See Ya Later Tears

It's "see ya later," not "goodbye" that was said today.

I'm home now. Back in good old Michigan. AmeriCorps is OVER. Graduation was this morning, and I flew home in the evening.

Here are the range of emotions I felt today:

Excitement: I really had a hard time sleeping last night due to excitement about graduation the next day. I woke up at 5 am, like a good little AmeriCorps girl, and checked out of my room.

Accomplishment: Sitting at the graduation ceremony, hearing all the speakers talk about how we have all made this country a better place made me feel proud for possibly the first time in ten months.

Sadness: Saying goodbye was terrible. Tears were everywhere I turned (because they were mine, clearly). I gave Katherine a big hug and then I lost it. I hugged all my team members, and tried not to look too many in the eye. We all know that there is a distinct possibility that we may all never see each other again.

Freedom: Taking off my uniform at the airport had so many feelings attached to it. I felt free. For the first time in ten months I could make my own decisions, I could wear my own clothes, I could leave when I wanted to, I don't have to answer to ten other people! It had a liberating effect.

Pure joy: I have not stepped foot in Michigan in seven months. Christmas was the last time. This was definitely the longest I have ever been away from home. Landing at the airport, I was almost brought to tears. I have come home after months serving the country. It was just a wave of joy that came over me, and I am very happy to be home.

If I can get through ten months of AmeriCorps NCCC, I will be able to get through anything.

See ya later,

anne

To Infinity and Beyond!

I have officially 3 days until my departure from AmeriCorps NCCC. It's pretty difficult to fathom. I haven't realized that I won't have to wear a uniform to work anymore (well, a lame one at least), or that I won't have to make my bed everyday for fear of room inspections. And, worst of all, it hasn't hit me that I may never see any members of Blue 6 ever again. Of course we plan to have reunions and visit each other, but in reality, that often goes no farther than a plan.

Luckily, we are all attempting to soak in the last bits of each other while we still can. Last Wednesday we ended our 5 day road trip from New Orleans to Sacramento with a few stops on the way. We went and saw Billy the Kid's gravesite, visited the magnificent Grand Canyon (I do not know that guy in the picture, but I wanted to capture his stance), and threw in a little Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and Big Tree State Park in the end. We definitely chose the more exciting route on the way back. Good move team.

Since we've been back, there have been several meetings with packing and cleaning squeezed in the middle. Yesterday, we had a "celebration of service" which consisted of picking up trash around an elementary school. I wouldn't exactly call that a celebration... But we had a delicious lunch and a pool party after, so it wasn't too painful. Oh and today was the Hard Corps 5k run that I participated in. I did relatively well despite the heat radiating from the concrete jungle we ran around, aka McClellan Air Base.

Now, all we have are a couple meetings, final room inspections, an awards banquet, and a graduation ceremony. At 2:30 on Wednesday, I'll be heading back to the mitten to continue on with my life. I wonder how that's going to turn out...

I plan to jot down my final thoughts the day I get home (hopefully I remember), so stay tuned.

<3 anne

So I'm Never Going to Attempt to Write a Blog Again...

I think I tried starting a diary several times when I was young, and failed. Then I tried a journal for vacations. Then I tried the futuristic "blog." And guess what, even with the fun gadgets technology has brought us, I still can't regularly write anything. You'd think I would learn this by now...

Anywho, St. Bernard Project is coming to an end. That also means AmeriCorps is coming to an end. Yes, July 28, 2010 is my date of graduation. "HOLY COW" you might say. "It's been ten months already?" you may also say. What's going on in my mind, however, is a little more complicated. I have started wishing my days away, which is bad, bad. I really am not digging this project. There's just something about it, which I can't pinpoint. And this week, I have been separated from my team member plumbers and it's just me, the plumbing assistant Doug, and a volunteer from central Florida. We ride around in a small red truck together. It's less than adorable. It also probably doesn't help that I got a taste of my real life this weekend when I visited my man for the holiday weekend and it was wonderful! I just am really looking forward to my real life!

Then on the other hand, I'm starting to realize I may never see any of my teammates again. I will be miles and miles away from them, and when is the next time I'm going to be in the Northeast United States? I mean really, who goes to New Hampshire for fun?? (JUST KIDDING all you New Hampshirians on my team) But, as I was discussing today with someone, my whole life will be full of meeting people, forming relationships, and then moving on. I just need to take what I've learned from all of these people and carry on.

Also, the fact that I still don't have a job or health insurance after July 28 is a bit worrisome. I'm sure it will all work out, but I'm trying to enjoy the comfort of AmeriCorps as long as I can. I don't have to pay rent, utilities, health insurance bills, or worry about finding a place to live or clothes to wear! But I guess it's what makes life exciting, right? RIGHT?? I'll keep telling myself that.

Alright well, next Friday, the 16th is our date of departure. Then we have a five-day road-trip back to Cali, and then a week of transition, and then I'm off to try out the real world once again!

I will write one more with my closing thoughts of the whole experience.

So, until next time,

anne

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell everyone, I'm in my fourth project now!

So it's been over a month. Hopefully not too many of you missed my banter...

We ended Green Light two weeks ago with a bang. I designed the annual report, a two by three foot lovely poster for a tabling display as well as two logos, one for 10,000 people in New Orleans, and Buy Green Give Green. Both are currently being made into t-shirts and Andi (the boss) is going to send them to me asap. Yay! They may also use my skills in the future, so stay tuned.

Now for our last and final project! We are working with St. Bernard Project (www.stbernardproject.org) in St. Bernard Parish, which borders New Orleans. To get downtown is about a 30 minute drive. Not too bad, but it does steer us away from spending way too much money. As for the organization, they do housing reconstruction for people whose houses were destroyed during the hurricane. So we don't build houses, just gut them and redo the insides. The primary candidates for the program are usually disabled individuals, elderly, or families with young children.

Each of my team members have different roles including, site supervisors (leading volunteers), electricians, office assistants, warehouse assistants and me... a PLUMBER. Yup, that's right. I'm working on my butt crack exposure as we speak. Abby, Earl and I (both are on my team) plumb together. Today was our second day and luckily our work is relatively laid back and quite interesting because the heat is pretty unbearable. I seriously have never sweated so much in all 23 years and 358 days in my life. If you didn't catch that, my birthday is next Thursday. Happy birthday to mwah!

Back to plumbing. SO, my boss is Tony, and his assistant is Doug. They are two interesting guys. I'll tell you about them another time. For now, I will give you the highlights of the day:

-donned a yellow, plastic Tyvex body suit and army crawled underneath the house (there is about a 2.5 foot gap between the ground and the floor of the house) and nailed in hot and cold water pipelines across the house.
-learned how to install water lines inside the house.
-watched some sweating and soldering of copper piping.
-climbed into the rafters in the attic and drilled holes through the ceiling with the "hole hog"
-sweated so much I looked as if I jumped into a pool. And I am NOT exaggerating. My entire shirt was a different shade of grey.
-walked to the Dollar General down the street four times to use the bathroom/bask in its glorious air conditioning.

So that's the rundown of the day. I'm essentially a plumbing apprentice. I must go though. It's dinnertime.

I promise I will do more writing.

Anyway, have a wonderful June week!!!!!!

<3 anne

P.S. 50 days until AmeriCorps is done! Not that I'm counting...

Yay! New Orleans!

Well, it's true. I do love New Orleans. It's amazing what two and a half weeks of direct communication can do for a relationship. The people are wonderful, the weather is lovely, and the food is fantastic.

This past weekend was epic. Saturday night went downtown to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. WOW. Everyone, please listen to their album/go to one of their shows. Then on Sunday, we went to Jazzfest 2010, the New Orleans music festival that has been going on since the 70s. The highlight of the day was seeing The Dead Weather (in the picture to the left with Jack White on the guitar) and the rain. The last song started getting really intense and just then it started pouring. Awesome. Rain is quite enjoyable when you plan for it. I also stopped by and danced at the gospel tent, and then rounded out the night with the Neville Brothers. Some true Louisiana, New Orleans funk. Pretty great.

On the work front, Green Light is great. Always changing, always unpredictable. We do different things all the time. As of this week, I have several new individual jobs, in addition to the regular phone calling, data entry, installing and education. I am now designing an annual report for them, as well as a volunteer newsletter regarding places to see around the area, and then I'm in charge of redesigning tabling event displays. Tabling means setting up those tables where someone stands behind it and hands out brochures and talks about the organization. My job is to organize it so there are different tables for different audiences, as well as updating all displays and information to make Green Light look "cool" and professional. So yes, this all keeps me very very busy. Bernie (the program manager) told me I might be the busiest AmeriCorps member they have had in history. I'm not sure if that's a title I really want...

Now comes a more exciting part (as if my life couldn't get more exciting right now). Due to the disastrous oil spill, we have been given some side projects. Now, of course, we would all rather there never be a reason to have to be deployed on disaster relief, but this does make for a more interesting week. Today, we worked with a food bank that serves the entirety of southern Lousisana to package up boxes of groceries for fisherman who are losing their catch. This weekend, I found out about an hour ago, we have been asked to go to the Mississippi coast to clear off beaches before the oil comes. I guess it's easier to clean oil off sand than debris on sand. I will let you know how it all goes. We may have more side projects as the oil hits the shore. What a man-made disaster. Way to go humans.

I will soon let you all know more about my Southern adventures. Until next time.

anne

The Southern Chapter

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the South is awesome. Laid back, chill (that one's for you Dan), and extremely friendly. New Orleans is a great city. I would have to classify it as a small big city. It really isn't that huge, maybe 400,000 in population. According to wikipedia, it is a mere 350 square miles, compared to Detroit's 1, 295 square miles of urban area. Then again, Detroit is a monstrosity...

Back to Green Light. This past week we have been doing mostly light bulb installations around the area. People sign up with Green Light to have us come and change all their light bulbs, then we go around to their houses and change each one.

I will now present to you "Stories of CFL Installees," a small sampling of people I have met:

Sister Teresa, the smiling nun:
Blue 6 trekked across Lake Pontchartrain two days in a row to meet up with this wonderful woman in Covington, LA. Our first day, we had to meet the nun in a Domino's parking lot to discuss light bulb installations. Yeah, never thought I'd say a sentence like that. She then took us around to homes in her community that were in need of light bulb changes. Many of the homes were extremely low income. It was poverty many people would never know existed beyond the main street. Hopefully they now have a sense of how they, too, can help save the planet without having loads of moolah or being friends with Al Gore, while saving money on their electric bills.

Swamp Man:
We then ventured out later in the week to the swampy bayou, about an hour away from NOLA. There, was a home on stilts right next door to alligator country. An adult son and a father lived there with three adorable doggies. After we installed, and after the son picked flowers for us, he took us to his dock to try and stir up the gator that lived in the water near them. Unfortunately, there were no gator sightings that day, but he told us about his days as a swamp tour guide, and then some of the affects of Katrina. He went north during the storm, but when he came back, the big tugboat next door was on top of a roof of a house less than a mile down the road. Crazy.

The Great Swimmer:
Later that day, we came upon an older man's home whose son lived next door. While we were installing, he told us how when Katrina came, he stayed despite all the warnings. His house filled up with water up to his chest and he had to swim to his son's house (who was gone at the time) and he lived there on bottled water and canned goods for 15 days by himself. He then went around showing us all the water marks around the house and the water damage to much of his furniture. He's definitely a tough cookie.

Some people might think that people need to get over Katrina and stop expecting sympathy, but I don't think it's sympathy they want. I think they just want to tell their story, and most of them are amazing stories. We're happy to hear them.

That's all for "Stories of Installees." Until next time.

Anne

NOLA! NOLA! NOLA!

Picture: This was on a sidewalk in Baton Rouge, LA, where we stopped for lunch during our roadtrip.

Hey everyone!

My blogs are really becoming few and far between... Oops. Well, as many of you know, Friday, April 16, 2010, Blue 6 arrived in New Orleans, LA. The five-day road trip went by with very few wrong turns. It was pretty smooth sailing. I was able to drive everyday, so it made it much more enjoyable. I can now add New Mexico and Texas to my list of states having spent the night in! I have to admit, though I hear rumors about Texans being, let's say, extroverted, it's a beautiful state!

Our apartment is in Mid-City which is, you guessed it, in the middle of the city. It's recently renovated with wooden floors and granite kitchen countertops. The only thing missing is furniture... We have a table and a chair. We all sleep on army cots that double as couches! How convenient. It's two bathrooms, one shower. So far, it hasn't been much of a problem. We shall see.

Saturday, unfortunately, despite being told we would have the day off, we had training from 9 to 5. This was somewhat irritating because I invited Dan in town for the weekend and he ended up walking around by himself all day! I felt pretty bad, but we both knew it was out of our control. Luckily, he's a big boy and found ways to entertain himself. Not too hard when you're in an awesome city! So, that was Dan, now for the AmeriCorps Saturday. Our boss's name is Andreas, from Switzerland. He's this hip-looking middle-aged man with a curly grey fro who rides a scooter around. He came to the city in 1993 and founded GreenLight New Orleans in 2006, after Katrina. The office is this bright, old, purple house with turquoise shutters. The right side of the house is where Andreas lives, and the left side is the office. (Doesn't have much of a scooter commute now does he.) Now Bernie is the program manager who is 26, very energetic, and used to be a science teacher. He was our trainer all day. We learned that the basic goals of GreenLight is to reduce energy usage in the city while decreasing electricity bills for low-income houses and educating the public regarding climate change and saving the planet. We learned how to train volunteers for installing lightbulbs, as well as how to enter and search for information in the computer database. Happily, it was all pretty interesting and we were able to take a few breaks, so the day went by quickly.

Today, Dan and I had the whole day together, so I went and showed him my office and then had lunch at this sweet Mediterranean restaurant on the corner called Lebanon's Cafe. Then we walked around the Carrollton area (which is where the office is) and checked it out. There's a main street with some sweet stores and restaurants. It was nice to walk around a non-tourist-infested area! Then we had some gelato and drove back to my apartment and took the streetcar to City Park. It's a giant park in the city. Clever name, I know. The Louisiana Museum of Art is located there, and it has a free sculpture garden which was awesome. There was a giant safety pin by Claes Oldenburg. Awesome! And then we sat on the grass near a pond. There are few better ways to spend a Sunday!

Tomorrow we have more training. It's Earth Day week (as well as Mom and Dad's anniversary!) so GreenLight is super busy.

So far, this place is awesome. Already I definitely feel more on my own rather than in AmeriCorps. It's a nice change.

I hope everyone is doing well!

<3 anne

Coming to an End *tear

So, you know how I said I was going to try and write more often? Well, I clearly lied. Therefore, I apologize to my faithful fans for sparse blog posts. I also apologize for being pretty bad at keeping in touch with everyone! The very little free time I get, I usually just want to spend it quietly, curled up in my bed with book in hand, escaping from people. I know, I know, no excuses. But I'm doing it anyway. So sue me.

Now, I said in the last blog that I have changed my attitude, and you know what? It's actually working. Maybe it's the fact that this project will be over next Thursday, or the fact that I get to see Dan (who I haven't seen in 3 months) next Friday, but I really think I'm feeling much better about AmeriCorps. I decided to search hard for the personal benefits I am receiving from the program. I'm feeling much more confident about my academic abilities as I tutor geometry, algebra 1, and now, a little algebra 2. Also, I know that as long as I put in effort, I think I excel in many areas. Or at least I think I can pull off most of the tasks given to me. (Now, if only I could get a full-time job...) Along with confidence, I think I'm becoming much more adaptable. I'm not as scared of change. I'm not afraid that "things aren't going to work out" in the future. I try not to think about it very much anymore. Because, you know what? Nothing ever goes as planned. As my teammate Andrew (aka Jersey) said to me, so poetically "Life is like surfing. The wave will toss you all around, and keep changing, but there's no way you can stop the wave, you just need to adjust your board and body position and roll with it." Nice, Andrew, nice.

I think I've really, really enjoyed this project. Much more than expected. (I've also learned, if you go into anything with terribly low expectations, it can only get better!) The kids really are great, and thoroughly entertaining. It feels really good to help them. I get very excited when they are able to do a math problem on their own (or, not to flatter myself, when they say that I teach it better than their teacher, and they want me to be their permanent teacher. Oh, how I love that!) Victory!

I'm going to miss all the kids and fellow tutors I met. Talking to someone everyday, five days a week, really gets you attached. This will probably be the most difficult project to end. But hey, I have two more left! So who knows. New Orleans is going to be AWESOME!

Hope all is well with everyone! And don't take it too personally if I have been bad at returning phone calls/emails. I still like you!! I've just never been this busy in my life. Crazy times these AmeriCorps.

<3 anne

Blog Slacker

Yes, as you can see, I have been slacking on my blog. Part of it is because not too many exciting things have been going on around here. Work doesn't change all that much. The other part is that I haven't wanted to use my daily hour of free time to blog. I have more important things to do. Like, for example, showering. So, I am writing in response to our half hour early departure from work.

As many of you know, last weekend (the last weekend in February), I was in Seattle visiting the fam. It was wonderful being able to hang out with people who know you best. My sister also used my incredible visual talent to help with the interior paint choices. I must say, her townhouse looks fabulous.

I also realized that I vomited negativity about AmeriCorps all over my family. I have also vomited negativity all over this blog. Just all over. What a mess.

Everything I had to say was depressing. "AmeriCorps sucks. I'm lost. I won't find a job. I don't know what to do with my life." As KE$HA says, Blah Blah Blah.

So, I've decided to change my attitude. Look for the positive things about AmeriCorps. Try and form a life plan. So far it goes like this: take the GRE (I'm in learning mode now thanks to tutoring), move to Florida, find a job, love Dan, and apply for architecture school. Yup. After all these years I'm going to do it. No stopping Anne.

And, the cherry on top... Our next project is in NEW ORLEANS!!!!!!!!!!! Warm, delicious, fun, NOLA. And guess who lives only 3 hours away? Yes, Dan the Man. I will be able to apply and interview for jobs while I'm down there. The news couldn't have come at a better time. We will be working with Project Greenlight, going around the city changing lightbulbs to earth-friendly ones. So, if you see me riding a bike around New Orleans with lightbulbs in my basket, feel free to say hi. I'm thoroughly looking forward to it all. It's going to be great! Except for the whole one shower for 11 people thing... Oh, but no negativity here!

It's amazing what a weekend with family can do to the mind. I feel great. Work is going well. Today a girl told me "Thanks a lot. I really understand this better!" Music to my ears.

I hope all is well. It's stir fry time. I will try to write again sooner!

<3 anne

Tutor, tutor, tutor

You know what's crazy?? There's only one week left in February! That's what's crazy. The project has been going well. I've been tutoring many more kids and getting a few regulars now. Oh, and I can now write an essay on Animal Farm (that should be underlined but there is no option for that on my blog. I'm embarrassed.), despite never having read it. I have to admit, it's very frustrating tutoring kids who have never read the book. Now I know how teachers feel! Maybe I should have read more books in high school..... I still have no idea what happened in the end of King Lear, or The Jungle (more underlining).

As for the math tutoring, my geometry and algebra 1 skills are much improved. It helps to take notes in my classes! I'm hoping this encourages me to take the GRE after AmeriCorps. At least I'm in a math thinking mode again. It's all coming back rather easily. Unfortunately, the other day, there were no Algebra 2 tutors available in the learning center and I had to help. Well, it was more like the kids helping me. I couldn't remember how to do logs for the life of me. These freshmen in high school made me feel like an idiot! I then felt bad that I let them down and proceeded to study logs out of the textbook for the next 45 minutes. Hopefully I'll never be stuck trying to help with Algebra 2 again! Other than that, it's going great! My three math classes can be a little overwhelming at times, but they aren't unbearable. I think I like tutoring. Whoa, did I just say that??!!

This weekend I did an ISP (individual service project) at the Aerospace Museum of California with about 25 other AmeriCorps people. We set up the area for a 600 person crab dinner fundraiser. We moved aside engines and airplanes and put up tables, chairs and the whole shabang. Not too bad. I now have 26 hours out of the 80 required... It's a long arduous process. I mean, I really love working Saturdays when I just worked a 54 hour week. It's a blast. That evening I went bowling with my teammates and bowled a 117 and a 94. That was my little boost of confidence for the week. Other than that, it's been very relaxing!

This coming weekend I'm heading to Seattle to visit the fam! Jane and Vic bought a townhouse and are moving in this weekend and my parents and I are coming to help pack and paint! I can't wait to see everyone and take a much-needed break!

Have a great last week of February!

<3 anne

Today, A Kid Called Me Teacher

A week has gone by, and so far, so good. My team has been split in half, one group at Woodland High School, and one group at Pioneer High School. I am at the better of the two, Pioneer. (No bias whatsoever.)

The first day, last Tuesday, was a little shaky. I felt like the awkward girl in the baggy uniform with no clue as to what I was doing. It's called First-Day-At-A-New-Job syndrome. As the week went on, I became much more comfortable in my surroundings and assimilated suprisingly well. The team that had this project before us made us think it was going to be a nightmare. "The kids are little jerks. There's a lot of trouble at the school. The hours are so terribly long." Well, I think the kids are quite nice, they just need some focus. There's some trouble at school (today several kids were arrested for a riot held two weeks ago), but I never feel unsafe. And yes, the hours are somewhat long, we leave campus at 7:15 am, have a 45 minute commute, work at school from 8 to 5 with minimum breaks, and then take another 45 minute commute home which gives us an eta of 6 pm. It was tough the first couple days, but with 8 hours of sleep a night, it's more than bearable.

During the week I tutor all subjects, but primarily math and essay-writing. I also am an in-class tutor for three classes: two Algebra 1 and a geometry class. I definitely pay attention during note-taking time so I can actually help the kids. The classes aren't too bad, except there are some control issues. More like, lack of control of the class by the teacher. Sometimes class can be a bit stressful, but I do my best to help kids. That's all I can do.

I have to admit, this tutoring gig is much more enjoyable than expected. I'm starting to get to know the kids and tutor some of them regularly. I'm also getting to know the book Animal Farm extremely well without ever having read it. All the sophomores are writing Animal Farm essays right now and I continually have to ask them to remind me what allegory, satire, and characterization mean. I figure, I'm better help than no help.

It's dinnertime, so my hungry tummy is wanting me to go. So long!

Happy Paczki Day!!

<3 anne

On the Eve of Woodland

It's that time again. The night before a new project. Last week was transition week. It was another one of those times I wanted to quit AmeriCorps. (For all those concerned, I've come to find that everyone in this program has quitting days as well, so this is fairly normal.) Fortunately, we're all hanging in there together. We had a bunch of meetings, and we were back on campus which means: community meetings, wearing proper uniforms, room checks, the kitchen only being open from 6-7:45 am and 5-8 pm. That's always fun when you forget to pack a lunch... I tried to make a point by just eating 2 granola bars all day, but it backfired on me when I got a 2 day stomach ache. Way to go Anne. I wake up early and pack my lunch now. Lesson learned.

Our briefing and debriefing went well. We also met with another team with whom we are switching projects, and I'm not going to lie, we're all a bit nervous. The biggest challenge is going to be dealing with punk high-schoolers. This is the age (9th and 10th grade) where kids know what no means, and they use it frequently. They know they don't have to technically follow the rules. It also does not help that the kids we will be tutoring have a high chance of dropping out. In addition, I don't remember a thing about freshman and sophomore high school academics. Geometry? King Lear? I never even finished reading it in class and wrote a paper anyways. We all need to do some brushing up.

Tomorrow morning we will be having a half day of orientation and then thrown into tutoring in the afternoon. Although I am apprehensive, I'm sure once we all get adjusted, it won't be bad at all. It's going to be possibly the most mentally challenging project so far (and possibly ever). I'm going to have to think, while trying to gain respect from the kids, and simultaneously re-learning algebra 2. Challenging, yes. Am I going to be just fine? I'm pretty confident. Bring it on.

<3 anne

The End of Mecca

Photo: Dawn at the worksite

This past week was our last week in Mecca. Tear. I can't believe I'm already done with the first project. We had a teary goodbye with the homeowners while eating Costco pizza and snickerdoodles (made by me upon request) and chocolate chip cookies. I have never met such grateful, appreciative, thoughtful, selfless people. One of the women, Esmeralda, works 3 jobs, 7 days a week, and raises a 7 year old and is working on building her own home. Now that is hard work.

I hope to come back there someday to see the progress of Mecca and see the finalized neighborhood. We began roof tiling our last few days at work. Yes, I can do Spanish tile. We started with just the rafters and managed to sheet, fascia, soffit, tar paper and tile 9 roofs. I'm impressed with myself and my team. Our sponsor, the CVHC, told us in all 20 AmeriCorps groups they have had since 2000, we have been by far the hardest working. You flatter me, CVHC.

Right now, I'm back in Sacramento and it's going well. My roommate, Suzie, decorated our room with Christmas lights and magazine collages, so it's looking quite swell. A few girls on my team and I went to get haircuts yesterday from a crazy Phillipino lady who talked about getting rich the entire time she hacked at our hair. I say hacked because I have never seen anyone cut with such...style... She literally took my hair out of my ponytail (my hair was all curly from being scrunched in a ponytail all day) combed it, and just cut away at it. I can't say it's even close to my favorite haircut ever. I have more bangs but I'm not sure I'm into them, or more like, I'm not into the way she cut them. Luckily, hair grows and it'll probably look better in a couple weeks.

This week is "transition week" for all corps members so there are a bunch of other teams on campus at the moment. Back to sharing a kitchen...yuck. We have meetings all week including our project 1 debriefing and project 2 briefing. I'm just about done with our project portfolio. I was in charge of getting the team to write something about the project and lay it out. It's quite nice I have to admit. 22 pages long. Nice.

On a side note, I'm addicted to the Noisettes Wild Young Hearts album. Check it out.

Project 2 starts next week and I'm a bit apprehensive. I hear the kiddies are tough in that school district. We're all going to have to change gears. Our days will go from 7am to 6pm. It ends an hour later than our last project and we have no siesta... Talk about exhaustion! Hopefully it works out, and if it doesn't, seven weeks isn't long at all.

Alright, onto crossing off more on my to do list.

Have a great week!

Anne

To the Salton Sea!

Yes, I know, two blogs within a week's time! You're welcome. Today was just so interesting, I had to share.

So, about 15 minutes southeast of Mecca is this giant body of water, the salty Salton Sea. We figured hey, let's go check it out! So we drove to the visitor's center at the Salton Sea State and Recreation Area. We learned that the sea used to be a large whole between two fault lines that filled in with ocean thousands of years ago and left a foot of salt at the bottom when it dried up. Around 1905, the levees for the Colorado River broke and began filling in the dried up ocean hole. After everyone was like, "oh crap! it's flooding!" they decided to make bank by building resorts and marinas around the newly formed body of water. From the early 1900's to the 1960's, the Salton Sea was a huge hotspot frequented by Hollywood actors and singers such as Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys. Unfortunately, around the 1970's the sea began to become polluted from runoff of growing urban areas and it became pretty gross. All of the resorts and marinas were shut down and abandoned, and today it's practically a ghost town with a few trailer parks around the edges.

After the visitor's center, we walked to the shoreline full of crusty, salty briny sand and dead salt-cured fish. It's such a beautiful view of the sea surrounded by mountains, until you look at your feet, or trip over a dead fish. Good times.

Then we drove to this area pictured on the front of a photography book I purchased called Bombay Beach. It was essentially a square mile of trailer homes with a dirt levee around it protecting it from the salty sea. Half of the homes were abandoned and decaying. We decided to climb the levee and walk around the shore. It was absolutely bizarre. There were remnants of old homes and some trailers, phone poles, an old crane and some old docks that were all half buried and covered in this salty briny stuff. It was really quiet and no one was around. A bit eerie I must say, but very interesting.

Then we drove to this oasis in the desert where we hiked a trail through this group of palm trees with a stream running through. It was super cool. There were walls of dried leafy palm trees and a thick canopy. So cool!

So, that was our sweet adventure. I reccommend people to wikipedia the Salton Sea. It's pretty interesting!

Tomorrow we're doing a service project for MLK day. It should be a good time! Hope everyone has a great third week of January!

<3 anne

It's Always Sunny in Mecca

Hey Everybody!

It's halfway through January already. Can you believe it?? We have a week and a half left in Mecca!

This week we found out our next project! It will take us from February 8 through April 1. And the project is......dum dum dum........









Tutoring 9th and 10th graders at Woodland high school in Sacramento! Yes, do you recall the monthlong training I had there? The pain? The stress? The torture? In two weeks I will be back where it all began. I am trying to have a good attitude towards our next challenge. We will be at the high school from 8 am until 5 pm Monday through Friday. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but I will hang in there and keep everyone updated. My TL said this will probably be one of the most important projects we will have because education is everything. Let's hope I don't fail these kiddies!

An update of the past week: Last Sunday, Blue 6 (my team that is), ventured to Joshua Tree National Park, about 40 minutes north of Mecca. The park is so enormous, it contains two different deserts and ecosystems: the Colorado Desert to the southeast, and the Mojave Desert to the northwest. All the awesome stuff (Joshua trees, for example) is in the Mojave. So, we had to drive an hour and a half through the park before we stopped for anything. Well, if you don't know what a Joshua Tree is, imagine an oak tree and a yucca plant mated and had babies. It looks like a regular tree trunk with spiky yucca plants sprouting out of the branches. Bizarre. So, these trees dotted the desert land. A very interesting landscape. Also, it looked as if God's kids played with giant boulders and then just tossed them into the flat desert. It was so cool! We were able to climb them all over the place. If anyone is ever in SoCal at some point, go to JTNP. It's awesome!

The rest of the week included doing service at the FIND food bank in Indio, then getting famous "date shakes". We also were able to sample different types of dates. I have never had a date, but I think I will start eating more. They're delicious! It's like a candy with a pit in the middle. As for the shake, I asked for banana in my date shake and it pretty much just tasted like banana ice cream. The banana flavor kicked the date flavor's butt. Still delicious!

For work this week, we layed tar paper on top of 7 roofs (the black stuff you see on roofs before the shingles/tiles go on), shortened window blinds, shoveled dirt around, and cleaned up the site. Very productive! Oh, and if graphic design doesn't work out, I'm going to be a roofer.

Including tomorrow, we have 8 days of work left in Mecca. I said today that I plan to come back to this area in 15 years to see how it turns out. Maybe Mecca is going to be the next hot spot! You never know!

That's all for this week. We will be in touch!

<3 anne

Happy New Year!

Winter break was too good. It was such a wonderful time seeing family and friends and boyfriend, it was hard to come back! Although I am starting to count down the days/months until AmeriCorps is over, I am trying to enjoy each day and each experience. Wishing away time is never a good way to live. I am also attempting to be more myself and make a few allies on my team. I haven't felt incredibly close to anyone on my team, so I am actually making an attempt to open up to people. Hopefully 2010 will be as interesting as last year! I can't wait to see what happens!

We arrived back to Mecca on Monday after a grueling 9 hour drive, in which I drove 4 hours. Tuesday we landscaped and planted trees and shrubs. Very fun! Then Wednesday, we shoveled dirt and removed a giant dead bush from the side of the road and dragged it on a 20 foot long tarp and threw it into the dumpster. Not so fun. Then, today, I painted the faccia (no idea how to spell that one) on the side of the roofs. It took us 7 hours to paint 2 houses by hand, with paintbrushes, the old fashioned way. The weather here has been perfect (70's all week) and the days are getting longer. It feels like July in Michigan minus the humidity.

This weekend, we're planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Park and I'm pumped! I will take lots of pictures, don't worry!

Hope everyone had a fantastic New Year!

<3 anne