PROM 2008

Senior Prom Queen & King: Ida & David

Junior Prom Princess and Prince: Juliana & Wade

The faculty 'stars' of the dance: Sarah, Robin, Leah, Me, Jess, Katie, Mandy

Alvin & I- looking pretty great for a picture!

A group of sophomore-senior sisters, cousins, and friends.

Sarah, Katie, Leah, and I. We enjoyed the evening together, beginning with a

meal at the Cottage!

Three freshman boys looking pretty spiffy!!!

Five fine-looking seniors! Lisa, Mando, Dylan, Ash, and Elaine

Saige & I- looking lovely.

Junior boys- Jeff, Lyle, Richard, David, and Ryan- loving the refreshments

I began typing this post yesterday, but as my hectic days would have me, I procrastinated on this blog, and thus am finishing a day late- today. Apologies.

(as typed yesterday) What? Another 8 days since I last posted?

Yes, that is in fact what is going through my mind just now, thinking about posting again. Somehow it is now May- which is also the final month of school! I am currently struck by this time phenomenon... and how quickly I shall have to say goodbye to 50 dear seniors & a number of fellow volunteers.


Yet I cannot get caught up in philosophizing the situation... for so many exciting adventures have taken place recently....


On Wednesday my Lakota class was good as usual. I hadn't studied much, but as I verbalized this before class began, our teacher gave us ample enough study time in order to do quite well on the quizzes. I am in the same "no-study" predicament today for class, but hopefully some time today will allow me to look over the Money & Foods chapters. Actually this is the last week of class before next week's final exam! (written and oral). I am looking forward to having Wednesdays free again, but I will miss class, as I always enjoy attending.


*Update from yesterday- we had a quite lively class period- w/ one of the students coming to class a bit inebriated...and he actually stayed the whole time (three weeks ago he came much more 'out of it' and was asked to leave)... so that brought a generally increased level of excitement, as you might imagine. Oh, and also I didn't really study as I mentioned, and guess what? Yes, I got a 60% on one of my quizzes. Yikes! Well, no fear- my other 12 quizzes have all been A's.... I'm not concerned. Yes- now all I have is a final left! and a 4 minute oral presentation. Perhaps I'll share with you some of my presentation when I prepare it.


Damian (a senior) and I just had a conversation about running over animals with my car- and he popped in again to ask if I had blogged about it. He suggests I do- so here goes: Once, I ran over a raccoon with my car- and another time I hit a flying pheasant with my windshield. That's all.


So I mentioned Prom in my last post- and I have to say, that has been a major theme of the past week...each evening after school the junior class and a few faculty members decorated, decorated, decorated. Since I have after-school program duties (which has been going extremely well lately, with high attendance and participation-a variety of new clubs have started: kickball, soccer, flag football, and yoga. Yey!) I was not able to be two places at once, but Friday evening we had a pizza/decorating party in the gym- and were ready for Saturday's Prom. The evening was beautiful, the grand march (although a royal mess to coordinate w/ people switching their dates three times in a week, and even a few couples switched three times in one hour!) went off with congratulations following.... and I had this goal of convincing people to dance. I was told prior to Prom that no one danced, and I thought this preposterous... so I vowed to get at least 7 people to dance w/ me at one time.... which finally happened when we all, led by the faculty enthusiasm, began a train of dancers, and at least a dozen kids joined in. I felt satisfied about accomplishing my goal (which I was held accountable to all night by a sophomore boy).


Whew, so after prom was over (and we all headed back into the snowy outside) we ended up taking 88 kids to post-prom at Evan's Plunge, an indoor water park/recreation area. After loading the busses, we realized the space situation was not favorable, so I rushed to get another bus- and we headed out with our two largest busses packed! What a fun time! No issues to speak of, the time flew, all reports of enjoyment, and a very pleased (and only slightly delirious) Emily when we finally returned to Red Cloud at 6:30am. :):)


I spent the rest of Sunday sleeping, cleaning, etc. Monday I came back to a hectic school environment. Catching up from everything I pushed aside for prom (including communication with friends- apologies if I haven't returned your call lately), organizing the various after-school details, subbing for a few teachers each day, and working on Student Council recruitment for next year. After yesterday I feel much more satisfied, because a number of solid applicants are now running for council. Hurray!!! Overall, nothing too eventful the past few days... tonight I plan on playing basketball with a group of random community members- which I know I will enjoy- however, I hurt my knee the last time I played, so I'm trying to be cautious- and that has made me hesitant thus far, but my housemate Mike tells me to stop being a wussy... so I shall play tonight. :):) (run-on sentence, I know :0)


So how about those pictures I posted???? That's right- colorful and fun, yeah?!!! :):)


Okay, I'm off for the day. Wait- no, not to confuse you, I'm still working- and I still have after- school program (today: study hall, yoga, soccer, ceramics, and handgames)... but I am only signing off for today. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I also hope you forgive me for my delayed post. Thanks for tuning in.

Anyone reading this is currently brightening my day- just so you know. :)


Peace and love,

Emily

What Joy!

What joy is found in life here at Pine Ridge....

Hi again! When I begin a post, I generally like to frame my words with my current mood, and I would have to say I am blissful today. Yep, and peaceful amidst flurry (after all, I AM wearing my "be in peace" t-shirt). :)

The last week has been quite refreshing, and I believe a few reasons exist: 1. I have kept busy enough to occupy my mind- and when occupied, my mindset is generally positive. 2. I have had enough down-time and prayer-time to be able to focus on others rather than myself. 3. I have been enjoying the beautiful weather this spring has granted. Yep. I'm a happy girl, with a little sunshiny color on my face!

Enough about me, so what does the Red Cloud story pond have to offer today? Well, a few spectacular stories, I must say....

Last Friday, the drama club presented their play called "Three Greek Myths..." which was a contemporary look at the stories of King Midas, Echo and Narcissus, and another guy who played the guitar and fell in love w/ a lady, leading him to Hades. Ha, yeah- brilliantly played by Elliot, I must add. The play was fantastic, with cameos from various teachers who filled the roles of a girl who had to leave last-minute. They presented for the school on Friday afternoon (unfortunately attendance was down- silly senior skip day)... and again in the evening. I went to both performances, and took pictures during the evening (perhaps I'll post them soon, along with some pics from a recent pow-wow. I imagine that would be interesting to most parties in my reading audience). Back on track... besides being available to congratulate the performers, pass out cake, give encouraging hugs, and take pictures- I felt my presence was most useful to provide laughs which prompted the audience to laugh as well- (at the humorous parts which were slightly hidden by occasional lack of voice projection). :):)

So, the Friday adventure at Red Cloud does not end with the play- although sufficient enough to be a good story, I realize- NO, in fact, my excitement level quickly increased when I realized (during my walk back home) that the dining hall was occupied by none other than a Middle School Dance!!! Yes, that's right, Emily immediately sprinted to the door, only to find it locked, making it necessary to jog around the building to the 'paying participants' entrance. Okay, so I cannot exactly explain my excitement with this great phenomenon of a middle school dance, because for one, I don't even know the kids- however, I did know the DJ (a Jesuit) and one other chaperon... so I walk briskly into this strobe-lighted, music-thumping atmosphere- only to realize that no one, I mean NO ONE, was dancing. Granted, I'm not a shy person, but this is a DANCE! :):) Ha, well I only stayed long enough to re-live some of my middle school dance memories- and gosh I have a few distinct moments forever etched into my memory!!! (picture Emily dancing with boys a head shorter than her) :)

Saturday seemed pretty uneventful, but we had a spur-of-the-afternoon cook-out with the volunteers, during which we were able to converse with a couple who are significant contributors to the Red Cloud funding. They were great, and it gave them a chance to see us 'volunteers' in real life. :) Ha, that sounds funny to me.

Sunday I unfortunately did something funky with my alarm... because I woke up during the time church would have been about to the 2nd reading of the liturgy... dang! And I was really looking forward to going! I hate when my life choices are controlled by silly alarms. Oh yes, a majority of the day I spent editing my brother-in-law's book, which is awesomely DONE now. Whew! And I had a glorious 4 to 5 miles walk out behind our campus, a space I had never before explored! In fact, I was only a few miles from Pine Ridge- on a hill I could see both water towers and miles of highway before entering Pine Ridge. New goal: walk the entire way to Pine Ridge using the back road... (don't worry, Mom,- it will be with comrades).

...random... I am having a difficult time concentrating on typing, because a housemate of mine is having a skype conversation with his family... Yep-distracting... (but all part of the communal living experience!!!) :)

Okay, Sunday night after our weekly CommuniTea time (clever, I know)... I was about to head to bed, when I overheard Erin mentioning something about a bus run in the morning- and when I checked with her, a memory of some small note written in my planner about a substitute morning bus run came flooding to mind. Oh my goodness!!! I really did thank God for Erin mentioning that... because without that- I'll paint the picture of what would have occurred.... "6:45am- the first children begin appearing outside their houses, waiting on a bus that would never come..." Instead, I get into the bus on time, stop at the place I am told a girl resides whom will help me with the rest of the route... only to find she isn't riding that day...GREAT! so off I go, down the road to who knows where (remember, I am substituting for a route of which I do not know any stops) and see a car coming toward me. Promising, I think, so I stop- and sure enough three kids get on the bus from that car... one of which is able to help me with the route. Granted, he was a half-asleep sophomore, but he only missed one stop (and they caught up with the bus by car in about a mile, saying "You forgot us!" as they entered). :) I only smiled and said, "Oops! I don't know this route." Yep, all the joys (and occasional) stresses of driving bus.

This week now is crazy with getting prepared for prom (which is a much bigger load on my time than previously anticipated)... but all in all, I LOVE school... even being busy. I am taking down all the couples' names for the grand march, collecting permission slips for the post-prom at Evans Plunge (up to 70 students so far)... and desperately trying to find a fellow bus driver for the 5-6am shift back to Red Cloud.

Ah, such a long post- and still more to say! I have had an abundant amount of patience thus far this week, which has been such a blessing! I have heard affirming comments from many students, which helps (okay, and I was asked to the prom by three senior boys)- but mostly I really think it's because I have been in a prayer-full mood, something I was taught in college- to be contemplative in the midst of activity. And all I can say is God must be a God of humor~ :)

Okay- that' about it. I promise to post pics soon, but maybe I'll have one big post full of many pics- prom, pow-wow, etc... :):)

Prom is coming- in a whirlwind- but my excitement rises with every swirl!!! :)

Emanating peace and exuberant joy through The One Who Made Us (that's a shout out to my brother-in-law and his recently edited book!)

Emily

Some of the Best...

A group of senior guys- who all congregated for the photo. I think they enjoy being the center of attention! :)

Some seniors who hiked in the rain with Peter and I

After the hike, it only makes sense to jump into frigid water to 'cool down', right? :) (after this, several students jumped into a hot tub... temperature compensation, I suppose)

During a prayer circle, the students gathered and shared prayers as a class- before a dozen or so of us hiked up Bear Butte, located near Sturis, SD.

One group challenge involved piling 50 seniors on 10 chairs. They came.... close, I guess, but had a lot of fun trying. :)

It was Miya's birthday on Thursday and her family came to surprise her with a cake and ice cream...

A group of seniors pose once again- evidently the camera loves them!

"Leksi Alvin" (Uncle Alvin) the Lakota spirituality teacher is diligently writing notes to students (another major component of the retreat)

Other students writing their notes to classmates- and faculty... except Dylan, he's taking a break to give you all a sign of peace...two signs of peace!

Why do their faces keep appearing before the camera? I guess they enjoy the poses... since the second from the left actually smiles all the time, only not for pictures.

Today I shall reflect on some of the best students, the senior class of '08. For lack of better formatting skills, I have posted the pics first- and included captions to highlight some (not all) moments spend with this class...

This Wed-Fri I chaperoned the senior class on their spring retreat... and had an absolutely fantastic time!!! We all headed up to Storm Mountain (I believe my fourth retreat there, my sixth or seventh retreat total this year!) and despite the rainy weather and 35mph trek up the steep highway in a 72 passenger school bus loaded with students and travel gear, we successfully reached our destination and began what became a wonderful retreat experience!

At the prompting of a frequent reader, I decided to post some pictures of my time here... and I shall summarize by saying we had splendid laughter, serious heart-felt sharing, and plenty of good times and bonding experiences... yet the pictures are perhaps the most telling...

In other recent life events, I had a great weekend, mainly catching up from the weeks excitement at Storm Mountain, and reading some of the wonderful letters the seniors wrote to me. I also enjoyed catching up with several dear friends on Sunday via cell phone- thank goodness for free weekend minutes! :)

Monday and Tuesday were good days- actually the weather was in the mid-80s, and I simply adored walking into the brilliant sunshine. Makes any day good, but Monday was particularly good to be back in school after having been gone for 5 days... seeing the other classes makes me excited to be spending next year here- especially the junior class, with whom I am already quite close and will hopefully be able to experience another senior retreat with them!

Ah, so, class tonight again. I missed last weeks, for the retreat, and I think I should have studied way more than I did, but you know... I've begun lessening my over-achiever grip on this class, and quite frankly, it's a bit refreshing.

Alright, I am going to wrap up. Perhaps study some Lakota days and time phrases, and enjoy the Wednesday where (so far) I have NO SUBBING! :)

Thanks for tuning in. I enjoy being able to share, and I appreciate your attentiveness and at times endless interest in the place of Pine Ridge, and the Lakota people I have come to love.

Endless blessings through our Creator God,

Emily

PS- Damian (a treasured senior who was unable to attend the retreat) asks you this question: "What color are mirrors?" He is currently trying to figure this out. :):)

PPS- Chandler says, "Boo! That's like my trademark saying, man!" He's a frequent visitor to my office, and I thought he would make an enjoyable contribution to this post. :)

Weary Weather...and sad times...

Welcome to another week on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

I don't mean to bring a negative spirit to this post, yet I must affirm that plenty of sadness has been evident this past week.

One primary reason for such sadness is the loss of a woman who was dear to many people at Red Cloud. The Dean of Student's wife just passed on from cancer, and their daughter is one of my students. I am really feeling bad for the family, and so many others who found this woman an inspiration... as an auntie, sister, co-worker. I attended her wake (and sung in a choir with other members from Red Cloud) on Sunday. This was the first wake I have experienced here, and a wake is quite a momentous time of remembrance. Several elaborate cakes filled the tables, and food of all sorts abounded. Also, many star quilts hung as a backdrop for tables filled with pictures and flowers. A few different drum groups sang songs, in addition to a group with a guitar and singer.... The Jesuits also led a Catholic prayer service, during which we sang our songs.

The funeral was yesterday, but I wasn't able to go, since not everybody could leave school and all. In addition to this sadness, other students have expressed sadness at losing loved ones, and I really feel for loss, even when it's someone I didn't know well. Also, a good friend of mine recently found out about her grandmother's cancer, which is terrible news. The weather has also not boosted spirits much, being snowy, sleeting, dreary, etc.

Yet, despite all the sadness, several happy moments have occurred to bring sunshine to the week. Last Wednesday we had Lakota class, and it was quite fun, with only 5 students. We practiced constructing compound sentences (using easy words, but still!) :) And I felt as if I am really getting the hang of it... at least for a 1st level course. I will not be able to attend class tomorrow, sadly... because I will be going on the senior class retreat! :) (I'm not sad about the retreat!)

On Friday I drove the bus for the handgame players and dancers to the T. W. O. powwow, which was a really great day. I enjoy watching our students dance- they bring such a grace and reverence into the dance, whether it's traditional, grass, fancy, or jingle. The handgame teams didn't perform as well as they had hoped, but most of the experience is simply being with other powwow students (from different schools)- which is what they all love.

I was able to spend a majority of the day with this fabulous sophomore girl who has so much spunk, and we really talked about deep issues, like friendship, what makes someone beautiful, and questions about the after-life. It is of course these types of conversations that entirely energize me! At the powwow I also met a Pine Ridge bus driver, who commented on seeing me drive as he passes on the highway- and he thought it was great to have a fellow bus driver who is friendly and waves! There you go- how little we know whom our actions are uplifting!

Saturday was a rather calm day (except for the wind as I ran Manderson a.k.a. 'hilly' road)- and Sunday we had a great spirituality meeting with all the volunteers, during which we read a portion of a book that reminded me of all my theological reading and inquiry during college. It was nice to be thinking about such things once again.

How could I forget! Yesterday we had a successful blood drive here, and if I might say so myself- it was also the most successful giving-blood episode of my life! :):) Granted, this simply means that everything went according to routine, yet for me, this is a rather uncommon happening. So, I just saved three lives yesterday, your regular, ordinary, every-day hero! :)

I am busy preparing today for the senior retreat, for which I will be a bus driver/ chaperone. I am more than excited to participate once again, as I also attended the fall senior retreat. Evidently, this one makes people cry- and several seniors are asking me I'll cry. I should refer them to any of you who have seen me deliver a meaning-filled speech in front of several people. Yikes, the tears do come!!!

I am off to lunch now. I hope and pray that you all might find God's grace more abundant than ever, as I am also re-learning to rely on the grace of God.

Much love,
Emily

Volunteer bonding...

This week's excitement primarily revolves around the quality time we as volunteers have spent together recently.

I say this, because from Friday at 3:08pm until Tuesday at 10:08am, school did not meet. Surely one wouldn't assume weather-related issues at this time of year, but YES! Such is the case. Sunday evening the sky took on a gloomy appearance, and snow began falling lightly (as I was busy organizing my office from the overflow of the weekend's after-school program purchases- soccer balls, kick balls, footballs, yoga mats, etc.). The lightly-falling snow soon became thick, and on the eve of the final day in March, we obtained a large enough amount of snow and slick roads to call off school for Monday. Of course, most of us volunteers were exceedingly excited, despite the fact that logically, we know it's better if the students actually have school.

So, I spent Monday baking banana bread, creating cookies, and doing other activities which did not contain as much alliteration. :) I also worked on a few interviews for the Rapid City Journal, I worked out at the P. R. fitness center for a few hours- that's right, hours. :) And I helped make a really large amount of homemade pizza for a family-style volunteer dinner, during which we welcomed back our volunteer coordinator who has been on the road since before Easter for recruitment purposes.

The turkey mushroom pizza turned out alright, but the fun times spent laughing together as a community turned out to be way better. I was reminded by this low-key snow day how much I appreciate living in this community of volunteers (seriously, our interaction alone entertains us for several hours!), in addition to being in the larger community of Red Cloud campus. It truly is one of the best aspects of my time here. I am learning to love and appreciate the concept of community, so much so, that I really never wish to live alone. Nope, not unless I am the only one left on the globe. :)

So Monday turned out to be a pretty sunny day, yet come evening (eve of April Fool's Day), snow began falling once again.... and continued falling, falling, arising hope in yet another snow day. Turns out we had a late start because of risky road conditions, but we did have school.... which was good timing for the students, since it was also0- as I mentioned- April Fools. I do not exactly know if I should share each time I revealed my gullible self to these clever students, but let me say... on several occasions, I truly believed these students' April Fool's jokes.... For example, how am I suppose to react when a young girl (who has confided in me on a number of occasions regarding boy issues) tells me she's pregnant? Yeah! A not-so-funny joke, with a number of pregnancies already occurring in school. Most jokes were less severe, but equally as believable, and I have officially determined that I dislike April Fool's Day very very very much.

Ah, and today is Wednesday, with parent/teacher conferences tonight, and yet another quiz in Lakota Language. I am feeling rather 'professional' today, since I have on a crisp white button-up shirt with brown dress pants and heels. One of the students who enjoys commenting on my wardrobe suggested right away that I look professional, with my outfit and the fact that my hair is back with glasses. Actually, this is one aspect of the job I rarely comment on, and that is, my dress. I am basically free to wear whatever I'd like, which means that some days I show up wearing jeans and sneakers with a casually nice top. Other day, such as today, I look more 'teacher-like'... but all in all, I like the variety this position offers, even in terms of wardrobe choices! :)

Okay, this is about it for today. One more comment. I am excited for the prospective volunteers who may be coming/visiting campus shortly, and so if you happen to be one of them, please know that your interest excites me very much, as I shall be coming back next year and look forward to meeting you. Ha- what a random way of welcoming, huh?

Peace be yours, during these unpredictable weeks of sprinter (if confused, refer to last week's post).

Cheery smiles and slightly lethargic morning charm,
Emily