“Celestial Seasonings”

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Hey!  My name is Juli Herder, and I’m a senior majoring in Spanish and Biology.  

Today was a completely free day to relax and enjoy the city before our Outfly alumni event tomorrow.  I got up early to catch a bus downtown at 7, where I transferred to another bus that took me to Broomfield.  Some family friends from a northern suburb picked me up at the park-and-ride there.  The original plan was to go hiking in Estes Park for the day, but when I woke up this morning, it was thunder storming and pouring rain.  No hiking today!

I ate breakfast at their house, and we chatted and caught up—I hadn’t seen them in a few years and had a lot to share about my experience in Denver this month.  They were both excited to hear that I will be back in the city in August for the Urban Servant Corps—a year-long volunteer program in Denver.  It was nice to hear about their kids and grandson!

Instead of hiking, we went to Boulder to tour the Celestial Seasonings tea factory.  I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but it was really interesting!  We spent a half hour sampling different teas, and then we had a free 45-minute tour of the factory.  I like trying different types of tea (and Argentine mate…), but I wouldn’t consider myself a tea fanatic.  This, however, was really cool.  We first watched a 10-minute video about the production of tea and the history of the company. We then walked into different rooms where they store tea leaves and different herbs and spices.  I really liked the mint room—they have to keep mint separate from all the other herbs and spices because of its potency.  Many of the people couldn’t even go into the mint room because it was so strong, but I really liked it.  It cleared my sinuses!  I don’t remember how much tea they produce each day, but I was amazed by how much they send around the United States and even export to other countries as novelty teas.  They have around 150 different flavors, or blends of tea. 

Here’s a fun fact about tea: It’s always caffeinated.  If a tea says “decaf” it still has about 5% caffeine.  If a tea says “caffeine-free” then it’s not really tea.  Here’s why—a true tea is made with tea leaves, and the decaffeinating process still leaves some caffeine in the leaves.  If there are no tea leaves (meaning it is caffeine-free), then the drink is considered an herbal infusion, which some companies still call tea just to sell it.  I’m sure that tea fanatics already knew this, but I thought it was something cool!

Overall, it was a fun day despite the yucky weather.  I am glad that there are fun, free things to do in Denver and in the surrounding area!  It was also great to catch up with some old friends!

Hello!!

My name is Erica Olson. I am from Stillwater, MN, an eastern suburb of the Twin Cities. I am a Second-Year student at Wartburg College and am majoring in both Biology (Pre-Medicine) and Spanish. Today was an all-around wonderful day. We are starting to wind down our trip and have been relaxing after our hard work at our various internships. This afternoon we were graciously invited to the home of Saul and Angela Escala, who were Juli’s supervisors during her internship at their Dental office. We were served delicious food, including kabobs, rice with almonds, salad, various vegetables, chips and salsa, and platanos prepared in the traditional way from Panama. The food was cooked by Dr. Escala and his cousin, José. There was also meat available for the non-vegetarians of the group J

After eating, we played with Professor Montgomery’s son, Xavier, and the Escala’s two children. Some of the Wartburg students played baseball with Alexander, the Escala’s oldest son, while others entertained Xavier and Remmy. Later, we sat outside and talked about our experiences in our internships and about the trip in general. Mattea and I also took the Escala’s dog, Marley, for a short walk and enjoyed looking at the houses in their neighborhood, as well as the mountains that they live by. It was a nice way to get away from the city and enjoy some home-cooked food. We are all looking forward to our final weekend here in Denver, especially since we have lots of free time to enjoy the sun (hopefully) and spend time with each other!

Special thanks to the Escalas! 

¡Hola! Me llamo Mattea Otten y estoy en mi segundo año en Wartburg College, estudiando biología y español. Soy de Springville, Iowa. Hay sólo dos días más aquí en Denver y esta experiencia fue muy buena. Aprendí muchas cosas sobre los latinos y la cultura en Denver. Creo que es una experiencia que abre los ojos de los estudiantes a la forma en que muchas personas viven en los Estados Unidos, especialmente los inmigrantes latinos. Hoy visitamos el Urban Servant Corps, un programa en el área de Denver que busca cumplir con la misión de Cristo de amor demostrado a través de la acción de trabajar por la paz con la justicia, la promoción de y con las personas oprimidas, y compartir nuestra capacidad y abundancia con los más necesitados. El programa es muy popular con alumnos de Wartburg. Ahora, la directora ejecutiva es una ex-alumna de Wartburg (Krista Ullestad-2003) y hay dos voluntarias que son ex-alumnas de Wartburg (Sarah Van y Alyssa Kover-2011).

http://www.urbanservantcorps.org/ 

 El programa de Urban Servant Corps tiene un “programa hermano” que se llamaba Border Servant Corps. Este programa es muy similar a Urban Servant Corps, pero es en Las Cruces, New México, y El Paso y Juárez, Texas. Los voluntarios en este programa tienen las metas similares que los voluntarios de Urban Servant Corps, pero muchos voluntarios usan español todos los días. Las ideas que Border Servant Corps son la comunidad, la justicia social, la sencillez y la espiritualidad.

 http://www.borderservant.com/ 

 Hay muchas personas en nuestra clase que están interesadas en los dos programas. Creo que los dos programas son excelentes maneras en que una persona puede dar a la comunidad y son buenas maneras para experimentar un estilo de vida diferente. Es posible que uno de los programas esté en mi futuro.

¡Hola a todos!

Me llamo Megan y estoy en mi segundo año en Wartburg College. Soy de Waterloo, IA y estudio español y relaciones internacionales. Hoy fue mi último día trabajando con Derechos para Todos (RAP). Todavía estoy triste porque yo no quiero salir de Derechos para Todos, pero estoy alegre de que yo tuve la oportunidad de trabajar con esta organización. Derechos para Todos es perfecta para mí y es en mi campo de interés. En Derechos para Todos yo aprendí sobre el sistema de inmigración, los políticos en Denver, la comunidad de Aurora.  Ahora, yo entiendo por qué muchos de los inmigrantes vienen a los EEUU. Muchas veces la razón es porque ellos no tienen una oportunidad a una educación o trabajo en sus países nativos. 

Mis compañeros de mi trabajo que son muy amables y positivas. Desde el primer día ellas estaban tan felices que estaba allí y me enseñaban mucho sobre el trabajo que ellos hacían. Pero yo les enseñaba a usar Twitter e hice un guía y presentación explicando cómo ser experto de Twitter. He completado mucha tarea a Derechos para Todos. Por ejemplo yo registraba votantes, llamaba a sus miembros, hacía invitaciones para eventos y mucho más. Cada día en Derechos para Todos era muy interesante y espero regresar un día en el futuro. 

¡Yo, Lisa, Lizeth, Liz y Nicole @ el edificio Derechos Para Todos!