We landed in San Fransisco late Saturday night and checked into our super cool hostel. There are TONS of international travelers here; english is definitely the least common language in the building. After arriving we were absolutely starving so we headed out to explore the city and find some good food. Just a few blocks from our hostel was a DELICIOUS Thai restaurant where everything on the menu was pretty much under $10. We ate, we laughed, we struggled to split the check, it was a good time, even though it was 1:22 am Minnesota time while we were eating.
Going out to eat so late made our 7 am arrival time at our first volunteer stop really rough. Luckily, the staff at Glide were awesome. Glide provides meals, shelter, and services to people experiencing homeless in the SF area. There we served meals and met a lot of really awesome people. Everyone agreed that we heard the phrases "thank you" and "I'm so grateful" over and over.
After a few hours of volunteering we did our grocery shopping, ate lunch, relaxed a bit, then began reflecting on our day. We did some team builders and then some people did a walk-and-talk around the neighborhood. Those of us who didn't feel up to walking in the rain, decided to stay in our cozy hostel and drink some FREE COFFEE/TEA.
Oh yeah, it's been a super cloudy/rainy day :( it's supposed to be sunny later this week so we can't wait for that!!
After our walks-and-talks we did our "official reflection" of the day. We discussed some really enlightening concepts like gentrification (in both the Midway neighborhood and San Francisco), definitions necessary to have further discussions about social justice, and the differences between dialogue and debates.
Now were waiting for dinner to be ready and excited to explore more of the city tonight!!!
- Ellen, Tim, Madison
Thanks for the service to the GLBT community y'all! Proud to be a Hamline Parent!
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