I don't usually just write about my day-to-day life, but I think I'm going to do that.

So, I have classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday. The class on M/W is six hours, but most of it is spent outside of the classroom, somewhere in LA. For example, today's class was about homelessness, so we read articles of differing opinions before class and wrote about our reaction, then in class we went to Skid Row, where homelessness has been somewhat contained in LA, and we had to just walk around and talk to people. I talked to a man about his opinions on the Missions in the area, and then we had to go work at a Mission as a group afterwards. It was super interesting to hear the viewpoints of the homeless people for whom the services are provided, as well as the viewpoints of the people working in the Missions providing services to the homeless. Other days we learned about health care and visited LA County health center and watched Sicko, we learned about education and visited a charter school, we learned about public transportation and visited the Bus Rider's Union and the Metro Transit Authority (groups of somewhat opposing interests and opinions). It's good for me to learn these things outside of the normal form of education--books and lectures. It seems like a more comprehensive form of education because it involves my brain in reading and writing and thinking critically, but it does not forget the emotional/sentient side of my humanity. I can see, hear, feel, and touch this issues. I feel things deeply rather than just think about them deeply.

T/Th I will work at a garden at an elementary school (for class credit). Tomorrow is my first day! I couldn't be more excited. I made some white bean hummus to share with the other interns for lunch. mmmm, yes.

This past weekend, I had the most wonderful opportunity to get out of LA for a very short while. I met some dear friends after class and drove east to Joshua Tree National Park. Campfire, slept outside, breathed deeply, basked in the 105 degree heat and full-on sun of the desert all day, and climbed all the next day, laughed all the next day, ate some super tasty pizza. It was the most perfectly refreshing weekend I could have asked for. Now I'm back to LA...which is growing on me.

That's all I got, folks.