25 February 2008
Maquoketa, IA by Beth Clay
Posted by Up With People under: Maquoketa-Iowa .
We arrived in Maquoketa, got through allocation meeting, and there I was standing with my two ’sisters’ from the cast, and no mother. I approached our FM and asked what we should do, and he called our host mom. She was stuck in the driveway. Its cool, we hung around for a while and were given a ride ‘home’ by the town undertaker. We got to our house, Sofie from Sweden and Veronica from Norway, along with myself. Our host mom had mugs and coasters for us, for Valentines day. And, a car stuck in a snowbank. We sat to dinner and enjoyed some light fare of fruit and cream cheese and a taco salad type dip. So awesome, exactly what I needed after a long day on the bus. We enjoyed conversation, and though at times I was drifting in my thoughts I almost instantly became close with Sofie, and Veronica as well. Our host mom is a call center manager here in Maquoketa, and seems pretty cool so far.
It is Thursday night now, and we just had our first full day in Maquoketa. Our day consisted of community impact at the local historical center. We were there to help them move into a new facility, as they are growing their basic center into two, one focusing on the history of home and farm, and one focusing on the history of industry and manufacturing. Every moment of today was a blast, from diving head first over snowbanks and promising that “I’m good” to teaching what a white wash is. In the evening we went to the Decker House, here in town, and watched one of the other host families perform at a open mic. I even got up to join in for a couple songs with some friends, and managed to embarrass myself exponentially by agreeing to do sign language for a song that I haven’t heard in a few years. Prior to our night at the local bar, we went to dinner at pizza hut. Sofie and Veronica had stuffed crust pizza for the first time, and I was in heaven with my breadsticks. We had a really nice conversation with Deborah, and I literally felt the bond establish itself better. Honestly, at first I was a little nervous, but it is becoming so much easier as the time passes.
So, here I am in Maquoketa (love the word)… and I definitely feel that this city has been my favorite by far. The room mates I have, the happiness that has found itself back in my life. I loved Lincoln, but really missed out by not being myself, and having to take time to heal, deal and process everything from home. Regardless, I’m coming around and each and every moment is new, and exciting. I truly enjoy the moments and time that I spend with each of my cast mates.
Its getting late now and we don’t have internet here, but at the same time, I’ve grown to love the situation at hand. From Sofie falling off the bed while in a moose sleeping bag, to Veronica smiling when I tease her about missing the bus, to Deborah telling us little bits and pieces of her life. I look forward to tomorrow, when we will be meeting one of her daughters, her son in law, and her littlest grand children, Sophie and Abby. I’m looking forward to playing with the children, and having a relaxing day at home.
Its our host family day, and I’m not really sure what to think of everything at this moment. It was an incredibly peaceful and relaxing day, almost to a point of no return. I slept in late, woke up and was served some delicious breakfast by Deborah. We had some egg and cheese quiche, fresh raspberry muffins and fruit. With cappucinno, made by Deborah. Awesome. We talked about a lot of different things this morning, starting with the antique store that is here in Maquoketa, we had thought about visiting today, but time ran out and it was more important for us to bond and spend time as a larger family today. So, as we were talking about antiques, we began to talk about American history. And in talking about American history, we began to discuss some of the atrocities we have done to the people native to our country. Both Deborah and I have a pretty intense passion for history, and it was quite interesting for her and I to share our knowledge with Sofie and Veronica. Sofie talked about the native people of Scandinavia. I had never heard of them, and for the first time felt that I was lacking in education, and lacking in knowledge of the world around me. I am really enjoying myself in this time, and moment.
After breakfast we cleaned up. I did some dishes, and Sofie and Veronica started some laundry. We all gathered in the living room for some more time together, and soon Deborahs daughter Tammy, husband Brian, Abby and Baby Sophie arrived. Soon, I was holding Baby Sophie and not much later I was following Abby downstairs to get the bear “A”,our cast mascot, for her to play with. She came back upstairs and we played for a bit. Sofie and Veronica took turns holding the baby, and playing with Abby. We all had a really relaxed day. I taught Abby to use my digital camera, and she had a great time taking photos “from everyone” instead of “of everyone.”…
Its quite amazing that this host family has turned out to mean so much to me, not because of the children, or because of my room mates, but because of the atmosphere everything has created. There is such joy and laughter, and happiness in the presence of one another. At first my apprehension was intense; this is my first “real” hosting experience in a lot of ways. The first time I’m actually interacting at my highest capacity within the realms of my environment. Denver was complete comfort zone as I was staying with my friend Katie. In Lincoln, Nebraska, I was staying with an alum of Up with People, and dealing with a great level of absolute turmoil on the personal level. I wasn’t originally allocated to be staying there, but given the personal tragedy going on, it was an appropriate change and adjustment. But here, I’m finally living the experience that I’ve been waiting for.
And right now, that’s where I’m writing from. A moment of joy. The day was definitely enjoyable, though we didn’t travel out to do anything, we didn’t explore anywhere. We stayed home and experienced the concept of “family”. So, thank you Maquoketa. For giving me an absolutely incredible experience. I know that I will never forget the people I have met here, the things I have seen, and how every bit of it made me feel.