I am blessed to have grown up the way I did. Mom and Dad, I can't thank you enough for managing to always be there for me. For a roof over my head, a stable loving environment, food in my stomach, and all the toys I had- thank you, I love you.

That being said- today was great, interesting, and long- an experience. This whole week is going to be an experience, and that's exactly what I was hoping for.

I'm pretty tired(so much playing!) and have an early-ish day tomorrow so this post will be quick. I'll fast-forward through the day a little bit:
Breakfast at Dunkin (yay!)
Lunch at Subway
Then to the Youth Center.

About 1 p.m., Salamanca Youth Center:
We pull in to the youth center parking lot from a road that's in really rough shape. The Youth Center is a relatively new building, we later found out that it was built in 2000 and before that the center had bounced around from rented place to rented place. There we met Sandy, the woman who runs the youth center. She gave us a brief tour of the place which included a basketball gym, a few pool tables, a ping pong table, PS2 stations, a computer room, an area for homework and snacks, and an area for board games. Sandy then gave us a brief overview of EVERYTHING Salamanca. The history of the town, the racial, social, economic breakdown of the area/kids that attend, and the super messy relationship between the Seneca Nation and the state. I swear each sentence she spoke could have a 30 page thesis written on it.

A few things that stuck out to me in our conversation:
- On the registration form (which isn't required to attend) the highest familial income range was at $40,000 I think. Sandy told us the average household income in Salamanca was around $24,000. If any of you Long Islanders are reading this, imagine living off of that. If any of you Ithaca College students are reading this, our tuition is double that, per year.
- "There's the 'filthy rich', and the 'filthy'." This was said when explaining the Salamanca using the feudal system
- Only 8% of the Youth Center's budget/funding comes from the state. The rest has to be found by the city and other sources.
-Enrolled Natives receive about $2500 a fiscal quarter. Enrolled means that the individual is a card carrying member of the Seneca Nation. (yes, they have legitimate cards.)
- The graduation rate for Salamanca is 64%. Coming from a school with a graduation rate that's very good, this just seems crazy. It was explained that they just don't value education.
- The three driving forces in the area are tobacco, gas, and the casino.
-The casino is the largest employer in the county. Because of their status as a native business they must have 51% native employees, and native employees have preference for institutional advancement.
- A big issue in the culture is alcoholism. Native Americans are genetically predisposed to alcoholism because they lack the enzyme to break down alcohol. Obesity is also an issue.
- The leading cause of death is heart disease. The second is lung cancer, how convenient. 

I could probably go on for a while longer about other things we talked about, but all that happened before 2:30, and before the kids came!

The Youth Center allows kids from age five to nineteen to come and use the facility and hangout.

My afternoon started outside on the swings with Niki, Kelly, and a third grader named Chloe. Her favorite color is purple and she has 4 sisters, I got to meet one of them. A young blonde boy, named Sean, bubbling with energy was running all over the playground so I challenged him to a race (in my jeans). He won, but got confused on the terms on the race. He was one of the cutest kids I've ever seen. His energy left me wishing I had more. The rain started to fall and we were called inside.

The next, and largest, part of my afternoon was spent playing board games with two third grade girls named Jordyn and Kaylee. We played the Disney Princess jewel fishing game, Connect 4, Candyland, Sorry!, and Chutes and Ladders: Dora Edition. I miss board games. They reminded me of my childhood (shh. I know, I'm still a kid) But they also reminded me of my neighbors and I miss them too. It was really funny, I remember being a kid and wanting to win really badly so I would try and arrange the cards in a way that was favorable to me. I saw this happen as the third graders began to 'cheat' in Candyland and realized that I had this strong urge to call them out on it, or to start doing it myself but i held back. I had people in my life that didn't and let me win, and winning's a good thing for kids to experience... Plus, I turned out fine.

Sandy came over and asked the girls if they were going to get dinner. I didn't know we served dinner/where they were going to get dinner from. The girls responded with "As long as Bree comes with us!" So off to the soup kitchen we went.

Today was the first time I've ever eaten at a soup kitchen. I've volunteered stacking cans, organizing food, and cleaning, but I have never eaten at one. I've never had too. I've always had a meal waiting for me at home or take out from a restaurant. During dinner one of the girls said she ate at the soup kitchen almost every night, sometimes her mommy came with her. Another girl said she ate at the soup kitchen most of the time. It hit me that this was their reality, their normal. It was rare for them to get dinner at home or from a restaurant, something that I take for granted. That's something I struggle with. There was a time in my life when there just wasn't time to sit down and eat as a family. Mom was running me to soccer, track, and whatever other practice I had that night. Dad was running Mike to soccer or traveling. Besides for that point in our lives, dinner was always a shared experience. I think dinner is a great time to catch up with your family and talk about the day, but that's if your lucky enough to have that opportunity. I found out that a lot of families don't.

When we got back from the soup kitchen we played more games, including Scrabble (I still don't understand how that game works) and played ping pong. The girls told me that I belonged to them and was their person to play games with for the week. I told them I didn't think you could own a person, but I'd gladly play with them again. I realized that I usually get paid to play games with kids, and this trip I'm paying to play with them. I love games.

I then moved into the gym where I met Hannah and Fern, another set of third grade girls. Hannah made her first basket ever. She said she'd been trying for awhile and just couldn't. The girl that shoots bricks (me) helped her out on that one. Fern seems like a natural athlete and really had a lot of fun playing basketball.

When we were about to leave Fern said to me "Does this mean we're friends?" Yes, I believe it does.


I finished the night with dinner at Applebee's, a walk to the Walmart, skyping with a few of favorites, and talking to some people I really care about.

A 7:30 a.m. run awaits, goodnight everyone.

-Bree