Hello spokes enthusiasts,
Long time, no see. We’ve been really busy the past few days so our blog schedule got messed up. Rest assured, we should be back to a normal schedule soon.
Things have been hectic since we were in Ely, Nevada the past few days. The experience was both exciting and surprising. It was our first time staying in an actual hotel this whole trip, which was nice because we’ve been doing a lot of camping lately.
In fact, we’ve been camping so much that my standards are rapidly lowering. Going into this trip I was adamant about always having access to flush toilets and running water in general. These days, I’m just happy not to have to shit in the woods—running water optional. That said, I still don’t trust spigot water. I’m personally a big fan of filtered water (if anyone wants to donate reverse osmosis water to the team let me know). Though, they might wear me out on this one if we keep camping (this is a cry for help).*
Us camping. Not seen: me in distress.
My camping woes aside, Ely was pretty cool. We had both a rest day and a teaching day here, totaling three (3!) nights in the same place!! Do you know how psychologically healing it was to return to the same place every day for three nights in a row after sleeping somewhere new every day for so long? The answer is a lot.
And that wasn’t even the best part. The kids we taught were amazing!! By far, this has been my favorite teaching site. The kids were so responsive and respectful.
This was also my first time teaching my sustainability workshop on rice. I was really worried about how it would turn out because I left too much til the last minute. Just a few nights ago, I was scrambling to air out my dyed rice for my rice mosaic activity. This, of course, prompted many jokes about how certain hungry teammates might eat my green rice for dinner. Between the amount of spam we (metaphorical we; I don’t eat spam) have eaten and my green rice, Dr. Seuss might have some competition.
And while the rice activity was fun, it wasn’t as fun as it was to watch everyone teach things they’re passionate about. I’m so excited to continue teaching across the country and watch as we all become better educators. It's one of the things I’m most excited about.
Teaching aside, Ely was an interesting place. The people we spoke to were hospitable and kind, but then we would see the n-word graffitied around town. We saw a total of three in our three days there, not counting the guy who yelled the n-word at Ethan. Having just stayed in a sundown town, I’ve gotta say I keep getting whiplash from the extreme kindness of people and the overt racism.
Also, on the topic of Ely, I feel the need to shout out Taproot Cafe. I had a very good blueberry açaí smoothie and met a cute dog there, so if you’re ever in town, make sure to stop by.
The dog in question.
That’s to say, all in all, Nevada has been an experience. And we survived it.
~ Kawther
*Since writing this, they’ve started drinking RIVER WATER.