Sarah's Circle

I spent a lot of time deciding where to volunteer.  I thought of an animal shelter, but I would just feel guilty for not spending more time with my own dog while playing with orphan dogs.  Then I thought a hospital baby wing was a good idea, but it turns out that they have plenty of pre-med students volunteering and don't need as much help as I thought.  (Plus there is a really long application process...they don't just let strangers off the street come hold preemies. Go figure.)

So then I looked into shelters and decided on Sarah's Circle. This was a women's shelter that has been on my mind and heart for a long time.  Like, years actually.  I was introduced to it through my church, but kept putting it off because interacting with people/strangers isn't really my bread and butter.  

But after doing lots of research and going through a small orientation process, Sarah's circle seemed like a good fit.  Here's  why:

1. It's a women's shelter.  No boys allowed.  

2. It offers several types of help including daily services, clinical services, interim housing, and permanent housing

3. Their goal isn't to only help women temporarily, but permanently by helping them find jobs and permanent housing.  
4. They provide many activities so the women have a sense of community and friendship.  
5.  The mission is to empower women and help them realize their own strengths so they can learn how to help themselves.  

When I signed up, I saw this experience going one of two ways.  Either it was going to be really hard and I would suck at it and probably be too shy and scared and quit.  Or it would be rainbows and butterflies and I would be helping all the women, making strong connections and playing scrabble and card games the whole time.

But it lands somewhere in the middle I guess.  Sometimes I help a woman apply for a job or put a resume together, sometimes I join in on art night and do fun activities. Sometimes, it's just dealing with the drama that comes with a lot of women all in one room.  So everyday is different, everyday is challenging, and everyday is rewarding if I really search for the good.

This is an organization that I strongly believe in, and if you are interested, there are a lot of ways to help, including donations.  If you are interested, here is a link.  It's really amazing to know how so little can do so much.  My favorite areas of donations are the make it home fund and the fruits and vegetables project.  There is also the Amazon Smile option.  When you shop at AmazonSmile, amazon donates .5% of the purchase to Sarah's circle at no extra cost to you.  So that's pretty awesome and easy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Je parle français (en peu)

That means "I speak French (a little)".  Although technically, I should have said "Je parle tres peu français"  meaning I speak very little French.  But hey, it's a start!

I started beginner French lessons this month in a tiny classroom with just me and another girl that randomly wanted to learn French too.  This small class has been really great and really embarrassing. Great because there is no hiding and letting other students answer the questions that I don't know. Embarrassing because there is no hiding and letting other students answer the questions that I don't know! Inevitably I get most answers wrong.  And even if I do know the answer, I sound ridiculous trying to get all the sounds right.

Why French you ask?  What a great question!

I have been to France twice.  Once to Paris for a long weekend while I was studying abroad, and then once on a Choir tour to Southern France.  We stayed with host families during that time and when my host mom heard me attempt to speak a little French, she laughed and said it would never happen because my accent was so horrible.  And actually, I have had several people tell me that.  Singing in French was always so difficult and I have played a few roles where a French accent was required and that was to hard too!!

So I was pleasantly surprised during the very first class when my teacher said,"Whitney, you have a very good accent!  You hear the sounds very well."   There's my MFA paying off!

We met 4 hrs a week for 4 weeks, and I feel like I learned so much in that short amount of time!  My teacher is from France, and goes back and forth several times a year.  So her approach was much more conversational and less text book.  She moved at a fast pace, which is good, because I work better under pressure.  The hard part now will be keeping it up until I take another class this fall!

I took my class at the Spanish Studio in Lincoln Park.  Everyone is wonderful there and it is very reasonably priced.  They teach French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. So if you are looking to take any language classes in Chicago I highly recommend them!