The last week of ELL camp at both of our sites centered around a theme that everyone could get behind-- food. For one day, the 826LA writing labs were completely transformed, becoming high-end restaurants complete with tablecloths, place settings, and fancily folded napkins-- called Café Barnacle at 826LA West and Chez-26LA at 826LA East.

There was only one problem with these restaurants: while the menus boasted dishes like The Tomato Sandwich and impressive-sounding-but-unintelligible French cuisine such as “Un Volcan de Chevre Chaud” and “Pain de Fromage,” no matter what a student ordered, our waiters would return with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Sometimes, that grilled cheese sandwich would be smeared all over the plate as if it had been stepped on. Other times, there would be a mysterious bite taken out of the sandwich, or there would just be a piece of bread laying on plate, no cheese in sight. There was also only one beverage option-- grape soda. Periodically, our waiters and waitresses would circle the restaurant, peppering students’ drinks and sugaring their sandwiches.

“Ew!” they cried. “That’s not what I ordered!” the students protested.

Exactly.

The purpose of this lesson was to teach the students how to craft a well-written and effective complaint letter. And they didn’t hold back, either.

Dear Mr. Barnacle,

This restaurant sucks. I do not like this. They only gave bread and cheese all the time. I don’t like that. All the things that Danny did made me mad, like putting sugar in my sandwich. To us you are a friend, but you treated us badly here. Do everything right (like burritos, sandwiches, and something else) if you want to keep the restaurant open.

From,

Samuel, who is frustrated

As we set out of the harbor towards the Pacific, the kids were anxious and excited in hopes of seeing whales. I wasn’t so certain there were going to be any whale sightings, luckily I was wrong. In Dana Point we saw at least three Blue Whales and a couple hundred common dolphins. The majority of kids had never been on a boat, and almost none had seen a dolphin or whale prior.

The morning started with a 6:45 am departure and a wake up call even earlier. Walking into the back of the Echo Park Time Travel Mart at that hour was difficult; the kids were just as active as normal and unfortunately Stories, the neighboring bookstore/coffee shop, had yet to open. As I walked on the bus kids were shouting to have me sit with them, but I had already lent out a promise to Leandra, who had told me earlier that she told her mom I would accompany her on the whole trip.

Sitting on the yellow school bus was not nostalgic, but uncomfortable. My legs, which once fit comfortably as a child on the school bus, were now squeezed in between the rows of seats. Leandra fell asleep midway into the drive after repeated questions of, “Are we there yet?” even after I was able to show her exactly where we were at the time and how much longer it would exactly take on the screen of my iPhone. I stretched out my legs across the aisle, and shortly after she had passed her sleep onto me.

During the ride through the rock-bordered channel out to sea, the kids were a little tentative to make their way out towards the front of the boat. Maybe a little afraid of the ‘fun zone’ where you will get wet. Minutes after leaving the harbor they raced to the front and took sight of the sea from the bow. Shortly after, we were greeted at the side of the boat by a group of dolphins. I excitedly snapped photos and captured videos, while the kids only multiplied my own interest. The kids’ experience was made even better when they got to go under the deck of the boat, and spend time in the ‘under water viewing tank’. And once again when they went up top to the captain’s post.

One of the girls, Helen, found the ‘fun zone’ to be just that. She sat as the waves of water repeatedly splashed into her face, soaking her clothes. Two of the girls, who had just recently moved to Los Angeles from France, were off in the corner. I asked them if they wanted me to take them to the front, and after a second to think about it they followed. The smile on their faces alone made the trip so valuable, as they stood beaming with the wind blowing at their face. Their faces contrasted the face of Ivan Paz and his sister Ivette. Ivan is normally one of the more active kids, excited by almost everything. Unfortunately they weren’t aware of seasickness; they slept together on the bench in the back of the boat for most of the trip.

The two hours had quickly passed and it was almost time to head back to land. I was sitting at the back of the boat by myself, letting the excitement I had just experienced settle in. Staring out towards the ocean I saw something train-like breach the water and dive back down. Whale! I screamed and jumped out of the bench like a sprinter leaving the blocks towards the front of the boat. We chased whales for another hour, following the slick marks (footprints) they leave in the water. One breach. Two breaches. Three and DIVE DIVE DIVE! Usually on the third breach the whales dive down to feed. Their tail comes out of the water and extends for the lucky photographer who can have his or her very own National Geographic action shot. On one occasion we were within a stone throw of the whale as it took its dive. Cheers. Climax. Curtains.

I knew it had been a perfect outing when the captain decided to keep chasing whales, even after we had been on the water for an hour longer than scheduled. The bus ride home was loud. Filled with shouts of BRYAN coming from the boys in the back of the bus from and cries to keep me put from the girls in the front. Moving towards the ends of the bus I was often kidnapped into a row by other kids. With both the morning class and the afternoon class combined I thought of how it would be handy to have a couple of me around to entertain the kids. As we got back to 826LA I had crashed from the high I had earlier in the day. Events like this one are all thanks to those who support 826LA and what we do. Thank you!

From Jiachi:

Today was the last day of English Language Learner camp at 826LA.  It happened to also be Bonnie’s last day at 826LA.  So naturally, we had a food party.  Before that, sasha from the Children’s Nature Institute brought some animals to share with the kids: a gecko, a bearded dragon, and a coral snake.  If you see oreos (yellow between black), then you’re safe.

A lot of the parents made food for the kids and the volunteers: chicken taquitos with guacomole.  deviled eggs.  rice pudding.  ham sandwiches.  and of course, fruit.

Bye Bonnie!

Summer is fading, but our book clubs are still shining brightly with dedicated volunteers who meet each month to discuss classic and contemporary novels and short stories.

Members of the Echo Park Book Club have selected a memoir to read through the last week of August, while Venice Book Club members are finishing up Murakami's "Norwegian Wood."

At the end of each book club meeting, we discuss and vote what to read for the next month. Democracy has never been so fun. Beverages, sustenance, and friends are all welcome.

Details Below:

826LA East Book Club

Reading: "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah

Where to buy:

Pick up your copy at Skylight Books and receive 15% off. Or, check out a copy at your local library.

Date: Thursday, August 26, 2010

Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm

Location: 826LA East

Street: 1714 W. Sunset Blvd.

City/Town: Echo Park, CA

Feel free to bring your own spirits and refreshments.

RSVP By email: zoe@826la.org or By Facebook.

826LA West Book Club

Reading: "Norwegian Wood" by Murakami

Where to Buy: Get 20% off this book at Book Soup. Just mention our 826LA West Book Club. Book Soup-West Hollywood

Date: Monday, August 16, 2010

Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Location: 826LA West

Street: 685 Venice Blvd.

City/Town: Venice, CA

You may BYOB.

RSVP By email: zoe@826la.org or By Facebook.

Monday at 826LA saw the return of our kind-of-monthly author panel series, organized with gusto by Lauren Rogers. Four great local memoirists from across the Southland came to Venice for a two-hour conversation with McSweeney's contributor Josh Bearman about what it means to put your own story onto the page.

Mark Salzman (Iron and Silk) suggested that starting out as far as possible from writing could lead you to an authorial process: a unique and tortuous one, but one that works. D. J. Waldie (Holy Land) added that the only way to get the outcome of that process published was having a whole lot of luck! Meghan Daum (Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House) shared the careful process she uses to tell people she really knows that she's written about them in a memoir, and Brooke Berman (No Place Like Home) shared some of harshest criticism she received from people she respected--and what she learned from it.

From Left: Josh Bearman, Mark Salzman, D.J. Waldie, Meghan Daum and Brooke Berman.

At the end, we took a donation bucket and collected money for competitors in the Spelling Bee for Cheaters. It's happening on Saturday, August 14, and we reminded everyone that there was still time to donate to their favorite team! Events like this one, and the author panels we've put together on memoirs and other topics, generate proceeds that directly support 826LA writing programs.

If you're an author and interested in participating in a panel, write to our panel guru Lauren at lauren@826la.org or our event coordinator Christina at christina@826la.org. If you're just interested in finding out about our awesome events when they happen, sign up for email in the future with this link!

Bryan King

826LA..They’re Blogggggggreat!

Intern. That is a name that I believe comes with a negative connotation. It makes me think of slavery, but my time at 826LA East has been far from that. I now have a new appreciation for the term, ‘Non-Paid Internship,’ because here, at 826LA, fun staff, as well as energetic and exciting kids always surround me. Part of the reason I enjoy the time interning is due to the fact that I am still a kid, but now I have a six-foot body to be a kid in. I was hesitant at first, when the writing center was in a transition from the After-School Tutoring ending and starting the ELL Camp. This is when I first started and the time spent was mainly physical labor without any teaching/writing work. This soon changed when ELL Camp started. I wasn’t nervous or concerned when the camp started, because I have had previous experience with teaching elementary school kids in the Los Angeles area. At USC I participated in a class called, The Writer In The Community - taught by Aimee Bender, which gave me experience and skills I didn’t previously have. I have found those skills to be extremely beneficial with the teaching here at 826LA, as both teaching experiences have been very similar in curriculum as well as the age and demographic of students. The kids make me always feel important and wanted; I try to maintain a friendly and professional relationship with all of them, and so far it has been great. Although at times they can be a handful, literally, I always feel so satisfied after helping the kids with their writing, while also getting them excited about writing and learning.

Grant Hutchins

Working as an intern at 826LA East has been one of the most richly rewarding experiences of my life. There is a strong sense of camaraderie among the interns, forged by the swapping of horror stories of rowdy students and dealing with the temperamental (and seemingly Medieval) toilet. We are all bonded together by these challenges and by a real love for encouraging the creativity and curiosity of our students. The usual intern drudgery of answering phones and emails, making copies, and filling out spreadsheets is always lightened by this unity of purpose.

The real fun of working here lies in the actual hands-on work of tutoring. The students have been charming, challenging, inspiring, intelligent, and always creative. Watching their enthusiasm grow as their ingenious and hilarious stories develop has been a real delight. They throw themselves into their tasks with devotion, and their originality and occasional brilliance clearly shine through the work they produce. It has continually astonished me how little guidance they need when they are excited by a story, the words coming out of them faster than their pencils can get them down on paper.

Standing up to a barrage of questions from a relentlessly inquisitive student is a particularly exciting and exhausting aspect of working at 826. Their curiosity and wonder at the strangeness of the world is palpable at these moments. Nurturing these traits and helping children to express them on the page seems to me the most crucial and noble part of 826's work.

English Language Learner camp is off to a great start here at 826LA East and 826LA West, where we're happy to say we've been seeing a lot of Destiny, Mai, Sam, Jenine, Frank, Suivel, Zooey, and Nina (below)! Our first day was spent on an 826 favorite, Storytelling and Bookmaking, part of the experience we usually give to classroom teachers who take their elementary school students to our centers on field trips. After much brainstorming, scribbling, and hamster-stomping, students came up with an epic tale aptly titled The Cow Rescued by a Flying Baby and a Stick-man. Here's a little taste:

"Once upon a time, there was a stick-man named Bob who had to take care of a flying baby. They lived in a city of cows called Cowtopia. The baby was a girl, but she liked to hang out with boy babies and do things like play hockey and other contact sports. Her name was Angel. One day, Angel and Bob were walking along in Cowtopia when a tornado came out of the sky and swished up all of the cows in Cowtopia except for one."

The students had to resolve this dramatic crisis with individually-written endings ... and, as luck would have it, all their stories were approved.

What did we do for the rest of the week?! We will tell you. (One thing we did do was teach students use of the interrobang.) We took the TOWL-3 test, a standardized exam that helps us gauge students' writing skills (very important). We wrote letters to Michelle Obama, and collectively came up with some rules "upon which we agree." So far, so awesome! Be sure to check back soon for more ELL news.

Hi. Have you heard about our book clubs? Each month, volunteers, staff, interns, and neighbors gather in an 826LA writing lab to discuss a collection of short stories, nonfiction, or a novel that they selected the month before.

Last month, we read stories of Flannery O'Connor and Wells Tower.

This month, we're reading two novels by Japanese authors; "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro and "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami.

Want to join us? See below for the fine details, and start reading!

826LA East Book Club

Reading: "Never Let Me Go" by Ishiguro

Where to buy:

Pick up your copy at Skylight Books and receive 15% off. Or, check out a copy at your local library.

Date: Thursday, August 5, 2010

Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm

Location: 826LA East

Street: 1714 W. Sunset Blvd.

City/Town: Echo Park, CA

Feel free to bring your own spirits and refreshments.

RSVP By email: zoe@826la.org or By Facebook.

826LA West Book Club

Reading: "Norwegian Wood" by Murakami

Where to Buy: Get 20% off this book at Book Soup. Just mention our 826LA West Book Club. Book Soup-West Hollywood

Date: Monday, August 2, 2010

Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Location: 826LA West

Street: 685 Venice Blvd.

City/Town: Venice, CA

You may BYOB.

RSVP By email: zoe@826la.org or By Facebook.

Creating the second issue of their own 'zine is not the only press surrounding sixteen-year-olds Anna Rivas, Michelle De Leon, Brenda Morones, and Yesenia Pum. This group of 826LA East regulars was recently featured on NPR as well as Entertainment Studio’s new television series “Young Icons.”

On NPR, you can hear the girls talk about Brando Skyhorse’s new book The Madonnas of Echo Park. Growing up in Echo Park, the author draws upon his own childhood experiences in order to expose the history of the neighborhood. The girls consider Skyhorse’s portrait of their home accurate, explaining that they may even feel like Echo Park Madonnas themselves.

We are thrilled for and so proud of this group of inspiring and smart girls! Congratulations!

You can also pick up the fantastic first issue of their 'zine, Style Shenanigans, at The Echo Park Time Travel Mart today!

Caroline Debruhl

My first day on the job, a third grader named Mark asked me to help him with his multiplication problems. I sat down and asked him what questions he had. He took this as an open invitation. “Why did we go to Vietnam?” “There are a lot of answers to that question, Mark.” “What’s one of them?” “Well, we wanted to stop the spread of communism.” “What’s communism?”

I could have dismissed the kid and told him that it was a complicated answer (which, granted, it is) and that we should really concentrate on his math problems. Instead, I broke down the political and socio-economical factors of communism (mostly taken from Marx) then broke out a world atlas to show him where Vietnam was and how there used to be a thing called the Soviet Union. He seemed to grasp some of the ideas--even if he didn’t, he was still intrigued. He wanted more history, less times tables. I cut Mark a deal: every time he finished a column of math problems, I got to tell him something else about the world. I taught him a trick when multiplying 9 with something and soon he was zipping through, most of the problems correct. We corrected them and then the questions came. I got to explain to him the American Civil War, DNA, Comrade Tito and Yugoslavian wars, Rasputin, obscure phrases in Polish and what narwhals were. He was particularly impressed by the roly-poly unicorn of the sea, and who wouldn’t be upon the discovery of such a creature?

While my spewing out what is essentially quiz bowl knowledge didn’t help Mark with the particular writing assignment for the day (a poem about his hair) it did get him excited to learn more about wars and creatures. It also made me wish I knew more about narwhals.

Corey Chan

So, in honor of our after-school tutoring writing prompts, I was going to use this post to list my Top Ten Intern Moments at 826LA East. But then I realized how utterly impossible it would be to try to compress the past two months of 826LA madness into a mere 10 moments; the effort would be completely antithetical to the very reason I wanted to do a top ten list in the first place (ie. laziness). Every time I thought of something cool to list, I would remember more and more details and it just didn't seem right to dilute these awesome memories into simple bullet points. Like our amazing field trips with Mr. Barnacle: what would I put on the list? 1) Hand of Doom (especially that kid who practically went full kowtow on him!) 2) How excited the kids got when brainstorming possible characters (an evil scientist--named Phil!) 3) Or how about that time when I overheard a bunch of kids chatting impatiently while waiting for their books to be bound, barely able to contain their excitement about bringing home a book that was "gonna look like Harry Potter!" A book they wrote themselves!

Every day at 826LA is filled with moments such as these. Even on days when the kids ask me for help on their math homework (they teach calculus in 4th grade now??), I'm glad that I'm there (and grateful that there are other tutors who know calculus). These days, things are more calm, now that school is out and our summer programs have yet to get underway. It's a nice change of pace, but I have to say: I am certainly looking forward to more zany days ahead, and to the further adventures of Corey the Intern.