A report from the foreign wilderness of the International Youth Hostel at 12 Heminway Street:
Just as I exhausted my last pair of clean underwear, the first week of nearly non-stop days ended and I trecked by foot back to my home base in Brookline. My parents had taken this exceptionally sunny winter day as an opportunity to escape to the cape. (Specifically this trip was intended to look into buying a bed and breakfast, but I'll pay you with a back massage if I find that they follow through with that.)
The first three days of IHP seemed to last for ages. I can't assign an exact amount of time to how long it felt, but it was simply characterized by a different state of awareness than that of a conditioned experience. Conversations were full of skepticism about first impressions, and were characterized by a sense of fast-forward getting-to know-each other. Each time that I saw an IHPer's face, my perception of them became more distinct and at the same time more connected to the other participants and our overall group identity.
By friday night, two twenty-first birthdays served as catalysts for solidifying comfort in the group. Here are a few quotes from the gathering at Boston Beer Works:

- "Yours might be big, but mine are feisty!" Kate Joyce (in response to Karli's shimmying
- Vince the clepto from Quebec City -- "I need your biology advice. A penguin...Is it feathers or, you know, walrus skin?"
-"I peed on a hummer once. I don't like hummers." -- Jenna

From what I can tell, all of these people are kind, funny, interesting, and interested in doing something good for the world. We nap during breaks so that we can stay awake for our speakers. We cook for each other and have a board to post "props" for actions that we admire. We have a floating library and an in-the-works floating pharmacy. One of us is a yoga teacher and another a masseuse. We like good hugs and we like to give them. Helaine is building a community farm in Vermont, and Harris has a dream to build a castle in the Colorado Mountains. I'm sure that I will learn more.
I can only speak from my own experience, but I think that we have all been touched by learning about the health community in Boston. Reporting back after visitng the Dorchester House on Friday, my group found that our experience was similar to those had by students at the other nine site visits. We all discovered hard working, enthusiastic people making the most of state tax dollers to make sure that everyone has the same opportunity for healthcare access. It is inspirational. I personally felt guilty for living within minutes of these organizations and not knowing about even the community demographics. What can you do...What can we do?
I'll let you know as soon as I come closer to the answer.