I’m not gonna lie, blog updates are hard…and I’ve got so much to say.

I think one of the biggest hurdles for me with updating this blog is that I have so many ideas to write about that I get very overwhelmed, and then just put it off. This is a terrible way for me to establish any goals. I think I’ve got to narrow things down. Honestly, I’m great at being proactive and getting things done, but MUST have a specific structure in front of me in order to proceed. I procrastinate when I’m overwhelmed with a boat-load of tasks and have to make a list so I can visually enumerate each item and formulate the best way to tackle them. This leads me to my list of blog-specific goals, which will really be quite simple. I am going to require myself to write 3 entries a week and they will focus (perhaps loosely) on the following 3 topics:

• One new recipe- I have so many pictures on my computer of recipes I’ve tried, created, and altered that I’ve got to throw back into the food blog world.
• One analytical post- I’m leaving myself lots of room to budge on this one, but this is basically to get myself back into academic writing. These posts can be about food, international relations, policy, something. I’ve encountered plenty of blogworthy topics during work. I think this will also include work events, but the post will delve deeper and require research.
• One life adventures post- This idea relies on the premise that there are exciting things happening in my life so this almost implies two goals. I suppose this will also allow me to take the time to recognize exactly what else my life consists of besides work.  With how busy things have gotten recently, I think I’ll be able to fulfill this once-a-week quota.

Another overall aspect of this resolve is to be more engaged in the food/healthy living blog world. If I can take the time (and sometimes even my job’s time) to gawk at recipes and use then, then I should show my appreciation. There is an incredible sense of support (whether it be technologically reinforced or not) through blogging that could be beneficial to my journey as well. As reminded by one of my good friends, Kori, it is not always necessary to blog about every single thing going on. This is my blog after all and I can set my own posting norms. (Thanks for that reminder, Kori!)

Well at least I have one point down for this week: analytical post check!

Right now, I’d like to go into a little life update…

I have recently started teaching Citizenship classes at the library near my work through the King County Library System. Many of the students have a high English proficiency and are from very different parts of the world than the clients I currently work with. Teaching is not something I plan on pursuing as a career, but I really do enjoy teaching in an ESL atmosphere and can never get enough cross-cultural interaction! With this position, I’ll get to design lesson plans and activities and help the students practice for their interview and complete the naturalization process. This will also include teaching the 100 questions of the civics portion, which I’m extra excited about because I lovelovelove social studies! I also love the idea that the students have a definite end goal and I may get to witness their HUGE accomplishment.

After seeing others in the blogworld (live Jenna at EatLiveRun) strike deals with yoga studios to get discounted/free classes by working there a few hours a week, I realized that that would be a perfect option for my low-income lifestyle. In the 9 months I’ve lived in Seattle, I various yoga studios both in my area and farther North in Seattle. Most were located in a difficult location or just have the welcoming atmosphere that I grew accustomed to at my old yoga studio in Athens, GA. I recently found a studio near my apartment that just opened here. I purchased an introductory special and after speaking to one of the owners found myself really wanting this to be my new yoga home. Yoga has become such an integral part of my life lately and when I take breaks, my body feels really off. After one of my first few classes, I spoke to the owner about the possibility of doing a work-study program. After a brief application process, I am now apart of the Maya family! I work a few hours a week at the front desk and am granted as many class hours as I work. This has been an amazing deal so far and not only have I been able to make my yoga practice consistent, but I’ve also met a few very beautiful people. I really appreciate the loving atmosphere of the studio and am beginning to feel a little attachment to Renton (which I have been so excited to move away from closer to the city).

Another issue that I’ve recently become aware of through events in Seattle is human trafficking. After attending a few lectures at the Seattle Public Library and a Seattle Against Slavery meeting, I realized just how big human trafficking is becoming; both as an international and domestic human rights abuse. Here is a link to a very imformative segment on human trafficking in Washington on my favorite local radio station. Modern day slavery is not only occuring in mass amounts all over the world, but there are many instances occuring in Washington and all over the US. Last weekend, I attended the Freedom Initiative’s Unbound Conference. As a way to educate and mobilize the local community, university students and organization’s representatives held the second annual conference. It was an amazing experience and I took so much knowledge away with me. This is definitely an issue I plan to continue to advocate against and get more involved with organizations combatting human trafficking.

What surprised me most about this problem was actually how often prostitution is included as a human trafficking crime. Did you know that forced prostitution is a form of human trafficking even if the victims aren’t foreign nationals? Many sources indicate that human trafficking must involve the use of Force, Fraud, and Coercion, however if it involves the sexual abuse of a minor, these standards do not have to be met. This means that modern day slavery is happening on many “tracks” (parts of a street in which a girl works) all around the country. Women and girls involved in prostitution often don’t face the freedom to choose whether they are involved and may be forced into their position by males in their lives. Unfortunately, the normalized perception of the “Pretty Woman” in prostitution does not exist. Simply put, women in prostitution face much harsher realities than we realize. Modern day slavery exists and we allow it to continue.

In other news, I recently celebrated the Karenni New Year with a few clients and the Karenni community (from Burma) in Seattle. Think dancing, food, and singing- what every great holiday should consist of. Because I happened to have an introductory meeting with a family mentor and her family, I was able to go with the family to the event. I was even given traditional Karenni garb for a New Year’s gift! I’m so in love with the refugee communities in Seattle.

Karenni New Year

In other refugee news, students from the University of Washington put together a 3 day symposium called Boundaries, Borders, and Belongings: Stories of Migration. One of our Iraqi clients will be speaking at the Friday night refugee focused event and I’ll be presenting at the Opportunities Fair on Saturday. I love the community awareness of refugee issues present at UW and other Seattle universities. I definitely wish there was more refugee/immigrant awareness where I went to school!

I’m excited to be go and meet lots of potential volunteers, but am so ready to have a free weekend. I work at the yoga studio on Sundays, but every Saturday for the past few weeks, I’ve had some kind of conference, volunteer fair, or work meeting to go to, and I’m ready for a break! I need time to go for longer runs and enjoy a bike ride at some point. This week, I’m planning on going on a group run through a running store. (SCARRYYYY) It will be good considering my roommate and I have been looking into doing the Anacortes Half-Marathon at the end of July. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Here are a few pictures from a visit with my friend, Matthieu, who came to visit on his way back home to France after working in Whistler for the Olympics! We headed to the Skagit County Tulip Festival and had a lovely time hiking around  around parks in Anacortes and Seattle.

Tulip Fields!

Deception Pass

Deception Pass Bridge- which we climbed under

At Anacortes

Watching the sunset at Anacortes- Canada is in the distance!

Well I think it’s time to let you go since this is getting quite long. Thanks for reading this far!