start of fall and research

fall is starting! i had a wonderful feeling of this last night-- everyone was just cozying up to tea, sweats and blankets were pulled out, and a peacefulness was in the air. i dont know what it is, but i love fall.

i started interviewing people for the research project at work this week. i was extremely nervous at first, but now i've actually done it a few times. not to say i'm not nervous anymore, but at least i know the flow of all the paperwork.

with every interview i do, i am blown away by what each individual woman has dealt with in her life. Sure, there are self-inflicted problems but in every interview i have done thus far, there has been so much 'bad' that was out of the woman's control pulling her down. i have sympathy that each of them became homeless because they don't deserve to be. all the crap that they've been through, they shouldn't have to suffer through homelessness as well. but who should have to suffer through it? who does deserve to be homeless? exactly, no one. no matter what you've done, no one deserves to be homeless.

it is so easy to see a person who is homeless and label them as irresponsible. it's easy to see a person who is homeless and judge them. it is easy to turn your head and ignore them. but when you have problems that are bigger than yourself, do you not want others to help you? so why is a homeless person somehow different? food for thought.

and i'm back

There is a lot on my mind right now, especially since I haven’t updated this blog lately.

Pulse. A while back, us ladies sat around the table and decided to name our house Ruth or R.U.T.H. I say or because we want it to stand for something, have a double meaning but as of yet we haven’t determined what it stands for—or if it needs to. Hold that thought. Why Ruth? Because she was extraordinary! As a woman she proved to have the qualities of both humble follower and determined pursuer. She humbly followed her mother-in-law into an unknown future, but she pursued Boaz with such determination! Why is Ruth so noteworthy to be in the Bible?! I think it’s just a glimpse of what every woman desires: a range of traits expressed positively without timidity and with passion. So this is just a touch of why our house wants to be known as R.U.T.H… Our thoughts are that each person should throw out their own R.U.T.H. acronym version. Any thoughts what it could stand for? I should also note that we determined our core values are humility, sustainability, and creativity all held together by faith.

Each Wednesday we have a seminar in the afternoon instead of work. The seminar is meant to build up the community and/or our community. Recently it’s mostly been to build up our community, since we are still getting to know each other! Last week we had a discussion on techniques of communication and were introduced to a communication wheel. On this wheel are several things, including emotions, thoughts, actions… we were to present an issue and then discuss it while stepping on the wheel (it was a mat version) as to where our comments pertained. It was helpful to see where a lot of us tend to focus or not focus, and also helpful to see where we are wrong in our communication (i.e. “I feel like I was wrong” ... you don’t feel that, you think that).

Probably the most interesting seminar though was this Wednesday with the founder of PULSE. He told us of working with short-term Mennonite voluntary service and how volunteers came back with experience but no chance for discussion and reflection along the process. He also noticed that most V.S. programs are for social workers, teachers, and handy-men. What’s with that? He wanted to reach artists, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, etc. (whatever your fancy) as well for volunteering. Alongside this, he wanted to create a program that got to know the person and then found a fit for them, not have a placement and try to fit applicants into it. Wow, there was so much more that he said, but you are getting the idea! It’s everything PULSE still is about~

So what I’ve been enjoying most about Pittsburgh is our house. Week nights we prepare dinner for each other and sit around the table just chatting. It’s such a great time catching up and building friendships. Probably the best part is right before dinner when those who aren’t cooking get antsy and are snacking and chatting while in anticipation of food. J We usually end up entertaining each other as the food takes form. As one would say in Ireland, good craic.

This week was premiere week for new tv shows and though tv can be consuming, it was great to hang out and watch things together. Most of the ladies are big Glee fans. Personally I could go without the drama, but I do love the music.

Work. Well work has been blurry. This is partly my fault with becoming complacent (it happens so fast!) and partly not my fault. I was getting mixed messages about my duties while being pressed to get this research project up and going. When my supervisor went on vacation, I felt lost. Now I hear she’s resigning. Though at first I was dumbfounded, the news switched a button in me. I have been taking more initiative with things, becoming bolder, and more in charge. These are all things I possess, but it’s easy for me to not step up and just let someone else do it. So though I am worried what is going to happen now without my supervisor, I have a clear view of where I am headed with my position. And the rest is in God’s hands.

On this last note, I am having a weird spiritual life right now. I think it is still because I am transitioning and trying to note in my mind that Pittsburgh is home, not the bluffton-college-life. Despite feeling a bit off, it is cool to sit on a bus everyday and people watch. It is interesting to challenge myself to shut off the automatic judgment thoughts and instead pray for people.

Please keep praying for me, my housemates, Bethlehem Haven, and Pittsburgh. ~ thanks friends

angel?

How Beautiful the hands that served
the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful the feet that walked
the long dusty roads and the hills to the cross.

   today did not happen how it was suppose to happen. i woke up when the bus i catch
was leaving...somehow i missed hearing my alarm. in a fluster, i dressed (while
screaming and crying in my head) in five minutes and was at the bus within another
five for the next one.

How beautiful the heart that bled
that took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
that chose to forgive and never despise

   ironically, i still made it to work on time. today was orientation day-- and yes, if you
are thinking, "shouldnt that have been your first week at work?", you are correct.
there are two other interns who started today, so my orientation was on hold till they
arrived... so i am now oriented with all three of my buildings!

How beautiful the radiant bride
who waits for her groom with His light in her eyes
how beautiful when humble hearts give
the fruit of pure lives so that others may live.

   delving into more background training for my research in the afternoon, my
supervisor said i could leave when i finished... so i ended up on the bus earlier than
usual, hitting a packed bus. i literally stepped on the bus and wondered where i could
hold on! as the bus driver kept stopping, i shifted further back. at one point an elderly
lady offered me the empty seat beside her. denying her a few times, her persistence
got me to sit down beside her. as i sat there, we both had a "lets make a comment"
moment. at the same time, i complimented her bag and she commented on the great
weather. it was obvious a conversation between us was meant to be.

How beautiful the feet that bring
the sound of good news and the love of the King.
How beautiful the hands that serve
the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.

   as i sat there talking to this lady, i was awed with how quickly i respected her. she
mistook me for a high schooler (whats new?!) but somehow turned it into a
compliment in how my personality keeps meyoung-looking. as i went on to explain
briefly my social work background, i could tell she was truly soaking in my words
and her compliments where overflowing. refocusing the attention, i asked her about
herself and found a lady who wasnt afraid to be completely real. every part of her
beamed with the love of Christ. she boldly (yet respectfully) stated her faith at one
point, but there was no doubt of her faith from the very beginning. in everything she
did, she praised the Lord. to have such a faith that it's revealed in every sentence
coming out of your mouth! to have such the boldness to say "what is your name? i
ask because i will be lifting up your name in prayer tonight that God may bless you
and his countenance be upon you"

How beautiful,          
how beautiful,          
how beautiful
is the body of Christ.

   in a few weeks i will be playing guitar for my friends' wedding and while practicing
tonight, i was reminded of this song "how beautiful" by twila paris. how beautiful is
this body of Christ! how beautiful is this angel that blessed me today on a pittsburgh
city bus, of all places! how beautiful are the little reminders that God is ALIVE and
screaming LOVE at US! if we could just be so bold to announce it as well! 
how beautiful...

reviewing to research

i completed my first week of work! some of my housemates had a bad week, some had good, and i would say mine was average.

basically, what i thought i would be doing is not actually what i am doing... not a big deal! turns out i am still working in the social work arena but with a fresh new direction. i will be researching homeless women in the big city in relation to mental health and HIV/AIDS. oddly exciting/interesting! The project is spearheaded by a university and then being researched in three big cities across the country. i and two co-workers will be interviewing women for the next few months- crazy! thankfully i had to take a research class senior year in college for social work and with my social work knowledge, i understand the population as well= so i am not worried at all about jumping into this project! now i just need to build up the stamina to survey!

on another note, i bought my first jersey today... being from a penn state family, i feel oddly traitorous not getting a PSU one, but when you live in pittsburgh you must root for the stealers, dress every week in a jersey, and schedule your life around the games (that last one won't happen).. go stealers!
ps. sorry to my friends and boyfriend who are OSU/Browns fans.. i will always root for PA teams over any OH teams, despite the fact i lived in ohio for four years. lol bring on the competition! :)

leverage learning

in order to be able to claim pittsburgh more as our own, the PULSErs were given a task the other day: we each had a topic to pursue... here are the highlights

History

1754 first british outpost here

1761 coal mining starts

Jonny appleseed moved here

1820 PA turnpike

1825 fire destroys most of city

1933 pitt stealers form

1936 big flood

Demographics

2006 -312,819

25% of pop below 18

16.4% of pop over 65

Government

Luke R. – youngest mayor- became major at 26: improved city out of bankruptcy to blooming

District 7

311 response line- ask questions for non-emergency

Economics

Unemployment Rate – 8% (national = 10%)

Countries’ largest inland port (50 million tons of cargo per year)

½ of city disappeared with steel industry depleting but University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Carnegie Mellon helped Pitt stay alive

Education

81% over age 25 have high school education

Number of college students is above state average

11 colleges in city including one for mortuary science

Public teachers well paid- rank 17^th for cities

Great library system, nationally noted

Pittsburgh promise – anyone who graduates high school and meet some criteria, will be given $5000 grant for a PA college

Arts/Culture

Large history of Jazz/Bluegrass music

Strong history of African-Am in all forms of arts/culture

Radical Days – free days to attend places like museums

"The terrible towel"

No professional basketball team though it had one when NBA started

Baseball use to be big, main attraction

more great info on wiki

Spirituality

Catholics

Presbyterians

Lutheran

Methodist

1 Mennonite church

Several young adult ministries

Safety/Transportation (site i found them)

Bureau of Building Inspection (BBI)
Pittsburgh EMS -recognized across the world as a leader in prehospital emergency care. Including::
*two Pierce Arrow XT Heavy-duty Rescue Trucks (wide variety of technical rescue equipment)
*MCU-1, a Mass Casualty Response Truck
*SCUBA/River Rescue Truck
*Structural Collapse – Confined Space Rescue Truck
*Haz-Mat-1, a Hazardous Material Response Truck
*Multiple River Rescue Craft for both surface and dive rescue operations
*motorcycle response unit
*bicycle medic unit

Fire -4 districts, 29 stations

Police -one of the safest cities in America, 900 sworn law enforcement

Crossing Guard -Residents can request a school crossing guard at any neighborhood intersection

Informational

Transportation -(website) for current traffic conditions

Obviously my task was the safety/transportation section. ironically i failed miserably transporting myself today. I went for a "test run" on my bus route to where i will be starting my job tomorrow... and 2 1/2 hrs later i finally figured it out... lets just say a combo of miscommunication, labor day holiday hours, labor day parade, and "smart thinking" on my end created a recipe for failure. but in the end, i did (i think!) figure out my stop and will be trying it out tomorrow... pray for me! well for that and for the fact that i have almost NO IDEA what to expect! i hate first days of work! and so it begins...

adding an address...

something i failed to mention is my address! because i know you'll want to send me mail or visit! ;)

Abbi Stern
5615 Stanton Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

also find out about the PULSE program via the website or facebook

and i havent talked yet about my placement (where i will be serving for a year) because i dont start till tuesday, but if you want to check it out on your own, go here (Bethlehem Haven)

passion in pittsburgh

if you truly want to understand where i am living, research it! this is what we are doing right now in order to understand the community that we just dropped into. if you hate wiki, get over it. :D the wiki info on the neighborhood is actually quite accurate (go see it at wiki!)

yesterday we finally hit paperwork (i say finally, it was only the second day but i think we were all relieved to hit this stuff just because we could better grasp the program) and understood our house finances for the year. then we mostly got teasers about more stuff we would learn in this orientation week... so theres nothing really here to report

today was the crazy interesting day. we met with East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI). This organization is doing great work looking into East Liberty and finding ways to bring it back. Before i go on, here is a picture of the neighborhoods because in order to understand where i live, you have to understand pittsburgh is known for its neighborhood divisions. i live in the (north) eastern side on the border of highland park and east liberty...
ok, so now that you can picture it, now you need to know this: look at east liberty as a weird place to live. if you made a line going from bottom to top (through it), you find richer neighborhoods. if you go left to right (through it), you find poorer neighborhoods. so being in east liberty itself, you can imagine the strangeness of both worlds colliding. if you read the handy-dandy history from wiki, you would know that east liberty use to be a rich neighborhood. in the 50s/60s when the steal industry depletes, jobs go under. then the big mall idea happens and people like the suburban shopping feel. so the government, thinking they are smart, worries about this prosperous neighborhood going under since it suddenly had many unemployed and its main attraction was small businesses. Unfortunately the government got it wrong-- instead of riding out the depression that was happening all over (not just there), they decided to try making East Liberty--- a huge urban booming commerce--- into a "suburban feel" shopping place. aka. they demolished some buildings for parking lots, made a thoroughfare that goes only one way around the center of the center of enterprise, and shut of the two main crossroads so that one had to walk around the main blocks to shop. Well this failed miserably, displaced home owners, killed business owners, and turned an upper neighborhood into the worst neighborhood in pittsburgh.

so this is what we learned about today. ever since the 50s/60s disaster, there have been attempts to bring back this part of pittsburgh. East Liberty Development, Inc. is one of the main enterprises attempting. Things didnt start off so well, but by the 90s, the current director took over and has made significant changes in East Liberty. The main goal is not to put things back to how they were. Instead, its to be in connection with every part of the community now (business owners, clergy, home owners, environmentalists, etc.) and see how they want THEIR community to be restored. Alongside this, they are using creative ways to bring back commerce into the neighborhood. As East liberty borders Shadyside, a crazy awesome revenue place, the best option for moving forward has been creating the shopping district alongside that border. Home Depot, Borders, Starbucks, Fedex, Verizon, Whole Foods, and soon Target all are starting to bring shoppers back into East Liberty now. With this impressive step, the one way thoroughfare is being converted to a two way road and small businesses are attempting to come back to life.

can you see how excited i am? (if not, i am! i could tell you this in more detail!) you can live in a place but never truly understand it until you know its history. i think that's one reason i loved where i lived in ireland because i was learning about it while i lived in it. but back to pitt, its so easy to walk/drive around East Liberty and judge it. now learning these things, not only can i see its thick history, but i can also see its potential.

ok ok so a few more things. lunch was a treat today at an ethiopian resturant (so good!!!!!!), and then we got acquainted with the union project (great organization creating essentially a community center for many opportunities to happen). finally we did a service project with G Tech, an organization that exists to work on vacant lots (hundreds around this area). they do more so nature work than house work (aka. no house improvements, instead a piece of bad soil is turned into a sunflower garden which pulls metals out of the soil and then nurtures the soil).

Not to mention all the great group bonding thats been happening! (like our trip to a shady walmart). Thanks for making it through this long one! i hope you learned something that was interesting! all is good here and im really feeling passionate for this part of PA all of a sudden-- and i'm excited to see how God is going to move this year! As always, stay tuned!