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.

Rainy Days and Big News

Ok, so the big news is that we found out what our first real project will be. However, if I tell you that information now, all the other stuff I feel I ought to tell you will probably seem a bit boring. So try to pay attention, dont't let the suspence kill you and I'll let you know at the end.
Soooo, a while back I mentioned something about Make a Difference Day, but then I forgot to say how it went. Last Saturday, all 150 of us hopped in the vans and headed out to the Brentwood neigborhood in Iowa City. All we knew was that we were going to be canvasing neighborhoods in a struggling community and trying to get residents to complete a survey. As we pulled up, I think we were all a little confused, maybe even a bit dissapointed. It looked like a nice area. Nice houses, well kept yards- definitely better looking that my old neighborhood. I guess we were expecting more obvious signs of distress.
As we sat around in the school gym waiting for intructions, a lady from the South East Side Coalition got up and explained what we were really doing there. Apparently, this used to be a nice quiet community, but over the last several months there has been an outbreak of violence. There have been shootings and riots and just all kinds of crazy struff-- for no apparent reason. People are moving away, people aren't taking walks anymore, and it has gotten to the point where the city is just a couple months away from a vote to impose a curfew. The Coalition we were helping out is basically just a bunch of community members who decided it was time to do something about it themselves and try to improve things from the inside. It was really quite moving to hear her talk. We'd spent the day before in a classroom learning about civic responsibility, and here it was in action. The survey we were peddling had a bunch of questions about how safe they felt and how involved they were with community activities and then asked what they thought would make their neighborhood safer and better.
Our team alone knocked on close to 100 doors. Not even half answered, but multiply that by 12 (two teams were helping with maintenance and landscaping at the school) and that is a lot of houses. It was so cool to see normal citizens unwilling to sit around and wait for the government to attempt to fix things for them. It's sad that we won't be around to see the outcome, but with the information we gathered, they'll have a much better understanding of how individuals are feeling and hopefully a clearer picture of what might actually help. It was pretty cool.
Sunday I tried church here for the first time. I went to the First Christian Disciples of Christ (thought those were two different things, but that's what the sign says) church that is right across from campus. I'll spare you the details, but it was disappointing. On the walk home I felt something awefully like homesickness for about the first time since I arrived. I miss my church. I'll try again this week...just not quite sure which denomination sounds the most promising. On a better note, someone put up a sign about a Bible study on campus. There were about 10 of us there and it was quite encouraging. It looks like some of them were thinking about trying area churches as well. Yay.
Moving right along. I think I hit all the highlights of the first part of the week, but on Wednesday we started our three day "mini project." I think it's mostly to get our boots broken in and our feet wet before we head out for real. My team is working in Waterloo (about an hour to the northwest) with Habitat for Humanity. Yesterday we were decking the roof and finishing up the OSB on the sides. I was on the roof for most of the day, which turns out to be even more scary when wearing massive steel toe boots. Habitat's photographer came out to take some pictures, and let me tell ya, he got some winners. I know I tend to look awkward in photos, but these are particularly impressive. This seems to be the best from the day:

Yep, there it is. On HFH's websight for the whole world to see. My parents must be incredibly proud. I guess the question of the day is, do I really look this odd constantly, or is it some magical gift that only comes out when cameras are around? Hmmm, not sure I actually want you to answer that. Anyhoo, here's the link so you can see the rest of them http://picasaweb.google.com/iowaheartland. Just click the NCCC on Clear View and you'll be able to get to see some of my team and the awesome outfits we get to wear.
Today I opted to stay on the ground and help wrap the house with blue foam. The sight was muddy to start with and it had rained all night so today was quite a mess. About an hour and a half in, it started raining. I was about 7 feet up on scaffolding, plodding around in mudcaked boots trying not to slip off the three foot walkway, but at least I wasn't on the roof. Didn't take long for us all to be thoroughly wet and mud incrusted. We kept working the best we could, but after lunch the rain still hadn't let up so we drove back to campus, dried off a little, and then helped assemble picnic tables. Overall, a pretty good couple of days. Oh yeah, I drove us to Waterloo this morning. It was my first time driving with the van full and I actually really liked it.

Ok, big news time. Here are some hints: it's really far away...it won't be snowing...it's in the south....I don't think I've ever been there before...less than an hour from the ocean.......it's Mobile, Alabama!!! Yay!!!! We'll be working with Habitat for Humanity and there will be another team working/staying in the same place. Twenty-four bunkbeds, three bathrooms, and one kitchen for one month. Should be fun. There are actually about 5 teams going to the gulf coast this round. My roommate will be a couple hours away in New Orleans. I'm so glad that we get to do a gulf coast project, but I bet we'll be in for quite a shock when we come back mid December and find Iowa in full fledged winter. Yikes. I'm nervous already.
Alright, I supose that is it for the night. Bye!

Good Days and Bikes Galore

This was an eventful weekend, and I really should tell you about it....but today was just so great I think I'll talk about it first. It's my blog, so I can do that, right?
Hmmm, actually I guess I do need to back up a bit. A few things you need to know:
-As part of the 1700 hours of service that I will be completing this year, 80 of those have to be in "independant service project" hours (ISP for brevity sake, you know, since I'm big on brevity. Ha, ahaha ha).
-There are several "community bikes" on campus that are just for anyone to use.
-Said bikes are not in working order (flat tires, no brakes, broken chains, broken derailers).
-I like bikes, and I miss having things to work on.

Due to those few facts, it didn't take long for me to start scheming up projects that involved fixing up those bikes. I met a guy the first week here who was really into bikes and used to work in a bike shop and stuff. I figured if I was going to be able to make it work I'd need some technichal help, so one day I shot my idea at him to see if it was something he'd be interested in. Turns out, he was like ten steps ahead. He'd met a guy in town (we'll call him Roy) that offered to donate like ten old broken down bikes to AmeriCorps and pay for parts and everything. That is awesome, but we're actually trying to find a way to turn that into something that will earn ISP hours. (My initial idea won't count towards ISP hours since it would be our NCCC community reaping the benefit.) Ok, so Sunday afternoon I went with the bike guy to Roy's house to check out the bikes. They're in pretty bad shape, but Roy sure was a character. He had some sort of 1920's truck in front of his house--wooden wheels and everything. We ended up able to take one bike back to campus- it's like a 30 year old huffy that is rather small, only the front brakes work, and it makes horrible protesting noises...but it's ridable!
When we got back, I talked my roommate into going for a walk with me. We had driven around town a few days back and saw where the Cedar River runs through town and I'd been wanting to get a closer look ever since. Emily and I headed off on our little adventure and on the way something magical happened. We wandered past this old factory looking building, and seeing as how I'm a sucker for old rundown buildings, I ran up to peer in the windows to see if anything was left inside. Here's what we found:




hundreds and hundreds of bicycles. It was so surreal. There they were leaning against each other collecting dust and looking lonely.

Ok, so all that was yesterday which means that we are finally to the part that I set out to talk about in the first place. Today I went back with the bike guy to see if we could figure out who owned the place, what the bikes were for, and if we were crazy lucky maybe even dig up some sort of ISP ideas. I was half worried that I had dreamt the whole thing up or that the bikes had magically disappeared. But nope, there they were in their dense, dusty rows just as I'd remembered.
We didn't see a door to the actual place with the bikes, but there was a newer looking adjacent building so we tried knocking there. Sure enough, an older man comes ambling to the door wearing overalls, a rather dashing fedora type hat, and a magnificent, well manicured, fluffy, white beard. We told him we saw the bikes through the window and wondered if he knew anything them. He looked at us for second, then said "come on in."
It was amazing. We spent the next half hour walking up and down rows of bikes, some dating all the way back to the 1800's. He retired several years ago, bought the building (it was originally a canning factory), and has been buying up bikes at auctions and things ever since with the intention of turning the place into a museum. He hasn't even fully inventoried things, but has says there are over 500 bikes and there were shelves of additional handle bars and wheels and every part imaginable.
I don't think I realized before I came that the terrible floods last year that were all over the news were right here in Vinton. He said that the water was at least 30 inches deep in the building so that's why all the bikes are still so dirty. Its shocking the building held up as well as it did. There's a 12 foot basement which was completly flooded as well. Its hard to imagine cleaning up from something like that.
I could have spent hours in there just stroling back and forth, listening to his stories. I don't really see it turning into any sort of service project for us, but that's okay. I plan to go back, and I really hope I get to know him better. Quite a fascinating man. He even hopes to turn the back part into a bike repair shop. I really hope does, big dreams like that deserve to be completed.

Ok, time to wrap it up for the night. PT was at 5:30 this morning and this time they weren't quite so merciful. It was 41 degrees and drizzling this morning, yet there we were running aimlesly around the track in the slippery darkness. When that part was done, we got to go back in and literally roll back and forth on the nasty gym floor as we alternated from situps to pushups over and over and over again. But, PT is good for your health, right? Anyway, after a morning like that, and then about 8 miles on a rickety ill-fitting bike, I figured I could use some nice relaxing yoga this evening. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a "power yoga" class which is way more like an aerobics class so now I'm worse off than when I started. I just got home at 10 and even though I get to sleep all the way to 7 tomorrow, its probably time to go to bed.

Oh wait! I almost forgot the takeaway from the whole bike story. The population of Vinton is 5,102. When I learned I was coming here, I admit, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, how exciting could a town that small be? I guess what I learned today is that it really doesn't matter where I am, there are always going to be things worth seeing and people worth knowing as long as I'm willing to wipe away the dust and peer thru even the most unlikely of windows.

I have only been here a week and a half, but so much has already happened. This post will likely be quite lenghty as I try to cover everything that has happend so far. If you don't have much time or just don't like words, here's the short version: I'm having a great time, we've been really busy, and my whole body is tired. Now you're welcome to scroll down check out the pictures.

For those of you interested in the whys of those previous statements, here's the long version...
Alright, so last Wednesday I flew from Tulsa to Dallas and from there to Cedar Rapids. When I got to the gate for that connecting flight, I spotted three girls whose faces seemed to contain the same excited/nervous/what in the world am I doing?/I sure hope I change the world look that I was pretty sure I'd been wearing all day. Yep, we were all heading to Vinton and over the course of the next hour or so, people would wander over, hesitantly ask if we were with AmeriCorps, and one by one they would join our motley little crew. Everyone had that first day of school nervousness at first, but it seemed like just the physical evidence that we were all in the same boat quickley eased that anxiety. There were about nine of us on that flight, and in Cedar Radips we met up with AmeriCorps staff and about 50 other new corps members, loaded onto a charter bus, and made the 40 minute drive to Vinton. (In case you didn't know, Iowa is flat. Like, flat flat. We passed about one hill, 10 houses, and 10 million rows of corn on the drive.)

Once we arrived on campus we all wrestled our hundred+ pounds of luggage off the bus, down the stairs, into the gym and then found our place in a dauntingly long line of 18-24 year olds. About an hour later, I finally made it to the sign-in table, handed over my paperwork, got a group assignment, and got a room assignment. They did room assignments in what ever order you came in, and fortunately I liked the ones I was standing by. My roomie's name is Emily and she's great. I feel really fortunate with both the roommate and the room that we were assigned. We lucked out and got a corner room which means double windows (south and west sides) and tons of sunlight. It also happens to be directly above the computer lounge making it one of the few prime rooms that actually gets wireless internet! Its wonderful. Pretty plain- two beds, two armoires, a desk, tile floor, tan walls...typical dorm room. We dropped bags off in the room then headed down for uniform issuing and then it was off to our first meeting with the whole corps. That pretty much wraps up my first day in Vinton (don't panic yet, subsequent descriptions should be less lengthy!)

The next two days started at 7AM and basically consisted of sitting in an auditorium listing to orientation presentations. We covered everything from the history of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School (where we're staying) to kitchen policies. They assigned us temporary groups for that first week, so we also met as groups a couple times a day.

Saturday we got up bright and early to go get physicals at the local hospital. It was actually quite impressive how efficently they were able to shuffle us in and out of all the stations. I passed, in case you were worried. That afternoon our group leader had planned a photo scavenger hunt for our "exploring Vinton" time. It was fun and that was actually the first time I'd made it off campus.

I guess that brings us to Sunday and probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever attempted to do. Our campus will have two "fire teams." They receive additional training and if at any point there are wildfires in our region (or really bad ones even outside our region), they are called out to assist. Anyhoo, to qualify for a fire team you have to pass the pack test. Said test consists of carrying a 45 pound pack for three miles in under 45 minutes. Doesn't seem too aweful until you reallize how much 45 pounds is (roughly 1/3 of my body weight) and precisly how fast 4 miles an hour is. If you haven't paced yourslef lately, that is stinking fast. Way easier to jog that fast than walk, but jogging was strictly forbidden and again, 45 pounds is crazy heavy. Let me just say that that was a very long 45 minutes. Well, 46 minutes 52 seconds to be precise. I moved my legs just as fast as they would go and didn't stop to rest and it still wasn't enough. I know I did the best I possibly could in the condition that I currently am, and I'm really quite proud at my attempt, failed though it was. It probably wouldn't have been wise for me to be on a fire team anyway considering the asthma and all, but I was pretty sure the kind of people I would most enjoy spending 10 months with would be the kind of people that wanted to be on a fire team, so I figured it was worth a try.

Moving right along...I haven't mentioned anything about weather yet. The first couple days were pretty cold and drizzly, but after that the sun came out and it was really quite beautiful. I spent a few hours Sunday afternoon stretched out under a tree soaking up the golden sun and recuperating from the pack test. The trees here are lovely and every day the leaves grow more and more vibrant. I will be very sad when they have all blown away.

Monday we learned the book portion of how to drive a 15 passenger van- drivers ed all over again. That evening was the big team reveal where we finally found out the 10 people we will be spending the next 10 months with. Everyone on my team seems pretty nice and its sure to be an interesting year.

Tuesday we learned all about the history of the Corporation for National and Community Service (our parent organization) and all the other organizations that fall under it (i.e. Senior Corps and Learn & Serve America). That afternoon they had a nutritionist go over basic food stuff, then they hammered into us the importance of physical fitness, and then we had our physical training baseline test. Once again, I was a bit disapointed in my performace. I consider myself resonably fit and I'm usually able to hold my own well enough, but turns out I can only do 20 sit-ups in a minute, 25 girly push-ups in a minute (still can't even do one real one), and my time for running a mile was 9:11. I've never actually timed myself running before, but I guess I thought I was a little faster than that. Oh well, yay for self-awareness.

Wednesday brought the road portion of the van training for those who were going to be drivers and a cooking class for the half of the team that wasn't. Backing should have been the hard part, but since NCCC policy requires the use of a ground guide every single time you back up, it really wasn't bad at all. I got a great job and everything! The afternoon was spent going over all the requirements for the 80 hours worth of independant service projects that we have to complete.
Thursday was Red Cross training. I am now certified in CPR and first aid. Woohoo!

And finally, Friday. All this week, our activities started between 7:30 and 8. Today however, we began at 5:25. AmeriCorps beleives fitness is an important part of life, so this morning, long before the sun made any attempt to shine, all 150ish of us stumbled out into the frigid rain for our obligatory hour of PT. They decided to show mercy and moved it into the gym. Though I'm greatful for that, I'm still working on how interupting sleep and postponing breakfast to spend an hour being yelled at to jump up and down, swing your arms, and do yet another variation on a good old sit- or push-up actually improves your overall health. From what I can tell, it mostly just makes you feel lightheaded and makes your already achy joints wonder what all the repetitive pounding is about. Yoga is way healthier. The rest of the day contained a session on being an engaged citizen and what all we will be gaining from our experience here and then one on how to talk to the media.

Yay!!!!!!!! You made it all the way to the bottom of the longest post in history. That's dedication. As you can see, we've been fairly busy. I didn't even mention all the team meetings, unit meetings, and other extra things that fill in the openings. We're usually done by 5 or 6, but then we have to cook dinner (which is quite an ordeal when there are twenty people sharing a kitchen that is smaller than the one in my old house) and then there are often extra activities going on- swimming, yoga, scrabble. By the end of the day I am exhausted and in rather dire need of some quiet time. That part is going to be a challenge to ajust to.
So, all that having been said, I guess it ultimatly boils down to "I'm having a great time, we've been really busy, and my whole body is tired."

Congratulations, you made it to picture time!


This is the front, east, side of "Old Main." It holds the Braille school (which is still a functioning k-12 residential school), the NCCC offices, some classrooms and the auditorium.


Here's Old Main from the back. Beautiful isn't it?


This is Palmer, one of the two residence halls. My window is in the top right of the picture.


Here's our little room with the wonderful sunlight.


This is the view from our south facing window. That is Old Main that you're seeing and directly beyond that is the other dorm, Rice Hall.


This this the view from the west window right by my bed.


In case you were worried, yes I do have access to a playground and have already made good use of the swings. It is on the southwest side of Old Main.


And finally, I'd like to introduce you to my first tree friend on campus. He's the one I napped under on Sunday and I suspect I'll be spending much more time in his presence. (You can't see them in the picture, but there are ladybugs everywhere here. Much better pests than mosquitoes.)

And now, even though its early on a Friday evening, I ought to be winding down for the day because tomorrow I'll be getting up around 6 AM to make the drive into Iowa City. Tommorrow is national Make a Difference Day and we will be getting our first taste of actual volunteering. Should be exciting!