The Seattle Sounders...our loudest "wannabe European" outlet

The passion of Seattle Sounders' fans is still mind-boggling. Yes we finally have a generation of Seattlites with a love of, and money to support, football (soccer) but the earnestness to dialogue about it, to claim our very own football culture, the eagerness to say "football" and wave our scarves made me see that there is something much deeper motivating these fans than "love of the game"-it was the freedom, nay, the liberation of being able to loudly exclaim our love of something European. And through it, have a gateway to mention our love of everything European.
Even though I grew up in Seattle, it wasn't until the last few years that I realized how European Seattlites try to be. (I must admit though that the cultural diversity of White Center in the southern part of West Seattle where I lived age 5-17 didn't, and does not, exemplify this "wannabe European" trait). My story is a common Seattlite story: a love for culture and travel led me to explore and live in cities both nationally and internationally, even earning me the nickname "the nomad", only to find myself returning unexpectedly and finally coming to call Seattle and the Northwest "home". Like other Seattlites, my love for culture and travel remains, but if there is any city in the US that I feel good about being identified with and can boast about, Seattle is it. (Seattle's geography was the first thing I missed yet I admit that I am prone to highlight the amount of rain and overall dreary, depressing environment in the hope that its beauty remain a secret to deter the hoards of people flocking in.) There are many, many traits I could talk about that draw people to Seattle, but I merely want to highlight one: our "wannabe European" vibe.
I am not bashing this trait, but I find it curious considering how cosmopolitan we try to present ourselves, how unaware we are of any problems with this trait, and how pervasive it is. Only recently did Seattle lose its place as the whitest major city in America, replaced by Portland. The Washington Post wrote an interesting article about this development and what it means for both cities. I think most of Seattle does not recognize how white we are, and especially how culturally dominant the "white culture" is.
Seattle is the most European city I have been to in the States and we idealize Europe more than anyone, making it almost sound like a fairytale place. I hear this frequently from people who travel more than I do yet in returning from living in the UK for a year and traveling in Europe, I believe it more. Europe can do very little wrong in our eyes: clothing, art, cars, sports, food, drinks, music, politics, religion (lack thereof), education, economics, etc. Chief among the problems in this trait is that few of us recognize how difficult it is even for Europeans to agree on defining what "European" is. One need only look at issues within the European Union the last few years to see this. Yes there are some key similarities, but the differences bring mess and conflict- realities that mar this fairytale place.
This "wannabe European" trait is pervasive. I walked downtown Saturday morning and noticed a few things (I didn't go out searching): the accents we choose to use in our advertisements, 4 Italian pizza chains claiming to be THE authentic Italian pizza place and I could not find any place fighting to be have the authentic Chicago-style pizza, European-style clothing and American apparel but little else, domestic or abroad, the pride and glory in being the birthplace of transplanting coffee culture to America, and FINALLY...our Seattle Sounders.

When the MLS began, Europe was the model and no city embraced this more whole-heartedly than Seattle-proved by our record breaking attendance, season ticket holders, and frankly, zeal. Rain or shine, we'll have seats filled with happy fans. In addition to what we own, drink, wear and say, we now can SHOUT about something European and somehow feel more hip, more cultured, more sophisticated, more internationally justified and aware. Whether we are at the match striving to be the hooligan we always hear about, or pounding back a pint at an Irish pub downtown, we feel connected to the world in a way that baseball, basketball, football, etc. can't provide.
As a student of history and culture, I believe there is much to be praised in widening our focus to include the world around us, but that world is bigger than simply Europe. Yes I admit that this trait is not exhaustive: Honda's are still popular, we proudly know the difference btwn food from Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, and we are of one of few cities that has retained a hippie community (not just the wannabe type).
This "wannabe European" trait makes me wonder: why do we strive for this so much? What does it offer us? What do we forfeit by losing it?

Sat game: frustrating to watch but not boring. Freddy M. seemed lazy, again, and we only had 2 shots on goal but I joined in the exhuberance when Mike Fucito came off the reserve the final 5 minutes and scored in stoppage time! It happened so quick on the throw-in that few actually saw or expected it. I was glad to see it, relieved mostly. Fucito's story is a good read. We need to be playing better.

Fun at the Club

I have been working at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club for almost four months and have loved it. There are two other counselors with me leading the "Fish", 30 2-3rd graders, and I am only there in the afternoons. After working at an office in the morning, it is a nice shift to being around the kids, organizing activities, playing games, cooking dishes, teaching crafts, etc. Of course with kids there is also the occasional mess, whining, disobedience, but by in large they are a great group and I've had fun getting to know them all.
Entering the world of an 8yr is interesting. Their world can be shattered if someone takes the last yellow lincoln log or completely restored if the gym is suddenly open to play in. Social interaction brings all sorts of conflict-potential into the room when you have such a large mix of kids. Some are the oldest, some the youngest, others in the middle, and some have no siblings at all. Friendships are defended and displayed in unusual ways. By giving them optional activities and reminding them of the resposibility each entails, they are learning that the world doesn't revolve around them, that they don't always get their way, that their actions have consequences, and also that they have more fun when things are structured, that having friends who encourage is better than ones who make fun of you, that it is safer to take risks when you have the freedom to fail. Their world may seem simple to adults, but to them it is overwhelming complex at times.

Our room and club is equipped for structured, fun activity. In our room we have a shelf of books and board games, boxes of legos, cards, lincoln logs, blocks, paper, pens, colored pencils, and more. Each month we change the decorations together and think of the "Question of the Month". Every day we have group time to share stories from the day and hear our activity options. They get to go outside, use the gym, work on the computers, study with other students. There is a routine for what we do and when and where it is done. BUT when the kids are on school break, like last week-it all changes. We have field trips to parks, the zoo, go bowling, mini-golf, swimming...with a ton more time to do it! I just wanted to highlight two things from last week.
1. Ballard Boys and Girls Club-lego editionFor my entire time at the club, all the kids have been obssessed with lincoln logs. They would have lincoln log wars, forts, competitions endlessly. I was curious how long this would last! I was surprised last week when I came in and saw three boxes of legos and eight kids building anything that came to their mind. A few of them started building a structure and came up with the idea of making the BBGC out of legos! Each day they added new parts to it. I had not picked up legos in years and felt like a little kid again helping them find pieces and brainstorm where each should go. The final result looked like this, though no camera angle could do justice. We are all pretty proud of it, though it is incomplete.
2. Ironman Fan
One of the boys in my group loves robots, and anything associated with them. So he pretty much adores Ironman and he and his friend decided to build an Ironman suit over the break. To motivate them to finish, I told them that if they did complete it all, then I'd grow and shave my facial hair like the real Ironman! Their eyes got big and they immediately started drawing out plans. They were limited on materials and not allowed to weld yet, so cardboard had to suffice. He couldn't bring it into the club from his house so I needed a detailed description and his mom's testimony before I committed to the goatee but they did it. I continue to enjoy being at the club because it is always an adventure and growing place for both kids and counselors.

Lock-in

A few weeks ago I led my first lock-in with the youth group of CrossPoint Churches. I honestly wasn't sure how it would go, especially since I was the only chaperone who would be there the whole time! What do you do in a lock-in? I reflected back on ones I went to when I was a teenager, and hoped that this night wouldn't be as crazy. The kids came around 8pm. After an icebreaker and setting the rules for the night, I had them put their cell phones on a bin and we kept them there the whole night-surprisingly most the kids actually thought it was a great idea! I planned on staying up all night, and they were welcome to but I gave them the speech about discerning whether to do so considering their commitments the next day, health, etc. The last time I remember boasting about how late I stayed up I was in middle school. Somewhere in high school I became overcommitted enough to treasure every minute of sleep I could get and was content to let people win the “game” of staying up the longest.
When you aren't doing assignments or preparing for exams, all-nighters can be fun so I made sure I had plenty of activities planned and was curious to try them out with the group. We didn't have time for them all. After a few hours of games, snacks and sundaes, “Follow the Guard” was the chosen favorite activity. Probably the funniest moment for me that night was around 1am when I asked if they wanted to watch a movie and they quickly yelled “No! We'll fall asleep!” I liked the honesty.
I had been up since 6:30am Friday and around 3am Saturday I was glad to see that most of the kids had fallen asleep already. I had chosen not to have any caffeine so I wasn't sure how I'd last. Apples to Apples and other small games kept the few remaining kids entertained and I was entertained watching them. They fought off “long blinks” and claimed they were merely “resting their eyes” for minutes at a time:) The night had been cold and clear, which made for a wondeful sunrise at Green Lake, so I brought them down around 7am. They started making pancakes when they returned, which was hilarious to watch. I made some scrambled eggs and prepared fruit and drinks. We ate around 8:00, or rather grazed. After so much sugar from junk food the night prior, some people had upset stomachs. We had way too many pancakes. People were just awake enough to help me clean, but not awake enough to argue about it-which was perfect. Everything was cleaned and put away by 9:30, leaving time for some to flop back on the floor and sleep. We had survived our first lock-in, but unlike when I was a teenager, I couldn't go home and sleep the rest of the day...
I had some other work to do that day, errands to run and a party to prepare for at my place-probably not the smartest decision after an all-nighter. Around 4pm I was fading quickly and crashed for about 2 hours before preparing the barbeque. I didn't have a lot of social energy, so I was relieved that only 10 were in our house at one time through the night. The party was over at 1am, I went to sleep at 1:30 and was up at 9:00, so thankfully I had Monday morning free to finally catch up on sleep. Was the lock-in worth it? Yes, but I won't make a habit of it-I love sleep too much.