Blue 2 Makes the Front Paper

Since I've failed at blogging for the first half of this round, maybe this article in the Silverton Appeal Tribune will make up for it!

(after all, I am the Media Rep for our team and it was my press release and follow up calls that got this article in the paper anyway!)

December 16, 2009

Garden welcomes these invaders
AmeriCorps volunteers travel a long way to lend a hand
By Cara Pallone
Appeal Tribune

Christie Haas' first months away from home after graduating high school haven't been quite what she imagined a year ago.

Instead of walking to class every morning, she's trudging through mud, burning invasive plant species and braving thorny blackberry brambles.

And instead of waking up at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina as she had planned, she wakes up each day at The Oregon Garden in Silverton.

Haas, 18, graduated from high school in May. The Georgia native already had been accepted to Warren Wilson, but one day she heard a National Public Radio story about AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.

"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is so cool,'" she said.

She deferred admission to Warren Wilson and applied for AmeriCorps NCCC, a full-time residential service program for men and women ages 18 to 24.

"It's a blast; I love it," Haas said. "I'm so glad I did it."

Silverton is the first stop for the 10 AmeriCorps team members. The team will move to another assignment Jan. 29.

"Right now we're removing invasive species, but in a couple of months, we could be tutoring high school kids in Compton," Colleen Crowley, 21, said.

There are more than 25 NCCC teams throughout the country. This particular team went through training in Sacramento before traveling to Oregon.

According to Nikole Saulsberry, 22, the participants usually are placed in parts of the country opposite of their home states.

"None of us have ever been to Oregon, so we're excited to see another part of the country," said Saulsberry, who is from Houston.

The team works five days a week and has physical training sessions three times a week.

Team members have spoken at Silverton High School, attended a City Council meeting, volunteered at other area nonprofits and taken tours of city facilities.

"We get to know the community so the work we're doing takes on a deeper meaning," Crowley said.

Since they started at The Oregon Garden, the team has embraced its challenges — thick, thorny blackberry bushes, cold weather and a bit of a bull frog predicament.

"We're definitely tired at the end of the day," Saulsberry said.

AmeriCorps members receive a $5,350 education award in exchange for their service. They also receive a biweekly living allowance of $200, before taxes.

The Oregon Garden provides housing for the team.

Jill Martini, horticulture manager, said AmeriCorps teams started coming to the garden in the late 1990s.

She said the teams work in areas that otherwise would be overgrown with invasive species, such as the Amazing Garden and the oak groves.

"They're able to get a lot done," she said. "It's very impressive."

The trade-off is equally satisfying, said Haas, who is enjoying her newfound independence.

She would recommend the program to students who are uncertain about their future.

"It teaches you a lot of responsibility and hopefully will help you discover what you want to major in," she said.

cpallone@salem.gannett.com

Additional Facts

Online

Learn more about Americorps National Civilian Community Corps at www.americorps.gov/nccc.

The Oregon Garden

I've been slacking in my blogging duties but I've decided there's no time like the present to get back to things.

Last time I left you my team had just gotten back from Mendocino and we were newly formed.

Flash forward literally a month and I'm 5 days away from being home for winter break.

So what exactly have I/we been doing this past month? I bet you thought I'd forgotten, but rest assured, all will be explained in due time.

Blue 2's Round One spike is doing Habitat Restoration at the Oregon Garden. For the first two weeks we literally spent the day gutting out two pond cells in the A-Mazing Water Garden. Over the past few years the Water Garden has become over taken with so many invasive species that it no longer has the ascetic appeal worthy of it's name. However, because there are so many invasive plants in the pond cells and because of the type of plants they are, there really is nothing else that can logically be done but removing everything from the pond draining it and starting over.

Our Second phase of round one is working in the actual wetlands of the Oregon Garden. Now we're trimming back brush and cutting down trees so that visitors can actually see the wetlands function as opposed to assuming they are there.

The last phases of our time here will consist of building outdoor classrooms, trail building, tree planting and more invasive species removal. But just to give you a taste, here's a slide show of photos taken thus far.

Meet Blue Two

After much deliberating and literally spending HOURS trying to get blogger to do what I wanted it to, I figure what the heck, why not create another video since it's SO easy with Picasa! Gotta love using Google for EVERYTHING!

So without further ado, here's a video snapshot montage of my team!

Camp Mendocio and Team Bonding

Perhaps the best part about finding out my team was knowing that I would be on Blue Unit which thus meant we got to go to Camp Mendocino first!

For those of you who aren't going to take the jump, Mendocino is a Boy's and Girls Camp that serves campers from ages 8-14 from the greater San Francisco Area. AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region has had a long standing relationship with Camp Mendocino as there are projects done there pretty much every year. The camp is perfect for teams to bond in traditional summer camp style and there as a Not-for-Profit, it camp always has work to be done.

Our purpose of going to Camp Mendocino was to obviously do service, but also and perhaps more importantly, to bond as a Unit and as a Team. Before I begin debriefing Mendocino, I realize there's been more AmeriJargon thrown out that needs explaining.

Each AmeriCorps NCCC campus is divided into units. This is done to obviously streamline the communication process and to help better manage 300+ corps members and 30+ team leaders. The Pacific Region is split up in to 4 Units, Blue, Gold, Green, and Silver. With Blue (my unit), obviously being the best. Each unit is headed up by a Unit Leader who is the the second chain of command of Authority. That chain starts with our Regional Director, moves to the Unit Leader, and then the Team Leader. So, now that we've got logistics out of the way, let's talk Mendo.

While at Mendocino we had a day of training, a day of ropes course team bonding, camp clean up duties, a work day, and lots and lots of camp fires. But rather than bore you with words, I thought I'd share some of the shots I took before I caught the Swine.

(yes, the only down side of Mendocino was that the cold 40 degree weather in open air tents rendered 70% of Blue unit with some from of flu like symptoms, 3 quarantined from Swine and other with less severe strands of H1N1 and various other flus. But once you see the shots you'll realize it was worth it!)

Leaving Pods

Shortly after we all got settled into our Pods, we were violently ripped from them and thrown into these new things called Teams.

By violently, I mean in the short two and a half weeks that were were in our Pods it seemed like just about everyone formed lasting bonds and the last things any of us wanted to do was meet new people and leave the lives of our Pods behind. I was specifically not thrilled to be leaving the Moneypants Pod called Pod 18. But alas, I had no say in the matter.

Luckily I was spared from the agony of actually being taken from your Pod and forced into the new "team" because I was granted leave to attend the InterFaith Youth Core's 6th Conference on interfaith youth work where I presented two sessions, one with my best friend and the other with my colleagues that I worked with at the Chautauqua Institution. While I was busy presenting my life away, my new team was getting their first taste of the mind games our new Team Leader (TL) would eventuality play. Everyone else had cute, fun and adventurous ways to find out who their TL was. My TL, Nelson, decided we needed to learn pertinence. So his only instructions were to wait an hour and a half. In that time all 293 other corps members formed their new teams, while the rest of my team sat around bored and waiting. In fact, they were so bored, one of my teammates, Christie, went to sleep. Finally, Nelson had them meet him in front of the Base Exchange while he sat, creeper like, in our Gold 15 passenger government van.

The team then had a day of training without me at a Hand of Peace session that was to instruct us on how to deal with conflict. While it was a very important session, from what I've gathered, it seemed like RA Training 2.0 and luckily for me Syracuse University has one of the greatest Residence Life programs in the country, so I'm already a seasoned team conflict manager. The next day we were leaving for Camp Mendocino at 6:30AM. I arrived back into Sacramento at 11:50PM. Got back to base by 12:12AM, and was in bed by 12:30AM. I slept for 5 hours, packed, showered, and figured out how to load my stuff into the cargo van. I then found my way to my new Kitchen and proceeded to eat breakfast and make lunch with my TL without knowing it. In fact it wasn't until I got to my muster spot that I found out who was on my team or who my TL really was.

Awkward.

But such is life.

I can't think of any other word to describe the process of leaving your new AmeriFriends for another group of "friends" you're going to be forced to live, work and play with for the rest of your AmeriLife.

Awkward.

Temporary Set Back

Please excuse the lack of posts. I was away at a conference for three days and then at Camp Mendocino with Blue Unit for 4 days, now I've come to find out that I probably have Swine Flu (as it's going around base) and my laptop has also probably caught H1N1 as it most decidedly doesn't work.

All blogging will cease until I get a healthy immune system and a healthy laptop (as I don't think I can use the government issued computer in the lap for blogging since I don't want to "censor" my posts. Not that I have anything bad to say, I <3 NCCC, even if it did give me the Swine)
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

First Day of Real PT

This morning we woke up bright and early to do our first day of the entire corps doing PT.

My roommates got up at 4:45AM.

I woke up at 5:10, threw on my already laid out work out clothes, chowed down on a Nutri-grain bar, brushed my teeth, grabbed my Sigg and iPod and hit the field by 5:25AM.

After stretching we did circuit training and yoga for a cool down.

Good times, despite my inability to regulate my body temperature to a non-goosebumps inducing temperature.

After breakfast and a shower, and MacGyver-ing coffee from half a coffee maker, a 4 cup sauce pan, and a spoon, I was ready to start the day.

Thank-fully it wasn't long. We ended at 3:30

and then I realized, that's a 10 hour day already.

The only draw back I can really see to PT thus far is being hungry at 10AM, starving by Noon, and ready for dinner at 5pm. Waking up that early really throws off your eating schedule.

Speaking of which, I should probably be hitting the sack soon, seeing as how my 5AM wake up call means I must be in bed by 10 if I want at least 7 hours of sleep.

All and all though, if this is going to be my schedule for the next 3 weeks, I could really get used to it (which is scary for someone who could barely make it to 12:45 MW class).

--

AmeriGET IT

Disaster Qualifications

For those of you ardently checking this blog, you will know that I actually did not post this on Wednesday but rather I back dated from Thursday, October 22.

Nonetheless,

had I been in the frame of mind to write a blog yesterday, it WOULD have been about our Red Cross trainings that we had.

I say would have because I did not in fact complete all of the Red Cross Trainings.

I made it through First Aid, and probably could have passed the CPR test from taking it in my previous walks of life, but this time I did not actually make it through the training.

I'm not sure this is quite the avenue to disclose the reasons why, but suffice it today, I was deeply affected by the thought of performing CPR and could not force myself to sit through the training.

The NCCC team leaders and staff we're more than accommodating and rest assured I will finish the CPR course and get certified (lucky for my one of my fellow Corps Members is a Red Cross trainer!)

I suppose it's easiest to say what I was perhaps subconsciously upset about yesterday was the idea of being the help in a disaster. I've always gone by after the fact and helped rebuild (like New Orleans). But I've never done what our Team Leaders are doing in Samoa where they are literally giving the live sustaining necessities to people who not only lost everything, but in many cases have ran out of other places to turn. They are building shelters out of what we would call tents. There are no schools nor churches to place cots and make use of an industrial kitchen. It's the basics.

Sure, I know the odds of me having to do that are slim, but that doesn't change the fact that I will be "qualified" to and could. One of my many reasons for doing NCCC is to help people in need. In my past however, I've chosen who to help, and just how I wanted to do so. This time, I don't get a choice. I'm getting a very broad basic training so that with just a little more, I'll basically be able to do anything.

And it's the anything that's scary.

Disaster qualified sounds cool. It sounds like I'll get to do rough, hard work and really make a difference. But it also sounds like long hours that stretch you physically and emotionally and undoubtedly leave a permanent mark on you spiritually.

This is what I signed up for. I knew this could happen. But being faced with it takes some getting used to.

But I will.

Because "I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done."

--

AmeriGET IT!

Sacramento

In August 2001 the Pacific Region campus moved from San Diego to McClellan Air Force Base in the North Highlands area of Sacramento.

At first glance this might seem like an odd decision. Why move from the beach to the valley?

I don't have an official answer for that, but after being here for less than a week, I can already detect some very valid and obvious reasons for the move.

I happen to love Sacramento, already.

Which is precisely why I get slightly perturbed when people bad mouth the city. But before I can get into the things I love about Sacramento, I think a little background is in order.

I've done my fare share of living in "less glamorous cities." Tallahassee, Florida. Tulsa, Oklahoma. And Syracuse, New York. It's true, no one is going to move to these cities unless their job requires them to. But that doesn't mean they don't have great things to offer. To this day, the best church I've ever been to is Bethel AME in Tallahassee, my fondest memory of being outside in my city was riding my bike along the River-walk, and I would withstand any number of Syracuse winters just to have the beautiful CNY falls.

These cities, like Sacramento aren't going to draw in the tourists. They're not the cities people are flocking to move to, and that's OK. In fact they wouldn't be the same if they were. Big cities are great, don't get me wrong. I'm form Houston after all. But after spending my fare share of time in medium sized cities, I can appreciate what they have to offer.

I'm looking forward to exploring downtown Sacramento, visiting the capital, learning about the different trees that are in abundance here more so than people, having picnics along the river, learning about the Rail yards, using the light rail, eating at the local diners and restaurants of international cuisine and of course getting to know the needs and people of this community.

Sacramento might not be San Fransisco, Los Angeles or San Diego, but in my opinion, it's better. I love Sacramento for the same reasons I love Houston, visiting doesn't cut it. You have to live there to get it.

I'm looking forward to the day when I defend Sacramento with the fervor that I defend Syracuse, Tulsa, or Houston.

and if my words won't work, perhaps the Wikipedia shot of the Skyline will.

--

AmeriGET IT!

AmeriPuns

Today's post is going to be incredibly short.

1) because I have my baseline assessment at 5:30 AM tomorrow

and 2) because there's only so much one can write on the subject.

Today Pod 18 had their physicals which meant TB tests, Tetanus shots, ear and eye exams, height and weight checked, and an over all health screening. After which we had a very shot info session and because it decided to rain in Sacramento today, and the rest of the activities were outside, we had the day off.

So what do AmeriCorps NCCCs do with unexpected free time?

They bond in the lounge.

The play pool.

They sing songs.

But most of all, the make AmeriPuns.

That's right. It took all of us all of 5 days to realize the hilariousness that is attaching the prefix "Ameri" to just about anything.

We had an AmeriGood time, with our AmeriLaughing, about out AmeriBad jokes, eating our AmeriLunch, rubbing our AmeriArms from the soreness of the AmeriTetanus shot and finally took a AmeriNaps before our AmeriDinner.

You get the picture.

and if you don't, just trust me. AmeriAnything is AmeriRidiculous which also means it's AmeriAmazing.

But now it's time for this AmeriCorps to get in her AmeriBed, and take her AmeriSleep, so she can wake up at the crack of AmeriDawn, and muster with her AmeriPod, to get AmeriPumped, for her AmeriBaseline.

AmeriGET IT*!

--

Your's in AmeriLFS!

(*that's the new AmeriTagline for the AmeriFuture)

"It feels like we've been here forever."

but it's only been 5 days.

Today was our first day off. And surprisingly, we needed it. It's tough adjusting to an incredibly busy and early schedule. So what to 300 some odd 18-24 year-olds do with their first day off?

Some went to San Fransisco.

Some did laundry and slept in.

Some played team sport after team sport.

Some ran errands and caught up with friends and family back home.

I went to church.

Saw Where The Wild Things Are with my Pod

Prepared for the Interfaith Youth Conference I'm presenting at next week.

and came back to play a game of Capture The Flag!

That's right, just as I pulled up, I saw 50 kids congregating in the parking lot discussing the rules. "Nikole, capture the flag, NOW! " yelled Alex as I drove up. I immediately dropped off my stuff, threw on some yoga pants and a hoodie and ran outside. It was during the middle of running around frantically in the dark trying not to get tagged that I came up with today's thought.

This isn't like college, this is like summer camp.

It's a good thing I LOVED summer camp!

I thought about spending some time catching up with friends, but it just didn't happen today (they can however, read this blog and know that I AM thinking about them). To be honest, I'm not sure how to properly explain my life here. I'm loving every minute of it. Even the parts I "complain" about. In fact, I love it so much that it makes me not want to talk about it, because just like summer camp, I know NCCC isn't for everybody.

Yeah, I wake up ridiculously early. I have physical training at 5:30 in the morning. I eat PB&J for lunch, and I'm in training sessions from 8-5pm. I have a social family style dinner, and attempt to hit the hay by 9pm to do it all again. And even when I think I'm doubting what I'm doing, someone re-affirms my being here.

Today it was a woman in church who responded "Oh good, because our community certainly needs help!" in the most earnest way possible, when I told her about what I'm doing and what NCCC is.

Today might have been a "day off" but I'm always representing AmeriCorps NCCC and I couldn't be happier about it.

--

Your's in LFS

I'm Bringing Sexy Back

Today is the day I've been dreaming about for a long time now. It was the first day I put on my NCCC uniform, went out in to the Sacramento community and "got things done!".

Pod 18 had the good fortune of working with Sylvan Ranch on their community garden project for members of a local assisted living facility. There were so many things that made me excited about the day, but first and foremost, the accessibility of the garden! As part of the planning, the garden is being built to be used for people of all abilities! GET IT! Second, it's a totally volunteer project. Third, THE PEOPLE ARE AMAZING!

Our work consisted of leveling the grounds of the garden, filling in beds, digging trenches and laying burlap to prevent run off, and hauling and raking massive amounts of dirt! By the end of the day my back was killing me, I'd consumed 7 bottles of water, and there was dirt in places I'd forgotten dirt could go! But most importantly, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Getting in there, getting dirty, pushing myself, and getting things done, always makes me feel so good! So the back, arm, and ab pain I'm currently feeling right now is more than worth it.

But perhaps what made the day more than anything, more so the amazing people we worked with, AND even more than Roger, the 11 year old the son of one of the volunteers who talked to us about Winston Churchill, conspiracy theories, and how to make mustard gas and napalms, was the brief conversation I had with one of the members of the assisted living facility.

I don't know his name, and in fact, we never actually "met". Instead, he watched us work outside his window for a while, smiled, waived overly-enthusiastically, and then said these brief words with a huge grin, "You're working too hard!" to which I said "Ahh it's not too bad! We take breaks!" and he responded even more excitedly, "keep up the good work!"

Seeing the smile on this man's face, and how happy he was to have a garden, really showed me just exactly what we're doing. It's going to make sitting through the next 3 weeks of training worth it. Sure it might be long days of power-points and information galore, but it will all be worth it when we can get out there and get things done again, and truly make a difference in community!

And so I'll leave you with some shots of the day.

--

Your's in LFS

Winco Made Me Think

In my previous years of Girl Scouting, Residence Life, Greek Life, and Camping, I thought for sure I knew what it meant to shop and cook in bulk.

Then enters the Winco shopping trip with James, Rachel and my Pod Leader John.

Grocery shopping is always a challenge for me. There's the green hearted hippie in me that wants to eat organic, all-natural everything, use re-usable grocery bags, only purchase green-conscious non-food items, whole-grain, uber healthy everything. And then there's the "you ain't got no money" part of me who just wants to by the cheapest, most filling foods, and the products that will last me a life time. I'll admit when I'm shopping on my own money, I do tend to be green-phi-green. But when Uncle Sam is buying my food, I just don't see the justification in buying the free-range, organic feed, brown eggs when they cost 4 times the price, regardless of my personal or health beliefs.

I'm happy to report that Pod 18 will be eating a good variety of foods, some totally healthy, and some totally NOT. What surprised me the most however, was how UNDER BUDGET we were. Either we're going to starve or my penny pinching really paid off! Only time will tell.

But this shopping dilemma really hits home at something I've been grappling with all day. If listen carefully (or creep), you'll hear a fair share of corps members already talking about doing another year! Do I go with my heart, or do I go with what's practical? This idea has been in my head every since I applied and only recently did I throw that idea out the window. That was until today when we had an training session with our Assistant Program/Project Directors*. Larry* mentioned doing two years of NCCC, one as a corps member, one as a team leader, and then getting so used to doing various service projects that only coming back to NCCC felt right when it came time to make his career choice. Even though CTI is just beginning, I can already feel myself leaning the same way.

Sure, I love the idea of perhaps working with Habitat or City Year, both to organizations I highly considered. And I can never get rid of the Interfaith bug. But all my life I've done moved from sport to sport, activity to activity, club to club, etc. Sure there are things that a central to my identity and things that haven't changed (music, faith spring to mind) but if I really want to talk about constants in my life, the only real constant has been change.

My heart says eat green and follow your passion. My head says buy cheap and get on with your life.

Not sure which one is going to win.

--

Your's in LFS

Paperwork, Pledges, and Predictions

I don't think I've signed my name more times in my life, and that's including applying to 8 colleges for undergrad.

Day 2 of CTI was all about information and paperwork. Safety standards, rules, meeting the staff, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. The highlight of the "information" part of the day was definitely finding out more about our Team Leaders that are currently deployed to American Samoa to aid in disaster relief! While the odds of NCCC teams going there are pretty slim, it is nice to know that the American Red Cross really DOES depend on NCCC members to "get things done!"

The last part of that sentence is the end of the AmeriCorps pledge. Unlike State, National and VISTA AmeriCorps, NCCC members do take this pledge verbally. In fact we recite it at every community meeting.

The AmeriCorps Pledge

I will get things done for America -
to make our people safer,
smarter, and healthier.

I will bring Americans together
to strengthen our communities.

Faced with apathy,
I will take action.

Faced with conflict,
I will seek common ground.

Faced with adversity,
I will persevere.

I will carry this commitment
with me this year and beyond.

I am an AmeriCorps member,
and I will get things done.

Sure, it sounds a little scary and cult-like to have a group of people reciting this pledge. But honestly, I believe in it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. And more importantly, long before I got here, I singed documents saying I would make this pledge. In fact, every AmeriCorps does. It's part of the acceptance. So whether you're NCCC or not, we should all GET THINGS DONE.

NCC however takes things to the next level. Our training is longer, our work often times more intense, and the bonding, well, let's just say it's day two and I already love my POD! A little about pods. Pods are our temporary teams that we're placed in for CTI. Because the Pacific Region has fuel reduction teams, we can't be placed into our permanent teams right away since that test takes time. So we're in pods for now. Which I finally noticed is in alphabetical order. Needless to say, Pod 18 is where it's at. We are so excited about doing AmeriCorps that during our down time today rather than napping or shooting the breeze, we decided to get down and dirty and do our on PT, before we even had to. We hit the gym together and then went for a run! Great times and it's only day two.

But I'm rambling, and that's not the purpose of this blog. I do think it's important to know our day to day activities in order to understand where I'm at right now. The more people I meet and the more I learn about the year to come, the more I realize, this is going to be a great year! So much so, that I'm already more excited about the prospect of another AmeriCorps year than I am about enrolling in grad school. Which means, I've decided not to push it. If grad school is where I'm supposed to be in a year, it will happen. But right now, it's all about CTI and getting things done. And if that means grad school has to wait another year, I'm OK with that.

--

Your's in LFS

In-processing

The big day finally arrived!

I checked out of my hotel this morning at 9:00 AM and arrived on campus promptly at 9:30 (after making the much needed Starbucks detour). I was greeted with friendly smiles, and signs galore! Unfortunately since I arrived so early (those driving had to be here by 10AM, while those flying came in all day) there were very little corps members here. I basically traveled with Iman* from Chicago/California to all 10 stations as she was the only other person who was ready to start at station 1 with me. We met our campus counselor, got our AmeriCorps NCCC UNIFORM (complete with the new love of my apparel life, my NCCC HOODIE!), our steel-toe work boots ( expect many updates on the expectantly painful breaking in process), ourIDs, turned in our paperwork and made it to our unfortunately respective rooms (although really not unfortunate because I happen to adore my roommates!)

And of course, just when I started to unpack Veronica the VUE, it started to pour!

It was about this time that I began to see all the striking similarities of CTI (Corps member Training Institute) and Syracuse Welcome (first year orientation). Just like SW, it rained at basically all through move-in. Just like SW I was the first in my triple room and thus had my pick of the beds! Just like SW I bounced from new person to new person making awkward small talk. And just like SW, I had the standard floor meeting where my "RA" type told me all about the Dos and Don'ts of campus life.

This really is like going to college.

Only this time, instead of everyone staying up to mingle and talk the night away, we all left our floor meeting, did a impromptu mini fashion show of our uniforms, and hit the hay. Seriously. It's half past 9 and the building is silent! The early flights and time difference are catching up to us and we realize we've got a busy month a head of us!

Even though I myself am more than ready for bed, I made a promise to blog everyday.

And more importantly, I want to articulate the major similarity between CTI and SW

Just like SW, I feel this eagerness that I know is coming from the fact that great relationships are going to be made, great experiences are going to be had, and at the end of it all, I'm going to wonder how I ever was the person I am here in October, not because I need to change, but because it's impossible not to with an incredibly experience as this.

--

Your's in LFS

*I am 98% convinced I have spelled her name wrong and will edit this once I learn the correct spelling!

America the Beautiful

NCCC members have two options to get them to their campus: fly or drive.

For me it was a no brainer.

I drove.

While it did take some convincing to get my mother to let me drive to 2,000 miles from Houston to Sacramento by myself, I did it. I made my first cross-country road trip and I could not have been more pleased. I had friends suggest the driving tunes, loaded up on dark chocolate (72% cacao) and healthy munchies, packed my life into my 2004 Saturn VUE and hit the road.

Like I said, I've never really seen the western part of the country. We did the California coast trip when I was younger but as talking to my mother recently revealed, the only thing a 10 year old will remember from a trip like that is going to Disneyland, seeing the Hollywood sign and Mexicans running across the highway to gain access into the United States without passing through border control.

This time my eyes were obviously wide open.

I was amazed by the vast desert landscape the exist through the entire southwest (most of which in NOT in West Texas, contrary to popular belief), the beauty of amber mountains against the clear blue sky, and the vastness that is the undeveloped stretch of land which (basically) spans Interstate 10 from El Paso all the way to LA.

My only regret is that I didn't have time or feel safe enough to pull my car over and stop for pictures. Nevertheless, my digital camera is relatively good at taking pictures from inside my car.

For more photos check out my Picasa Road Trip Web Album.

The What and Why

When people ask me what I'm doing with my life, it's hard to explain.

So rather than attempting to, I'm going to post an excerpt from the AmeriCorps NCCC webpage.

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women age 18–24. Members live on one of five campuses, located in Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Perry Point, Maryland; Vicksburg, MS; and Vinton, Iowa.

The mission of AmeriCorps NCCC is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service. In partnership with nonprofit organizations, state and local agencies, and faith-based and other community organizations, members complete service projects throughout the region they are assigned.

Drawn from the successful models of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and the U.S. military, AmeriCorps NCCC is built on the belief that civic responsibility is an inherent duty of all citizens and that national service programs work effectively with local communities to address pressing needs

This answers the popular question of "what" NCCC is. But it doesn't answer the even more popular question of "why are you doing this?" The standard answer I give people is "I wasn't ready to go right into grad school, but I didn't want to sit at home and do a job I hated, or even worse find a job I loved so much I wouldn't want to go back to school." Which is not to say that it's not true, but it is definitely significantly less than half of the truth.

The truth is, I'm not exactly sure.

I heard about NCCC from a State AmeriCorps working with Habitat for Humanity St. Tammny West, during Syracuse University's Habitat for Humanity's winter break trip to New Orleans, December 2008. Through the course of the build I learned all about NCCC and somehow I ended up applying about 1 month after the trip. I had my interview and on my last of classes as a college undergraduate (aka April 30, 2009) I got the email saying I was accepted to serve as an AmeriCorps NCCC member in the Pacific Region for the XVI class.

It was honestly an impulse. I couldn't pinpoint exactly why I wanted to do NCCC nor could I pinpoint exactly what made me so incredibly ecstatic when I got the acceptance email.

Since then however, I've come up with a myriad of reason why I'm doing AmeriCorps NCCC.

and here's the Top 10.

1. I've never seen most of the places the Pacific region serves and I've always wanted to.
2. I've been a "planner" and student leader all my life. I'd like to see what it's like to follow someone else's guided plan of service.
3. The idea of constant change both terrifies and intrigues me.
4. I'm hoping to learn more about my country and the needs it has.
5. I'm hoping this experience will tell me what government/non-profit/public sector I want to work in.
6. I really enjoy being part of a team.
7. I spent the last two years of my life doing service and I don't want to stop now.
8. I want to put my idealism into action.
9. I'll only be young enough to devote my life entirely to a cause once.
10. Matthew 25:40.

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Your's in LFS

Inception

I wasn't entirely sure I was going to blog about my NCCC experience.

But as I drove from LA to Sacramento today I couldn't help but feel the urge to convey the thoughts that were running through my head. The beauty of the landscape which turned into an unexpected love and passion for my country, the realization that the life I'm about to lead is 180 degrees different from everything I've done before and yet the shocking realization that all of this is some how connected.

So I'm blogging.

It's the only way I can do justice to what I really want these next 10 months of my life to be about.

10 Months of Service is going to be my documentation of everything about my NCCC Pacific Region life. In order to make things interesting, I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm making a promise to blog EVERY DAY.

and not only that, but I'm going to use multi-media to my advantage.

Sometimes it will be a photo-blog, sometimes it will be a voice-memo blog, video-blog, poetry-blog, who knows.

My contract ends July, 28, 2010.

So I've got 289 blogs to do.

at least.

In closing, I was a member of a the co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega in college and we governed ourselves around the words Leadership, Friendship, and Service. So I'd like to close every blog the way we often close brotherhood emails...

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Your's in LFS