this is going to be a long one...

Hey everyone,
After being politely yelled at by my mother this morning for not updating in a few days, I decided I have some time to play catch up.
Poverty Simulation this year was good. I don't feel as impacted simply because it was not a shock to me. I knew when it was going to end and participated in similar activities last summer. It was great to be reminded of how much I take for granted (like food, a place to sleep at night, and luxuries like knowing what time it is...) A cool new aspect of that summer's was putting a face on global poverty by focusing on children in Africa.
The poverty Sim is something I find difficult to write about because no amount of words can explain what it is like to those who would never think about experiencing it. I can tell you how much it breaks your heart to feel an ounce of what those who suffer from poverty everyday feel, but unless you actually experience something like it, words can not do it justice.
If you want to host your own pov sim for a youth group or something, or if you would like to hear about it, please get a hold of me once I get home. I could talk for hours about it and set you up with the matierials needed to conduct one...but I just can't write about it. Sorry...
Anyway, pov sim ended Saturday afternoon. We had lunch and showered and had some time to reflect, then we all just kind of hung out together at IIT that evening. We were pretty tired.
Sunday we went to church in groups; I went to Cabrini Green's Living Faith Church. It was a great service, but even greater was the difference in income levels between blocks in this area. Some of you have heard of Cabrini Green, probably in a negative tone, which I understand. It is a "project" as they used to be called, or government housing, where some of the poorest kids in Chicago grow up blocks away from the Gold Coast, or the richest condos in the city. If you grew up with rich people flaunting their dollars in your backyard...you may want to find means of making money too.
I'll have more to say about Cabrini tomorrow because I'm going to work at Kids Club there.
After church, a few students and I went to the beach. The weather was great and it was fun to lay on the beach with a great view of skyscrapers right beside you.
Monday: Staff meeting in the morning. Most of it was spent giving input about students who will be taking over the project on Sunday as the staff leave. There are 20 students who will take over 20 jobs when the staff leave. The students stay for 3 more weeks. Monday night was a normal night I think...we just hung out.
Tuesday: The 4th of July is actually celebrated on the 3rd here...atleast more festivities are. Tuesday we went to ministry sites with students. I went to New Life, a church, that had a summer work program for at-risk teens. It was a great day and I was able to get some experience with teens, who I will be working with next year for my social work field placement. So that was cool! I liked it...which is always a good thing. After ministry, we came back to IIT and everyone split up into a few different groups to grab some dinner then watch fireworks! A group of 12 of us went to dinner at a Diner that served breakfast, then hung out with the 1 million+ people who were downtown. We sat in Millenium Park, under the amplitheater to watch the fireworks and had a really great time.
Wednesday: We slept in because we all had the day off with the students. A few of us went souvenir shopping in the morning, then hung out at the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park for some free concerts. It was HOT, but still enjoyable to hang out with everyone.
Today the staff and I are kind if doing odds and ends, getting ready to transition out of here. :( I am not happy about it. I leave one week from day...
I'm going to get going...I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July!