Portland has been a gracious host these past couple of weeks. I’ve spent my days finding meaning in my work at river network and becoming more familiar with how non-profits operate, and riding my bike. I’ve spent my nights riding buses and max trains and streetcars to find artisan ice cream and beautiful views of the sunset, and riding my bike. I like exploring this city, which has such a passion for sustainability, healthy living, green infrastructure, carpooling, and most visibly, tattoos. Full sleeve, half sleeve, calf, hands, neck, face, I’ve seen it all. I found that asking about a particular tattoo is a great conversation starter, and most of the time a simple gesture of appreciation while mutually squished on a streetcar has led to a long and interesting conversation. I can tell that Portlanders are proud of their city of roses because when I mention I’m from Nashville these people immediately have a list of 5-10 places I NEED to go find, or things I MUST see before I leave. It’s always genuine and it's always heartwarming to realize that this random stranger has such a vested interest in my happiness for 5 minutes. The only time I’ve witnessed irate shouting and intentional rudeness was in response to a parking ticket. Since the people of Portland are still human beings, I can't fault them for that one.
And while I get closer to this town, I also get closer to my fellow duke engage members. We all come from different places in the world and in the Duke community and through duke engage we’ve managed to build our own community here in Portland. We cook together, watch movies, share ideas, and explore the city as friends and peers. Amazingly, this is one of the only groups I’ve been a part of that manages to exist without relying on the crutch of hierarchy and silly social inequalities. We each bring something different to the table and I certainly feel valued and recognized and accepted as an individual who still contributes meaningfully to the collective. It feels fantastic, and every day I can’t wait to go home and hear about how my roommate’s day was, or what the plans are for the evening. I think Bob and Sarah, our director and site coordinator, have been working hard to help us make these same types of meaningful connections in our host community; a difficult task with a dozen well-off, educated Duke teenagers who see what they expect to see and learn only from things and places where they expect lessons. I think this city has a lot to teach all of us, but just maybe not in the ways we’ve been expecting.
You can lead the horse to water but you can't make it drink. I’m at the bank of the river, it’s time to lower my head and take a sip.
AMR
And while I get closer to this town, I also get closer to my fellow duke engage members. We all come from different places in the world and in the Duke community and through duke engage we’ve managed to build our own community here in Portland. We cook together, watch movies, share ideas, and explore the city as friends and peers. Amazingly, this is one of the only groups I’ve been a part of that manages to exist without relying on the crutch of hierarchy and silly social inequalities. We each bring something different to the table and I certainly feel valued and recognized and accepted as an individual who still contributes meaningfully to the collective. It feels fantastic, and every day I can’t wait to go home and hear about how my roommate’s day was, or what the plans are for the evening. I think Bob and Sarah, our director and site coordinator, have been working hard to help us make these same types of meaningful connections in our host community; a difficult task with a dozen well-off, educated Duke teenagers who see what they expect to see and learn only from things and places where they expect lessons. I think this city has a lot to teach all of us, but just maybe not in the ways we’ve been expecting.
You can lead the horse to water but you can't make it drink. I’m at the bank of the river, it’s time to lower my head and take a sip.
AMR