Peace and Quiet

Thanksgiving for me has always been a day centered around family and food. This year, I was hundreds of miles away from any family member and I did not cook a single thing all day. Oddly enough, it turned out to be a fantastic day.
Around noon, me and four other girls from my team piled in a van and headed out for Dauphin Island, about 30 minutes away. We planned on spending the day sunning ourselves on the beach, frolicing in the ocean, and playing in the sand. But as we drove in we couldn't help but notice that everyone around seemed to be wearing several more layers than we were. The forcast predicted upper 60s, but turns out beaches are windy and wind makes it colder. Who knew. We hit the beach in our shorts and sunglasses and watched a wave of goosebumps creep over the skin we had planned on turning bronze.
So, what do you do when you find yourself on a beautiful beach on a national holiday when your family is nowhere around and everyone else is wearing a parka? The only logical thing you can do-- you jump into the ocean. I admit, it was pretty cold at first, but after a few minutes it really wasn't so bad. And come on, we were swimming in the ocean on Thanksgiving. You can't really beat that. I think i'll just let the pictures do most of the talking today, I'm sure they can capture it much more concisly.


Alabama has some gorgeous beaches.

Dauphin Island doesn't appear to be a very popular Thanksgiving destination.

Really cold, but definitely worth it.

Me and Erin ended up running about two miles along the beach. I was pretty sure we wouldn't have time to see as much as I wanted to if we took a more leisurly pace.

So peaceful.

Thanksgiving seems to be a bad day for birds of all sorts.

I didn't touch him, but I got the feeling he wasn't napping either.

Never knew sand mushrooms existed so I figured it warranted a macro shot, but alas, I am not nearly so talented as the wonderful Ann.

I didn't play in the sand nearly as much as I had planned to, but I spent the last two minutes on the beach whipping up a hurried sand turkey.


We left the beach tired, hungry, cold...and very very happy. We ended our little outing at that classic holiday feast locale- Waffle House. And wow, it was delicious.


So that was my Thanksgiving. Nontraditional yes, but an entirely delightful day.

The next day resembled a much more orthodox turkey day, seeing as how it actually involved turkey. About ten people rented cars and headed to New Orleans for the break, and several others took off to see various friends or family. So, by Friday morning a mere five of us were left, and let me tell you, it is wonderful. We spent our day in the kitchen cooking away and listening to Christmas music. I made a rosemary and garlic turkey (a bit more dry than usual, but still really good) and Lindsey's wonderful green bean casserole and the others made mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, pumpkin bread, dressing, rasberry jello, and apple pie. Everything was wonderful. We ended the day by all cramming on the couch and watching movies. Between the ample leftovers and the two more days of peace and quiet, it hasn't been hard to remember to be thankful.

Sweet Home Alabama

Ahhhh, the South. Front porches, superfluous syllables in every other word, and the sun. Mostly importantly sun--wondrous, glorious sun. I thought i was acclimating to Iowa, but I can relax here. I can take deep breaths without apologizing to my lungs for the icy prickles. My toes can go free instead of being bundled up in socks for survival. I can stretch out my arms without trying to calculate how much heat is being lost by uncrossing them. Northern states have many merits of their own, but I was undeniably made for sunshine.
Houses with 22 people on the other hand, not so much. The ride here really wasn't quite as bad as I thought. AmeriCorps policy requires us to stop and change drivers every two hours, so we'd all pile out, rearrange, and head out again. We had to take out the back seat to accomodate our supplies and luggage for the month, so that meant every single seat was occupied and any backpack, pillow, purse, etc. had to be at your feet or in your lap. It was....cozy, but we made it. I almost panicked at the beginning when I just wanted to sleep but couldn't get my Beethoven to play loud enough to drown out the vapid music blaring on the radio and realized that I had 17 hours left to endure it. Turns out our species has any incredible knack for adaptation and as long as you are able to block out the self-loathing for lowering your music standards, you may even eventually find yourself singing along with Miley Cyrus, Iyaz or possibly even Lady GaGa. Never thought I'd see the day, but don't worry, I haven't fallen off the musical deep end, just trying to make the most of the situation. And yes, Alabama does have NPR and fortunately my nonPod has an FM radio player so I've been using our 45 minute commute to the work site for my daily news fix.
Ok, so let me introduce you to the double-wide.

For the most part, its not too bad. Well, perhaps its easier to wrap your mind around the phrase "it could be a lot worse." There are four rooms (the 2 team leaders in one room, 4 of the louder guys in another, 8 girls in the third, the other 4 (myself included) in the one attached to the laundry room, and then the additional 4 guys in the living area. Yeah, that last part is a bit interesting. We do have a couch so that's nice- for four people at a time.

(the living area)
Most nights at least half the people end up going out, so those that stay get a little peace and some room to breathe. The worst part by far has been the cleanliness factor. We really are thankful because it could be so much worse, but, well, the place is filthy. Most people don't seem to mind too much, but considering the whole environmental allergies thing, the thick layer of dust everywhere is actually a bit of a health concern for me. I spent the first evening with a bandana over my face peeling the felt-like layer of dust off the fan blades and trying to get the cobwebs and dead bugs out of my bedroom. The next day I tackled the kitchen fans and cabinets, the next day it was the laundry room, and this morning I helped with the long overdue mopping of the kitchen. Lets just say the water didn't stay clean for long. We are supposed to be getting a vacuum Monday, so maybe then I can start walking around the house barefoot. Other than that, it really is nice. There are a lot of projects that need to be finished, especially in the bathrooms. There are only a few of us staying here over Thanksgiving, and we're really hoping to get a lot done while everyone is gone.
Now for the great part- work. Yesterday was our fourth day with Habitat for Humanity and so far i am loving it. My wrists were a bit achy after the first day of constant hammering, but the last two days I've been running the saw and it's been great. The walls were up when we got there, and so far we have finished nailing on the OSB, set all the trusses, and decked the roof. It's so fun to be able to see the progress as you go. The weather has been fantastic- slightly chilly in the mornings, but comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt in the afternoons. We are all already developing some pretty impressive farmer tans and I'm particularly excited about the 10 inches of leg that shows between the steeltoe boots and the man shorts. Lovely.
We're sitting at a coffee shop right now, but its about time for us to head out. If i sit in the back corner of the hallway at the house and wait patiently, I can pick up a bit of the neighbors internet so technically i could blog from home, but between the long days, spotty internet, and constant ruckus, it's not likely to happen often. Oops, my ride is leaving. See ya.

Out of Time

Ok, I realize it's been a very long time since I posted anything and you deserve a wonderful, fun-filled reading experience, but unfortunatley I have to be at the van with everything packed for Alabama by 5:40 in the morning and thus do not have time to do this any kind of justice. So, I figured the least I could do is post the little blurb I had to write for our campus newsletter. It's boring but it will at least give you more info about what we're about to do.

Here you go (and I'm on Oak 2 in case I hadn't mentioned that before):

Oak 2 and Cedar 5 will spend round one in Mobile, Alabama working with Habitat for Humanity. Many of our team members have prior construction experience and since our CTI project was also with HFH we have all had a chance to get our feet wet both with the organization and construction in general. During CTI in Waterloo, Iowa most of our time was spent decking the roof, laying shingles, and nailing foam board to the outside of the house. This time around, we’ll have a chance to see the entire process from start to finish, and potentially get to rehab some older houses. We are really looking forward to this aspect. The Mobile County HFH chapter was founded in 1989 and has built over 150 homes. They serve residents affected by hurricane Katrina as well as those affected by the current economic crisis. They been host to over 50 NCCC teams, but we will be the first from the North Central campus. Woohoo! So, the living arrangements…that’s where it might get interesting. Cedar 5 and Oak 2 will be living in a house (described as “two mobile homes side by side,” but which we are affectionately calling our “doublewide”) with 24 bunk-beds, 3 bathrooms, and one kitchen. There is no TV, no internet, no phone, and aparently no other furniture except for two porch swings. We saw pictures in the debriefing, and though it looks pretty nice, we are a bit confused by the picture showing bunk-beds lining the entryway. Odd. At the very least it will cozy and we will be getting to know each other very well. Good thing learning to work as a unit instead of a group of individuals happens to be one of our team goals. Along those lines, we are really looking forward to spending time in the surrounding community and getting involved with various projects and organizations while there. With the beach about a half hour away and New Orleans about 2, we’re thinking down time also has a lot of awesome potential. Oh, and did we mention that the average temperature is 67 degrees? Not trying to rub it in or anything, just a random, fun fact.


Other than that, the last few weeks have been great. I went on a lovely hike the weekend before last and yesterday i had a delightful bike ride along the Old Creamery Trail to the city of Garrison (about 7 miles away). It was cold, and i miss my beautiful bike, but still an enjoyable experience. I'll try to add pictures later, but no garentees. Most week days were filled with more training or breifing sessions with the exception of last Wednesday. That day was devoted to AmerOlympics. My team actually came in third (though we have no idea how and are pretty sure there was some sort of calculation error). The two fire teams tied for first (go figure) so we all got to witness an epic tie breaking game of dodge ball. It was great. You may be happy to know that though there has recently been an epidemic of girls on campus shaving their heads, I have refrained from participating. Well, I did help with the cutting part, but my locks are intact so far. We'll see how that goes. Ok, I really need to finish packing now, but hopefully I'll be able to find some internet in Mobile. Looks like there is a library a couple miles away, so that is a great comfort.

Some Stuff for You to Know

Most who know me know that I love working with Habitat for Humanity, but I don’t know how many of you know why I love it. We finished up our three day mini project on Friday, and though we had some complications due to rain (we had to stop early Thursday, return to campus, and help assemble picnic tables instead) we really accomplished an incredible amount. Our team seemed to get along pretty well and for the most part, people seemed eager to work despite the less than pleasant working conditions. After each project, the team has to put together a portfolio explaining what we did, the organization we were working with, the benefits to ourselves and the communitity, and then a personal reflection from each of us. Since my reflection pretty well sums up how I feel about it, I figure I might as well share it with you guys. Here’s what I wrote:

"I do not know how to build an entire house. But if you tell me where you need a nail, I can hammer it in. If you tell me where you need the scaffold, I can move it. If you tell me that the seams need to be taped, I can tape them.
Whenever there is one person with a vision, one person with some know how, and a handful of people with a desire to help, it is amazing what can be accomplished. Some of us grew up playing with tools, some of us have never been on a construction site, yet each time I work with Habitat I am overwhelmed at what culminates from the meager skills and experiences that each individual brings. At the end of the day when I step back and see the progress we have made I no longer think about the aching muscles and the blisters suddenly don’t seem so bad. I simply look at the tangible result of our collective efforts and smile. I smile because I know that I have learned new skills and have grown as an individual. I smile because I know that together we have accomplished what none of us could on our own. I smile, because there in front of me is the real and lasting manifestation of what started out as a simple desire to help and I am reminded that as long as we are willing to give whatever we have to offer, we will make a positive difference in the world around us."

So there’s that. Monday we went as a team to debrief with the unit leader and program directors. It’s supposed to be kind of formal and we take turns presenting the general information about our project and give a report about our specific rep roles. Hmmm, not sure I’ve explained those yet. Everyone has additional responsibilities within the team. Some examples are service learning initiator, project outreach liaison, media liaison, peer helper, photographer, and a few others that slip my mind. On our team every member has a primary and a secondary role and there are two people for each of the primary roles. I got Vehicle, Safety, and Tools as my primary and Newsletter rep as my secondary. Pretty excited about that VST part. Me and the other VST are responsible for making sure the van stays in good condition, making sure all the safety standards are being met, and inventorying and inspecting any tools we are issued. So basically, I picked the only job that deals with objects instead of people. Wonder what says about me? Anyhoo, the debriefing went well and it was actually kind of nice to be forced to go over everything we did and really think about it.

Tuesday we drove to Iowa City to do a ropes course. It was just the low one, so we didn’t get to do any of the fun dangerous looking ones, but we had great time. I think we really did learn a lot about each other and how we think and communicate. We spent all day today in a “Hands of Peace” class. It was essentially about conflict resolution and how to effectively communicate. It was just our team and one other team and the facilitators did a wonderful job. After the last couple days I feel like I have a much better grasp on who our team is and I’m really hoping we can have a nice peaceful year.
Since I didn’t really have any exciting stories for you, I figure this is a good time to go ahead and give you a nice little fashion show of all the wonderfully flattering AmeriCorps garb we've been issued. They call them “non gender specific,” but I’m pretty sure that is code for “men’s.” The guys look pretty normal, maybe even borderline professional, but the girls just look frumpy and 15 pounds heavier. Oh well, they are reasonably comfortable and I don’t have to think about what to wear in the morning, so I guess I can’t really complain. Ok, here you go:

This is what I look like pretty much every day now.

I'm guessing this will be the combo of choice for most of our month in Alabama. Yay for sun!

We call this the "AmeriTux" and wear it for more formal events like debriefings and induction.

This is clearly meant for rain, but seeing as how it's the only issued item with any color, I wonder if I'm allowed to wear it just to break up the monotony? Gonna have to check on that one.

Though I currently just think of the parka as a large ugly coat that smells funny, I bet I'll have much more affectionate feelings towards it once winter sets in.

And probably my favorite- the coveralls. I've actually always sort of wanted some. They seem like terribly useful garments.

And there you have it. My six clothing options for the next 10 months. So now, if you are ever sitting around wondering what I am doing and have a general idea of what kind of weather I'm in, you shouldn't have much trouble figuring out what I'm wearing.