Tuesday. I woke up early, took a shower, and then hung out in the lounge waiting for my hair to dry. Karen and Mariam came in and made bracelets. 1pm comes. Ulises joins us on our walk to the caf where we eat lunch, a turkey and cheese sub, which was very good.
We sit at a booth and eat our lunch. Karen looks at me and says, "Do you have What'sApp?" Umm...what is that? "It is a texting app on your phone, so we can text for free to each other." If Karen were to text me over her phone, and not the free app, she could get some serious charges.
So, to save her money, I downloaded the app. I help Mariam download hers. I get Karen's, Ulises', and Mariam's number. I'm not sure why it took this long to get everyone's number. Isaac comes up to us. He said that this was the beginning of transition week because of Graduation this weekend. This was the regular caf workers' last day.
So starting tomorrow, there was going to be a lot of dependence on the volunteers. Us. He suggested that we split up, and some cover lunch, while the others cover dinner. Mariam and Ulises choose to cover lunch this week, while Karen and I covered dinner. Next week we would switch. And then Isaac told us Mrs. Olin would like to speak with us.
I was nervous. I didn't know who Mrs. Olin was other than that she was the manager of the caf. So the five of us (Priscilla is the fifth person) walk up the stairs. Isaac is in front of us, so he leads the way. He opens up the door, and lets us go in.
Karen is in front of the line, I am behind her, and the rest are behind me. And then I see her. Mrs. Olin. Turns out I had seen her before. One day when Rachel S and I were sitting outside the caf. Mrs. Olin came out. She talked to us for a little bit, and then went on her way.
I honestly couldn't imagine what she was doing on campus. I thought she was somebody's visiting grandmother. So she has us gather around her desk, and each of us tells our story about why we were volunteering this summer. She thanked us for our services.
We asked to take a picture with her, and then we went back to work. I help Karen vacuum the caf side room, and then Liz (the shift leader for lunch) has us deep clean. She needs someone to cut the fraying carpet on the stairs with some scissors. I volunteer.
So, I was thinking this was going to be a pretty easy job. I was wrong. This scissors were dull. I couldn't cut. I was really wishing for the scissors I had for when I made bracelets, but that was back in the Village, and I wasn't going all the way back just for that. So, I persevere.
It took a while, and then friends would walk past me, and I would talk with them...so it just took awhile. One of the friends was Aimee, and I spent about 15 minutes telling her about how I came to be at Teen Mania, because apparently I hadn't told her the past 6 weeks I was here.
I finish with the carpet, and I go back to the kitchen. In one of the warmers were bags of mashed potatoes. I thought it was cheese. And then Mariam was taking pictures with her camera, she told us to say cheese. One of the guys laughs and says it is funnier when you say queso. So for the rest of the night, we would say queso and laugh.
Or at least I would. So we sit down to eat dinner. Chicken strips and mashed potatoes. And then a frozen butterfinger ice cream pie, which was very good. During dinner, I apologize to Ulises for not putting enough string on his bracelet, and he said that was ok, because the bracelet wasn't for him.
And then I talk to Priscilla because I wanted to let her know that I had her camera and one of her bandanas by my bed because she left it in the lounge, and I didn't want anyone stealing it. We served dinner, I served the chicken strips.
7 o'clock rolled around, we closed down the line, and cleaned. Mariam left early again because she wasn't feeling well, so it was just Karen, Ulises and I. Karen decided we should have some coffee in the lounge, so, with Isaac's permission, we took four empty plastic sour cream tubs.
We really only needed two, but because the coffee was so hot, we doubled up. And even doubling it up, I am pretty sure my hand was cooked when we arrived back in the lounge. And then I make myself some coffee.
I took so much creamer (I like a lot of creamer in my coffee, obviously) that Kaylah looked at me and said, "Would you like some coffee with your creamer?" Yes, yes I would. Trey and Caleb come in, and they mess around on the guitar for a few minutes, and then Trey, surprising us all, pulls out his collection of string.
He used to make bracelets to help fund raise for a mission trip. And he was really good at it too. He incorporated leather, and beads, and wire. It was pretty fantastic. And then a bit later, Desiree pulls out her guitar, and Caleb, Trey, Christina, and Desiree jam out near the t.v.
Ulises and Andrew play foosball. Philip is on his phone. Karen and I are making bracelets, and Mariam is sitting with us on her laptop. Christa and Priscilla went to bed early that night. After Andrew, Ulises, Caleb, Trey, and Christina go to bed, Philip comes up to us with a few balls from the pool table, juggling. He wants us to judge him. So we do.
He gets about a 9, because he was actually pretty good. And then he went to bed, and Desiree left too. So it was Karen, Mariam, and I. And Kaylah too. I am teaching Karen how to make a bracelet with letters. And somehow, I start talking to Kaylah, and she starts to tell us about how she and Thor met.
I was adding comments in here and there, keeping Mariam and Karen informed. Apparently they didn't like that. Mariam kept threatening me to be quiet and stop with the commentary, and Karen even walked over to me and put duct tape on my mouth. Overall, it was a very good day.
Nickel
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| R to L: Mariam, Priscilla, Me, Mrs. Olin, Karen, Ulises |
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| About to start cutting the fraying carpet with scissors! |
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| Karen is vacuuming in the caf! |
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| Daily life in the lounge. Bracelet making, worship, and foosball at the same time. |
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