Gallivanting In DC

This post will be a bit nonsensical and totally unrelated to anything AmeriCorps, service and/or Pittsburgh.  That is because I got to spend some QT with my first and true city love, DC.  What made it better was that I got to spend some time on a bike.

As most of you who live on the East Coast know we got hit by a freak snow storm on Saturday afternoon.  With my roommates still in bed (my internal clock now wakes me promptly at 7:30 every morning for better or worse) I decided what better way to continue my mini-vacation than to take a trip down the road to Big Bear Cafe for a lox bagel.  I have yet to find a decent bagel since I have gotten to PGH, let alone a place that would serve me up a NYC brunch favorite.  What better way to start a Saturday than with a cup of coffee, said lox bagel and my latest book, The Life You Can Save. 

Alex graciously allowed me to borrow Mr. Reinold Featherbottom III Sunday morning for a quick spin to Eastern Market - a much loved area of DC.  They have lots of amazing row houses and sculpture work like this woman below.  How cool is that with the shadow of the statue on the house?

Most of the vendors were setting up shop when I arrived at 8:30 (I forgot that they officially open until 10) so I decided to head down to my very first SECRET coffee shop in DC.  Now for those of you who do not know of my love of secret coffee shops it all started my sophomore year.  While I enjoyed doing work in the Gelman Starbucks, I was always running into people and of course would get to talking.  Before I knew it an hour would pass and I would be no closer to finishing a paper or accomplishing any kind of studying.  As a result it was imperative to find a secret coffee shop.  Thankfully I was given a GORGEOUS Bianchi and was able to make the commute to Eastern Market and my secret coffee shop with relative ease.  Anyway I had to abandon Peregrine because this little coffee shop grew in popularity and there were days that I would treck all the way out to discover that there was no room to work.

Anywhoo - I stopped by for a skim mocha (delish) and was totally and completely impressed with my morning's latte art.  This hands down was the best one I had ever seen and thus its picture made it into today's posting.

Final stop on the tour ...

A quick trip to the Bloomingdale Farmers Market who even took my EBT card!  

Monster Mash!

This past weekend all of the ghouls and goblins were out celebrating Halloween.  My dear FLAVE roommates decided to throw a Haunted Hospital Halloween Housewarming party on Friday.  I of course could not pass up the opportunity to pull off a second surprise visit this month!

While Alex and Todd assumed that I would be in attendance, there were some VERY surprised faces as people began to arrive.

The FLAVE household was reunited again

 

And a pregnant Rachel Zoe was also in attendance!

 Official Winner of the Unofficial Creative Costume Award

Can You Survive on $9 an Hour a Day?

After the economic downfall a few years ago, families and individuals have had to cut back on their spending.  Sadly many people have lost their steady source of income and more people than ever are relying on food banks and governmental programs to help them get by.

So what about you?  Have you been one of those people who have had to cut back or start start working a job that pays minimum wage because that was the only way you could pay your rent?  Maybe you have heard stories of friends and families who have been been going through a similar situation.  

For those of you who have been fortunate to be spared, now is your change to see what it is like to live on $8-9 an hour salary.  McKinney and Urban Ministries put together an interactive game to allow people, from the comfort of their home, to make the tough, real life decisions that many Americans face on a daily basis; 14 million Americans are currently unemployed.  

I challenge you to try the game and see what decisions you would make living on minimum wage.  What is interesting are the moral dilemmas which develop throughout the game.  Good luck!  Let us know how you make out!

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

On Friday all of the Health Corps members headed over to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to get our service on!! 

I snuck a picture of the floor before we were whisked away to the volunteer room and told we had to put all phones and cameras away.  The space was AMAZING and definitely was a step up from the Capital Area Food Bank where I sent many GW volunteers.   

Our task was to stuff food boxes for their senior programs.  After three hours we had completed 1400+ boxes; they will be sent out this coming week to low income seniors around Allegheny County.

In true AmeriCorps style We Got Things Done!!

Happy Food Day!

Today marks the first (annual?) Food Day!

I realize that I am getting this up a bit late, but there is still time to get involved either today or in the coming ones.  The overall goal is to raise awareness for healthy and affordable food which is produced in a sustainable and humane way.  CSPI has been working to create awareness, both in homes and in the state/federal government, not only about the importance of a healthy diet, but the impact that food policy has on people's eating decisions. 

You can click here to learn a bit more about the 6 Major Food Principles.  But for those of you who want the quick and dirty they are listed below.

While all six are great, I of course am partial to number 5 (hello undergrad thesis, we meet again)!

Anyway give their website a perusal (yes in fact a real world) and consider asking your members of congress to support the Eat Real agenda.  

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Rough translation: What matters is what something is, not what it is called.

Now why might I be quoting old William?  Well when trying to come up with a creative name for my food stamp debacle this quote popped into my head.

The term food stamps was phased out in 2009 after a series of changes were made to the program; in its place came the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP program.  The federal government also decided to move away from the term 'food stamps' because of its negative social connotations.  While you can get a full history of the changes made to the program on the SNAP website, the NY Times has a pretty good run down in their subjects section. 

Now we all know when I took this service position one of the major selling points, besides the fact that I would be doing some good in the world, was that I was going to be getting food stamps.  While I say that in jest, it will be a huge help in supplementing the meager living stipend we are given.

Let me outline how my food stamp experience went:

• Sent in paperwork on September 12
• Received a letter about emergency food stamps two weeks later and told to ignore it
• Two weeks after that I got another letter for my interview
• Interview day came and went and I had no interview
• The following day I called the office where as bumped around to several different departments.  Apparently I was supposed to have the interview for emergency food stamps.  Because they could not find my file they told me that the easiest way to get this sorted would be to go to the welfare office
• I drove down later that afternoon and was told by an employee that I had been approved the day before
• 5 days later I received a letter saying that I had been approved for the maximum amount of food stamps ($200)
• The next day I received a letter saying that I had been denied
• Three days later I received my EBT card

In between there were several calls to the welfare office, Just Harvest and to my fellow Corps members. 

I will say that this was an extremely interesting experience and one I hope that none of you will have to go through in the coming months and years.  As I discussed with some colleagues from work, this was an experience that helped to make me more aware of what our clients have to go through.  I am sure that my experience was not as bad as it could have been, but it sure was not a cake walk (especially compared to some of the stories I have heard from clients).  I did have some things working in my favor:

• I was hooked up with an organization that helped me to figure out what paperwork I needed to file
• I had access to a phone during work hours to be able to speak with my Just Harvest case manager and the welfare office; I also have access and the wherewithal to access the internet to find the answers to my questions
• My work schedule allowed me to go down to the welfare office in the middle of the day I had TRANSPORTATION to get me there in a timely fashion
• If any of the above bullet points did not exist, there could still be the possibility that not only would I
• Not have food stamps, I could very well be lost in the system, especially if I did not have a case manager advocating for me.  If I didn’t speak English this could also be a VERY different story.
• Probably MOST IMPORTANTLY I had money to buy groceries until my EBT card came.

Apparently the PA system is much easier to navigate compared to other near by states.  Over the past few years they have eliminated a lot of the paperwork, went to an online system and simplified the overall process.  On one hand I am glad to see that the system has gone digital, but it also made me think about the digital divide.  I would not consider myself to be the most computer literate person walking around, but I have the skills and language to get myself around the website.  Things would be much different if I was ESL and/or someone who did not have a great deal of experience with computers. 

APPLE PICKING!!

As we all know I am a HUGE fan of fall ... the leaves, the cool weather and one of the best parts APPLE (and pumpkin) picking.  Today some of the PCH'ers went apple picking.  The good news about this is that you can now start to put names with faces.   

 Sarah

Maria - My right hand AmeriCorps Member at HCH

 The website lead on that you could actually climb these trees.  I would say from the looks of things that would be near impossible unless you were still in lower school. 

Throughout the farm they had some great pumpkin people, complete with backdrops.

As with any apple/pumpkin picking experience, there are always homemade doughnuts and cider.  If only I had enough hands to hold said doughnut, give a thumbs up and take a picture. 

Need a Good Giggle?

Burger King Billboard Gets Diabetes Graffiti

 

First Health Education!

So as the week go by I am starting to get into the groove and have begun to map out the next few months.  One of the biggest components to that is integrating health education into the different clinics.  Maria (my superstar AmeriCorps counterpart) and I have decided to put our heads together and will be educating on the same topics around the same time to create some continuity.

First topic up: The Flu.  We decided that this would be a great place to start up because we could tie it into the flu vaccinations we are trying to give out at the clinics.  It all comes back to numbers here people - that is what the government and private funders like to see.  The flu season runs from October-ish  until as late as May.  Because we work with some of the most vulnerable populations it is important to get them vaccinated as soon as possible so they can build up an immunity (it takes two weeks) before the worst of the flu season (January/February) hits.  

Here are some of the hot topics we touched upon:

• The flu virus contains three strains and changes every year (that is why you need to get vaccinated every year)
• Discussion of common symptoms: fever/chils, muscle aches, sore throat, etc. 
• People who are allergic to eggs CANNOT get the vaccine.  When the vaccines are created the virus (the flu is a virus, not a bacteria hence there being no cure) is grown in an egg and takes on some of its protein for survival.
• The shot contains a killed virus and the nasal spray a partially killed virus. 
• High risk people who should get a shot: kids over the age of 6 months, people with asthma, diabetes, congenital heart disease, pregnant women*

For more of the fascinating details check out the CDC's website.  

After comparing the pre and post test data I can successfully say that the class had some impact with everyone's scores improving or staying the same.  I would love to go back and test the same people to see if they had any retention, but sadly this is not an option because not all the same people show up at the drop in center.  

*  I recently found out that pregnant women have a decreased immunity so their body does not reject/attach the fetus.  As a result it can put them at an increased susceptibility for things like the flu.

You Keep With Health News?

For all the public health students out there, if I was to start a discussion on Unnatural Causes it would probably get the old coggs working and take you back to any Intro class you had to sit through.  For those of you not in the know, this seven part movie series on the racial and SES inequalieies of the health system in the United States.

One of the best was In Sickness and In Wealth.  It tracks the lives and health stats of three employees working in the same hospital in Louisville, KY.  You see first hand how different incomes, stress levels and home environments outcome the health of each person. 

Want to test your health knowledge, or learn a bit more, check out their Health Equity Quiz.  If you want to cheat a little bit, you can find the answers here.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Here goes nothing!  I figured the easiest way to do this would be for people to use the comments section at the bottom.  I will get us started with some thoughts and questions and then we can go from there. 

Feel free to pull out your favorite quotes, use this forum as a rant and rave, anything goes.  I know that some of you have been having some issues using the comments section so here is a quick fix:

 

• Next to the comments box there is a drop down box - click on that
• Most of you use gmail so click the google version
• If you use/have used blogspot before you can log on with your normal gmail name and password
• If you have not used blogspot you can register (no worries you do not have to start up your own blog)
• You should now be able to log on and start posting
• If you CANNOT get your posts to work, email them to me and I can post them on your behalf!

As I continue to meet people in the field, especially those who work with vulnerable populations one of the big themes that seems to be ever present is cultural compliance; I know as an AmeriCorps member I listened to several speakers during my orientation and we discussed how learning the language of your client is only half of the equation.  

I enjoyed that Francesca Farr used the term cultural broker.  With this term she looked at the interpreter as an individual.  Not only was an understanding of the Hmong language vital, but also, and in some instances, it was important for them to know about the  Hmong culture.  The integration of indigenous medicine with Western medicine reminded me of the work that is being done at La Clinica del Pueblo in DC.   Not only do they have PCPs, they also have pharmacists and staff who are well versed with a variety of cultures from South America.  By talking about various traditions and medicines, the PCP can make sure that the patient is getting the best possible care and make sure that the two are not working against each other. 

Throughout the book my heart really went out to the family.  I could not imagine what it would be like to be dropped in a foreign country, not knowing the language, and having no idea what was going on with my sick child.  There was definitely a lack of communication and understanding between the two parties which was having a negative impact on Lia's health.  Do I think the parents are totally to blame here with the "non-compliance" of her medical treatment?  Absolutely not.  If there were more resources and/or an understanding of the importance of their traditional healing methods alternatives could be found. 

Another thing that struck me was that one of their daughters was doing a majority of the translating between the family and the doctors/social workers. 

"after Jeanine left, Foua and Nao Kao were able to ask May [their daughter], as often as necessary, 'Explain what Jenny said again.'"

Unfortunately this is an all too common reality for many families, especially if they have just immigrated. 

One of the most profound quotes for me in the book was Neil:

The author asked "Do you wish you had never met Lia?"

"Oh, no, no no.  Once I might have said yes, but not in retrospect.  Lia taught me that when there is a very dense cultural barrier, you do the best you can, and if something happens despite that you have to be satisfied with little success instead of total success.  You have to give up total control.  That is very hard for me, but I do try.  I think Lia made me into a less rigid person."

One last thought is that I HATE the metaphor of a Melting Pot.  Back in high school I was on the Forensics Team (think speech and debate NOT dead bodies).  During my junior year I was competing in Original Oratory, a category where students write a 10 minute speech on a topic of their choice, memorize it, and deliver it to the other orators in their round.  One girl spoke about having parents who immigrated to the US.  She told us to picture the metaphor of the US being a melting pot for but a moment.  If we were to add all these different cultures or colors and stir them up, they would become a murky color.  Instead she asked us to picture a stained glass window, where each culture/person was a color.  When all the colors come together they do not make a sludge, but instead make a brilliant design or picture.  Each section can be appreciated for its own beauty, and even more so when the whole piece is taken into account.  AMAZING!!

 A Chagall piece for your viewing pleasure - I think it helps bring the point home

Some questions for the audience:

1. How did you feel about the Lees' refusal to give Lia her medicine?  Can you understand their motivation?  Do you sympathize with it?
2. Was taking Lia away from her parents the right decision?
3. What were your major themes/takeaways from the book?

Please Point Me In The Direction Of The Nearest Spinning Class

This morning the fam and I had one final hurrah before Elise had run to an exam and Memere and Granddad had to head off to Boston to catch their flight home.

The first stop Magnolia Bistro.  As you can all tell from my blackberry photo, they were VT's first certified green restaurant.  How fancy right?  The food was AMAZING - I started the day off with pumpkin bread french toast.  After a piece and a half I was sufficiently stuffed and have packed the remaining bit in my carry on for breakfast tomorrow!  I even have  VT syrup in my cupboard to make the experience legit.

And this dear reader, is the point at which everything started going down hill.  Being the conscientious person and credit card holder, I decided to pay my bill a few days early.  You could imagine my shock when my account was overdrawn by several hundred dollars.  It turns out someone decided to go on a shopping spree with my debit card - no es bueno.  An hour and three customer service reps I was in need of a drink!!

Thank goodness we decided to take a tour of the Magic Hat brewery. As you can see all that stress melted away once I had my picture taken in front of one of their traveling vans!

Because it was a Monday, we were on the self guided tour.  As soon as you started climbing the stairs, you could hear the rattling of the beers on the line.  The whole thing was pretty cool and we got to see everything from start to finish.

The empty bottles are put on the line and come to the first machine that fills them with the beer of the day and later caps them.

The bottles then move down the line to where the labels are glued to the bottle. 

All the while the shipping boxes are assembled.

After the grand tour (the parentals were excited to see them bottling beer this time) you are invited to go down stairs and give some things a try.  There is a long bar and were probably about ten beers to try including their fall and winter seasonal beers.  My favorite was the fall seasonal beer, HEX; sadly production is winding down to get ready for the darker, heavier winter ones.

I learned some great things about this company including 1) they have some of the best names for their employees  2)  they are a socially responsible beer (this does not surprise me all that much)  3)  they are a huge supporter of the Women's Rape Crisis Center here in Burlington!  I am swooning left and right here people.  The company basically has captured my business from now until the time!!

We grabbed lunch and wandered around Church Street.  The final stop was Lake Champlain chocolates where I picked up some delicious Aztec Hot Chocolate (think Mexican hot chocolate).  It will be perfect once the cold weather hits PGH!

And now my fellow readers, I must depart as they are calling for me to board my plane.  Burlington, it has been real and I think you made me gain five pounds!

Q:  What do you call a cow who just had a baby?

A:  Decafinated

THANK YOU FOLKS ... I WILL BE HERE ALL YEAR LONG

(or until mid July)

Leave Room for Dessert!

Need I say more?!?  

Hands down some of the best Tiramisu I have eaten.  Three of us shared because it was a bowl the size of my head.  While that is a bit of an exaggeration, it is not that far off.

 The Buzzard (yes that's her childhood nickname) ate some delicious profiteroles.  Granddad was very good and kept his spoon to himself. 

Cata - who?

So the real reason I am in VT is to surprise my sister.  Elise has actually decided to do work during her college tenure and is being inducted into The National Society of Collegiate Scholars tomorrow.  I was supposed to unveil myself this morning in a big "TA DA" moment, but as we all know loose lips sink ships.  She put on her best surprise face, lets just say she will not be taking home an Oscar any time soon!



For lunch we stopped by the Red Onion where we got some delicious sandwiches.  They roast their turkey every night and bake the bread in the morning.  They also had fresh hot cider. 





We spent the rest of the early afternoon wandering around Burlington (mostly by car)

As we walked into the ballroom for the induction ceremony I felt like I was entering a world of Chi Omega - filled with red and yellow, as well as white carnations.  The ceremony was short and sweet (the best kind) and I even snagged a picture of Elise taking her oath. 

Now for those of you not in the know, the Catamaran is their official mascot.  Sadly earlier this year, the Catamaran was put on the extinct list, but its legacy still lives on.  After the induction ceremony we decided to take a few moments out of our afternoon for a guerrilla photo shoot.

Ben and Jerry's ... Don't Mind If I Do!

Within moments of touching down in Burlington International Airport (I guess it is international because they do flights to Canada?) the parentals and I headed off to take the Official Ben and Jerry's Tour. 

We pulled up and to the factory and everyone and their mother was there!  As we walked to the entrance, let me tell you people Fall pretty much smacked me in the face.  Crisp breeze, leaves crunching under my feet, the smell of fall.  I guess you can take the girl out of New England, but you can’t take the New England out of the girl. 

See what I mean.  In the words of Ina Garten “How good does that look?”

Papadukes and I are now the Official, Unofficial New Faces of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Eat your hearts out!!  That pun was intentional. 

As we were waiting for our tour of the factory to begin, I went in search of the great Flavor Graveyard.  I walked up the path and stumbled upon said graveyard complete with headstones and everything.  They really should have played up the fall, haunted graveyard aspect, but that is for another day. 

People, it was a sad day when I came to discover that Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz was retired.  I also found it intriguing that there was a Woopie Pie flavor (these things have been popping up all over the place the last few weeks).  

Ben and Jerry's has lead the way in corporate responsibility; they currently work off three mission statements which focus on social, product and economic issues.  One of the bigger campaigns the company has recently taken on is in regards to GMOs.  Also they have decided that by 2013 all of their ingredients in their ice cream will be Fair Trade, meaning that not only are the ingredients produced in a sustainable fashion, the farmers and laborers of those ingredients are also treated fairly and paid a decent wage.

Both men are still active advocates for a variety of charities and social issues.  Ben Cohen can frequently be found on the Hill discussing the US Federal Budget through an exercise that utilizes Oreo Cookies.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about check out the quick and dirty video:

Click here for the video

How To Buy Organic On a Budget

Many of you dear readers (mainly those that receive a bi-weekly AmeriCorps stipend and/or are on a strict spending freeze) work off a weekly budget.  With the constant bombardment of eating healthier many of us on limited funds find it hard to balance nutritional value with getting the most bang for our buck. 

The Kitchn (one of my MOST FAVORITE BLOGS) recently posted an article with tips on how to buy organic on a budget.

Now most of you are probably thinking, "Emily, how are you planning on buying organic when you currently qualify for food stamps)."  Too true amigo (more on my food stamp debacle later on).  As the article has said I have tried to shop at my local farmers market and farmers stand; yes there is a difference.*  And the great thing is that several of these locations will actually take EBT!!  Another trick I picked up is that if you go right before the market ends, you can usually talk some of the prices down.  You might have to get a bit more creative with your meals, but it is definitely worth if.

I have also started to integrate more legumes into my diet to supplement some protein.  Buying and cooking in bulk has never been a problem.  The FLAVE household will attest to how I would freeze months worth of meals at at time. 

So after 6 weeks I can say that I have started to feel a lot better.  I can function bound out of bed in the morning and function without an large Americano or cup(s) of coffee.  Similarly I can attest that I do have more energy - all those food/exercise blogs actually know what they are talking about.  This will become exceedingly important as I rev up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May - Who's with me?!?!?!

Bottom line, if you are willing to put in some extra prep time, it looks like eating more healthfully is within our grasp.  Once and a while splurge on something crazy (grass fed beef? some artisan cheese).  Don't have a farmers market near by or have no clue what to buy and how to cook seasonally?  You should look into a CSA program.  Not only will you get a farm to door step delivery, but many times they will include recipes in your box of goodies.  Sadly I missed the window for the one here in PGH, but maybe something to look forward to in the spring!

The more careful we are now about what we eat, the fewer health complications (and more money) we will have in the long run.  Ok I will now hop off my soap box and make lunch for tomorrow.  Said PB&J and veggies and hummus will be carried in my super cool artichoke lunch box (thanks mamadukes!)

*Unlike Farmers' Markets where the farmer comes to the market to sell, an organization goes to the farmers and purchases produce and then delivers it to the Farmers Stand.