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1) I really liked scraping the skin off of the acorns with Kyla, Nick, and Cece. It was funny and entertaining.

2) My job was to scrape the skin off of the acorns, stir the pudding stuff, and cut the kiwii-like-things. It was beneficial to a nutritious diet because they were healthy aaaand tasted good. but the pudding stuff was really different.

1) My favorite part of native cooking was getting to try out chia seeds

2) My job during native cooking was cleaning the skin off of the acorns and cutting them them with Michelle and Dominic

Today was amazing

Today’s morning was very exhilarating. We were able to participate in preparing traditional native foods, all from natural substances. I felt proud grinding the nut in a traditional grinder, using only the power of my arms and stones. These nuts were ground into a fine powder that were then used for other forms of cooking.

Today was a beautiful day in the rain! I also had fun being able to learn different ways of being healthy with Native plants and how to cook them. My Favorite part of today was cooking with Kim Marcus and creating our own tea and acorn treats. While learning the benefits of a proper diet. Although the rain stopped our trip to Wishtoyo. So that was kinda sad, but we’re still traveling! I can’t wait! Here I come Malibu!

Families and friends we are sorry to inform you but we will not be going to Wishtoyo tomorrow due to the rain in sunny California forecasted for the next 2 days. Talking it over with our partners at Wishtoyo it was decided that for the safety and comfort of the student and staff we will postpone our trip until Tuesday, July 21 and will return Wednesday, July 22 in the evening. We will be sending an email out but we the Board wanted to communicate to you the changes as soon as posible. Thank you for your understanding and if you have any questions or concerns please call me directly at 909 706-5948 or email at scott_scoggins@pitzer.edu.

1) Things I miss about home are my family, my comfy bed (not that these beds aren’t comfortable), and my dog.

2) What makes it hard is nothing really. I don’t really have a problem being home. I do miss my family though. That’s the first thing I would  miss.

3) One thing that is great about being away from home is kind of being away from everything.

4) Today, we did our acting class which consisted of a version of head, shoulders, knees, and toes, and hand shake statues, in our English class we read and did a little bit of poetry, in our college applications we wrote our stories, in our Western University class the University recruiter came and explained their medical applications. After Western University we went to Mt. Baldy and met up and danced with the Tongva people of the area. It was an ice breaker for me because I don’t dance. At all. But it was fun nonetheless.

It’s almost been a week… I miss everybody back at home!  There are my siblings, Mo’a, my mother, my step-dad, and my friends.  My family is very tough on me and that makes me strong.  Being without them, I feel, is something they prepare me for.  They want me to become an independent woman and I thank them for that.  My Mo’a, or grandma, is strict yet kind with a tang of sweetness.  There are many times she has helped me when I was feeling depressed or distressed.  She always is full of the right words and knows when to say them at the appropriate moments.  I always am ready to input any thoughts she has to say.  She is very wise and I compare my mentor to her, because in a way, Miahuatl is as kind and caring as her.  My mother is one of the toughest women I’ve ever met.  She sets my boundaries yet considers things as acceptable.  If I were to accidentally be late to come home on time, she’d forgive me.  Of course she has an idea of a discipline such as confiscating my kindle from me but that just betters me.  I wish I’d learn sooner that I should respect her instead of forgetting to do my chores.  She helps me with me in the present and in the future.  I know she obtains that knowledge way better than me and I should listen to her more often.  My siblings… I can describe them with one word.  Annoying! They are very irritating yet that just keeps my memories of them even stronger.  There is at least one brother that hasn’t caught what to do to get on my nerves.  The youngest, Joel, is always playful and ready to learn.  He has taught me patience and tolerance without even meaning to.  He could be aggressive since he is only two years and a half, but he is sweet and funny.  There are many personalities that he has even though he is still arrogant of the future.  Sometimes, I act like him since I too don’t know what the future contains.  There is also Ethan.  He isn’t as much as annoying but he can be demanding.  He is the oldest of our sibling group yet I think he has a childish side to him.  Underneath all his bossiness and calmness, there is always that little child inside of him that wants to express itself.  Don’t get the wrong idea that I’m saying he is pregnant. Ha, if that’s even possible.  Anyways, my last brother who is in the middle of the siblings just like me but younger, James.  He has an outgoing personality that keeps his listeners interested.  He still acts as though he is ignorant of what he says but we all have that type of thing that influence us to do things.  Sometimes it’s for the better.  My step-dad has taught me many things about his own culture.  I wouldn’t have known “Espanol” without him.  He teaches me that hard-work does pay off.  He inspires all of us while he works behind a kitchen all day with all that hot and humid air.  I think he could’ve been a professional in a professional kitchen at a professional restaurant and professional, professional.  He could have done many things but he chose to be with us.  That is what’s so compelling into showing what he has encouraged me to do when I go to college and get the perfect career.  Now my friends are a small pack which is constantly growing whenever I go somewhere new.  There is Karlina, Isabel, Rosalie, Julie, and Sawyer.

Being away from home is pretty sad.  I miss many different friends and family members yet I am having fun with this new experience with new people.  There are many opportunities I that open for me while at this pipeline.  Not that I don’t miss home, but I would rather make such sacrifices to get a better education and an opportunity to be more familiar with this kind of college work.  There are still things I need to learn and I think that being on this pipeline may help me find all the open doors to whatever job or studies I choose.  Maybe even by the end of this program, I will have a better understanding in myself.  Sure it sounds strange but I’d want to be open minded on this sort of stuff especially when it has to do with my future.  Not only does this pipeline help me connect to myself, but it helps me be more open to my friends.  I made new friends too! It’s not like you have a variety of friends from where I live.  It’s important for friends to be friends in a little town since it’s like a way of surviving.  If u have enemies then you should watch your back.  I got to meet people with my interests, style and even personality.  There are even some people I can trust with my future like the staff and mentors.

Throughout this entire day, I felt (and to be honest) tired and sluggish.  I couldn’t wake up from my sleep and I felt like a zombie.  I wish I could’ve went back in time and lecture myself to sleep.  It was only when our “crew” went to Mount Baldy.  Sorta an interesting name, eh?  I woke up with a surge of energy because we got to hike a little ways and we had a ceremony. The ceremony felt ecstatic!  We danced like pros…. well, maybe not literally.  But we all did great! Congrats everyone who participated… which I think was everyone. Oh well, GOOD JOB!!!!

Home is where the heart sets it to be. My people are my home. When I am surrounded by my relatives, I feel the warmth of my mother’s womb. In the 9 months that I was nurtured in the security of the restricting interior, I felt the same feeling I feel gyrating with my brethren.

One thing I miss about home is having clean clothes all the time. I also miss how my little siblings ask me to help them with things for example help cleaning up their mess. The thing that makes it hard being away from home is always wondering if my family is okay. Another reason why it’s hard being away from home because I’m a leader there and here I’m like in my own world by myself. One thing I like about being away from home is people don’t look at me like as if I’m a big mistake. Today was kind of challenging because it was the most I ever missed home and it made me realize how much to appreciate my parents and what I have.