Walk In My Shoes

walk on.

Adwoa — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 06:38:48 +0000

On Wednesday, we had the final session of Walk In My Shoes. It was fun and playful and bittersweet, and culminated (like all the best things) in a party full of food, warmth, and sharing. But before that, we did this exquisite corpse exercise, which was easily the highlight of my day. I’ve edited it lightly for spelling and punctuation, but otherwise this is straight from me and the girls to you.

Once upon a time, there was a storytelling class at OIHS. It was only for girls. They were from different countries, and spoke different languages. They liked to tell their stories, and learn about other people’s stories. Suddenly one day, Ms. Adwoa gave all of us a free camera and all of us were astonished. Also everyone was so sad, because this is our last class and every girl thanked Ms. Adwoa for giving us this wonderful opportunity.

So we all sat together one last time to say what we would miss about the class – Adwoa would miss the laughter most of all. BamBam will miss all the people and the laughing. Sunonthesky will miss Ms. Adwoa a lot because she didn’t continue this job and will never see her again. [Editor’s note: Our class will be reunited to compile and bind the chapbook in the spring! I’m looking forward to it.]

Epadoh will miss Ms. Adwoa a lot because she’s so nice and she’s the best. She will also miss that LoveForever told her during the street fashion day that she liked to wear sexy clothes, which made us all laugh so hard. [Ed. note: Indeed!] RockSand is going to miss Ms. Adwoa and the time together, and lots of funny stuff that happened in these days. LoveForever is going to miss Ms. Adwoa, she is so kind and good. I like her smile. I will miss my friends. But even though the class is ending: all of our stories are just beginning.

I’m now blushing, a bit. After the class she taught, one of my fabulous co-teachers asked, “Are they always this sweet?” They really are. I’ve been exceptionally lucky with this project and this group of girls.

Feeling profoundly grateful – and so excited and curious to see the stories they continue to tell. I’ve turned the site over to the girls now, and we would love for you to stay engaged. Every so often, they might invite us back to continue to walk in their shoes.

How Can I Get In OIHS

sunonthesky — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 21:57:40 +0000

In the morning before i take a 62 so first i walk 2 block go to the 62 bus stop then i wait for the 62 and when the international street so i get out and take next bus then i gonna get next bus is 1r and when I in 1r bus i saw lake Merritt and in the Oakland downtown i saw so many people walk or go somewhere and when saw the tree and laundry i get out there is from 1r bus and the i walk 4 block and go to school.

Map to get to school

ehpadoh — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:42:09 +0000

Every morning I woke up, I walk down straight to take 14 buss. The 14 buss went by the lake. This lake is very beautiful and very big. Then, I stop the 14 buss and go on to next on the left. This buss is 1R. After that, I stop the buss 1R. Next I goes two blocks to the left and two blocks to the right. The school I goes is Oakland international high school. This school is for Refugee people. When I got in to the school I went to eat lunch. Then I went to all the class I need to go. After that, I walk to the left to go to the story telling class. Finally, I went back home.

Home to School

BamBam — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 03:12:01 +0000

When I walk to the Bus stop from home, it was raining. When I was at the bus stop, there are few people. Two person was smoking and it really make me cough. Then bus 1R come. I really feel sleeping in the bus while listen to music and the bus is really quite in the morning. Then I get down at 49 street and walk to school about 5 or 6 minute. When I first enter school, I went straight to the restroom. After restroom I went to cafeteria for breakfast. then the bell rain. I went to History class first , then to English, then to Biology, then to Algebra, then to art. All the classes I want i really feel sleeping. After Art, I went to cafeteria again for lunch. After Lunch I went to the gym, I play basketball for few minute. Then Finally, I makr it to room 3 ( story telling )

Something Style

sunonthesky — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:26:58 +0000

She name is Elizabeth so today she wear sweater is from her friend Erin. Her friend let her barrow it. This sweater is made for women who are pregnant. She like this sweater because it is comfortable. She had it just two month or three month.

The Hat

Rocksand — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:26:58 +0000

I like your hat.can you tell more about it?

Well this is my favorite that I always use to wear.This hat always match to what I wear every day.Also it make me look good. It also help cover my hair,in that case I don’t need to spend a lot of time to design my hair.

What kind of color/style/materials you like?why?

I like dark color for hats because it can go with any thing I wear.I like this kind of style because it looks beautiful,and I also like this material a lot,because it have a kind of shining in it.

Where did you get that?

My dad bought it for me when I was in Malaysia.I told him that i really like it this hat and then my dad bought it for me.

Is the hat expensive?

Well it is not expensive and not cheap it is in the middle.Luckily it was in sale for 50% of when my dad bought it .

Do you like it?why?

I love it because my favorite singer Bruno Mars have the same kind of hat like mine too.So when I wear the hat I feel like a singer too.

Can you tell me about your experience with this hat?

Yes of course.One day when I walking in street wearing my hat and m sunglasses suddenly a man running towards me saying”Bruno Mars wait!”well that man thought that I am Bruno Mars,and asking for an autograph to me.I was telling him that I am not Bruno Mars but he didn’t believe until I take of my hat and sunglasses to prove him.After he understand that I am not Bruno Mars he took picture to show his friends.

How long do you have it?

Well I have it for about four months but I feel like I have it for a long time.I have a lot of fun time and experiences with it,like how I said before about a man thought I am Bruno Mars.

Different things people wear

ehpadoh — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:26:58 +0000

This is my sister. She wear this long cloth that look like dress. She wearing it because it’s her culture and she bout it when she was in Thailand. Also she liked it because it pretty and She liked to wearing it on every sunday when she go to church. Her people, which is Karen people made this cloth with their hands. They can make so many cloth like this. They can make it long/short, different color, different ships, and with so many design. Another thing she like is the blue jacket because It keep her warm when she’s cold. She got this jacket from her sister which is me. I bought this jacket from Thailand before I came to U.S.A. This jacket cost $120. She also really like the color because it’s blue and her favorite color is blue. A lot of people like her shoes. This shoes is very hard and it’s green. This shoes also come’s from Thailand. Her older sister bought it for her. She loved this shoes.

A Necklace Story

BamBam — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:26:58 +0000

I wrote about my friend Shreejana Rai necklace. She is 15 years old. In her necklace there rings and pendant. She said the rings it from her friend priya. The pendant she does’t remember how ling she have with her. She bought it online. She got the necklace she she was fourteen years old. She said is not part of religion or culture. But is important to her because her friend give her as a friendship necklace. She said she like to wear it because she like wearing necklace, also because they were give by her best friend and the pendant is her favorite animal series.

may i admire you?

Adwoa — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:24:33 +0000

The week before Thanksgiving, the girls and I had the pleasure of hosting Laura Brunow Miner in class. Laura is a designer at Pinterest, and as the founder of the fantastic Pictory Mag knows a thing or two about creating photo stories.

We looked at Jane Justice Leibrock’s wonderful blog May I Admire You?, to get a feel for what a street fashion interview can be. Then we talked about the parts of ourselves that are visible in the clothes that we wear, and how adornment can tell its own story. I loved the details that emerged: a favorite color, a style of dress that would have been frowned upon in one’s home country. Clothing that shows our travels, our senses of humor, and the components of our daily lives (like Laura, mom to a newborn and a toddler, needing to wear shirts or dresses that button down the front while she’s still breastfeeding).

She taught the girls camera technique and some tricks to get great shots, and we reviewed interview techniques and generated questions that would help us get at a story. Then we sent the girls and their cameras out into the world. We’d hoped to do this out on Telegraph Avenue (Humans of Temescal, anyone?), but the first rainy day in weeks meant that busting the drought took precedence over the amazing mustache photos we would have gotten outside the Temescal Alley Barber Shop in the last weeks of November).

So we stayed on campus – take a gander at Humans of OIHS instead! They came back with some great shots; a sampling of my favorites are below. More details on the stories behind them will be coming this week; when those are finished, you can keep up with them under the photo tag here.

As ever, as always – these girls crack me up and astonish me with ease. The stories they gathered about their classmates will be as unique as the students themselves. In the meantime, they say a picture’s worth a thousand words: enjoy.

listening to the wind.

Adwoa — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 07:41:49 +0000

A couple weeks back, we were lucky enough to have Teresa Chin (pictured) and Cliff Lee of Youth Radio join us in the classroom for a session on interviewing techniques. With excellent mic handling skills (and a great deal of giggling), the girls interviewed each other about their lives and what was important to them. You can catch those files, as well as their homework for the day, in separate posts under the “radio” tag.

I also asked the girls to write a piece to share the sound of home for them. It could be anything – their alarm clock in the morning, their parents cooking a meal, the sound of wind through a particular tree outside their window. (We all got super into the sounds you can take in with a good recorder when the headphone volume is turned all the way up – wind can be absolutely gorgeous. Who knew?) I thought about this for myself, and it hit me while walking through the courtyard at OIHS, listening to conversations in Karen and Spanish and Arabic and Somali and Farsi. The sound of home for me… is languages that I recognize, but don’t speak.

Growing up, my parents didn’t teach my sister and me to speak Twi. But it was always in the background, meaning that now I have this ghostly grammar hanging out when I hear it spoken. I can pick out insults in Akan languages, certain verbs in French, certain place names in Tagalog. When I was younger, I worried a lot that my sense of displacement meant I’d never find a permanent home anywhere. It’s beginning to seem, though, that it’s giving me the ability to sink in wherever I may find myself – even, to my occasional surprise, in Oakland. Along with the girls, I’m learning how to settle in and make this place home.