Gliding to the LGBT Museum and the Golden Gate Bridge

Hey friends! 

Alyssa here. Today is Thursday, April 2nd, 2015... and tomorrow will be our last day in the beautiful city of San Francisco. Anyways, I just wanted to give a little summary of my day today (because it was awesome). 

We left for Glide at 9:10am to work the lunch prep shift. Last time we went to Glide, I was out on the floor bussing tables and directly interacting with clients. This time was a lot different because we were behind the scenes working more with Glide staff than clients. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work this shift because I'm actually comfortable in the kitchen setting. My mom is an awesome cook and worked in restaurants when I was growing up, so I used to spend a lot of time watching my mom do prep work when she took me to work with her, and I also enjoyed watching her cook at home when I had the chance. I also work at a Drive-In Ice Cream/Burger place at home in the summer so I would say I know my stuff, resulting in me feeling pretty at home in that environment. 

Today I was assigned the job of slicing tomatoes (which was cool) and onions (which made my eyes feel the opposite of cool) and then I found myself elbow deep in pasta salad in order to mix up all the ingredients to make enough to serve several hundred people. It messy, mayonnaise-y, but fun nonetheless. While I was drowning in mayo, pasta, sugar, onions, seasonings and whatever else was in the 20 gallon container, I started talking to Bobby, the Glide employee giving me the orders. He told me that he had been working in the industry for 15 years, and 10 of those years were at Glide. Throughout my shift, I watched him and the other Glide staff members interact, and it was like they were a big family. There was an equal amount of love and sass that showed how much each worker values each other (no matter how much they criticize one another's music choice). 

I loved working at Glide today because I felt so much love and passion. I truly appreciate the organization and how multifaceted it is. If you want to know more about Glide, check out their website here! 

When we finished up volunteering at Glide, we went back to hostel and my team made lunch. I ended up kind of taking charge in the kitchen, and I guess I can thank my mom for setting a shining example in leading kitchen crews and cooking skills. So thanks mama! 

After lunch, we headed out to the Castro to go to the GLBT museum. I'm gonna call it the LGBT museum though because I'm sick of the G of LGBT being put first, sorry guys. Anyways, the museum was super well put together, however, it was only one room. It made me very sad because I thought of all the stories that don't get to be told in our community. I want to figure out how I can lift the voices and narratives up of those who are silenced not only in mainstream society, but even the queer community. Where was the floor full of stories of trans women of color? Sex workers? Non-binary people? As a leader in Hamline's Spectrum organization, I want to make sure I constantly trying to create a space back at home where people can tell their stories and share their experienced and feel validated, whether they're mentioned in a museum or not. 

The top photo is actually of the Harvey Milk Academy in the Castro, and the bottom photo was taken in the LGBT museum.

Following our visit to the LGBT museum, we headed out to the Castro to continue flyering for San Francisco Women Against Rape. Unlike the Mission and Tenderloin neighborhoods, as I walked through the Castro, I couldn't see the stark lines of gentrification. This left me with a lot of questions... Why was the gentrification so subtle here? How does white privilege come into play in the Castro as it is being gentrified? What will this gentrification mean for the White gay community here in San Fran? And the gay communities of color? It's heavy stuff, and I don't have answers. But it's something I will continue to think about even in our own community back at Hamline and in the Twin Cities. 

When we finished flyering, we had free time in which Hattie, Miiko, Robby and I took an uber to the Golden Gate Bridge! I'm so happy I could cross that off my bucket list because it's been a dream of mine since I grew up watching Full House religiously (hahaha but seriously). We also got to go see good 'ol Russian Hill thanks to our awesome uber driver James, who literally watched us take a disgusting amount of selfies at the bridge, and even took some pictures for us! It was pretty amazing overall. So s/o to James, (even though I doubt he'll ever read this, but either way, I'm sending him good vibes) you the real MVP! 

Golden gate bridge!

After James dropped us off at the hostel, we ate some lovely homemade pizza that TeamCrab made via stovetop and then reflected as a group on today's experiences. It's been a day... but an awesome one at that. It's left me with a lot to think about, and I appreciate y'all taking the time to check out my post. 

Good night from San Fran! 

Much love, 
Alyssa