"You can call me Al" in Kansas

Midwest Dairy interns Alan and Megan show that they love dairy

It's been about a year since my last post. This blog began as my way to share my experiences last summer with family and friends.

Now, this blog serves a different purpose--a documentation of what and where I am thinking and learning. Here's a brief update of what I've been up to so far...

On May 25, 2011, I began interning with Midwest Dairy, a non-profit organization that promotes the dairy industry for 10 states, several of which I have already traveled to, such as Nebraska, Illinois, and Missouri, not to mention the state in which I primarily work, Kansas, in the Overland Park office. I was fortunate to find a great family to stay with, and their home is just 6 miles from the office.

Here's just one short article that I wrote for the Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, a Missouri agricultural publication: bit.ly/mygtNd

When I'm not in the office, I'm traveling. I went to Kansas City and Springfield for two different division board meetings, as well as a KC T-Bones and STL Cardinals baseball games, as we sponsor both teams. So far, I've made two trips to Nebraska and interacted with consumers at Prairieland Dairy's open house and a dairy farm tour at the Temme's. I've also made it up to the Quad Cities area in Illinois to assist with an IL school nutritionist dairy farm tour at Bohnert's Jersey Farm. It's been especially worthwhile to make clear a few of those misconceptions about dairy farms.

Most people don't know that 98% of dairy farms are family owned and operated.

Also, I'm working with my superviser now on a few independent projects. It's an exciting time to be working to promote the dairy industry, and it's already one-third complete.

I hope the best for each of your summers, my friends. Check back for another update soon.

Alan

JUBILANT July

I worked the 4th of July, the weekend. It was fun, actually. Several Sky Ranch alum came up, and it was great to both worship with them and learn from them. The week before I led day hikes, all were first-time destinations for me, but still exciting. I cooked soup over a fire at Cirque Meadow, hiked Fish Creek and Camanche Reservoir. Although it's tough never really knowing what you're going to be doing the next week, being a day hike guide was a pleasant surprise. I learned a great deal, and hope to peak a mountain some weekend.

This last week I was a counselor--and it was my last week counseling. Next week I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but the week after I'm at traveling day camp and the week after that is family camp. I'm stoked that life is great, but sad that it's more than half done.

I've missed out on a great deal for Sky Ranch, namely Alysha's Graduation from Gustavus and Aaron owning the comp at cow shows, but this week made it more justifiable.

I was able to tell a kid--a nine-year-old boy--about God for the first time.

He believed in God, just didn't know who he was, what he did, or anything about God.

He was homesick, so I was able to talk with him for a while. We started talking about what we believed, and he became so excited when I told him about God. I don't view myself as a preacher--maybe a teacher--so it was a new experience for me, also.

His family had gone through some tough times. I was able to talk with his mom for a good amount of time, and then the kid asked her what "baptized" means and if it could happen to him. Witnessing this made me ecstatic, yet I tried to remain calm. Turns out--even though the mother was struggling in her faith, she was so glad that I was able to tell her son about God at camp--because she wants him to have the opportunity for heaven. She walked away, nearly crying, after thanking me for everything I'd done all week. I denied it--I didn't do anything--I was just there as a friend for someone who needed one, and as a fellow child of God. It still hasn't sunk in. That was the most defining moment for this entire summer. We camped out, ate over the fire, and more. I might forget the time, the name, the exact words--but I'll never forget the experience.

This week of counseling was the best yet, and likely last. My kids were insane--so I could relate--and we had tons of fun. The girls woke us up one morning, so my 10 campers woke them up so early (7:30, haha..worship was at 8:00) with moose noises. They thought they were such troublemakers, haha.

I hope that you all are well. I'm missing my family more, and excited that my parents are in London for a few more days. I'm hoping Alysha and Aaron don't die from all of their hard work out in the humid heat.

Today I hiked Horsetooth--kind of a foothill sort of thing. Essentially, it looks like a tooth. Whether a horse's tooth or not, I didn't really care. It was awesome. We could see all of Fort Collins, and nearly Kansas.

Here's to a great week--for all of you--my closest family and friends. Thanks for following!

-Alan T.

The Journey Continues

I spent a week in the kitchen. It wasn't horrible, or amazing, but I definitely learned how much effort cooking and cleaning in a kitchen truly requires. My previous work in the Gustavus cafeteria was hardly preparation for this experience. A week has passed, though, since then, and so as the cuts slowly fade from view on my fingers, so does my recollection of the experience. Essentially, kitchen work took me away from the "camp" experience to the inside of the camp--the behind the scenes work. It made me appreciate the amazing food up here all the more, and the kitchen staff that are doing it for a summer.

Last week I counseled--from Sunday to Friday. The seventh grade boys had a few things on their mind: girls, food, and camouflage. My four boys made a contest out of hugging girls--one boy got over 70 "points" just for one day--girls were worth 3 points and boys worth 1 point. Luckily we had only 5 total in our cabin--but food was always something they were excited to lap up--as if they hadn't had thirds the night before. Told you the food was good. Camouflage--a game that evidently all kids know besides me (wait, I'm an adult now...) involves one person counting to 30 and the others run away and hide (behind trees/brush/rocks) and the person opens their eyes and, without moving, looks for the others and calls them out. If they don't see anyone, they close their eyes and count to ten, while the others sprint toward them, hoping to be the first one to tag the person. I'd describe it, perhaps, as a mixture of the games "Hide and Seek" and "Kick the Can" so it's clearly an epic game.

Counseling was fun. The summer's nearly half over for me up on this mountain, and spending a week of it in the kitchen made my time outside with the kids all the more enjoyable. We saw moose, looked for the legendary "Ole," the squirrel who jumped into Stephen's cabin, Sorrow & Hope, in the top right corner. I wish I could do that--run up a tree and off a branch, all out diving into a little hole. Crazy thing.

Listening was a problem. One boy told me right away, "I never listen at home so I don't have to listen here."

He wasn't a bad kid, though. He just was used to getting treated as royalty, and he didn't really listen to his parents (or me, for the first two days). Eventually, everyone started listening after some persuasion ("You won't get to do high ropes if you don't listen during tie dye...").

This last week was a confirmation intensive week, and we relived the book of Exodus, which, if you haven't recently read, I recommend it. We had a Moses, Joseph, Aaron, Miriam, and I was the tribal leader of Issachar, which was the farming and ranching tribe. Fate? Maybe.

Regardless, it was awesome. We had kids doing ridiculous tasks--cleaning out the screws of the lodge's deck with Q-tips, cutting the meadow's grass with baby scissors, and more. We also wandered for awhile, after crossing the Red "C". It was a remarkable experience--one I was glad to finally experience. The kids actually got it. They understood what was going on, and that was the coolest thing about the experience. Well, other than the adapted version of Miley's famous song, now branded "Party in the Promised Land."

I should have been journaling throughout the week. I'd remember more, I'm sure. But this way I'll write the first things that come to mind. The things that I should remember.

Hasta luego mis amigos,

-AT

A Mountainous but not Rocky staff training

It's been a bit of time since my first blog.

I can't say I enjoy blogging, even though it's a neat concept, really.

I've forced myself to journal throughout staff training. We were busy up there, and it was hard to find much free time at all--much less spend that free time writing in a journal, separating oneself from others. Nonetheless, I'll be glad to condense a few of the activities and a few of my favorite moments since my arrival at SkyRanch on Monday, May 24.

The night before we went up the mountain to SkyRanch I played Apples to Apples with the Strattons, a family that reminds me much of my own. (I think that's a good thing, haha, it definitely is...I feel right at home when I am here and they're hilarious).

A tree blocked our trail up the windy dirty road, and despite Joe J and my efforts, we were unable to move this massive tree. It snowed. May 24 snow, yes. It was dry, though, and disappeared swiftly. I moved into the Anne Hutchinson cabin, quite spacious before 12 other guys moved in! Fortunately, people showered every few days. Haha.

I did the high ropes "Flying V" with Jessica during staff training. I climbed up a pole, then we pushed against one another's hands and kept walking along the wire until our stomachs were parallel with the ground and eventually we couldn't hold on any longer. Quite thrilling, I think.

It's mad difficult running up here. I ran a few miles--about 2 or 3 and I needed to walk. At 9,200 ft I can't complain too much as a farm boy running round in the Rockies. It's insane. The stars are spectacular here, and I was able to see Venus several nights as well as Mars and a ring of saturn. I know CPR and First Aid, now. Let's see--there's not much else I can really say. Everything is fun--worship, meals, and sleep. The staff is insane, but a friendly crazy, I think.

We had volunteers come up Memorial weekend to help work around Sky Ranch. I used a machine to split wood (pathetic, I know, but the axe broke) and we hauled branches and firewood all over.

I learned from some really great speakers and leaders, too. I feel more connected in my faith already, just after 2 weeks. Incredible.

Thursday I learned a few words from my friend from Madagascar, Jean.

Salama: Hello

Veloma: Goodbye

Tongasoa: Welcome

Afon-dasy: campfire

(The o's are pronounced similarly to u's).

Disfrute. (Enjoy).

First Days in Colorado

May 20th was my 19th birthday, and although I spent the morning finishing packing, cleaning my room for check-out of Augie, and studying for my Education final, it all seemed manageable. After my luggage was loaded into the Stratton's van, we departed for Colorado on about a 12-hour drive, which sped by faster than the black Mustang that passed us twice (but, as fate would have it, they were ticketed by a state trooper). We stopped at Perkins for a late-night supper and Jessica's grandpa Bob expanded my vocabulary, for which I am grateful. Fortunately, he's a John Deere fan (but he likes Fords, too, sadly). Then, I carried my bags up the stairs of the Stratton's spacious home and crashed on the futon/bed.

Mountains are amazing, and can be viewed with just a turn of the head from their home. The next day, after breakfast, we ventured to buy several necessities I failed to previously purchase: a watch, notebook, snacks, and more. They ordered pizza for our early supper, and after, Dean and Shawna (Jessica's parents) drove us to Denver to the Fillmore (the venue) for the 3Oh!3 and Cobra Starship concert. 'I Fight Dragons' and Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy opened, and impressed. Thanks to my friend Liz from Augie who gave me the cds for CS & 3Oh!3 so I appeared to be a well-versed fan at the concert. So, that was another late, yet eventful night.

Today is the 22nd of May, 2010. I woke up around 8:00 AM (not bad for two past late-nights just after a week of finals! haha) Jessica and I met one of her relatives for coffee, though I tried Rooibos tea with milk since I don't drink much caffeine. The caffeine-free tea was surprisingly good. Her relative's friend from a prominent Asian country joined us and talked to us about both his life and work, enlightening my perspectives on human rights and cultural differences between countries. Religious, moral, and political questions cultural differences are so vast between our two countries--I was in awe. I love reading, and learning by reading books about such differences. Never before, though, had I ever been so engaged and interested in such topics--even after extensively studying Global Human Rights in Discussion during my junior year of high school. Reading and Education can only do so much, according to this man. The government is not protecting their people--and they're not even trying. This is not an isolated incident. Such violations of human rights are worldwide. Most of all, your actions, your grit, and your choice to make a difference are the weapons of change to be yielded for future positive change.

Hopefully this blog will well serve the purpose I intend--to inform my friends and family and to have a reflective record of my experiences.