charm city!?

So, I've moved to Baltimore. I had previously only been to Baltimore 4 times- twice to go to the aquarium, once to go to a red hot chili peppers concert, and to be there when my nephew was born. I grew up only an hour away, but never actually visited Baltimore because I was lead to believe that Baltimore was dirty and dangerous and that I would be shot on sight, more or less, if I ever dared enter the city limits.

I have never been more convinced that those things are true than over the past 6 days.

I moved in on Wednesday, to a large Victorian mansion in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood in northwest Baltimore (clue: northwest is the bad part). Don't get too excited about the mansion, though- it IS awesome, but it is infested with mice and cockroaches and has no ac and a lot of it is falling apart. It really is a beautiful house, though, and I share it with about 14 amazing people, including refugees from Cameroon (three of them! we are little Cameroon) and Iraq. I live on the third floor with 3 other girls who are also doing Mennonite Voluntary Service. We have room for another volunteer, AND we have a guest room, so please keep Baltimore in mind as you plan your travels! Just make sure you arrive and leave in the daylight. And have a gun. And several dogs.

No, the neighborhood isn't THAT bad. well, ok, it is. We live in the blue light district. There are these big poles with blue lights every few blocks that have cameras on them that show people at the police station live video feed of what's going on. That's how much crime happens here- they videotape it (likely while eating pop corn and ice cream sandwiches) and then, occasionally, send officers. Our house was broken into 6 times last year, so it now has bars on most of the windows and big, scary razor-looking things on the gutters to prevent people from climbing them. We have a small parking lot behind our house, and we frequently find used condoms and syringes back there. Last week, a girl was mugged as she brought her bike into the house, literally AT the door step. There are plenty of drugs and prostitutes to go around, and from the roof (which we can get to from the attic and see a LOT of Baltimore- very cool) you can watch the bigger-than-squirrel-sized rats play in the dumpster across the street. A few blocks away the neighborhood gets even rougher, and the Iraqi refugee who lives in our house says that area makes him homesick because the amount of boarded up and burned out houses and trash in the street makes it look like Iraq. I now call it the Iraqi district in my head.

I started work today, and when I told the people there where I lived they were astounded. They promptly changed my work schedule from 9-5 to 8-4 so I would never have to walk home in the dark (the walk takes about a half an hour). They also said to never, ever walk down Linden street, even in the daylight, because the gangs there are active all the time, not just at night. That's the next street over from mine.

So, it's a new experience, on pretty much every level. But I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be here. The other night I didn't want to go to bed just yet and I wandered into the kitchen where I was able to talk to some of the refugees about their home countries and what they think about the U.S., what they like and what they miss. I haven't had a lot of opportunities to talk to people with experiences so different from mine before, and it is so exciting and enlightening. Work seems like it will be great, too. Today was my first day, so I didn't do much. I will be working as an advocacy counselor at a transitional housing facility for formerly homeless men and women. The house I will work in specializes in people with mental health issues. It is home to about 10 men (all veterans of the U.S. armed forces) and 4 women. I know this will be a huge challenge for me, but I am really looking forward to working with and getting to know the residents.

So, this year will be strange. I'm not allowed out after dark, and if I find myself already out when it gets dark, I have to find a cab willing to take me home. Apparently many cabs won't take us home at night because they refuse to go into this neighborhood after dark. I will be working to help people get their lives together, preparing for jobs and paying rent and all of that, which I feel very ill-prepared to do. I live in little Cameroon, next to the Iraqi district. Yes, this year will be strange. Strange but awesome.