10.14.2010

I've arrived!After months of filling out the application, waiting to hear if I was selected, then waiting to hear which campus I would be stationed at and then waiting for the eventual departure date, I finally stepped off the plane in Denver, CO to report for my 10 month assignment with AmeriCorps NCCC.I was so excited and nervous all at the same time; kind of like getting on a roller coaster. You're so pumped to do it and then all the waiting in line gives you time to psych yourself out. And then the minutes sitting in the seat with the harness strapped on before it actually starts moving are the worst.

But the good news is that everyone I've met is SO NICE!And so CHEERFUL, especially my roommate! She reminds me of Kathryn Knaus actually - what up girl!Not only is she bubbly and super sweet, but she's afraid of scary movies and loves Frisbee.It's very comforting to be living with her.

So far all my expectations about the program have either been met or been exceeded, which is honestly more than I ever thought I would say about the government.Our dorm rooms are old but have great amenities like a closet for each person and an in-room sink and medicine cabinet.Our team leaders are laid back, warm and open.Everyone is positions of authority is organized but not anal.The schedule is packed but not unreasonable.The uniforms aren't fashionable but not atrocious.I can handle this!

However, there are a few things I have to get used to:

• Caring about whether or not the blinds are open when I'm getting dressed…at home I'm surrounded by trees and they don't blush when take off my clothes
• Wearing cargo pants - whoever invented the button fly is a jack ass
• Hearing "I hope there's a disaster while we're in NCCC!"…what?!
• The cafeteria food.The only thing that makes me think I'm in prison.

·

Oooh something exciting - Somehow I have already gotten myself elected chairperson of an independent service project (we need 80 ISP hours in addition to regular NCCC work).All I did was stay behind after a meeting to ask for more information about volunteering at the Denver Children's Museum on Halloween and before I knew it I was getting a call from the Team Leader to ask if I could head the entire project, not only Halloween night but every Sunday during training!This may have something to do with me apologizing for bothering her about the details so much in advance because I "like to be organized" and saying that I was interested in getting a good chunk of my service hours out of the way before we left Denver.And we just had a nice conversation.So now I'm in charge. And we all know I kind of love being in charge.Great!

10.16.2010

These last few days have been all about Kevin, our Unit Leader (UL).He has been here since Class 1 (we're now in Class 17) and he says that qualifies him as "part of the furniture."While he tends to be the bearer of bad/boring news in the form of rules and regulations, I was secretly soooo glad to see him on the first day.

"Thank God, an adult!"

There aren't many, that's for sure.Unless you count all of us corps members as adults…Maybe in age, but certainly not in level of "I know what the heck I'm doing."

Yesterday we went over campus standards i.e. don't smoke, drink, have sex, or do anything stupid that might get you or the organization, or the U.S. government for that matter, a bad reputation.Big take away was: "Stupidity has a gravitational pull.Don't let peer pressure be a factor in your life."

Today was all about driver safety for the 15 passenger vans that we'll be driving to and from our project sites. Obviously there was a big emphasis on seatbelts and checking blind spots.And this was all followed by a 5 hour on-the-road test where we rotated drivers to practice everything we had learned.Big take away was: "I'd rather call your mother and tell her you're coming home because you couldn't follow the rules rather than call her to tell her we have to plant a roadside cross with your name on it."

As morbid as that sounds though, it really emphasized how important our "cargo" is and the practice session ended up being awesome!You know I love big trucks and vans seem to be no exception!Especially on curvy mountain roads!I got the portion coming down from Buffalo Bill's grave, into a small town, through a narrow valley and out again into a canyon on our way to Red Rocks Amphitheatre.The instructor said he could tell I had experience and had demonstrated perfect technique for the smoothest ride he's had all day.And we had even been relaxed enough to talk about skiing the whole time!

I plan to continue the exploring tomorrow on our day off with a foray into downtown Denver for the city marathon.Word is that there will live bands playing in the streets and other sorts of vendors to make it an entertaining day.The nice thing is that there are only about 300 of us on campus and we all just mix and mingle so there is bound to be a good handful going in the same direction.I'll report back soon, hopefully with more pictures!