First Day

I started my work with Catholic Charities: Refugee Resettlement Program today. I have been inundated with information about intake procedures, legal requirements, housing standards, etc. and there is a small voice in the back of my head screaming. My face is smiling, however, and I mostly enjoyed today. For the larger portion of the day I tagged along with a case manager as he helped a few Bhutanese families. I was cooked Nepali food (they were Bhutanese/Nepali refugees--it is kinda confusing and that confusion is the reason they were forced from their homeland). Nepali food is BOMB!!! SO good!! I highly recommend it.

On the not-so-exciting side of things, I discovered that a large part of my job is to drive refugee families around the city of Portland in a 15 passenger van. This may really surprise those who know me well but I don't like driving--I am, in fact, really bad at it--and I have a less-than-adequate sense of direction. Poor, poor refugees--forced from their homes, ignored by international law and now subjected to Sarah driving an alarmingly large vehicle in a strange city not built on a grid-system. I am terrified (as should everyone else on the road in Portland). I have already had one or two offers from friends and family for a GPS, however, which I really think that I will accept.

As I type this I am the only person left in the office. It is only 4pm but most of the case managers came in before 7:30am today to finish up their case notes as today is the day of the office review performed by a state official (I picked a bad day to start). I was prompted to be unethical and log on the internet at work to post this note after reading over an orientation form concerning health checks. I kept reading about something called a "Class A condition" and I was confused and had to look up what that meant. It apparently refers to refugees with serious illnesses that would normally preclude them from admittance to the US. Naturally, I read on and found that Class B conditions, in turn, are those that "constitute a substantial departure from normal well-being." There was then a list of Class B conditions including substance abuse, treated tuberculosis and leprosy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and.....Pregnancy!!! HA!! To be fair, one could argue that pregnancy is a sexually transmitted infection but I am not sure that it counts as a substantial departure from normal well-being cause, you know, what's the alternative method? But all Class B conditions do require immediate treatment upon arrival (not really sure what the catholics are going to do about it.....) God bless the US Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Again, I will soon introduce my house. I am waiting on a spectacular piece of accompanying artwork to do so (you will understand when you see it) untill then, Au revoir!