And scene...

So we are officially done with AmeriCorps and have been now for two weeks.  I am back in Quincy, which is definitely an adjustment.  It is great to see everyone back at home.  The last week of NCCC was very difficult with all of the goodbyes that needed to be said.  This is probably why it has taken so long to write on this blog again!  I was lucky to have had an unforgettable experience with many amazing people who I hope to keep in touch with a long time from now.  It would be impossible to sum up the incredible time that I have had with this adventure in this little blog, but I hope that I was able to share at least a small bit will all of you.  Nothing is perfect, including AmeriCorps NCCC.  There were many times I questioned administrative decisions and other various things that came up this year.  Sometimes there were just no answers I liked and became frustrated, but if anyone was to ever ask me if it is worth having a program like AmeriCorps I would say YES.  The good this program does outweighs the areas where it needs improvement.  

So, with the end of this fun adventure I'm looking to see what's next. who knows... maybe paying off some school debt?  What a thrilling adventure that is... thanks for those of u that have been reading (and not been too critical of my lack of writing skills haha).  Hope to see u all soon = )  after all, it is that holiday time of year now. woohoooo  Below is the last pic we took as a team.  It's at the awards dinner.  We discovered this beautiful set up for a wedding so we married off Beth and Drew. haha 

Some of the best people i know from this program, Badger 5 from left: Erik Villy Hansen (Biffle), Jordan Lundberg (Jordypants), Drew Larson (DrewLars), Tyler Burns (Tylah), Beth Stewart, (me), Nicole LaBranche, Tawna Bowman

See you soon NOLA....

Yesterday was our last day of working with the St. Bernard Project (SBP).  I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop, Envie, once again.  The weather is BEAUTIFUL!  Almost 80 degrees.  Sorry, i know all of you in the Northeast are a lil bit colder than that.... I'm in for a shock when I head home.  

I worked on two houses while with SBP.  Most of the time I was at Richard Nagle's house, which was a great time.  He came by almost everyday so I had the chance to really get to know him.  With my volunteers, we finished the drywall, mudding, and sanding of his house.  The next step is texturing the walls and then those finishing touches of flooring, trim, and whatnot.  If I was only here another month then I would get to see him move back in!!!  Richard promised me that he would email me picture updates.  Below is a picture of us and some of the volunteers that worked on his house with me. It was great meeting volunteers each week.  This group, in particular, was full of energy and a lot of fun to work with.

I worked on Reverend Ray and Marion Smith's house only for a week and a half.  In that time we did lots of mudding and sanding!  Most days, Ray was working on the house right along with us.  The volunteers always enjoyed working with Ray.  I was real sick with a cough while working on Ray's house.  His suggestion was to drink a hot toddy.  Since I had NO CLUE what that was, Ray was kind enough to explain it.  Apparently it is tea with some whiskey, lemon, and honey.  It definitely sounds like something that would help.  I was sent back to Richard's house after working with Ray.  Last time I checked in, though, the floor, doors, and trim were all up. He will be moving in very shortly!! This is especially exciting since Ray told me how he had just bought the house right before Katrina hit and then never had the chance to completely move in. If you go to the link below, then you will see me with Ray and you will have the chance to read more about his story.  This is one great aspect of SBP.  I am happy to have a place like their website to go and get updates on all the houses I have worked on.  

http://www.stbernardproject.org/v158/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=413&Itemid=4

I have 12 more days left with NCCC.  Yikes. 

I will definitely be back to NOLA sometime.... so, See you Soon NOLA.

Halloween, NOLA style

This Halloween was definitely a memorable one.  I think New Orleans is the best place to celebrate halloween in this country.  All of the AmeriCorps teams were on Frenchmen Street last night.  The best costume I saw was a group of people as mario cart characters.  I loaded the picture on here so you can all check it out. It was great!  I went as Pippi Longstocking.  Hopefully you all remember those books and movies.  Tawna worked her magic and did my hair.  It was such a fun night!  I still can't believe we are almost done with everything.  This is our last week with St. Bernard Project.  I have less than a month with NCCC.  Then I head home and try to figure out my next plan. (any suggestions!?)  I hope everyone had a fun Halloween.  I'm interested in seeing pictures of everyone's costumes when I get back. See you all soon!

St. Bernard Project

It has been awhile since I have written on this blog.  We are back in New Orleans for our last round with NCCC.  Internet is not really accessible all the time.  Right now I am sitting in a lovely coffee shop in Chalmette called Da Parish Coffee Shop.  We are staying in St. Bernard Parish, which is fitting since we are working in the Parish with St. Bernard Project.  This nonprofit works to rebuild homes that have been destroyed.  Taken from their site, here is a brief description: 

"St. Bernard Project’s Rebuilding Program rebuilds homes for senior citizens, people with disabilities and families with children who can not afford to have their homes rebuilt by contractors. For clients who can afford supplies, the St. Bernard Project provides supervised volunteer labor. For clients who can not afford supplies, the St. Bernard Project buys the supplies and provides the labor."   

Each member of my team has a different job on the site.  We cover areas in the office, the warehouse, mold remediation, and site supervising.  My job with this nonprofit is working as a site supervisor.  (above is a pic of Dan and I during training. I was happy to complete putting up the drywall in that room.)  I lead volunteers in putting up insulation, drywall, and then mudding.  I have had the chance to meet multiple homeowners who always express their utmost appreciation and are so willing to share their stories.  As much as we are helping them, they have directly impacted my life.  It has truly been a unique experience.  With all of the work we are doing, there is so much that still needs to be done. Progress is made with volunteers and donations.  Below is the link for their website if you want to check out the St. Bernard Project.  

http://www.stbernardproject.org/

     SBP holds events throughout the year.  Two that Badger 5 was able to take part in were The Nuns Build and Women's Build!  Nuns from across the country came for the week to volunteer.  These women, all over the age of 60, came to help in any way possible.  They also hope to leverage more volunteers when they go back home.  We just finished with Women's Build this past week.  This is where teams of women across the country come down for as many days possible in the week and help with the rebuilding process.  Men are welcome, too, of course.  It is just a way to encourage women to get out and rebuild as well!  I met so many amazing women of all ages this past week.  If home this upcoming year, I am looking into possibly putting a team of people together for next year to come down to NOLA and participate.  If you are interested then let me know.

We are already half way done with this round.  I have three more weeks here and then a final week back at Perry Point.  It is all coming to and end so fast and I am still trying to figure out my plans for after AmeriCorps.  One thing I am sure about is how much I've missed everyone and can't wait to catch up on what others have been doing this past year.  

Team Mansion

Since Badgers 1, 5, and 6 participated in the Summer of Service project this summer, we were off track with the rest of the AmeriCorps' schedule.  To get back on track for round 4 we had a few mini projects.  One project involved helping Greater D.C. Cares with their Service Projects for 9/11 National Service Day.  We put kits of supplies and tools together for each of the projects and then we all split up to lead the different projects.  There was a big variety of projects.  In the morning Emma, Eric, Joe, and I went to a school where beautification needed to be done.  We lead volunteers in planting, weeding, and just making the area look nice.  In the afternoon Emma and I went to work with DC Scores.  This is a nonprofit that interested me right away.  It incorporates sports (soccer specifically!), creative expression, writing, service learning, and teamwork to provide youth in urban areas an after-school alternative.  The kids commit to literacy workshops every other day.  On the other days they have soccer practices and develop leadership skills.  DC Scores is a branch of America Scores.  There are currently 14 cities affiliated with this program.  It was a great day where we had the chance to work with the kids and understand more about what the program is about.  Below is a video of the team doing their cheer, which they made all of us learn.  Though, it's easy to say I think they do it best : ) check it out.  (u might see this on Real World DC at some point because the cast happened to be working at this event, too. haha)  Though I am happy with the work that was done in this week, I wish that I had taken a little more time for myself to reflect on the day.  I think it is still a struggle to really take in what happened that day and what people have been going through since then.  I encourage everyone to remember to take time and reflect on what it means to you.

The following week we mixed and split up our three teams again.  The firefighters were a team and then the rest of us were split into two teams.  Zach took over my team, now known as TEAM MANSION, while Tyler went with the other team (known lovingly to us as team weedwack.)  This was such a fun week.  We were in Virginia at the Mason Neck State Park.  We called ourselves team mansion because of our amazing housing in the state park which looked out in the water and had eagles flying all around us.  This state park is also known to be an eagle reservation.  While we helped to rebuild their trail and the trail steps, they provided us with some education about the area.  Zach was particularly good at spotting the seagulls.... not so much the eagles though.  So many funny moments in such a short time span.  This was a great time and the team that has this project long term in the future is lucky.

San Diego!

Beth and I decided that for our vacation we would head out to San Diego.  We stayed with Chris, who is on our other favorite team Badger 6.  We also spent a few days with my friends Jeremy and Kim (who are now engaged apparently. congrats!!!!). The whole week was such a nice break from a CRAZY (and HOT) summer.  I revisited a few places that I went to last year and also scoped out a few new spots, such as the Wave House by the beach.  I don't remember what beach it was near, but they had this wave simulation machine where people try to surf while others laugh when they wipe out.  We stuck to just watching and laughing.  It was cool to see some really good surfers go up and do flips.  There was the most amazing sunset while we were at this place.  It's not hard to see why people like living there...

Chris's family was kind enough to let us stay with them.  We made a few stops for delicious tacos and Carne Asada.  We also went to the Stone Brewery, which I suggest for anyone heading that way.  We were also able to hit up the Wild Animal Park because Chris's grandmother gave us passes.  It was a great day for going to the park.  We were able to see the cheetahs being fed, which you can catch in the video I added.  The lions, like the one in this picture, were beautiful.  The weather was so nice out there!  

Goodbye D.C.

We finished our last week in D.C. with our Summer of Service participants. Unfortunately I became so sick my last week that I was unable to attend any of the days. It was upsetting missing the last day where all of my team was crying and saying goodbye. I think it hit everyone that we won't be together every day anymore. My team called me and gave me cards saying goobye. It was real nice. Nicole has a video from the last day. Once I get the video from Nicole I will post it on here. It's great. This picture to the left is of NCCC after we finished loading all the 12 govy vans in the middle of a thunderstorm. We were all so happy to be packing up and heading back to the Point.

Once in Perry Point, we had a BBQ to celebrate the completion of our project and our survival through all the hard times. We prepared for our Debriefing presentation and then left for break. I am now on break and in San Diego writing this to you! Beth and I are spending some time at Chris's house. It has been a relaxing and, most importantly, non sweaty time so far. I'll be meeting up with some UNH friends as well. I am ending my vacation in Boston and will be home for the long weekend. Hopefully I will see some people in that short time! I can't believe that I am more than half way done with AmeriCorps....I don't want to think about it. I am having too great of an experience to think of that.

Operation Military Kids Camp

Nicole and I went to the Natural History Museum with our crew members.  This was a chance to show them what their city has to offer that is fun, educational, and free.  They seemed to have a great time.  Missy mentioned how she wanted to bring her niece sometime, while Rees'e told us how this is her favorite museum.  She is the crazy one with her head in the Dinosaur's mouth.  It was a great time for our team.  This Summer of Service program is coming to an end faster than I expected.  

We finished our time in the 4-H office working on projects to prepare for the Operation Military Kids Camp.  Last week was the OMK camp.  It was great to see our crew members take on the leadership roles and responsibility required for their job.  They have all made progress this summer with continuing to develop different skills.  They all had a good time with the kids this week.  It was a sad last day for all of us even though we only spent 4 days with these campers.  It was clear that our crew members were impacted by the work they have done this summer, especially this past week.  Below is Angel with her campers at Ft. McHenry.

At the end, they asked 4-H staff if they could volunteer for 4-H in the future.  The staff was pleased about their enthusiasm and agreed.  I knew that this summer was going to be a challenging experience, especially since the main age group I am used to supervising has been the elementary age.  My hope for SOS was that by this time, the end of the summer, I have developed relationships with each of my crew members and that I have a better perspective of myself as a leader.  It feels good to finally be at that place.

This week coming up is our last week with Summer of Service. This brings many mixed emotions of relief that we are done with this long journey, sadness that I am leaving these kids who have impacted me in more ways than they realize, and excitement for what is to come in the future.

Playground Build

Our AmeriCorps teams have come together the past week for a mini project.  This was a playground build for Savoy elementary School.  Some teams were at the build all week, building the playground from the ground up.  My team had the chance to join everyone at the end of the week.  It was great to see the progress that was made.  The weather has been getting hotter each week here in D.C., reaching in the 100s.  I miss the Boston weather!  I will never say it is humid again when in New England.  The crew members of my team, though hot and tired, enjoyed that we were doing something that directly benefited their community.  

Kat, Erik, and I worked on building a bridge and also the ceiling below steps.  The ceiling isn't something anyone will ever really notice or see, but it was still a good feeling when we finished.  That's why we danced on it with our steel toes.

                   It felt good to be out in the sun working construction again.  We haven't had a project like this since New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity.  I missed it!!  Most of the day was spent supervising the crew members, making sure that they had work to do and were safely working.  I enjoyed being handed projects to complete, such as the ones with Kat and Erik.  Even in the heat, it was still a good time.  The best part is knowing that we were building something that will hopefully benefit the children in the community.

Nats Games!

Since being in D.C. we had the chance to attend a few Nats baseball games.  The most entertaining part of these games is probably the running race between the presidents in between two of the innings.  This is where four people are dressed as different presidents, with giant sized heads, and run a race around the field.  Abe Lincoln won the first time, but unfortunately tripped over his own feet at the second game and that lost him the race.  

In this pic, Beth and I are enjoying the 5 dollar seats at the game.  I couldn't believe that seats were available at such a small cost.  We had actual seats and cup holders..wowwww.  It costs more at Fenway to purchase a standing room only ticket!!  But Fenway is still Fenway.  It was fun to see a different ball park, though it was definitely missing that old time feeling of Fenway that we all love.

Beth was one of three Nats fans that were chosen for the "Biggest Fan" competition.  She was on the big screen for a good five minutes cheering and dancing. It was amazing and we all know that she only lost due to the fact that her competition was some little boy.  Damn kids win everything. I wish i had a video of her amazing Nats fan performance.

Rave at the Memorials

Erik's birthday was August 2nd.  It was possibly the best night since being here in D.C.  After dinner we all met up at the monuments and walked around.  When we got to the Lincoln Memorial there was this girl protesting in favor of Michael Vick, writing messages at the memorial with glow sticks.  None of us really understand why, but thanks to her we received endless amounts of glow sticks and were able to have a rave dance party next to the reflecting pool.  We also wrote a happy birthday message to Erik with them.  We continued to take crazy pictures with the glow sticks when one of them looked like Jordan was blowing up the Washington Monument.  That picture is below. 

SEEDS FOR EL HATILLO

Hey everyone! Below is a message from my friend Danielle Costanza.  She is a good friend of my from UNH.  She recently entered the Peace Corps and sent this request via Facebook.  I figured that I would copy it and pass the message along to anyone I know.  i know help is needed in many places and in many ways, but I figured I could at least pass the message along to those who may be able to help out!

-Colleen

Hola! Greetings from Nicaragua,


I am writing this letter in hopes of acquiring some financial support for the small town of
El Hatillo, Telica, Leon. This will soon be my new home for the next two years, during my
time here in Nicaragua as a Peace Corp volunteer. I recently had the pleasure of visiting this remote northern village and meeting my future family and Nicaraguan counterpart. The community received me with open arms, and they are very hospitable and hard working people.


Delever Jose’ Juarez Machado, my counterpart with whom I will be coordinating projects, is a graduate of the University of Managua, with a specialty in seed engineering. He has worked in the fields all his life with his father, and is very knowledgeable and organized. We have brainstormed many options as to how to raise the standard of living in El Hatillo.
The most decisive and appropriate way would be to improve and increase farm production. The mission of the Peace Corp volunteer is to assist the town in initiating and maintaining improvements that are sustainable. There are no financial resources here to jump start this project which we have named, “Seeds for El Hatillo.” 


Delver and I would like to purchase the appropriate fertilizers and seeds ( fertilizantes nigtrogenados fertilizantes compeletos y semillas adaptadas) that are necessary for the planting grounds in order to yield an abundant harvest. The community will be brainstorming
their own ways of raising money for this cause, but the hard fact is that money is scarce and difficult to obtain.


Life is hard here and the poverty is heartwrenching. People do not have even the most basic needs. There is malnutrition among the children as well as the adults. Some families subsist on only one meal a day. The town does not have electricity, or a road that vehicles can travel on. People must walk or ride a bicycle (if they have one) to go to the next village.
Delver and I would like to address some of these problems by trying to elevate the state of nutrition, availability of food, and provide a source of income by planting crops. We anticipate we need about $ 400 to $ 500 to get started on this project, but the people of El Hatillo would be grateful for any donation no matter how small. Our goal would be to purchase the seeds and fertilizer by September in time for this year’s planting. However, realistically speaking, we see this as an ongoing project and we will use the resources for the following planting year if we can not meet this September time frame.


Please join us in solidarity with our friends in Nicaragua. Please give the people of El Hatillo an opportunity to help themselves and a chance to transform a barren earth into a garden of hope for the future. 


Donations or checks will be placed in a special bank account (Seeds for El Hatillo) at Meredith Village Bank. 


Checks can be made to ;
Danielle Costanza: Seeds for El Hatillo


Mailing address: Danielle Costanza
c/o Sara Costanza
PO Box 1048

Moultonborough, New Hampshire

03254



“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted;”
Ecclesiastics 3:2


Thank you for your generous giving and understanding. Please keep the people of El Hatillo in your prayers and in your thoughts. Thank you for all your letters, packages, well wishes throughout my training period. Your support has helped me immensely.


Peace and Love to you All, 
Danielle Costanza PC
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz

I want all of you to go and read Jay's recent post about our time in D.C. (feel free to read on after that as well. He is a great writer, especially compared to my amateur style.) Jay is from Boston, too. (jay is laughing at this sentence right now. did i mention i am a great writer?) We met day one of our AmeriCorps travels on the plane ride to Perry Point. Little did we know that our two teams would be spending most of our AmeriCorps year together. Below is the link to his blog. CHECK IT OUT : )

http://jay-americorps.blogspot.com/


Last Friday our teams were all involved in preparing for a free event called Street Soccer US Cup. There are teams from across the country that play 4 v. 4 matches all weekend. This is a program that works to help fight homelessness. Each soccer team is made up of men and women who are, or were at one point, homeless.

"Join this team, change your life." This is what SSUS offers to people in 16 cities across the country. It is a chance for personal development through participating in a sport and other opportunities the program offers. I think this was a great experience meeting these strong individuals, especially for our summer of service participants.

Next week is the Operation Military Kids Camp. All of my participants are looking forward to working with kids again. I can't believe we only have 2 1/2 weeks left of Summer of Service. These 9 weeks went by faster than expected. Our 10 months is almost up. SO STRANGE. I knew it was going to go by fast, but I wasn't expecting it to be this fast.

4-H Camp

We just finished up with the 4-H camp last week.  It was, as usual, sad to say goodbye to the kids that I will probably not see ever again.  It seemed as though they had a lot of fun, though.  My workers this week mentioned how they also miss the kids.  Below is my worker Missy with one of our campers.

We are now working in the 4-H office for two weeks.  We are preparing for the Military kids camp.  In a few weeks we will be working with kids who have family in the military.  Some of the activities at the camp will be focused on giving the kids an idea of what it is their parents are doing.  I don't have alot of information about that project, but more will come once we know.

This has been a great week of work so far. I have already seen some changes in the work ethic of my participants.  It's definitely been a long way to get to this point in the summer, but I'm excited for the second half and where we will be at the end of the summer.  

~check out my past posts for pictures! (finally!) I added some to past entries~

Martin Family in D.C.

It was great to see the family in D.C.   We checked out some of the sites together such as the Jefferson Memorial and the Arlington Cemetery.  Leanne wanted to hold the Washington Monument in the palm of her hand.  It was definitely a typical Martin family trip, full of chaos and LOVVVVVEEEEE. : ) really, though. I missed you guys and it was great to see you.  I tried crab cakes for the first time!  So did Nyxanna (go Nikki!).  Crabs in Maryland is apparently like lobster in Maine.  So I suggest to try them if you ever come down this way.

In D.C. for the 4th!

Happy 4th of July weekend!!! I missed the festivities at home (i heard left right center went well). but it is definitely a great experience being at the capitol for this holiday. We watched the fireworks seated right next to the reflecting pool. We could see the capitol and the washington monument right below the fireworks. Emma's aunt and uncle were kind enough to have us at their house for a cookout and then drove us to the fireworks sight. It was nice to still have that cookout and family thing while we are away. Her aunt Mary even made a flag cake with blueberries and strawberries. I know we've had those before... haha. it was an all around great time.

My computer is unfortunately not up and running so I am writing whenever i get the chance. That makes it hard to get pictures up as well because I can't really save them anywhere. Hopefully I can put some up soon.


The last time I posted was during transition. We are now at D.C. for the Summer of Service program. This works with the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), which is the mayor of D.C.'s initiative to provide a job to all D.C. youth ages 14-21 that want a job. Our job in this is to be the crew leaders of the workers. Serve D.C. is an organization that helps with this program. They hired NCCC people to lead their workers. Joe and I are co-crew leaders for a team of around 10 crew members. Each team is doing a different project. Some are planting community gardens outside the local rec centers, some are tutoring children. Right now, Joe and I are leading our team in a project that works with a 4-H club. The students of this club are ages 6-14. Our crew members are 16 and 17. These first two weeks have mostly been about getting to know each other and such. It has already had some challenging moments, but overall I am excited to hopefully see progress in our crew members in the next 9 weeks.



(THANKS JAY FOR HELPING ME FIND THE PICTURE BUTTON!!!)

Transition time

We were in a Vermont newspaper! the article is here... check it out. it will tell a lil more about what we were doing in Vermont.

http://www.denpubs.com/Articles-c-2009-06-02-59709.113116-sub_AmeriCorps_planting_trees_in_Rutland_County.html

I am now back at Perry Point and getting ready for D.C. We are doing a bunch of trainings before working with kids ages 14-17 that are employeed by the Summer of Service program. The three teams doing this project are now on a different schedule than the rest of the Corps. We have a different summer break. Ours will be for two weeks at the end of the summer, so i booked a flight to San Diego with Beth and we are staying at Chris's house and hostels. it should be a fun time. The tickets were so cheap we couldn't pass that one up.

The three teams that are working together all got switched around. They decided to pair us up with other team members. So I now have a temporary new team for two months. AmeriCorps is crazy. We are still wondering about housing because it is up in the air and we leave on Wednesday. My team may just be living out of a govy van. or at Beth's parents' house in D.C. for two months. Maybe we will get permission to camp out on the white house lawn....who knows. Our sponsors did mention that there will probably be VIPs that work with us because this project is a huge thing for the city. They casually dropped that the president may have shown interest, as well as a bunch of other people. So that's exciting. Joe is my co-crew leader. We will have 10 crew members. Our project will involve working with young kids. More about this project once we actually know what's going on. Other teams have projects such as gardening and beautification of different areas of D.C. All we know is that this is the first year of them trying this out and it is going to be insane and chaotic. I can't wait.

This past weekend we went to what is known as the "Hon Fest." It is a festival in Baltimore where people dress up like they are in the 50s. It feels like u just walked onto the set of a John Waters film. They actually have a place at the fest

 where u can pay to get your hair in a beehive! So Chloe and I decided we needed to go do this. Doug drove us and he dresses like a greaser on a daily basis, so this was a perfect festival for him. There were many amusing moments from this day. We were scouted and asked to partake in a photo shoot, Doug was hit on by this crazy older woman who bought him beer all day, Chloe and I were asked to assist with the Maryland Lottery on stage (which aired live and no one saw it unfortunately!), and were were constantly being asked by strangers if they could take our picture. Basically we were famous for a day. It was great!

No Service in Vermont!

I have no phone service ever. I am online maybe once a week. I LOVE Vermont. it really is beautiful and is definitely a nice place to visit. I could never live here though. It has been a great time so far. I am surprised that I actually enjoy an environmental project given the fact that I hate bugs. The tree planting has been fun and the people we work with are great. We are living in the

 middle of nowhere. We do have a campfire pit though, which i love. alot. This picture above is of us planting the native trees of Vermont.  Below is of Beth, Tawna and I on E's farm.  She is an amazing woman who allowed us to spend a weekend camping on her farm.  We also helped her on the farm all weekend.  She uses a new way of gardening called lasagna growing.  It's called this because of all the layering, like a lasagna.  You can use this kind of gardening anywhere.  Gardens could even be built on concrete using the Lasagna style.  Her farm was probably the most beautiful place we went to in Vermont.  

I AM COMING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 5TH!!!! if anyone is around let me know! i still don't have everyone's numbers. Limited time on the computer right now. Can't wait to see everyone when i get back!

Vermont on Monday!

So my two weeks in transition is almost up and my team is heading to Hubbardton, Vermont! It is close to Rutland, which is apparently the 2nd largest city in Vermont. So for those of u who have some free time and want to maybe meet up, LET ME KNOW!!!! i know some people have mentioned it so i hope to see u. I need phone numbers since i had to get a new phone. ehhh. SOOO CALL ME!

Hey Christine, good luck with your interview in Randolph! that's so crazy. I am actually surprised they even still have a program right now. good to know they didn't cut it. Amal must like the idea of u in her hometown : ) can't wait to get back and see u!


Transition has been crazy. it's kind of funny considering i think a lot of us though that it would be more of a small break to re-energize before our next project. but it was actually a ton more work. Still loving this experience... and i can't wait to plant trees and remove the invasive species known as garlic mustard in vermont. woohoooo. should be a great time. After three weeks we will head to D.C. for the summer and then i will have a big fall break of two weeks.

Tomorrow some of us are doing an ISP in Baltimore for Moveable Feast. I'm excited but i hope i can find some time to pack for monday. Today is my housemate Seven's bday. She just turned 19. the younging of the house.

i hope everything is going well at home. miss u guys.

Last day of work.

 

Yesterday was our last day at the Musician's Village. Above is a picture with most of the HFH crew we worked with. I was surprisingly very sad about leaving. Didn't realize it until we were saying bye to everyone. It was kind of a weird goodbye because i know that i most likely will not see any of these people ever again. I guess I don't like that thought because they were all really great people. 

 

On Friday we went to this amazing ice cream place called Creole Creamery (look it up if u are ever down here. SO GOOD! crazy flavors.) and Drew, one of my teammates, attempted the ice cream challenge of eating this 8 scoop, 8 toppings, and much more sundae thing. it was in a giant bowl. pictures will be up eventually. unfortunately he couldn't complete the challenge and almost threw up. great end of the week! Quote from Drew " I might need to go to the hospital after this."  Only it wasn't from the ice cream. Apparently he got a splinter in his eye earlier that day from building the sheds.  Beth and I completed siding the house we were working on together for two weeks!  Below is a pic of it.

We have an Ultimate Frisbee rematch against Badger 6's team in a half hour so i need to go get my game face on. cuz i am so intimidating on the field. Leaving NOLA on Tuesday morning. Heading for transition week in Maryland and then taking off to Vermont for three weeks!! After Vermont we will be in D.C. for the summer!! should be a good time. I'll explain more of that later. FRISBEE TIME : )

we ended up playing soccer instead.  we won 2-1 : ) Here is Badger 5

I WANT A HOT SHOWER!!!

ok i am gross. and i am admitting it to everyone right now. i need a shower and there is no way in hell i am taking a freezing cold shower. the joys of communal living at Camp Hope. it's been a few days. yes. days. i know ur saying ew colleen u are disgusting but, hey, atleast i am admitting this. plus that's kind of the norm when u are living here haha. ( i did buy some of those cleansing cloths, though, Lee. hahahaha)

Now that i have officially grossed u all out about my showering habits this past week.... coming off off from break has been so hard. it's been a long week at work. though, the thought of leaving in 3 weeks makes me very sad. NOLA is amazing and i could seriously consider living down here for some time. There is a program called Teach NOLA i would like to look into. Habitat has, overall, been a great experience. Today Beth and I led a group of volunteers in siding a house. For me this was a lil stressful just because i totally feel out of my element, faking the whole time that i know what i am doing when with the volunteers. haha. the "teaching" aspect is great, but i just feel i need a few more classes on "how to build a house" before i teach this stuff. co-supervising with Beth definitely helped, though. we could bounce ideas off each other. i miss roofing. SIDING IS RIDICULOUS. it will never be perfect i have learned. and if u are off even an 8th it will make a huge difference in the long run. learned that as well. ok enough about siding.

The lack of pictures is due to a lack of camera now. the picture i put up of preparing meals was back in Baltimore before we left. We were working with this nonprofit called Moveable Feast. This is a program set up for people and their families who are limited because of severe illnesses, low income and high health care costs due to HIV/AIDS. This is a rising issue especially in Baltimore. Something I wasn't really aware of until looking into this organization.

hey mom, "changing the world one bulb at a time." u made me laugh. thank u for that.

ok well i have lovely PT at 5:30 am before work tomorrow. so i should probably get to bed. from that statement u would THINK i am in great shape since being here. open container laws when out on the weekends have proven otherwise..... : ) good night!

Below is a video of my room at Camp Hope (i am inserting this after i have already left NOLA):

this is a long one...

Hey everyone!! so if u have been trying to get in touch with me at all and think i am avoiding u cuz i never answer my phone....that is not the case (well, except for u ash. i am just not answering your calls. JUUUUST KIIIDDDING!) my phone officially drowned in the wash the other day. I'm hoping to have a new one soon. By the way, A. Mary the Verizon store employee was very open about those track phones. She told me to go and buy one and explained the procedure. i didn't even have to ask about it. This is nice considering my alternative is pay 1-200 dollars. yuck. Sooo in due time, i will hopefully get to a walmart or something.

The past two nights my my team and another team (badger 6, which makes us Badger 11 together.) watched the documentary When the Levees Broke. i suggest people watch it. This is an eye opener. I really think every person can come out with a new piece of information after watching it. It's 4 hours, split in a4 acts, so get some popcorn and plan some bathroom breaks. or just split days watching it like we did. Since Watching this documentary was a great reminder of why I am here. and why this area is still in desperate need of help and support. Sometimes u lose sight of this when the focus everyday is on construction. it becomes more about the focus of the siding and roofing, etc. This video provides different perspectives of the disaster and it's effects on NOLA. There is honestly so much I was not aware of until now. I have SUCH a better understanding now from being here, from listening to others, and from this documentary.

As a team we are required to also participate in Service Learning. I may have explained this in an previous post. Beth and I run this aspect of the project for our team. We have organized some opportunities for the team to have a better understanding of what the communities here are struggling with. We're holding weekly meetings and discuss a new theme every week. the team came up with some stuff we wanted to look more into and so we created themes based on those issues or ideas. Housing, unemployment, gentrification, culture and history, etc., of NOLA. These meetings are bringing up some good discussions. It's been hard to find time and find a place to hold a complete meeting without distractions, though, since we are living at Camp Hope (an old middle school that was converted into a volunteer communal living place.)

Saturdays are great days when working with Habitat for Humanity. This is when many of the people who are buying homes through Habitat are able to put in some sweat equity. Since many of them work full time jobs, it is a challenge for them to find time to complete their 350 required hours of sweat equity. These hours that the volunteers put in are basically the downpayment of their house. It is great to work side by side with the house owners and get to know their story. During lunch time there are usually residents playing music in the area as well. That is an AWESOME benefit to working in the Musician's Village.

I have met some amazing people. We are welcomed so greatly by residents of New Orleans. Wherever we go in uniform, there is always someone saying thank you to us for being here. Oh and the PoBoys are sooooo good!!! hamburger one, or a fried shrimp. dressed (apparently that means with lettuce, tomato, etc. "the works.") Tried a LITTLE bite of a crawfish pie. not my thing yet. i think it could eventually be good. alot of people love it down here though! it's like a small version of lobster i guess. The meat pies are tastey though! mmm, oh and SnoBalls! my team has a small addiction to those. they are like a mix of a slushie and snow cone. but better than both of those. and u can get them stuffed! with ice cream. mmmmm. they have never ending flavors and little stands randomly throughout the area. unfortunately it's cash only and u know how often i carry cash on me. OKAY so now that i went on a shpeeel about food.... OH WAIT!!! THAT JUST REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING AWESOME!! this is a long message. i have so much to write about. Bored yet? ar u seriously still reading right now? Oh just Mom is.... yeah i figured. it's ok i understand. : )

PROJECT GREENLIGHT. Look into this as well!! We have to complete 80 hours of ISPs. (individual service projects) We find non-profits that interest us and volunteer our time on our days off to work for them. There are so many opporunities here in NOLA for ISPs. Festivals are a favorite ( like Jazz Fest coming up!!!). So Project Greenlight involves installing energy efficient lighting into houses and to educate people on how much they are saving with money, electricity, and what they can do to reduce carbon and other toxic emissions. Our job was to deliver this message and install the bulbs for a bunch of houses in the area. HANDS DOWN the best ISP we have done. We were able to meet some residents, spend some time with them in their homes, help them out, and at our first stop we even got fed!! haha.... seriously though. u guys know how i LOVE to try new things. haha hey Dioli's guess what, i tried something new down here. Sweet potato pie! This wonderful lady gave us each a little pie and chili dogs. i don't usually like sweet potatoes. this was so good. we were all raving about it days after. and here i am, still talking about it. The woman was so thankful at the last house we went to. She kept telling us how much she appreciates our help and that god will bless each of us when we have our own families. She hugged us all and was just so happy to have us there. Just an all around great experience.

Tomorrow is our last day of work until next Tuesday! We have a mini Spring Break!! and we all need it so bad. My team decided to get some cheap hotel rooms right in the French Quarter. Right now at Camp Hope we are about a half hour away from there. It will be fun to just be right by Frenchmen St. and such. We won't have to worry about what time to be in by or who is driving our van. u know, the important things in life. haha.... And on that note, i need to go pack since we are leaving right from work tomorrow!!! OHHH and i have a fun show to see tomorrow! RATATAT at the House of Blues!!! there are a few of us going to that show. it should be fun. MISS U ALL AND LOVE U! call me and if i don't answer then leave me messages!!! i really miss talking to people! when i get my phone i will be sure to make a better effort than i did this past month. : ) oh and if u email me or leave me ur address somewhere then maybe u will get a postcard ; )

life in NOLA

OKAY so i have been real bad about writing on this blog site recently. It has just been soooo busy. Lots to do and in our free time we sleep. Not complaining though. Living down here is great and I wish we could stay longer than the 2 months. We had today off from work because of a crazy work schedule this week.

We also had saturday off. That was one of the best days down here. We usually work Saturdays. It was a gorgeous day, we bought snowballs (this really good slushy/snowcone type thing....but better. and u can get them filled with ice cream. so good! and there goes my plan of getting in better shape...), and we went to the Crawfish festival at night! they even had some of those wonderfully creaky old carnival rides. reminded me of the Quincy Carvnial haha. There were crawfish races at this festival. People choose a crawfish that has a number on its back. then they bang the table to try and get the crawfish closer to them.... it's a lil odd. but hysterical and fun to watch. I am writing this late at night and should be in bed. sorry if this makes no sense! There are alot of festivals down here, all with delicious food.

There is a whole bunch of stuff going on! i just can't write about 

it now because i am falling asleep. Oh 3 of my team members got tattoos today. that was memorable. and no DAD it wasn't me. yet. : ) they each got a fleur de lis symbol.  

lets seeeeee, what else is new. OHHH, how about that this past week was depressing because i officially have taken on Leanne's role of losing things.

Here is my list this past week.... AmeriCorps sweatshirt (that i wear all the time), my favorite green necklace (the blown glass one from UNH. i am SO MAD), Digital camera (with all my pics thus far. this is why u haven't seen much.), my sunglasses (yup. the aviator ones i fell in love with and didn't care how much they were.), and my water bottle (which isn't a big deal, just something else to add to the growing list).

i had to vent about that. i am a little upset with myself and i am hoping those things turn up. i think someone stole my camera instead of turning it in to the front office at Camp Hope because I went back to where I left it and it was gone. ohhh well. That's communal living for ya. i really should go to bed now!

Badger 5 van rides

I just found this video the other day and it made me smile.  This is what happens on our van rides.  Billy Joel songs have become, along with many other songs, Badger 5 anthems for the year. 

 

in NOLA!

I don't know where to begin because so much has happened over this past week. It feels like months since we left Perry Point, MD. It was really only a week ago. haha. My team is living at Camp Hope in St.Bernard Parish. It's basically a middle school that was turned into a housing facility for volunteers and people serving like americorps nccc. I think this week coming is the largest group of volunteers, reaching around 1,000 living here. 40 of us are living co-ed bunk style. We share a room with 3 other AmeriCorps teams. two of the teams are from the sacramento, CA campus. it's cool to meet other campuses. The showers are nice and cold everyday and the food is always an adventure. This month is a huge spring break time for colleges which is why it is so crowded here right now. and will be for a few more weeks.

Given all that.... it's been AMAZING! We are working with Habitat for Humanity

in the Musician's village. if u don't know habitat, look it up. it's a great non-profit. i will prob explain more later but i am so so tired right now. It took us 2 10 hr days to drive here. Unfortunately i was sick from the day we left until now. Luckily, I am finally recovering! Camp Hope is probably not the best place to be sick in. I will definitely update again soon. It has been a crazy week. Hopefully everything will settle down a lil bit.

New Orleans has so many great things to see and there is always something new around every corner. the people here are all so interesting as well. it's just a great place to be. Though there is still soooo much that needs to be recovered. It's sad when Habitat, a non-profit, is the leading means of construction and re-building in the area. and that is over any profit based companies as well. I need to get some sleep, but it has been great so far. Roofing a house was a highlight from last week. i enjoyed it. So Dad if u ever need some help roofing anything... : ) love u all. miss u and talk to u soon hopefully!

New housemate!

Oh yeah, and i got another roomate about a week or two ago! forgot to mention that. Her name is Seven. yes, like the number. Just thought i would add that. There are now 8 of us in the house! and 5 of us are going to New Orleans! the others have cool projects in other places. We had our presentation today. it went well. and i just remembered i need to go finish an assignment for something. 

Above is a picture of everyone in our house.  Chloe also joined our house a few weeks after i made this post.  Now we have a full and crazy house. We are in our formals because this was at our official AmeriCorps Induction Ceremony. 

badger 5

This past week and weekend has been real crazy. We went on a mini spike for three days. this was to get an idea of what the spike trips are like and working together as a team. though it's kind of silly cuz 3 of our team members weren't there. one was at chain saw training and the other two were at fire fighter training. The rest of us went to a Girl Scout campsite that needed our help with lots of clearing of brush and logs. basically lots of manual labor. it was fun! and i got to ride the gator! (not EXACTLY a tractor A. Annie. its more of a mini dump truck hahaa but it was fun). wicked tiring but a good time. When we got back we had a TON of paperwork and power point presentation stuff to do.

There are 8 of us and a team leader on my team. we are called Badger 5. there are 3 units 

and all are named after animals; badger, raven, and wolf. then there are 6 teams in each unit.   My team consists of.... ( i do this stuff mainly for my own benefit later, i know many of u find this to be boring info haha) Tyler is our TL from Florida, Erik from Jersey (with family in the quincy area! and his mom is from dorchester! craaaazy), Andrew from Iowa, Tawna from Montana, Jordan from Minnesota, Julie from boston/brooklyn, and two of my roomates Beth from Maryland and Julie from Ohio. we are an interesting dynamic. we have a good time.

This weekend kind of frustrated me though. Lots of written work and it seemed to take forever. it is hard coordinating 9 people to put a slide presentation together. and other stuff as well. Oh well, my head will hopefully be cleared tomorrow after the presentation.  It's probably because I am getting sick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE I KNOW THAT HAS HAD A BDAY RECENTLY! there are many of u, including my own sistah! i didnt forget about any of u! it is just impossible to find a quiet and isolated time to call anyone. I will get better at that.

If anyone has been to New Orleans and has suggestions of things to see then let me know!!!! it's going to be such a fun (and ridiculously long) van ride down. If there is anything i missed let me know! i'm getting some sweet music since being here. it's nice. okay i am exhausted! miss u all! i looked up my house on goodle maps the other day. made me say awwww i miss it. oh and i can't BELIEVE uncle mike made the pasta?! whaaaaat. of course when i am gone.