Portland Day Three: Blanchet House, Saturday Market, and the sights of Portland

Welcome to day three! We have two writers this evening, Ellie Baxter who will be giving an overview on the whole day, and Masame Fletcher, who felt compelled to share her thoughts on our daily drives to and from Downtown Portland each day. Enjoy! -Taryn :)

Overview of the Day: Ellie Baxter

Today was a great day in Portland. This morning, we woke up and got ready to go to the Blanchet House of Hospitality. Our service project today was to help and serve in their Founder's Cafe, which makes and serves food to the homeless. It was an amazing experience getting to help so many underprivileged people. My job, along with Gavin, Simon, and Andy, was to plate all of the food. It was an absolutely AMAZING feeling and I would love to do it again.

When we were done serving, they gave us lunch, and then we went to the Saturday Market. The market had things from soap to jewelry made from spoons. It was fun getting to walk around and look at all the little booths they had. At the end, Andy and Taryn gave us a game to play. Andy went to one of the booths in the market and took a picture of something they had there. Once he showed us the picture, we had to try to find that same item, take a picture of it, and find out the price. Whoever could do that first, won a free doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts. To wrap up our third full day in Portland, we went to Voodoo and got doughnuts. We all had a great time in Portland and I can't wait for our last couple days here!

Driving: Masame Fletcher

I have never enjoyed driving around in a car. I am one of those people who gets sick by doing anything, whether it's writing, reading, or playing on my phone. I remember the first time I rode in a car, I felt like throwing up. My stomach felt so queasy. But this time, I was able to stare out the window and enjoy the view.

I loved and I hated what I saw, because it brought me on a roller coaster of emotions. The pretty views were of people riding on their bikes and motorcycles, while others were walking their dogs. Not to mention the flashing signs advertising the stores, little kids holding their parent's hand while crossing the street, dogs walking by their side in perfect stance.

But then the more we got into the city, the trees and flowers disappeared, making the view and images more painful and beautiful at the same time. People were lying around in front of stores with their sleeping bags, others bodies looked like they functioned but seemed out of it; their faces told another story. With sleeping bags underneath them, dressed in old ragged clothes with cardboard signs in their hands, they simply asked for money, hoping someone would be generous. There was nothing beautiful about watching people who have lost themselves.

The beautiful part of driving was realizing that, in fact, I could help those people. Also, it was amazing to get to see the brokenness here. I enjoyed getting to see something that I normally don't get to in my town. Also, it inspired me to do everything I can. I loved this experience.