Healdsburg. Cue heavenly music.

It's been a while, so I'll try to be concise and fit in as much as possible... ha hahaa.  But to start with, the end of our first project went well- it was difficult to leave the students but also exciting, because it meant that I could go home and come back to a new project.  Also, the AmeriCorps team that is currently at Larchmont came and shadowed us on our last day, so we were able to introduce them to the kids.  It made for a hectic day, but it was nice to be able to say, come meet my friend that's going to work with you after break!  (As opposed to, I'm leaving and I can't guarantee that the situation will be good afterwards... which I guess is still true, but hopefully not.  Wah wah.)  Going home for break was a blur.  It was great to be home, but difficult because I felt restless at times due to the change in schedule and my constant awareness that it was only a short break.  Being able to see my friends, spend time with my family, play with my pets, and "enjoy" some snow was much needed.  I appreciated the effort that many of my friends put into seeing me while I was in NY, even though it was somewhat stressful trying to fit everyone and everything in.  It was also nice to spend time with my family, even though it was sporadic due to our differing schedules and general lifestyles.  This was all while trying to prepare for my return to CA at the same time, so I think I was in a weird state of mind for most of it.  That being said, I was somewhat hesitant to come back, but I had a few motivating factors.  Thanks to Rory there was pad thai waiting for me.  And that's the only reason I got on the plane.  Just kidding, I might have been a little intrigued at the prospect of going somewhere new and seeing what our new project would be like.  And to some degree I was having trouble adjusting to a lifestyle that I wasn't accustomed to having, so I was looking forward to being on a schedule again.  For the most part, I was looking forward to seeing my team, but after encountering a few issues before we all left, I was apprehensive about what I would find upon returning.   But what I have found so far is a great project and amazing sponsors, located in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever had the pleasure of living in.  And our team actually has a great dynamic working for us for the time being, and I hope it stays that way.  Being on a team of nine people has it's ups and downs, and there are many adjustments and sacrifices that have to be made throughout each and every day it seems, so it's not always peachy keen.  Such is life in AmeriCorps, right?  Despite the regular ups and downs, I am thoroughly enjoying myself.  I love that I get to work outside in this environment, and the ranch is beautiful.  More about this later though, as usual life is calling.

Giving of Thanks...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it seems only fitting that I write a blog about the things I am thankful for, with an AmeriCorps lens, of course.  So, in no particular order, the things I am thankful for:

1.  My teammates, who are all "squares"
2.  My family, who loves me enough to buy me a $600 plane ticket home for Christmas and has not nagged my broke ass yet about repayment...
3.  My cat, who seems to be maintaining the level of bizarreness that drew me to her in the first place
4.  My dog, who looked extra dopey, yet excited, to hear my voice on skype today
5.  The Thanksgiving dinner that just graced my stomach, especially the fact that it wasn't bad like I had originally feared it would be
6.  My newly acquired towel flicking skills, a result of hostile kitchen encounters in 946
7.  The fact that I can turn my neck again and don't feel half as bad as I originally anticipated I would a few days ago, thanks to some intense sleep and a Z Pack
8.  The 24 some odd days that separate me from being home for the holidays (!!!)
9.  MY FRIENDS that send me cards, text me, call me, and read this blog... I think I would go crazy without you.  Seriously.  I love you all.
10.  The partial completion of my NYU Wagner application... more to come on that
11.  The football game that was FINALLY played today and was actually organized and a ton of fun
12.  The cheap moccasins I bought from Target that call my name every cold morning after PT
13.  The teachers at Larchmont that go above and beyond
14.  For not getting shot despite the lockdown and seemingly perpetual violence that occurs in the surrounding neighborhoods.  (I'm partially joking, but I'm also thankful to be safe, especially when so many others in this area are not.)
15.  For getting better at planning PT for my team and for improving my baseline scores (50 push ups, biddies!).
16.  For the 30,000 people that participated in the Run for the Hungry bright and early today and for the 10 out of those that actually listened to my crowd control directions.  But seriously, it's the largest Thanksgiving day race in America!
17.  For my sister, who gave me updates on the hour, every hour of all of the antics performed by my relatives and pets throughout the holiday.
18.  For the lack of snow in November and the thought of encountering it at Christmas.
19.  Our van, the silver surfer, rolling with the new back tire it gained this week and coming back to life after playing too much music for us, despite the truck helping us getting stuck and the jumper cables not working correctly the first time.
20.  For finally getting into AmeriCorps and having the opportunity to gain some new experiences, friends, traveling adventures, and street cred.

That is all for now, but there will be more to come soon.  The past few days have flown by, and we've had random service projects lately, since Larchmont has ridiculous amounts of vacation.  But, needless to say, Thanksgiving was lovely and I can't wait to find out what our next project will be and where... which will hopefully be occurring this week.  We shall see.  Time to give in to the tryptophan.

L-L-Larchmont

Well, we've completed our first week-ish at Larchmont and so far so good!  The kids are crazy but it's a lot of fun.  Nothing like walking into school after a hectic morning of PT and getting stormed by little munchkins that want nothing more than to attach themselves to you and know everything about you.  They get super excited to see new people to play with and become best friends with.  Or  I was also informed it's because I'm warm and they think it's cold out here (HA HA, they do have jokes).  I informed them that where I came from it was much much colder and they should be thankful.  They remained attached, so I don't think they cared.  Such is life, but I digress.  It's been a lot of fun working amongst my teammates.  before coming here, I was working with a 7th grader 1:1 and I didn't mind it but it's a nice change to have people to joke with and eat lunch with, as strange as that may sound.  They always have something new to add or another hilarious story, and it's refreshing to have that between classes or recess.  I also really like a special education classroom in particular, taught by Mr. Tealdi.  He's PHENOMENAL.  I've never seen a special education classroom run that well, and the kids respect him and the systems he created to encourage good behavior and hard work.  Truly admirable.  For example, he has a series of repeat-back-to-me's that he does to get the attention of his students, including the "class class" "yes yes" and the mighty groan or mighty oh yeah! that follows associated behavior.  Other classrooms are fun as well but this is my favorite thus far.
On another note, it was discussed Tuesday that it is highly likely that Larchmont Elementary will close after this school year ends.  I was shocked.  Apparently this isn't the first time it's been a threat but the teachers seem to think that this time it will definitely close.  It's really frustrating from our standpoint because it doesn't seem fair, not to mention practical or good for the students, who will be squeezed into the classrooms of other schools within the district.  Not to mention the teachers, who I'm confident are not all guaranteed a job.  Unfortunately, it's not an issue as to whether or not a school will close, it's that one school will be shut down.  So even if Larchmont is magically saved THIS time, another school will close and Larchmont will still likely be on the radar.  Despite excellent faculty, and high achievements in STAR testing scores.  I'm going to the meeting about it next week, hopefully resulting in a better understanding of the situation, but we'll see what will come of it.
On a brighter note, we got to go rock climbing yesterday with Sacramento Pipeworks and it was awesome :)  Almost everyone is taking advantage of the amazing deal they cut with us, and we all loved it.  It's like a giant playground for adults, and the people there are great.  Definitely looking forward to going back!  Also, we did PT workout to ridiculous videos Wednesday, including a dance video that had everyone laughing more than working out (but hey, maybe our abs got a workout then?) and tomorrow we're going for another playground run.  Word has it there's a "Sweating to the Oldies" DVD that I must get my hands on!  I'm planning an epically horrible 80s style workout.  Lucky for my team!  Lastly, Rory bought a volleyball net and ball so today a bunch of us got to play, which was entertaining due to the varying volleyball abilities on our team.  The weather has been cooperating for such activities at least, which is crazy for November (to me, anyway).  I'm hoping to take advantage of the bike rentals offered at the same place we went kayaking.
That's all for now, I have to fetch my laundry.  But I'm hanging in here, definitely looking forward to being home in December though.  It gets difficult at times but I'm glad to be here and I'm enjoying it thus far.  Still curious about our next project, but nothing new there :)

End of CTI!!!

I get inducted tomorrow, and get to say goodbye to CTI!  Such a sweet goodbye.  It's finally time to get down to business :)  After induction we get to go to Larchmont tomorrow and go through training, and hopefully get a taste of what's ahead of us during the next six weeks.  I'm SO excited.  Apparently I've dubbed myself as the special ed pro due to my camp experiences.  I'm curious to see how this will work out lol.  Larchmont is part of a rough school district, and they can definitely use our help.  80% of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, and many come from difficult home situations.  Unemployment and homelessness contribute to the high mobility rate of families.  An important part of our mission at Larchmont is to show the students that we can be positive figures in their lives and show them that people can leave their lives in positive ways.  Many of the students have never had anything except negative experiences with people leaving them.  The school is literally within walking distance of the base, and I know the area has experienced many challenges, including a raised level of violence.  Right before I arrived to McClellan, someone was shot and killed at the gas station across the street, and someone else was the victim of gun violence within the school district last week.  Also, if I had a dollar for every time I heard screaming tires and sirens of police or emergency vehicles, I wouldn't have any loans.  It's daunting to envision the things we'll encounter at Larchmont, but I'm excited to see what we can accomplish and what exactly we'll be able to help the school with.  I'm also excited to see the PT plan develop.  I have an outline of what our workouts will look like during the first project but it's all trial and error.  I was contacted today by a rock climbing facility I've been trying to get ahold of to obtain discounts for our team, and I'm confident we'll be able to work something out!  I've always wanted to get back into rock climbing, and my teammates are enthusiastic about it as well, so I'm really optimistic about this working out.
On another note, this morning we had the first official baseline (because apparently the first one didn't count?) and I was pleasantly surprised at my results.  Once again, I'll include my results because those who matter don't judge and those that judge don't matter.  Ha ha.  I increased my pushups to FIFTY, which was awesome because I never thought I'd see the day.  I did 70 sit-ups, and took about a minute and a half off my mile and a half, running it in 12:28.  I'm really excited about these improvements, the only downfall is that it'll be hard to improve from here.  But I'm interested to see how far I can take it, considering I never thought I'd hit the marks I did today.
After a rough few days last week, this week has been phenomenal and it makes me all the more excited to see what project one will hold :)

long time no post!

It's been a busy stretch and I can't write much, but I'm overdue for a post.  Camp Mendocino last week was phenomenal, by far the best part of CTI.  We did a ton of team bonding, including a service project that involved moving GIANT tires full of black widow spiders and other nastiness, and a high and low ropes course!  Back at McClellan the lectures are dragging, but CTI ends this week, and I'm excited to work at our first project, which is at Larchmont Elementary school in North Highlands.  I'm hoping to work in special education class rooms and with younger kids, not so much the fifth and sixth graders though!  We'll see how that goes soon :)  My team is great so far, I have few concerns and as my teammate Rory said, we're all a bunch of squares.  We may or may not be the golden children of the Silver Unit, and I'm hoping that proves true and that others notice so maybe we can go to Hawaii or Alaska for our other projects.  Last night a bunch of us went out for Halloween and it was a blast, I'm excited to see what other shenanigans we can dig up for the next six to seven weeks while we're still here.  I'm also very excited to be going home in December for Christmas, I never thought I'd miss fall in NY so much!  And I miss everyone back home immensely.  But this has already been quite the experience, and I know it's only going to get better.

SILVER THREE

A lot has happened these past few days...  But most importantly, last night I found out which team and which team leader I'll have for the next ten months!  The leaders surprised everyone (well, at least me) and gave us all envelopes after dinner, which had a colored string indicating what unit we'd be in.  I found out I was in the Silver Unit, and upon meeting my unit, I was given another envelope, with a glow stick and puzzle piece in it.  After finding other people with similar envelope contents, we created the puzzle and followed a bunch of clues that led us to our team leader.  It was unexpected and chaotic, but overall I thought it was a pretty cool way to tell us, especially since I didn't think I'd know for another two weeks.  Plus, I love my group so far, especially my leader.  She seems like a very genuine and optimistic person.  I'm pretty pumped to see which projects we'll be given throughout the next ten months and where we might go, but for now I'm glad to have this information at least.  Tomorrow, everyone (as in, 320 people) will move from their current room to their new room, which will be surrounded by fellow teammates.  Unfortunately for me, I'm moving from the first floor of 947 to the third floor of 946.  We don't have elevators and my bags are prettyyyy heavy... should be quite eventful.  But nonetheless, I'm really excited about our new kitchen, which has a LOT more space than the one I shared with my pod, and It'll be nice to get a change of scenery.  I didn't have much in common with my last roommate...  It's been difficult with some of the younger Corps Members.  You can spot the underage members from a mile away, unfortunately.  Almost everyone that's 18 or 19 years old don't appear to have any experience away from home.  The differences in maturity and interests are overwhelming.  Example A:  We watched a SUPER interesting film on the Shrivers, who helped to create amazing programs including PeaceCorps, AmeriCorps, and the Special Olympics (aka my heroes).  I was sitting near several members who were either making obnoxious, inappropriate comments, sleeping, or texting their friends constantly.  They obviously never had to sit through a college lecture.  Amateurs.  Example B:  We had a Sexual Health lecture today and the questions that were asked... DEAR GOD.  It made me wonder if the last place of residence before here in Sacramento was under a rock or in their mom's basement doing nothing except make friends and future Ameribaby couples online.  Which I didn't just make up, unfortunately.  It's overwhelming at times.  In fact, our new teams came at the right time, because Wednesday was my breaking point with constant, repetitive lectures and too much contact with the same people.  I think part of my issue is that I honestly think I'd be happier as a team leader.  This finally dawned on me when I considered that for the last year of my life I have 1) been a captain of the Nazareth College tennis team, 2) been a student leader for the December 2009 service trip to New Orleans (had my own team, drove our own van, etc.), and 3) was a head counselor at Camp Wilton (led my own cabin).  In conclusion, it's hard for me to go back to following others and being on the same level as 18 or 19 year olds.  However, this is a minor detail and I think I'll get more used to it as time passes.  Besides, I would definitely consider coming back next year as a leader.  This will be explored in further detail in the future though, I have to get through this year first :)  Well, PT comes early, at 5:30 am.  I may or may not be running 4 miles with my T3 running group.  Get ittttt.

Training like it's my job... oh wait

So today was the second day in a row I spent the entire day in training.  Yesterday we were trained in CPR/ AED/First Aid, today was Natural Disaster training... contrary to popular belief, the CPR was more interesting.  It was extremely unfortunate.  However, the best part was a 20 minute video about how the team leaders of the Sacramento campus went to the American Samoa last year.  Almost exactly a year ago, before they had even completed their training, a group of team leaders were sent there to respond to the tsunami that occurred due to an earthquake.  They showed us footage from before, during, and after their work in the American Samoa.  Out of all of the hours of training I've already completed in less than a week, that was maybe the most informative part haha.  I think what really struck me was how flexible the TL's had to be... for one part of their crazy travel arrangements, they flew in a military aircraft carrier after something like a ten hour layover in Honolulu.  And while they were providing relief services, they were forced to evacuate to high ground after an 8.0 earthquake raised the possibility of another tsunami.  Seeing the work they did, the difference they made, and the people they connected with was really awesome though.  No one ever wants to have a natural disaster occur, but if there is one I hope I get to go and help, even though I'm sure it's very difficult emotionally and physically.  But still, just sayin'.
Also, today was my first day of PT.  I have a feeling that waking up at 4:50 am will get old quickly haha.  But I didn't mind it too much today.  We did the baseline test, which was a 1.5 mile run, sit and reach, and we had to see how many push ups and sit ups we could do in two minutes.  Since I'm doing this mostly to remember my time here, and possibly for those few brave friends and family that take a look, I'll be brave and post my results so I can remember them for the next time.  AmeriCorps is all about self-improvement haha.  So... 30 push-ups (and I mean MAN push ups, not that girly shenanigans!) 50 sit-ups, 22 sit-and-reach, and 13:50 (which is terrible but hey at least I can improve once I can figure out the allergy situation and actually breathe.)  So there's that.  I'm looking forward to seeing how good my physical fitness will be when I go home in December.  If I get home... this ticket situation is annoying.  I really need to get home in December, Gorham or bust.  I love it here but it's been an intense adjustment, especially given only a week to prepare.  It's more strict than I imagined.  I enjoy the challenge but it would be really nice to see everyone again.  Well, as per usual, my computer is dying.  Til next time...