Back from the West-- Lauren DAY ONE

So Sarah and I decided not to take a laptop while we were there because we didn't want to be blogging instead of hanging out, so here is my synopsis of the trip:

We got to San Fran a little after lunch on Friday. We took a shuttle to the hotel and ended up riding with Christy Beesley, a friend of Charles Shipp's from home. It took me a minute to remember where I knew her from, but then I remembered that she came to Sunday's Cool with him one month. I immediately knew it would be a great trip. YEAH-A DAYA!!! We got to the Hotel Carlton and were unable to check in, so we called Sarah's aunt and uncle and they showed us around the bay area. It was really pretty down there, but I was sad that I didn't get to eat any seafood!!! We got to go to the Ghirardelli chocolate house. Boy do they make delicious chocolate!! We ended up walking all the way back to the hotel which was about 8,000 blocks uphill all the while looking for a cab. I actually enjoyed the walk, despite the length. We checked into the hotel and freshened up, then headed to Grace Cathedral for our first dinner together.

I love walking cities. It is so nice to be able to jump on a train, bus, cable car, or taxi and get anywhere quickly. I wish Atlanta would jump on the bandwagon!!! When we go to the Cathedral, I was so excited to see Will Skelton!! It made my trip. He was so much fun to hang out with at the YAMNC in Colorado last year. Unfortunately "The Pepper" couldn't make it to San Fran. We signed up for our workshops the next day, and went to grab a drink before dinner. I was surprised at dinner that the only options for drinks were water and wine. I don't know why this surprised me, but it did. Who did I have to kill to get a Coke around there? During dinner, in true DAYA fashion, Sarah and I made the table introduce themselves, say where they were from, and then name what super power they wanted. It was great. The responses ranged from controlling minds to being able to make chicken salad from any ingredients (The latter was mine of course)!!

We had some interesting entertainment after dinner. There was a white guy who rode around on a bike and rapped. His bike powered the amp and mic, so someone had to ride the bike while he rapped. I can only remember one line and he somehow managed to rhyme t-shirt and Barack Obama. It was all very interesting!!! Only in San Fran could you find that guy and it was great!! After the rapping ended, a few of us walked to the grocery and got something to drink and then off to Stations of the MDG's.

For those of you that don't know anything about the MDG's, here is my brief synopsis. MDG's are goals set forth by the United Nations to eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime and they have been adopted by the Episcopal Church as the number one thing the church should be focused on. I know this sounds like a hard goal to reach, but we all have a part in it and the more we know, the more we can help. Please read up!!

At stations of the MDG's we did little projects or listened to people talking about each of the MDG's. It was good to learn them all, because before that time, I could probably only name 3 of them. My only criticism was that the stations were too short, and some of the activities didn't make sense with what they were supposed to be talking about. We ended the day with Compline, and going to bed.

I had a very interesting experience during Compline. A man came in off the streets to join us, and stood next to me. He talked to me a little about love and handed me a rock in the shape of a heart that he had painted. It was a very sweet gift and I was glad to have a few minutes to talk to him. I saw him again on Sunday when he showed up for church and introduced me to his son. He was not a Christian but was eager to be around other people wanting to "change the world".

I love meeting new people, so I was looking forward to what the rest of the weekend had in store.

Lauren