Orientation Week

I cannot believe how fast this week has gone and how it is already our last full day together at orientation. The week flew by so fast that this post will have to encompass all of the things I learned and experienced here at Stony Point with my fellow YAVs.

view of the Hudson River after taking a walk near Stony Point center.

The first thing I loved about Stony Point is the food. The community that lives and works here make all the food from the produce in the gardens that they have. The vegetables are juicy and bright colored and the amount of different salads I have had this week have blown me away. So thank you to the kitchen staff and farmers of Stony Point for giving us delicious meals; I will be missing the fresh ripe vegetables in Scotland.

a view of the Stony Point grounds

We learned a lot of things this week while sitting for hours in the auditorium. Although the room made me somewhat sleepy and antsy, the many things we learned and listened to while in the room amazed me. We discussed cultural competency and acknowledging the biases we have. We became uncomfortable and talked about how to always be aware of the center vs. the borderlands and how we can avoid jumping back and forth. As a group, the Scotland roommates and I decided that we plan to constantly remind ourselves to stay uncomfortable with our biases so that we are always aware of them and trying to change them.

We also learned about sexual misconduct and how to deal with sexual harassment situations. We learned methods to pray and take care of ourselves during our trying times of the year. We also were able to study personality tests and talk with our site groups about how we live, and the needs and things that make us tick in a living situation.

We heard multiple phenomenal speakers that all shared important lessons for the year ahead and we worshipped together. But my favorite part of all the learning was when we were able to go into the city and see different communities. We split up into 4 large groups and all went to different places. One group got to experience a mosque, one a Gurdwara where sikhism is practiced, one the United Nations, and my group went and visited Broadway Presbyterian Church.

a peaceful spot to pray

Broadway Presbyterian is right next to Columbia University in New York and it was a beautiful church. It had a few different levels and my favorite part about it is that it has a 4 star soup kitchen. The soup kitchen is set up like a restaurant. The guests come in and are greeted and seated. They are given menus to choose what they would like to eat for breakfast or lunch and then the volunteers actually serve them at the table. The pastor explained to us that they serve their guests with dignity because even though these people they serve might not have enough money to buy food or might not have places to live they still deserve to be treated as equals and treated with dignity and grace. It was wonderful to spend time at the church, hear some stories, and we were even able to help by painting and cleaning the room so that next time the guests eat they will be eating on clean tables and surrounded by nicely painted walls.

Here are some pictures of new people I have met!

selfies that happen when you leave your phone charging in someone else's room

my small group! The Manateam

So as you have read if you are still with me, that this week was filled with learning, new experiences, many many new friends, and uncomfortable realizations. This is just the beginning of what my year is going to look like. I have been so blessed to be here this week and I am so excited to leave tomorrow for Glasgow. I will try and make the posts shorter but I wanted to share everything this week!

Blessings,
Julie