Yes, indeed, in form with my old blogging habits... aka not writing anything for a long time! To make up for it, I will now summarize everything in 8 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q42tzMs70M4
We are headed up to my old stomping grounds next... North Bend, WA! Doing "miscellaneous environmental work" ... your guess is as good as mine! I already bought some Vitamin D and will be bringing back my raingear!
I am currently on my 2 week winter break, but it is coming to a close. Of course, I wouldn't say no to a longer break, but 2 weeks is sufficient. I'm really trying to enjoy it since it is basically our only break for the next 7 months of service. Sometime in the spring we have a 4 day spring break... but who knows where I'll be then! Hopefully somewhere warm!
PEACE!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Americorps NCCC Acronyms
Here are a few I might drop casually:
NCCC: national civilian community corps; it's not just americorps, it's americorps NCCC
CTI: corps training institute; our month long training when we first get to campus
ISP: independent service project; we are required to do 80 hours of independent service while in the corps
TL: team leader; one for each team
STL: support team leader; a couple per unit, they stay on campus and don't have a team
UL: unit leader; one per unit, stay on campus for administration
PT: physical training; you have to do it, usually early in the morning
POC: point of contact; anyone you need to report/talk to
FMT: fire management team; specialized teams within americorps that only deal with fire stuff
SFBFS: Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services; where I work until Dec. 14
I'll update more if need be.
NCCC: national civilian community corps; it's not just americorps, it's americorps NCCC
CTI: corps training institute; our month long training when we first get to campus
ISP: independent service project; we are required to do 80 hours of independent service while in the corps
TL: team leader; one for each team
STL: support team leader; a couple per unit, they stay on campus and don't have a team
UL: unit leader; one per unit, stay on campus for administration
PT: physical training; you have to do it, usually early in the morning
POC: point of contact; anyone you need to report/talk to
FMT: fire management team; specialized teams within americorps that only deal with fire stuff
SFBFS: Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services; where I work until Dec. 14
I'll update more if need be.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
ROUND 1, DAY 1 - SFBFS
So today was the first day of our project at Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services (SFBFS). It was pretty awesome!
But first: we had our formal induction into Americorps, and then said goodbye to the teams that were leaving the area for their projects. About a quarter of the teams stay on campus per round (there are 4 rounds), so we had to send off 3/4 of our teams... which was sad. The month we've spent in training could have been several months. They call it "Ameri-time." So it was hard to see so many of our friends leaving. And, essentially, we won't really see them for the rest of the 9 months. The only time all teams will be on campus from now on is during "transition." This is the 5 days between spike projects... so that's 5x3=15 days + the last week of Americorps NCCC= 22 days, approximately. Transition periods are also ultra busy, too. What it comes down to is that it's sad to see people go.
But right after that, we went straight to our project, with only a 20 minute commute. It's funny that we already spent a 9-5 day at our project while other teams have to drive for days to eastern Wyoming. Anyways, the food bank. Actually I shouldn't call it that. During our orientation in the morning at the project site, we were told they don't like having their get-up called just "the food bank" because they aren't a typical food bank. A lot of their resources goes into providing the family services side of things. So I could abbreviate it to SFBFS... but that just doesn't roll off as well. We'll see how it goes.
We got an intro to their main facility in Oak Park, but got thrown into some work straight away at the second facility, the Saca Center, in north Sac. We had just finished our walk through when James asked if there were any volunteers for tutoring. We didn't know for what or for whom, but Scott, Steph, and I were the first to volunteer. We ended up helping with the adult education program. Each of us helped an adult with something. Scott helped a woman learn Excel. Steph helped a middle aged woman with math and rounding numbers. I helped a young man with adding and subtracting fractions. I was definitely a little rusty on my math, but it was rather invigorating. The guy I was working with was really quite bright, he just needed to slow down a little and pay attention to details. I got to challenge myself with how to best explain the type of things I don't even think about anymore.
Right after this, the three of us were put with the Youth Academy program, which is for 1st-5th graders. There was only a handful today, so we weren't too busy. Once they had finished their homework, they got to start carving pumpkins. I was super excited about this, though I didn't actually get to carve one. I quickly realized I had to be more realistic about what the kids could do. (I tried to tell them that the tops should be cut at an angle so they didn't fall in... fail.) The kids were sooo grossed out by the pumpkin innards too. I will be the first to admit that I don't like the goop, but most of these kids would only stick their hands in once before they refused to do more. Kids. I did get to help a kid do a pretty complicated design for a grade schooler, but we didn't finish. Then we were thrown in with the 5th graders and trying to get them excited about making the monthly newsletter. They were pretty apathetic about it at first, but I think we made some progress.
The rest of the team totally didn't do as awesome of stuff! They worked in the warehouse sorting baby clothes and other family stuff. I think a couple of them also worked in the play room with the really young kids. But I didn't see any of them once we started our jobs.
Tomorrow, we are sitting in on the staff meeting that lasts all day. We won't be doing any work because the food bank is closed tomorrow for the meeting. They will be discussing the logistics of the 2 biggest holiday events that happen Thanksgiving weekend: the Turkey Drive and the Run to Feed the Hungry. We are going to have an insane November!
Basically, this is going to be a really busy but FUN project!
But first: we had our formal induction into Americorps, and then said goodbye to the teams that were leaving the area for their projects. About a quarter of the teams stay on campus per round (there are 4 rounds), so we had to send off 3/4 of our teams... which was sad. The month we've spent in training could have been several months. They call it "Ameri-time." So it was hard to see so many of our friends leaving. And, essentially, we won't really see them for the rest of the 9 months. The only time all teams will be on campus from now on is during "transition." This is the 5 days between spike projects... so that's 5x3=15 days + the last week of Americorps NCCC= 22 days, approximately. Transition periods are also ultra busy, too. What it comes down to is that it's sad to see people go.
But right after that, we went straight to our project, with only a 20 minute commute. It's funny that we already spent a 9-5 day at our project while other teams have to drive for days to eastern Wyoming. Anyways, the food bank. Actually I shouldn't call it that. During our orientation in the morning at the project site, we were told they don't like having their get-up called just "the food bank" because they aren't a typical food bank. A lot of their resources goes into providing the family services side of things. So I could abbreviate it to SFBFS... but that just doesn't roll off as well. We'll see how it goes.
We got an intro to their main facility in Oak Park, but got thrown into some work straight away at the second facility, the Saca Center, in north Sac. We had just finished our walk through when James asked if there were any volunteers for tutoring. We didn't know for what or for whom, but Scott, Steph, and I were the first to volunteer. We ended up helping with the adult education program. Each of us helped an adult with something. Scott helped a woman learn Excel. Steph helped a middle aged woman with math and rounding numbers. I helped a young man with adding and subtracting fractions. I was definitely a little rusty on my math, but it was rather invigorating. The guy I was working with was really quite bright, he just needed to slow down a little and pay attention to details. I got to challenge myself with how to best explain the type of things I don't even think about anymore.
Right after this, the three of us were put with the Youth Academy program, which is for 1st-5th graders. There was only a handful today, so we weren't too busy. Once they had finished their homework, they got to start carving pumpkins. I was super excited about this, though I didn't actually get to carve one. I quickly realized I had to be more realistic about what the kids could do. (I tried to tell them that the tops should be cut at an angle so they didn't fall in... fail.) The kids were sooo grossed out by the pumpkin innards too. I will be the first to admit that I don't like the goop, but most of these kids would only stick their hands in once before they refused to do more. Kids. I did get to help a kid do a pretty complicated design for a grade schooler, but we didn't finish. Then we were thrown in with the 5th graders and trying to get them excited about making the monthly newsletter. They were pretty apathetic about it at first, but I think we made some progress.
The rest of the team totally didn't do as awesome of stuff! They worked in the warehouse sorting baby clothes and other family stuff. I think a couple of them also worked in the play room with the really young kids. But I didn't see any of them once we started our jobs.
Tomorrow, we are sitting in on the staff meeting that lasts all day. We won't be doing any work because the food bank is closed tomorrow for the meeting. They will be discussing the logistics of the 2 biggest holiday events that happen Thanksgiving weekend: the Turkey Drive and the Run to Feed the Hungry. We are going to have an insane November!
Basically, this is going to be a really busy but FUN project!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Mendocino
So we, Green 5, arrived back on campus this afternoon. It has been a crazy past few days.
On Wednesday, we were late getting out, but it was not our fault. Because our vans are so big, obvious, and slow, we have to stagger mass outings. Vans leave 10 minutes apart, and the team before us was late in leaving. We are driving on I-5, and AJ, our team leader, gets a phone call. It was the dreaded phone call. In the past week, AJ had found out her mom had cancer of some sort, and the call was confirming the worst. Of course, AJ knew she had to go be with her mom, so we turned around, and we said goodbye to AJ. She obviously needed to leave the program to be with her mom.
We still had to go to Mendocino, so the unit leaders (green unit, blue unit, etc.) sent us up with a Support Team Leader (STL) named Laura. Lucky for me, Laura was actually my pod leader, so I knew what she was like, at least a little. It's about a 2 hr drive to Mendocino, and when we arrive... it starts raining. This would continue until Saturday. A few hours after we arrive at camp, Jeanine, the green unit leader, calls us together to announce Laura is our new TL. This was a confusing time since we were sad to have lost our TL, but we wanted to be welcoming of Laura.
Over the 3 days of camp, things worked out well with Laura. During day 1, we did our volunteer work up there... IN THE POURING RAIN! We got the lovely job of digging drainage ditches along the roads. We were out for about 6 hrs with raincoats that had lost most of their waterproofing. But often, the tougher/more annoying things help people to bond better than easy things. To keep ourselves amused, Chris, TL of Green 3 which we spend a lot of time with, was our riddler. We played green glass door, which I know, and also the umbrella game.
Day 2 was fun-bonding day on the high ropes course. This was my first time on a high ropes course. We did some low stuff before Pac Rim, but this was the 20-25 ft high stuff. We always had two support straps attached to our harnesses, so there was no real danger, but some of the challenges were SCARY! I have a slight fear of heights, so I was pretty nervous while walking across a log that swings freely. There were a few that were walking along a wire or rope for about 30 feet while either holding on to two ropes about shoulder height, or holding on to one rope above your head, or having to grab sequential ropes along the way. It was craaaazy! Then we all got to zip line down a hill and over the river, which was several hundred feet, and it was really awesome. We had a few low ropes challenges, which were fun, too.
The food was good, and the nights were cold (and of course wet). I was so happy to have my own sleeping bag. I also had my little blanket from Dharamsala which kept me very warm. I guess this was the first time NCCC has ever had 3 days of rain at Mendocino, so we probably missed out on a few things... like extra time for hikes, bonfires... but c'est la vie. On the last day, we saw a few hours of sunshine, so we did go for a short hike. I only took a few pictures because I didn't want to get my semi-new camera wet and have it break.
One of the mostly bonuses/slightly negative of all the rain was that we had 2 days of cancelled PT in the morning. And today we had a shortened session. We did ladder runs for about 20 minutes. A ladder run is when you are running in 2 equal lines and the couple from the back has to sprint up to the front, and when they get there, they yell "Ladder up" and it starts again. So it's aerobic and anaerobic. It's tough, but more engaging than regular running. Unfortunately we were still running on asphalt. I'm looking forward to when we run on dirt or a track so that it doesn't hurt our legs so much. Of course, not having to wake up so early is great, but I really don't mind PT. I am looking forward to being in better shape after this year.
Anyways, today is the day before Halloween, and I'm not doing anything. We are all pretty tired, and some of us (including me) have training tomorrow. Usually you don't have anything on Sunday... but everyone is getting specialized training in something and Steve and I are getting CHAINSAW CERTIFIED! Yeah, me with a chainsaw--put that on my resume! Tomorrow is the in class day, no field training, so it shouldn't be too brutal, but it will be all day sitting inside.
I have tons of laundry to do after 3 days of rainy camp without showering!
On Wednesday, we were late getting out, but it was not our fault. Because our vans are so big, obvious, and slow, we have to stagger mass outings. Vans leave 10 minutes apart, and the team before us was late in leaving. We are driving on I-5, and AJ, our team leader, gets a phone call. It was the dreaded phone call. In the past week, AJ had found out her mom had cancer of some sort, and the call was confirming the worst. Of course, AJ knew she had to go be with her mom, so we turned around, and we said goodbye to AJ. She obviously needed to leave the program to be with her mom.
We still had to go to Mendocino, so the unit leaders (green unit, blue unit, etc.) sent us up with a Support Team Leader (STL) named Laura. Lucky for me, Laura was actually my pod leader, so I knew what she was like, at least a little. It's about a 2 hr drive to Mendocino, and when we arrive... it starts raining. This would continue until Saturday. A few hours after we arrive at camp, Jeanine, the green unit leader, calls us together to announce Laura is our new TL. This was a confusing time since we were sad to have lost our TL, but we wanted to be welcoming of Laura.
Over the 3 days of camp, things worked out well with Laura. During day 1, we did our volunteer work up there... IN THE POURING RAIN! We got the lovely job of digging drainage ditches along the roads. We were out for about 6 hrs with raincoats that had lost most of their waterproofing. But often, the tougher/more annoying things help people to bond better than easy things. To keep ourselves amused, Chris, TL of Green 3 which we spend a lot of time with, was our riddler. We played green glass door, which I know, and also the umbrella game.
Day 2 was fun-bonding day on the high ropes course. This was my first time on a high ropes course. We did some low stuff before Pac Rim, but this was the 20-25 ft high stuff. We always had two support straps attached to our harnesses, so there was no real danger, but some of the challenges were SCARY! I have a slight fear of heights, so I was pretty nervous while walking across a log that swings freely. There were a few that were walking along a wire or rope for about 30 feet while either holding on to two ropes about shoulder height, or holding on to one rope above your head, or having to grab sequential ropes along the way. It was craaaazy! Then we all got to zip line down a hill and over the river, which was several hundred feet, and it was really awesome. We had a few low ropes challenges, which were fun, too.
The food was good, and the nights were cold (and of course wet). I was so happy to have my own sleeping bag. I also had my little blanket from Dharamsala which kept me very warm. I guess this was the first time NCCC has ever had 3 days of rain at Mendocino, so we probably missed out on a few things... like extra time for hikes, bonfires... but c'est la vie. On the last day, we saw a few hours of sunshine, so we did go for a short hike. I only took a few pictures because I didn't want to get my semi-new camera wet and have it break.
One of the mostly bonuses/slightly negative of all the rain was that we had 2 days of cancelled PT in the morning. And today we had a shortened session. We did ladder runs for about 20 minutes. A ladder run is when you are running in 2 equal lines and the couple from the back has to sprint up to the front, and when they get there, they yell "Ladder up" and it starts again. So it's aerobic and anaerobic. It's tough, but more engaging than regular running. Unfortunately we were still running on asphalt. I'm looking forward to when we run on dirt or a track so that it doesn't hurt our legs so much. Of course, not having to wake up so early is great, but I really don't mind PT. I am looking forward to being in better shape after this year.
Anyways, today is the day before Halloween, and I'm not doing anything. We are all pretty tired, and some of us (including me) have training tomorrow. Usually you don't have anything on Sunday... but everyone is getting specialized training in something and Steve and I are getting CHAINSAW CERTIFIED! Yeah, me with a chainsaw--put that on my resume! Tomorrow is the in class day, no field training, so it shouldn't be too brutal, but it will be all day sitting inside.
I have tons of laundry to do after 3 days of rainy camp without showering!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
So it's been a while...
Hello friends,
I've decided to try for travel blogging: round 2. As you can see, my last post was in India... so it's been a while. I am now currently in McClellan, California (but often referred to as Sacramento--we are technically in Sac county).
In June, I was accepted into Americorps NCCC. I thought that I got a late acceptance, but there are many people here who didn't get invited until days before we started on Oct. 7. On that fateful first day, everyone was extremely exhausted from traveling for many hours, especially the east coasters. The east coasters easily represent a majority here on campus, which seems a little strange, but c'est la vie. I hardly remember anything from the presentations they showed us that evening... but then again, the days here seem to blur and stretch together.
Within those first few days, we were put into our "pod." This was our temporary team until we were put into our official team. My pod was awesome, no lie. Being thrown into such a new, strange atmosphere led to swift bonding among us. But alas, after only a week together, we were ripped apart to be put into our permanent teams with whom we will be doing all our projects.
Since I arrived about 3 weeks ago, we have been in Corps Training Institute (CTI). We got first aid/CPR/AED certified, and sit in on trainings from about 8-5 most days. Most of the trainings have been engaging, but the days are long. Most days start at 5 am!!! I know, you can't picture me ever waking that early, but I got no choice! It actually hasn't been that bad, since we are getting up to run around and get some adrenaline flowing. Physical training (PT) begins at 5h30 am, 4 times/week. Two of the days are running days. I have never run so much in my life! And they really throw you into it. We did our baseline to see how fast you run 1.5 miles, then divided us into running groups of the same rate. On our first running day, we were told, 'ok you're running 2.5 miles,' and I was like ...you have got to be kidding me. But I've actually been totally fine, aside from maybe shin splints since we only run on concrete. The other 2 days of PT are usually circuits, so we got to different stations and do exercises that focus on a part of the body.
Last Saturday, we had our first mini service project for Make a Difference Day. My team, Green 5, plus Green 6 (the FMT for green unit) worked at Bret Harte Elementary School starting a garden. So we dug... a lot. It was a good workout though! And my whole team would love to go back and volunteer there again. We probably will for some ISPs.
(Note: I will write an entry that lists all acronyms that I use!)
In about 20 minutes, the green unit is leaving for Camp Mendocino. It's a camp for the Boys and Girls Club of San Fransisco, and we go out there to do some work to keep the camp in good order and for some quality bonding via ropes course and zip lining!
I've decided to try for travel blogging: round 2. As you can see, my last post was in India... so it's been a while. I am now currently in McClellan, California (but often referred to as Sacramento--we are technically in Sac county).
In June, I was accepted into Americorps NCCC. I thought that I got a late acceptance, but there are many people here who didn't get invited until days before we started on Oct. 7. On that fateful first day, everyone was extremely exhausted from traveling for many hours, especially the east coasters. The east coasters easily represent a majority here on campus, which seems a little strange, but c'est la vie. I hardly remember anything from the presentations they showed us that evening... but then again, the days here seem to blur and stretch together.
Within those first few days, we were put into our "pod." This was our temporary team until we were put into our official team. My pod was awesome, no lie. Being thrown into such a new, strange atmosphere led to swift bonding among us. But alas, after only a week together, we were ripped apart to be put into our permanent teams with whom we will be doing all our projects.
Since I arrived about 3 weeks ago, we have been in Corps Training Institute (CTI). We got first aid/CPR/AED certified, and sit in on trainings from about 8-5 most days. Most of the trainings have been engaging, but the days are long. Most days start at 5 am!!! I know, you can't picture me ever waking that early, but I got no choice! It actually hasn't been that bad, since we are getting up to run around and get some adrenaline flowing. Physical training (PT) begins at 5h30 am, 4 times/week. Two of the days are running days. I have never run so much in my life! And they really throw you into it. We did our baseline to see how fast you run 1.5 miles, then divided us into running groups of the same rate. On our first running day, we were told, 'ok you're running 2.5 miles,' and I was like ...you have got to be kidding me. But I've actually been totally fine, aside from maybe shin splints since we only run on concrete. The other 2 days of PT are usually circuits, so we got to different stations and do exercises that focus on a part of the body.
Last Saturday, we had our first mini service project for Make a Difference Day. My team, Green 5, plus Green 6 (the FMT for green unit) worked at Bret Harte Elementary School starting a garden. So we dug... a lot. It was a good workout though! And my whole team would love to go back and volunteer there again. We probably will for some ISPs.
(Note: I will write an entry that lists all acronyms that I use!)
In about 20 minutes, the green unit is leaving for Camp Mendocino. It's a camp for the Boys and Girls Club of San Fransisco, and we go out there to do some work to keep the camp in good order and for some quality bonding via ropes course and zip lining!
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