dance in the street like we did) and wait for the work to be finished. hmm!

38 hours of no sleep later and i arrived at my new home. delirious and mildly horrified by the decor (see curtains below..eek!), i threw some sheets on my bed and crashed.

when i woke up i was surprised to see there was a little mountain outside the house and that i had a patio and solarium to myself. also got to chill with my housemate, a retired veteran who volunteers for 13 of the town's non-profits. he's been everywhere, done everything, and loves working with computers. he also put my bike together without me even asking for help  so obviously no complaints here! 

i spent much of the last few days socializing  and pretty much saying yes to wherever anyone wanted to take me. this lead to a field trip to an apple orchard (saw a rattle snake!!),  visits at my colleagues' homes, drinks at the town's only public bar ($5 for two beers!) and even a visit to a local commune (not my scene). much to my surprise (and no thanks to the news article below that people kept showing me) most people i've met already know half of my life story and keep asking me questions! it's a very weird feeling. it's a strange combo here of retired hippies, ranchers, farmers, locals and those of us transplanted here from out of town for various opportunities. never a dull conversation. most people have been very nice. ALL, and i mean ALL, of them have commented on my lack of jersey accent.

also to my surprise, tonasket is surrounded by high desert. hot and dry in the summer, snakes and cougars are more of a concern than the bears and rainstorms everyone warned me about. despite the bug bites, gotta say, the lack of humidity is doing wonderful things for my hair. that fact alone may keep me out west forever.

  i start work on tuesday but i'm more excited for my journey to the neighboring town of omak tomorrow, mostly because i get to go to walmart! if you're looking for anything other than car parts, hunting/fishing supplies or antiques you are S.O.L. in tonasket. at least it will keep my spending down i guess.

this blog will chronicle my adventures serving as an americorps vista member in the small town of tonasket in washington. 

i'll be working with a local school district to develop programs to encourage young woman to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

having only lived in suburban and urban settings in the past, i'm sure my foray into the rural will provide its own unique challenges and adventures.