Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fall is here!




Finally! The cold weather is setting in and it's really beautiful here in Nashville. It's been perfect, and all I've needed is a light jacket to help me enjoy all of these bright and sunny days.

The down side to this cold, is how busy RITI is becoming. It's been packed, and it's very obvious that the population is starting to grow day by day. I'm looking forward to less down time, but with all of the stories I've heard about the winter, I'm sure I'll be quick to changing my mind.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to go to three of Nashville's more famous venues. Friday night, I went with a few roommates to the Bridgestone Arena. Although the music was only slightly impressive, the sheer volume and sound was enough to entertain anybody. Saturday night was karaoke night, and I joined three other roommates in singing "Don't Stop Believing" on stage at Lonnie's, in printers alley. But I must say that Sunday night was the best of all. Kyle, Allison, her friend Ginny who was in town, and I all headed to the famous Bluebird cafe. Scoping out seats an hour in advanced was more of a challenge than I thought it would be, but was well worth it. We saw a small blues group called the Brian Ashley Jones trio. It was by far in my top five of best concerts I had ever been to! And what made it even better, was that it was free!

So, all in all, I'm really enjoying Nashville. I've got a lot of work ahead of me, but I can tell that there will be so much fun in between all of it. I really miss North Carolina, but it's hard to be caught up in my homesickness with all the great things there are to do here in Nashville, TN.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Whew! I've been so busy these past few weeks. Room in the Inn really has me working hard. So far I can't complain, because I've been falling in love with Nashville and with my job more and more as the time flies by.  I played my first few rounds of chest (won 2 out of 3!), I got a bonsai tree, and I've been really looking forward to getting more involved in Second Pres.

I've started to build relationships with many of the participants at RITI. I've learned people's names, and I seem to be getting a great deal of respect from those I help daily. I've loved being on a first name basis- and even more so, being friends- with the people that I thought would be so distant when I first arrived. My expectations of hierarchy between participants and staff members have been broken down, and some days I feel that I fit in more with the men and women that attend RITI than the staff members I work with. I've had a hard time learning to tell people no and telling people I can't help. Being stern and authoritative has never been my forte, I'm very much of a pushover. As the month has gone by, this has been my biggest obstacle, and I'm slowly but surely learning that I can't solve everyone's problems.

I got a bonsai tree this past Monday. It's the closest thing I'll have to a pet this year, although it's a lot more tranquil and much easier to house train! It's an eight inch tall ficus tree that I bought at a wonderful little place in town called "Little Tree". I've trimmed it already, and the new leaves are already sprouting beautifully! It's a good project that I can have to work on when I come home from a fast and demanding day of work.

Worship at Second Presbyterian ever Sunday has been absolutely wonderful! I finally have a family I've been paired with (every YAV has a "host family" that they are paired with at the beginning of the year). I'll meet the McClures this Sunday, and I am really looking forward to it. There's been word that a leader for the youth band is needed, and with a little bit of discussion, it seems like this position could be in my future. I don't want to promise anything, but I'd really enjoy the chance, so fingers crossed!