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I spent this weekend with an Iranian family who moved to Phoenix three years ago. Their high school-aged daughter is enrolled in a program at the nonprofit I work with; I was assigned as her mentor several months ago. The objective of the program is to see refugee high school students through graduation and into community college. The idea is with a bit of help from a community member, these students will thrive in their new educational environment and culture.

When R and I first met, I was struck by her innocence. She is 21 and has been in an Phoenix high school for two years — the state policy is students can remain in high school until age 22. These two years have been anything but easy. She came to the United States with a high school diploma from Tehran, but with no English. Her time at the high school was intended to give her a free chance to learn the language and a bit about her new culture.

When I studied abroad my sophomore year in Mexico, I remember the sheer terror of the first few months of high school. I didn’t speak a word of Spanish (okay, maybe a word. But I’m pretty sure burrito and guacamole weren’t going to see me through geometry). I would sit in the back of the class, write down every note from the blackboard and make sure I had the homework assignment written correctly. Then, I would head home and with an old paperback Spanish/English dictionary, translate each and every word and start the homework. I often didn’t finish all of the assignments after hours of work. I was blessed with a host sister who was also a high school student (although a couple years older and way too cool to hang with the annoying American in public unless forced by her parents. Lucky for me, she was regularly forced). Ale would carefully and patiently correct my homework and help me learn as much vocabulary as I could cram in my head. Thank goodness the Internet wasn’t an option at this point. We were forced to bond and I was pushed to learn in every waking second from human interaction rather than websites or chat rooms. After a few months, I was dreaming in Spanish. Soon enough, the language arrived like a much needed new best friend and life greatly improved.

R, on the other hand, has spent two years in the back of classrooms trying to learn a language that doesn’t share a common alphabet. Additionally, she’s the extra kid. The new kid. The weird kid. The foreign kid. The kid who doesn’t speak English or know how to socialize. It isn’t surprising few people have reached out to her. Also, because of her culture, it is very strange to be with boys in an educational setting and she is completely confused how to even speak to them. (Ah, high school. Some things are universal.) To make matters a bit more complicated, her parents are elderly and have no interest in learning English. They are retired and are very happy speaking Farsi at home. Her older brother, who also lives at home, does speak English well after working here for several years. However, again with the universality of life, hanging out with his little sister to help her learn a new language is not at the top of his priority list.

R is left with few friends and has latched on to her teachers. She craves the chance to speak English and through her timidity, she often will spend extra time in the classroom to speak with these adults. Our time together has been comical and fascinating. It took a bit for her to warm up, but she hasn’t stopped asking questions since. About English, our culture, how to interact with her peers at school, what should she study in college, and can we go out for Indian food? She really wants to try Indian food.

I took her for Mexican first — burritos trump curry. And tried my best to attempt to answer her questions, although I most certainly did not push her in any direction educationally. She’s currently bouncing between studying to be a pharmacist or engineer. Either would be pretty darn amazing. Just the thought that she’s considering these careers makes me beam. This is the essence of the American dream. An immigrant who arrives with little more than enthusiasm and motivation and will find great success. Paired with community support, she and 20 other refugee high school students in Phoenix, will see graduation this year.

As her mother went out into their garden to pick vegetables for our lunch, and her father tilled the small plot of earth they had — no doubt dreaming of the land they’d left in Iran — I smiled. These folks lived in a rural village for decades before being forced to flee and recreate what they could of a life in urban Phoenix — on the other side of the world. They’d turned their desert backyard into a fertile, lush garden that would make any botanist take note. Their tenacity is unbelievable.

Again, I find myself bonding with incredible people, thankful for the diverse opportunities life has presented. I’m pretty sure this family is mentoring me too.

~K

Rushing off to see if Tina has more in her Etsy shop. She recently sent me this beautiful scarf and I bought another for an upcoming birthday gift. I love the splash of color, the soft yarn and rocking the handmade.

~K

It was just a matter of time until I pulled out the sewing machine again. I took a two-week break to enjoy the holidays, sleep (and man, have I been sleeping) and spend time with friends. When Katie and I cooked together a couple weeks ago, she picked out a pattern and some fabric. She’s starting a new high school tomorrow, so I pushed to get this Amy Butler Birdie Bag done today.

These are always so tricky for me to photograph. I should really sign up for a product photography class. Chocolate brown, white on white lining, turquoise exterior. This is the first time I’ve been able to figure out the gussets in this pattern. A-ha! I love it when puzzle pieces finally fall in place. Also, I wish someone had told me when I first started sewing that if you are going to take a shortcut (which generally bite me in the ass), don’t skip the interfacing. Interfacing makes a world of difference in a project like this. It takes it from looking like a Girl Scout project I made in 4th grade to something I’d actually like to carry.

For those non-sewers, interfacing is a fusible synthetic material you iron on to fabric to make it heavier and therefore sturdier. It makes so much difference in handbags, especially handles.

Now that I’ve got gussets down, plan on many a more bag in the next few weeks. Specifically, this bag. Beki is so good. Have you seen her amazing patterns?

~K

P.S. Katie got into a sledding accident this weekend and broke her collar bone. I’m hoping the new bag redirects the stares from her rather unfortunate brace. Poor thing. Could not be worse timing. As if starting a new high school weren’t hard enough, doing so with a brace seems like an Ellen Page movie waiting to be filmed.

I’ve been waiting for the last gifts to be gifted and received to post the projects I made for the holidays.

Cigar Box turned Correspondence Kit for Colleen

With much thanks to Kinchie for nudging me along to get this done and helping with the details!

Tea Towel Headbands, which I put together with help of my mama. (God bless her patience. I hate turning tiny things like this.) I love the idea of having a little towel on your brow when you are working out, gardening or running down the field playing frisbee. You want to look cute, but you don’t want your hair in your eyes. And if it sucks up a little “glisten” along the way, even better.

These were paired with my 2008 Christmas music mix. If one doesn’t get you out on your bike, hopefully the other does.

And finally, Amy Butler wide leg jammie pants. I made these in fleece and added a t-shirt to make pajama sets for eight friends.

And to all a good night! The Christmas tree is down, the Valentine’s heart is going on the front door and I’m looking forward to a rockin’ 2009.

Cheers,

Kelli

Books:

I gave up sometime during 2008 in blogging about the books I was reading. I’m not sure why, but I’m back on the media blogging motivation train. I just finished “Ask Now the Beasts” which came as a gift from a fellow blogger. It is a moving and eloquent collection of essays about animals written by Ruth Rudner. Rudner writes about her pets (dogs, cats, horses) and of the animals she admires in the wild (coyotes, wolves, penguins) and at the zoo (gorillas). Her stories are insightful and a true delight to read.

“There are many of us, reared by humans and lavished with love, who dream of release into the wild, free to spend a lifetime wantering in mountains and forests, confident (to a certain extent) we could survive. But we are not gorillas. What can it be to bet the center of lavished attention, a pampered child, and then find yourself in so radically a different world? To be released into the wild, a captive animal has to be trained to survive in the wild. To be released into a zoo is different, The threats are different. The expectations are different. The knowledge of life is different.”

I’m now enjoying “The Ridiculous Race,” a book Finny gave me for Christmas. I am also re-reading “The Red Tent,” one of my favorites from years past with Katie. I started to read, “The Five Love Languages,” after having it recommended by a bunch of friends, but it doesn’t make sense to read this when you aren’t in a relationship. So, it’s sitting on the bookshelf for a bit.

Music:

I am currently absolutely in love with Bon Iver, Sasha Fierce and Kings of Leon. Take that for a diverse taste in music!

Movies:

No surprise, I was taken by Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. It ranks right up there with “Slumdog Millionare” for best picture. Love! Great movies. I also saw “7 Pounds” and it broke my heart. Beautiful movie, but bring lots of tissues.

What are you reading/watching/listening to?

~K

Dear Fin,

Did you ever think two years ago when we both fell head over seam ripper for Amy Butler’s In Stitches that we’d be here, organizing our third sew-along? Me either. But here we are and while there have been some bummer projects, for the most part I am still having a great time.

Thank you for being my partner in crime.

So, I understand Denver Brunette pretty much ran away with the competition for the best project of the year. Seriously, the girl knows how to work the wrap skirt. I think that skirt was my favorite project this year. I’m going to make a couple more for spring. Bravo DB! You rock. And now you’ll also rock a subscription to CRAFT.

For those sewers, bakers, knitters and other folk who love to be creative or just want to learn, consider jumping on the Finny & Donk Adventure wagon and coming along for the 2009 ride. This year you don’t have to buy a book. !! We appreciate the crap economy. We also appreciate the hotness soon to take the White House who we hope will make buying a book next year no big deal. Anyway, enough politicking: the 2009 Finny & Donk sew-along is as easy as it gets to play along. Finny and I will select two projects from CRAFT magazine’s website each month.

Finny, you were so smart to select the January projects and give us all some variety. I love your idea of the Men’s Hoodie and the Lemon Drop cookies. Woo hoo! Plus, now we don’t have to hear about all those lovely folk who: have a sewing machine but are frightened to use it, don’t have a sewing machine but want one and can’t play along, don’t have a sewing machine and think we are dumb. Okay, we might still hear from that last group, but obviously they are wrong.

So, to again review the 2009 rules for the Finny & Donk sew-along: We’ll pick two or more projects from CRAFT each month and you’ll decide to do one or both, take a photo of your project and post them to the new CRAFT flickr pool. We’ll then select winners and of course send a fabulous prize.

Sound good? Yeah. I thought so. Now would be the time to add CRAFT to your reader if you haven’t already. Me loves free.

Also sounds like a pretty great way to rock 2009, ifyouaskme.

Cheers,

Donk

P.S. Finny, way to rock the badge!

2008 was a banner year. While I didn’t buy that house (thanks economy!) or get the dog, I did create a garden, feed friends regularly at community dinners and flew past my goal of reading 40 books. I’m not necessarily any more financially secure this year than I was last, but I did manage to get a great new job and a sweet new ride. Plus, there were several a splash and dash, a couple triathlons and those five weeks in sweet Africa. I also found a great new church, saw myself published in newspapers and secured a ghost-writing deal. There was Mexico, Nicaragua, Steamboat, Portland, San Antonio, Denver and even a jaunt to our Capitol. While I could join the chorus of moaning, I’d rather not look at my 401K. Instead, I’ll just be thankful for what a great year this has been otherwise. I’m healthy and happy. There is a family moving into the White House who I admire and am proud of. My own family is doing great. Last year treated me very well.

I’m hoping in 2009 to see:

• The novel published.
• A new sew-along with Finny.
• More than a dozen meals cooked from those new cookbooks.
• 60 books read.
• 1500 miles on the bike. Chris rides 500 a month. My friend JT rode 2400 last year. I can do this!
• Less TV watching. (This is actually a pretty easy one since my TVs soon won’t work.)
• More time being social.
• Giving Ultimate another shot.
• Giving dating another shot.
• Taking yoga and pilates regularly.
• Resisting buying new and instead rocking what I already have.
• Learning to sew a dress.
• Learning to hand quilt.
• Learning to knit a pair of socks.
• Scheduling and running a couple more 1/2 marathons.
• Giving my trainer and his new eating plan a fair shot.
• Having my blog redesigned and expanded.

I’m going to post where I’m at with each of these monthly, including a weight/health/strength update. If 2009 had a theme, it would be accountability.

What are you hoping for in the New Year?

Wishing us all the very best,

Kelli

P.S. Roscoe is growing up and some how keeps getting cuter!