We're Back!

That's pretty much it.
This year was quite a bit different than past mission trips to Detroit, with fewer encounters with drunk/mentally ill people (remember the guy who tried to attack us with scissors, Jules?) and less time outside overall. Which is ok, considering that it was really really hot in Detroit.
Probably my favorite quote of the two weeks was, "Miss Rachel, she gonna use it on haself!!" Said by one of the little African-American girls from the projects that I was teaching. I tried to keep the spelling true to the pronounciation, but the translation for all you white Minnesotans is that "she" is going to go to the bathroom on herself. Or, if one of the kids has to go to the bathroom, they say, "I gots to use it!" Maybe you had to be there.
Overall, I think one of my absolute favorite things about Detroit is being immersed in a culture (African-American) that has a completely different language and set of traditions and social rules than your own. I miss it, actually, especially joking about it. As Mark, the big black man who taught us everything we know about black culture, says, when you make fun of the differences between the races it's like they're not there. Right after he said that he gave me a lot of crap for being the whitest one on our team. Oh, good times.
Oh, and if anyone wants to learn the Detroit hussle, as learned from two very big guys that happen to be black, let me know, I can hook you up.