Week 3

The gigantic bag I had to carry for a simple overnight trip.

This week was quite an adventure. By 6:30 Monday morning, my team was already loaded in our van and on our way to a YMCA campground, which was about a 40 minute drive from campus. When we got there, the camp director gave a brief orientation, after which my entire unit set off for work at rotating stations. My team started off the day with trail building, which was similar to what I had done the previous Saturday with my chainsaw group, only this time we didn’t have chainsaws, only hand held trail weapons. We spent two hours creating a trail head for a bike path at the camp and we got a lot done before we headed to our next station.

My team after some serious trail building.

There was a broken down old pool house at the camp, so our goal was to fix it up while learning building and maintenance skills at the same time. So in shifts of two hours per team, we were involved in using power tools, painting, and roofing. It was incredibly hot work, the heat index being well over 110F, so for things like roofing, we would work in groups of two for 10 minute spans before trying to find some shade to cool down in. When painting, we had to wear coveralls, which made it seem another 10 degrees hotter. Luckily there was some rain that fell during the day, so that provided some relief.

The camp’s water supply comes from a well, and I’ve never experienced having to drink anything quite so repulsive before. It had such a strong sulfurous taste, it made me gag every time I took a sip for the first couple hours of drinking it, and my stomach ached pretty much all day. I tried plugging my nose, but that didn’t really help at all. We set up tents and camped overnight, and by the second day it wasn’t making me quite as sick to drink, and it even started to taste a little sweet, though by no means did it taste good.

Fortunately there was a shower house, though there was no power, so it was a little icky and creepy to step into a dark stall with all kinds of little unknown creatures. Some girls made the mistake of going back the next day to look around and see the setting they had been blindly standing in, but not me. I’d rather not think about it.

On the second day, my team did a high and low ropes course, which was fun, but also made me realize that I’m terrified of heights. It was a great team building day, and I think we bonded a lot.

My team misjudged how much food we would need for the two day period, so by lunch on day two, we didn’t have enough for everyone to eat. Not a great scenario, but luckily some of the other teams were nice enough to share their extras, so we didn’t starve.

The one big problem with working outside when it’s so hot is that no matter how much bug spray I put on, I sweat it off almost immediately. My legs are completely bit up, even though I sprayed twice a day, and wore long pants tucked into wool socks in steel toed boots. I guess it’s just one of those things you can’t really do anything about, so you just live with it.

Since we didn’t do any PT during our camping trip, we had to do it the next three mornings in a row. On Wednesday it was so hot that even though it was steadily raining while we did our outdoor exercises, it did not provide relief, it just made it feel like a stuffy rainforest. Also, for whatever reason, a few people showed up late, so they made us start earlier the following day. Needless to say, we now check to make sure everyone in our building is awake when we get up.

First Aid training.

We also did Red Cross training this week, along with First Aid, CPR, and AED training. Not the most interesting lectures I’ve ever sat through, but necessary none the less.

I discovered that at least 4 of my teammates have Kindles, so we’ve been having book swaps and literary discussions. I geek among geeks isn’t a geek at all, but a contributor to common interests. I love this place and these people!

On every team, there are 6 specialty roles that we divide up at the beginning of the year, and then whatever job your team leader assigns you, you carry out on every single project you do. This week I found out my specialty roles (I received two), which are Project Outreach Liaison (POL) and Media Specialist. As a POL, I’ll be working with non-profits in the areas my team will be serving in to set up service projects within that community for community volunteers. As a Media Specialist, I’ll be writing articles and press releases concerning the work my team will be doing and the mission of AmeriCorps NCCC. I’m really excited about both jobs, and I’ll be working with one other person from my team for each task, so it should be manageable.

This Thursday I’ll be leaving for New Orleans for the 5^th anniversary of Katrina. NCCC has done a lot of work to help rebuild the city, so we’re celebrating the progress that has been made. They haven’t told us yet what kind of work we’ll be doing, so I’ll let you know when I get back. My next blog might be a day or two late, since I don’t think I’m getting back from this trip until Sunday.

This evening, a local United Methodist church is giving a big fish fry dinner in our honor, to tell us thank you for all the work we do in the community. All corps members were invited and I think pretty much everyone is going, so I’m really looking forward to that. I went to the church’s service this morning, and the people were super nice and a lot of people made a point to talk to us.

After the dinner, we’re having a campus wide talent show in the chapeltorium. I assembled some people that have come for jam sessions, and we’re going to perform an Ingrid Michaelson/Jason Mraz duet called You and I. We have two ukuleles, a keyboard, a broken down drum set, and a set of chains. We practiced on Friday night and then again yesterday afternoon, and our song sounds sooo good! I have a feeling it’s going to be a hit, and I’m really excited to perform it.

I was very sorry to be informed that John Semones, my former Hotwork co-worker, unexpectedly died last week. All you guys at Hotwork, know that I’m thinking about you, and that my heart is right there with you. John was a great guy, and I’m sure none of us will ever forget his good natured sense of humor, or his contagious smile.

I love all you guys, and miss you.

k

Expanding my horizons by putting pretzels on a PB&J sandwich.

Week 2

Chapel, which has been deconsecrated and is now the campus auditorium.

This week is kind of a blur of activity in my head. In hindsight, I should have written daily notes so as to be able to inform you properly what all is going on down here in Vicksburg. I guess I’m learning as I go. 

Physical Training (PT) started this week, which means that I had to be up and on the practice field by 6:30am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On those days, I would get back to the dorm around 7:20 at which point my roommate, two sweet mates, and I would take turns showering so as to be at our first training session by 8 or 8:30. Four girls, one shower, one hour: you do the math.

IL monument at military park.

Training this week was based in all kinds of areas. Everything from learning about the project acceptance procedure and what qualifies as a priority job, to diversity training, to creating child friendly spaces in a disaster shelter, to chainsaw training (I now know how to disassemble and reassemble a chainsaw, as well as safe use and proper attire). It was a 6 day work week, so needless to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed my day off today. Slept late, did laundry, and even got to go to the military park on a driving tour, which was really neat.

I am now on my permanent team, which is made up of 10 people including me. I didn’t make Fire team, so I’m on a regular team. At least I tried, and now I know what my body is capable of after doing the pack test! I don’t know everyone on my team that well yet, but they all seem really cool, and my team leader is a great all around guy, so I think this is going to be a productive year. I found out that my team’s first project will run from September 1^st through October 16^th and we’ll be working with Habitat for Humanity in Mobile, AL. I can’t wait!!

I organized a jam session in the old chapel which is now our campus auditorium on Thursday, and it was a whole lot of fun! The acoustics in that building are amazing, and there were about 4 people besides me that participated, not to mention some friends who came to listen. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it again soon.

Right now I’m incredibly itchy with bug bites after spending quite a few hours in the woods on campus yesterday, clearing a trail with chainsaws, joe blades, fire rakes, and axes. The temperature was in the high 90Fs, and I don’t recall ever being in humidity this oppressive before coming here. We had to wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, and steel toed boots while doing this work, and everyone was soaked through with sweet within the first hour. I can’t even tell you how many times I refilled my water bottle throughout the course of the day, but I never once had to use the restroom. I sweat that much. My boots aren't quite broken in yet and my feet were absolutely killing me mid day. By the end though, they were numb from pain, so I guess that's a good thing?

This coming week, we’re going to be getting more hands on training as opposed to mostly classroom work and lectures, so that’s exciting! Tomorrow morning we’re leaving at 6:30am and heading to the middle of nowhere to learn how to roof a house, put together house frames, build trails, and a bunch of other things along those lines. We’re going to set up camp and spend the night there, wake up, and do more of the same work before returning to campus on Tuesday evening. There’s a good chance it’ll rain tomorrow night, so I’m packing plenty of extra socks. My mother has taught me well.

That’s all for now, as I have to pack for tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing well, and please drop me a line if you think of it. I love hearing what’s going on at home. Dusty and Sharon have been sending me delicious baked goods and awesome music, which are definitely highlights in my weeks. Today Cris sent me videos of Ellie laughing and being cute in general, which I watched about 4 times in a row, and completely made my day.

I love you guys! 

Take care, 

    k


PS - Check my Facebook for more pictures:)

Emily (suite mate), me, and Brittany (roomate).

Week 1

Well, my first week of training is complete, and so far I feel confident that this is where I’m supposed to be. Never before have I felt so comfortable with a group of my peers. People don’t look at you funny when you say you like to read, they interestedly ask, “what are you reading?” and then we have an educated discussion on it. Nothing you do is weird to the other people here, it’s interesting, and everyone is excited to learn new things from others. There are 140 members on campus, and we’re from all over the country. It’s fun trying to figure out where people are from by their accents, and to compare things like food chains and who has what.

First day in uniform.

During training hours, typically 8 – 6 on weekdays, everyone has to wear the same kaki pant, gray logo t-shirt uniform, which makes it easy to get ready in the morning, but difficult to distinguish individuals from a distance. This week our training consisted of ground rules for the campus, AmeriCorps history and policies, regional history, insects and reptiles to be wary of, 15 passenger van driver training, and other things of that nature.

Right now I’m part of a temporary team consisting of 8 people. We’re already pretty close since we spend most of our training time together, and even shop and cook as a team, so it’ll be hard to be separated when we are put onto permanent teams this Wednesday, which will then be our teams for the duration of our service. These permanent teams are determined by various factors, such as male/female ratios, personality compatibility as decided by team leaders, and skills/abilities of individuals. Also, out of 14 teams, 2 of these will be designated as Fire teams. This means that the 10 members that make up each team will receive training on controlled burns and other facets of wild fire fighting and prevention. These teams will be required to do more Physical Training (PT) exercises throughout their service than other teams (5 days a week as opposed to 3), and at the end of their service, they will have earned a beginning level certification in fire fighting. These teams will for the most part be assigned to the same types of projects as regular teams, but they will be involved in at least one controlled burn project, and will be ready in case there is a disaster that requires their special training.

I suppose the reason I’m here is to try and help people while seeing other parts of the country and gaining as much varied experience as possible. With this goal in mind, I decided to try out for Fire team, which is pretty competitive (36 people tried out and only 20 will be chosen to participate), in order to try and gain experience in an area of which I know little. To even be considered for Fire team, you have to successfully complete a pack test and write a convincing letter of intent. The pack test took place yesterday morning outside the local YMCA on a paved track. We had to walk (not run) 3 miles with a 45 lb vest strapped to us within 45 minutes.

Bear in mind that even at 7 o’clock in the morning when the test took place, it was well over 90 degrees. 3 miles is equal to 10 laps around the track, and at first, it wasn’t so bad; I just kept a steady, quick pace and wiped the sweat out of my eyes from time to time. By around lap 4 however, my thighs and calves were burning like crazy. I’m in fairly good shape and go jogging on a regular basis, but let me tell you, having 45 extra pounds strapped to you is quite a different ball game from what I’m used to. There was more than one point during that lap when I thought, there’s no way I can make it even another 10 steps, let alone 6 laps. But just as it happens in running, if you can push yourself through the most painful part, the burning eventually turns to numb, and it doesn’t hurt anymore. After my leg pain was gone, I just had to concentrate on not concentrating on the weight of the vest on my shoulders. As I got closer to the end, every step seemed to get a little heavier and my pace slowed more than I should have allowed. In the final two laps, my friend Jessica and I were walking together at the same pace, and we were able to push each other to do quick, low step intervals, which make your thighs feel like they’re going to explode, but help to make up lost time. As we rounded the final bend, a group of the team leaders came and ran beside us and encouraged us as we pushed ourselves past our limits. With 20 seconds to spare, we crossed the finish line! As I unhooked my vest and let those 45 lbs of dead weight drop to the ground, I felt completely weightless. After getting a drink, wringing out my sweat soaked shirt, and walking around slowly for a while so as not to let my muscles get tight and uncomfortable, I honestly started to feel like I could go for a run. My body was so relieved to be rid of that extra weight, it was now ready for anything. It makes me want to lose 45 lbs of body weight to see what I’m physically cable of then!

I turned in my letter of intent yesterday afternoon, stating why I think I’d be an asset if given the opportunity to serve on a Fire team. I’ll find out on Wednesday if I made it or not. But even if I don’t, I’m still glad I gave it a shot, and gave myself the opportunity to see what I’m capable of. My shoulders and shins are pretty sore today, but no pain no gain, right?

The campus I’m on is absolutely gorgeous, and though I haven’t gotten around to taking pictures yet, I’ll try and do so this week and post them next week. I live in a really big room with one other girl, and it’s connected with a bathroom to another room with two other girls in it. I have yet to meet anyone here that isn’t nice and interesting, and I’m having a really great time so far. Last night we watch The Goonies on a big screen by the pool (the water is so hot, it’s almost like sitting in bath water), and my team cooked hamburgers and veggie burgers on the grill. It’s not easy finding meals that work for everyone on the team, since one of our members is a vegetarian while another hates all fruits and vegetables, but we’re making it work.

My plan is to post a new entry on this blog once a week, probably on Saturday or Sunday, so keep a look out. Hope everybody at home is doing well. I miss you guys!!

River 3, my temporary team.

My Ol' KY Home

Well, the time has finally come. Today I’m hanging with my family, and tomorrow I’m off to Vicksburg. I originally applied for this program last fall, submitting mountains of paperwork and getting recommendations from my employer and volunteer coordinators. It’s kind of a competitive program, so I just figured I’d apply and if nothing came of it, I wouldn’t be surprised. Now here I am, my possessions crammed into a suitcase and a knot in my stomach, asking myself, wait, why am I doing this?

“What should I fear…for whether kind or harsh, a man’s fate must be tried.” – Sir Gawain & the Green Knight

So tomorrow at 5am, I’ll get into the car and my mom will drive me to the Lexington airport. As I board the plane, I’ll think about all that I’m leaving behind. My mom and dad, who’ve taught me everything I know that’s worth knowing. My four brothers and three sisters-in-law, who’ve been nothing but supportive in everything I’ve ever done. My brand new nieces, Elinor and Allison, who develop new aspects to their personalities daily, and whom I know I shall miss tremendously as they grow. My friends, who are the best I could have asked for. And last but not least, my former coworkers, who I’ve spent every day for the past two years getting to know.

The plane will take off, and I know that as I watch my ol’ Kentucky home slip through the clouds, I’ll be extraordinarily sorry to see it go. But at the same time, I’ll be excited and ready to begin my next great adventure. Vicksburg, here I come!