Wonderful

It's almost been a month since my last post. Haha. Boy is it hard to find time to keep you guys updated.

Since the last time:

I hit the month mark of being here. Yay.
I Graduated CTI which is Corps Training.
We started our first project.
I've done ISP's, Independent Service Projects.
Got Chainsaw trained.
and probably much much more.

So far it's pretty good.
Our first project was a week and a half of Weed and Seed in Cedar Rapids. For this project we stayed in Vinton and traveled everyday. Weed and Seed is a rebuilding organization. Due to the Cedar River flooding in 2008 lots of houses need work. So far we've walked around the city and took inventory on the statues of many houses. We mucked and gutted a few houses. I took down a ceiling. We put up dry wall, painted, scrapped paint, clean boards, helped put in a floor, and mudded. We have three more days of this project...so we end on Wednesday. then we leave for Virginia on Friday. We will be there for two months doing three different projects. This is pretty awesome considering that Virginia isn't in the region of our campus. It's not one of the states we go to. So it's a special project. Yay! :)

I got through chainsaw training without cutting anything off. I'm pretty good at it.

Two ISP's I got to work with kids :) One of them I got my face painted like spiderman. It was awesome.

I'm learning a lot of new skills and everything is going pretty well.
I have no idea what Virginia is going to be like, I'll try and keep you updated.

Loveeeeeee.

It's been like eleven days since I last posted. Wowwww. It's really hard to constantly post on this because we are so busy.

Anyways, heres the low-down....

We are in Vinton training for a month before we go out on spike and do projects.
I was assigned my team and we are "Maple 2"
Our group is great. We work very well together. As time goes on I find different ways of describing the way our group works. The first week I thought we were all just very quiet and that it was going to be a problem. This week I come to find out that we are very efficient and get things done quickly. I found this out during out first project. We were to clean a giant mansion in Vinton that is used to give tours and explain the community. It had two floors that needed to be dusted, window washed, and vacuumed. We got done really early and he ended up telling us about the house and the history. It was nice. It was a good first team project. So that's the second picture above.

The next project we did was picking Garlic Mustard Plants. It's and invasive species and can take over quickly...I did that for nine hours last Sunday. It was fun, and that's the first picture above.

We have a team of 12 people and 3 of them get to be trained for chainsaws. We put our names in a hat and mine was one of the ones picked. Stoked. :)

I made Taco Bake for my team, they loved it. Yay mom!

We've started PT which is Physical Training. 5:30 in the morning. Ahhhh, it's...wonderful. Ha. Did I mention that they are army style too. Bahhhh.

All the other days we have constant meeting about lots of important AmeriCorps stuff. They're long and usually boring meetings, but I learn a lot.

This week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we have a mini project...Maple 2 (my team) will be working at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School...that's were we stay. Haha. So we get to stay on sight and it's 8-5 everyday. That's not too shabby.

I'm really excited to get CTI(training) over with and do spikes, take a breather from this place.

There was a wicked thunderstorm last week :D
And the lightning bugs are finally out.
Life is good.

Love, love, love.

First few days.

Well, I've been in Vinton for two days. I like it a lot so far.
I have a normal dorm room, and one roommate, and a bathroom that I share with my whole floor of girls.

For about the next month we will be training and doing a bunch of informational stuff. For example, today I spent the entire day listening to a whole lot of information.

We got our uniforms the first day here, yesterday, and let me tell you...we look cute. But at least we all look equally cute. Ha. We basically wear them the whole time except for working out and night time. So I over packed quite a bit. We get our boots fit tomorrow and do more in-processing stuff. I can't wait to get to work, I'm excited. I hope I get the chance to like...plant a forest. ;)

Here are some picture for your viewing pleasures...

The first one is my name tag, haha. We have to wear it for like a month, so I made it neat looking.

The second one is what my bed and stuff looks like.

Third is my roommate Bizzy in her rain gear.

Fourth is me again :)


















Love, love, love.

One week left.

Ahhhhhhh.

I have exactly one week left of this normal life, then my world will be tipped upside down and shaken.

It will all be fine. I'm going to enjoy it. It's just a start of a completely different life style.

I'm supposed to be tutoring right now, ha. I can't even think straight sometimes because I get really excited and then super nervous. Teaching a 49 year old how to do math is really fun.

Uhm, I went Geocaching yesterday. You basically use multi-million dollar satellites to find treasure that other people have hidden. Google it if it interests you. ;) you need a GPS. I forgot how much I like to be outside. It also made me reallllllly want to go fishing.

I got my Welcome Packet Fedex'd to me yesterday, so now I have all my paper work turned in. This will be the first time I have to say goodbye to people. I have no idea how that's going to work out. I guess I see it as going to college for the first time. When you're just out of high school and you have to say goodbye to all your friends...it's kinda like that. The way I see it, if someone cares enough about you they won't let you slip away. The people who care will make an effort to stay in your life. Going to college made a bunch of friendships slip away. Ehh, this is different somehow. Boooooo.

I'm trying to make a list of things I need and I've got a pretty good one going. If anyone thinks of things let me know ;)

loooooove ♥

:)

"Take exactly what you are and find the magnificence of it and express it. Do not weep for younger years or think things will be great only when you get older. Be exactly what you are right now and already your charm starts to manifest."

Listen to this as you read: my theme song for today.

I find that as each day creeps closer to May 5th...I become more anxious. It's good and bad.
I'm nervous.
I'm excited.
I'm worried.
I'm happy.
Ahhh, I think I'm mostly excited...there are just undertones of being worried. I know that once I get there I'll love it. Until I get there I'm going to be nervous. I think that's perfectly understandable.

I'm slowly learning more and more. Like there are 150 Americorps members already in Vinton and about 80 newbies coming. I find blogs about people who have served in Vinton and I get a better grasp of what it will be like. I seriously think I was born to do this. It's going to be a challenge but I'm excited. I keep telling myself that even if I don't like it once I get there...quitting isn't an option. And it's not. I'm going to do this, and it will be wonderful.

I also learned that they have strict random room checks, not a big deal. I'm clean and tidy. Ohhh, one thing that I'm really happy about is getting to bring your own blankets and stuff. A bed is the number one thing that can make you feel at home, and I love my bed. That makes me happy.

I joined the Americorps group on facebook for my site. There are only 11 people, but it was a helpful resource. Thanks Rachael. ;) Reading the posts and stuff lets me know that I'm lucky I'm from Iowa. Some of these people have to fly in from different states and worry about sending boxes of stuff early. I don't have that worry because I live in Iowa already :) going to a different state would be a wayyyy different story.

Hmmm, lets see....Oh. I will finish college this week. Yup, I take all my finals on Friday...if not before that. I moved 95% of my stuff out of my dorm room yesterday. Took down all my posters and art and packed it all into my mom's van. My room looks so dull now.

Have a good Sunday.
Love,love,love.

E-mails that get me excited.

Hello, hello, hello.

I got a very exciting/awakening/helpful e-mail from a lovely woman named Marisa today. She is the member support specialist for the Vinton location. In this e-mail was her office number annnnnnnd her cell phone number, word. The electronic signature at the bottom of the e-mail also gave me a bunch of information. Like the adress of where she is located, in Vinton. So curious me decided to Google map it. It would seem that this lady is located at Iowa Braille & Sight Saving School. AWESOME! I think that means that's where we will be staying, but I honestly have no idea.

I signed up for direct deposit today, which is what they wanted me to do. I was legally and medically cleared. Yay. All of these things are just adding to the pressure that I'm going so soon. It's odd. I don't think it's hit me yet.

I've arranged with all of my teachers to be done with all my testing by April 30th. That's in about a week and a few days. It's so weird to think about. I mean, I can remember last year sitting in my dorm room on my bed trying to decide if Americorps was what I wanted to do. I was also trying to figure out how I would explain to my parents that I wanted to do this. All the while I was trying to explain to my roommate Brooke what I was talking about. So, basically, about one year ago exactly I had decided that I was going to apply for Americorps. One year later I'm actually going. I'm in. It's happening. BAhhhhhh!

:D

I have so many questions...like should I bring my computer, what kind of place will I be living in, how much should I pack, what kind of service will we actually be doing. Sometimes when I think about it I think my head is going to explode. I did, however, get one of my major questions answered....how long will I be there. The answer my friends, 9 months. Until 02/04/2011. I didn't realize how long that was until I actually saw the date. :) A year....basically.

So much is going to change. Haha, if I think two years of college changed me...wait until after this. A part of me feels like I'm going to be some sort of super human being that can change the world. I hope so. I honestly can not believe I get the chance to do this. It's amazing. I'm beyond stoked. I finally get to be the change I want to see in the world, and I know that sounds soooo cliche but it's true.

I love every single one of you :)

The start of it all.

“ Follow your deep whim. Do what you truly want to do — not your superficial, thoughtless impulses, but when you are here, now, being as nakedly honest with yourself as you can, speak and act from that unmasked honesty and your perceptions will strike a chord in the hearts of others, for the center of their Self converges with the center of yours.”

Today I sent in my acceptance form for AmeriCorps NCCC. Ahhh, yes. It feels good. It’s been a pretty long journey to get to this point. And it is defiantly one of the biggest decisions I have ever made. It’s frightening and liberating and the same time…so you can imagine my uncertainty. Anyways, what is AmeriCorps you ask..? Well, let me tell you :D

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women age 18–24. Members are assigned to one of five campuses, and I’m located in Vinton, Iowa. Each year, AmeriCorps NCCC engages teams of members in meaningful projects in communities across the United States. Service projects, which typically last from six to eight weeks, address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members construct and rehabilitate low-income housing, respond to natural disasters, clean up streams, help communities develop emergency plans, and address countless other local needs.

Awesome, here is the website if you care to know more:

http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/choose/nccc.asp

Long story short:
1.) I applied the end of last school year.
2.) It took all summer.
3.) After I was already taking 22 credits to graduate early, I heard back from Americorps…
4.) WAITLISTED. Balls.
5.) My new plan…UNI next year.
6.) I filled my spring semester with classes from Iowa Lakes in the mean time.
7.) February rolls around and still no call, so I forgot about it.
8.) April 12th I got and E-mail. I was taken off the waiting list.
9.) :))))))))

From here on it’s just uber complicated. This term is an off season term and starts May 5th…I don’t get done with classes until May 14th. This also puts of UNI, and complicates some other things. Psssht, whatever…I still want this soooooo bad. So, I talked to all my professors which is a grand total of four. Ha. And I also talked to the dean of Iowa Lakes (btw---he is super intimidating). They were all very helpful and said that finishing classes early wouldn’t be a problem. Now…in two and a half weeks I need to: Finish school, move out of my dorm, pack and get ready to leave, deal with loans and UNI, and get my license. Hmmmm, tricky right? It’s okay…I’m super woman I can do it.


Listen to this: It’s cute .

Basically this is to keep the people I love updated without having to talk to every single one of you. Haha. Also, it’s good to keep a blog about this kind of thing. It might be daily, weekly, bi weekly. I don’t know. It’s all sort of uncertain right now.

I’m so excited. I’ve never wanted anything more than I’ve wanted this. I’ve also never had to try so hard for something I wanted. There were so many hoops to jump through. Anyways, I did it…and it’s the greatest sense of accomplishment I’ve ever had…better than graduating high school…better than graduating college, better than the mountain I hiked, even better than learning to ride a bike. Ha.

I knew this was the right thing to do because of one thing. How I felt when I was wait-listed and the way I felt when I learned that I was accepted. I nearly had a heart attack. I compared this feeling to the way I felt when I was accepted into UNI. Not even close. I often decide things off of the way I feel, I think everyone should…it’s never failed me. This is the right thing to do, I can’t pass it up. I'm frightened as hell, but that’s perfectly reasonable…this is a pretty big decision for my future.

I have to call the AmeriCorps office on Monday. I’ve got tons of questions.

I purchased a sunflower making pot today. Yay.
I love every single one of you. :)