Portlandia

My housemates and I have been embracing our Portland citizenship with super "bourgey" (as in bourgeois) activities. It started when two of my housemates went to this super organic/local/portlandia store yesterday afternoon and priced Diva cups on their iphones while chatting with a lesbian couple doing the same. From there we all took the bus downtown and went to see the swifts at Chapman elementary. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5oN7fv8aw ) This is a phenomenon that happens every september as these birds (swifts) migrate south. Thousands of them roost in the chimney of this elementary school every evening and at dusk they all fly in a spiral pattern around it and then, when some hidden cue is broadcasted, they all swoop down and dive into the chimney. It was really neat! We brought a picnic and watched it with about 1,000 other spectators. We then went to a local brewery and took the max home. This morning, while it was pouring rain, we trekked to the community garden and worked on our plot as a house activity. We harvested potatoes and planted kale and spinach. I am now sitting in a coffee shop mooching free internet while drinking tea out of a ceramic mug and wearing a knitted purple hat. Did I mention that two of my housemates are also out getting new piercings? As I said, embracing portland.

Work was great this week--I took a few more kids to their first days of school! I also got to go to a kindergarten orientation with a burmese child and her Dad. I want to go back to kindergarten! I also ran into an interesting problem at the social security office. One of our clients hadn't received her social security card and when I asked why they explained that their records said that she had already applied. Or rather, a woman with her name and birthdate had already applied. The problem is that every somali who does not have a birth certificate (which is anyone not born in the refugee camp, aka over the age of 20) is automatically given the birthday of 01/01/year they guess they were born. Somalis also have a few names that are REALLY common (Mohhamed, for example). So it is not surprising that two women with the same name who are roughly the same age are assigned the same birthdate and apply for social security cards. It's a problem.... not sure how it will work out.

I am getting some serious glares about the internet mooching--gotta run. Until next time!