So River 10 arried in Virginia last week on Sunday around 4. We drove 17 hours to get to Great Falls Virginia to work for Living Classrooms of the Nations Capitol Region. This sponsor is unbelievable. The classrooms are learning by doing based. There are three different sections of the classrooms, site based, school based, and shipboard. The last section has two ships that the organization uses to have classes go on field trips to learn about sea life. The other parts of the organization are used essentially for science field trips. The concept of the whole organization is awesome. Sunday when we arrived, we saw our lodge, which is perfect. We have 2 fire pits, a fire place, no internet and no TV. Perfect for me since I love everything it offers. We met Annie, who lives on site wtih us in her own home. We got aquainted in our rooms and made a nice fire, or what was supposed to be nice fire, outside.
Monday and Tuesday were orientation days for the classrooms. We met the entire staff and got oriented on the organization and what they offer. It was nice to meet the staff since we will primarily be working only with our housing and not in classrooms. We got to learn what each staff member does and how they run their respective parts of the LC-NCR. Monday was ended with our team climbing the rockwall that we have in our backyard so we could see what the kids have to go through. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday we got to visit all 3 sites and we got the best lunch ever. I got an unreal sandwich which I ate in probably 3 seconds. It was fun to see a field trip take place at the site based program site. The kids were hilarious. Makes me miss subbing!
Wednesday and Thursday we got down to business. One of our major parts of this project is dealing with debris from the Drecho that hit Virginia in June. This is just basically, not just but thats the word I chose, it is basically a large wind storm that knocks trees down and creates a pleuthora of debris everywhere. And when I say pleuthora, I mean a lot. We collected 1,000+ pounds in these two days. We were dead Thursday night and we all have bruises to prove it.
Friday we got to participate in Debris Day that LC-NCR hosts for a local elementary school. Each of us were in charge of a group of kids to help collect trash and recycling from Kingman Island where site based work takes place. The day was fun and we got to interact with children who were energetic and loving picking up trash, go figure. You can convince kids to do anything!
This project sounded awesome to us UNTIL good ol Sandy started to climb up the coast. NOW we are currently in Albany, New York on disaster relief deployment! Yes, New York, not in our region and 3 hours from home. I can smell Massachusetts from here...anyway...we are working with Red Cross running shelters in the state of New York. Today was just our orientation day and we literally just got to the hotel an hour ago. We started our drive from Virginia at 4:30 this morning drove from Virginia, touched several states along the way and we are just finishing the day now. My team consists of Lannise, Terrell, and myself and we are placed in Fonda, New York. I googled it, 3 hours and 40something minutes from 10 Thomas...hint hint...
We will be running a disaster shelter for people of this part of NY and for the first at least 4 days of the storm it is a 24 hour a day operation for us. Lots of sleepless nights and lots of red bull slash coffee. I am ready. I am really excited to be doing this and to be in this part of the country, the best part of course.
Our team hasn't had a day off since Friday the 19th. We are working on about 4 hours of sleep right now and I am ready to take on the next 3 weeks of disaster deployment. Keep River 10 and River 8, the other team with us, in your thoughts! Actually, keep all my AmeriCorps friends in your thoughts, we are all doing a lot to get things done in whatever way shape or form that may be!
Thats all from the concrete jungle (or at least close to it). I am sure that the next few weeks will confirm for me that the smalles thing really can sure make all the difference.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Fall break and what not
Hello y'all! Since the last time I posted, I have done some fun traveling not involving work at all what so ever! Last week was our 10 day fall break. For the first half of break I stayed on campus in Vicksburg. I was with Sam and Tiffany so we pretty much did nothing. I slept everyday until 11 and watched movies every night. On Thursday the three of us woke up nice and early, hit up Enterprise, packed the little whip, and hit the road to Nashville! A nice little 7 hour road trip with two of the best friends ever. Awesome trip.
We arrive in Nashville at about 3:30-4ish where we got to meet Tiff's friend from home who we named Mo for the weekend. And shortly after we got to the sweet digs at the Ramada Inn, Jill came! Finally I got to see my best friend for the first time since August. Couldn't have been any happier than I was, UNTILLLL MaryKathryn came and brought Rachel with her! All in one weekend I was with my 3 best friends from AmeriCorps, my sister, and my best friend from home, PLUS we all made one more friend that weekend. Pretty solid crew. It was awesome how quickly we all became a little group of friends and clicked all weekend.
Allow me to give you some high lights of our weekend...
Thursday night I turned 24 at midnight, so we broke out the party hats that Mom sent, obviously. We gave one to the singer of the band and he sang me a great country version of Happy Birthday. Ringing in a new year of life. Three Nashville Predators were at the bar, one being Shea Webber. They are not friendly at all what so ever, but very nice on the eyes. It was nice to look at them, but not talk. Pretty successful night.
Friday was my actual birthday...we woke up and found a Dunkin' Donuts...after an HOUR of searching. Thanks to MK, Rachel, and Jill having conflicting GPS's on their "smart" phones it took a little bit of time. We lounged then hit Broadway Street to do some walking around and listening to some live music. It was a perfect day. We all went back to get ready to go to dinner. We went to a place called the Big River Brewery. My lord it was delicious. I got Mac 'n Chicken, my mouth just watered typing that. This meal along with some nice brewery beer was the best way to kick off the night. After that we went to a few bars, but ended up at Big Shotz, what became the greatest bar. Sam told the band it was my birthday so I got called on stage. The singer asked me what I wanted to hear them play and I said anything country. They came up with one of my FAVORITE country songs, Wagon Wheel. I was singing right along when he nudged me toward an open microphone. Yes, I sang live with the band, solo a couple of times, which obviously I have the voice of an angel, so it went really well. A literal cowboy pulled me off stage to "two-step" with me. He had a cowboy hat on, tucked in plaid shirt, and cowboy boots. He talked me through the steps, spinning me, and me spinning him. It was magical. Pretty much the highlight of my weekend. This was literally the best birthday I have ever had.
Saturday the whole crew went to do some site seeing, country style. We went to the Grand Ole Opry and took pictures outside since it costs $$$ to get inside. Saw my girl Carrie's picture everywhere, so it was a great success. We visited the hotel near there which was MASSIVE, and where I will me getting married someday, hypothetically speaking I get married. The day was great, wore my plaid shirt and fit right in. Saturday was our last night to go out and with the help of social media, we found out that Kellie Pickler was playing a show at the Hard Rock. We immediately went down and waited in line. It was a breast cancer awareness concert so we purchased pink bandanas at a near by store. We took a picture and I Tweeted it to her. Guess what happened?! She quoted the Tweet and responded to me! I am famous. People came up to us in line and asked if we were the girls with the bandanas...NO BIG DEAL. The concert was a bust and the Hard Rock sucks, so we left. We eventually went back to the bars and enjoyed ourselves, me a little too much.
Sunday I woke up with the dark to drive MK to the airport. I couldn't be happier that she came to spend my birthday with me. It was actually the first time it was MK and my friends, not me with hers and it was a lot of fun. She fit right in and provided a lot of entertainment for all of us. Her spending my birthday with me was the best present ever. We had to be out of the hotel by 12 so we packed up, drove Jill to stay another night and hit the road. Jill and MK, the dynamic duo the two of them are, were the BEST boost for the next 2 months of this program. I felt like I was missing home and they provided the little taste I needed. Our drive was long, but bed was great that night.
This past week was crazy. Getting things ready for Virginia. Unfortunately, we found out Jamie is leaving us. Tuesday she told us she got a real person job at home and was leaving the amerilife and our little family, River 10. I am going to miss her a lot since she was one of the best teammates anyone could ask for. Our dynamic will be a little different when we start our project without Jamie there, but we couldn't be more proud of her for the job she got and how successful she is going to be.
Our team takes off tomorrow to drive 17 hours and 40 mins to Great Falls, Virginia. I am really excited about the project and I can't wait to get started on 4th round. I can NOT believe it is 4th round already. It seems like yesterday I got in the 15p for the first time in February to come to Vicksburg. Fastest 10 months ever. I am excited to spend time with my team and enjoy being a family for one last round. It is hard to believe the next time we come back to Vicksburg it will be graduation week. Time is flying by.
That's all from me. I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peak of my birthday vacation! Thank you to all who sent me cards, gifts, etc for my birthday! Nicest surprises out there! Mail is the best gift anytime of year, especially around your birthday. Until next time!
We arrive in Nashville at about 3:30-4ish where we got to meet Tiff's friend from home who we named Mo for the weekend. And shortly after we got to the sweet digs at the Ramada Inn, Jill came! Finally I got to see my best friend for the first time since August. Couldn't have been any happier than I was, UNTILLLL MaryKathryn came and brought Rachel with her! All in one weekend I was with my 3 best friends from AmeriCorps, my sister, and my best friend from home, PLUS we all made one more friend that weekend. Pretty solid crew. It was awesome how quickly we all became a little group of friends and clicked all weekend.
Allow me to give you some high lights of our weekend...
Thursday night I turned 24 at midnight, so we broke out the party hats that Mom sent, obviously. We gave one to the singer of the band and he sang me a great country version of Happy Birthday. Ringing in a new year of life. Three Nashville Predators were at the bar, one being Shea Webber. They are not friendly at all what so ever, but very nice on the eyes. It was nice to look at them, but not talk. Pretty successful night.
Friday was my actual birthday...we woke up and found a Dunkin' Donuts...after an HOUR of searching. Thanks to MK, Rachel, and Jill having conflicting GPS's on their "smart" phones it took a little bit of time. We lounged then hit Broadway Street to do some walking around and listening to some live music. It was a perfect day. We all went back to get ready to go to dinner. We went to a place called the Big River Brewery. My lord it was delicious. I got Mac 'n Chicken, my mouth just watered typing that. This meal along with some nice brewery beer was the best way to kick off the night. After that we went to a few bars, but ended up at Big Shotz, what became the greatest bar. Sam told the band it was my birthday so I got called on stage. The singer asked me what I wanted to hear them play and I said anything country. They came up with one of my FAVORITE country songs, Wagon Wheel. I was singing right along when he nudged me toward an open microphone. Yes, I sang live with the band, solo a couple of times, which obviously I have the voice of an angel, so it went really well. A literal cowboy pulled me off stage to "two-step" with me. He had a cowboy hat on, tucked in plaid shirt, and cowboy boots. He talked me through the steps, spinning me, and me spinning him. It was magical. Pretty much the highlight of my weekend. This was literally the best birthday I have ever had.
 |
| The crew at the Grand Ole Opry. |
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| Very proud of my social media shout out |
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| Me and MK |
Our team takes off tomorrow to drive 17 hours and 40 mins to Great Falls, Virginia. I am really excited about the project and I can't wait to get started on 4th round. I can NOT believe it is 4th round already. It seems like yesterday I got in the 15p for the first time in February to come to Vicksburg. Fastest 10 months ever. I am excited to spend time with my team and enjoy being a family for one last round. It is hard to believe the next time we come back to Vicksburg it will be graduation week. Time is flying by.
That's all from me. I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peak of my birthday vacation! Thank you to all who sent me cards, gifts, etc for my birthday! Nicest surprises out there! Mail is the best gift anytime of year, especially around your birthday. Until next time!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
I have fallen in love with a city.
Hello readers. It has been almost 2 weeks since I posted last and that is because I have been prrrrrrretty busy. I am sure y'all are real upset about that...anyway...last week in NOLA.
The last week in New Orleans was pretty crazy. Monday we went to a home to muck and gut it and when we got there it was literally a poopy mess. There was legitimate poop on the ground. It was the worst home we have been in so far. We had to wear the tyvek suits again to sweat all day. Well for me and David, we didn't have to sweat all day. He left his chargers for his electronics everything at the distribution center so I got nominated to drive him to get his things. This conveniently came at the right time since we ran into our first HUGE snake in the garage. It was probably tiny, but in my afraid of snakes mind, it was massive. David and I got more than lost and it took all day to retrieve his things. We ended up taking a ferry to get from one side of the Parish to the other. Really weird. But all in all the day was full of driving. Kind of the theme of the week..
Tuesday was the best day I had in New Orleans by far. Sam, Rachel, Margaret and I decided to take a personal day/life after AmeriCorps day. We decided the week before that there will never be a time where the 4 of us are together in a fun city again. We took full advantage of that and took the day to relax and go downtown and shop/hang out. The day started with beignets, per usual. Again, they were delicious. We then walked around and did some shopping/found a place with cheap beer. After the one beer we found the world's best nachos and margaritas. Kind of the perfect combination. Once we finished that mess of food, we ventured to Frenchman Street to the French Market. Then we went to Magazine Street to go to the Defend New Orleans store. Really cool t-shirt store where I made my first and only purchase. I wear the shirt loud and proud. Apparently it is Taco Tuesday at a local place on Magazine, so the 4 of us plus Sam's friends who live in NOLA came to eat with us. Such good tacos. Honestly, this day was what I needed to really bring to light that I definitely love the city. I am actually in love with it. Maybe I will be heading down there sooner than I think.
Wednesday we woke up to a wonderful surprise; 5 slashed tires! How nice of someone! Not only did our team's van need to be in the shop for almost a week because of hitting a ladder on the highway, but now our truck had a flat. The other 2 teams vans had their tires slashed, our truck, and a truck of the non-profit that ran the housing we stayed at. Due to the tires needing to be fixed immediately, Sam and I had to stay back and drive cars around. So, much like Monday, I drove the entire day Wednesday. Here, an hour there, back to the work site, back to the housing, back to work, it was a lot. But what can you do. Just some sick people in the world. Anyway, I got to watch Modern Family and The Middle premiers that night, which was a laugh that was needed big time. That night I actually finished book #3 on the year! I am really proud of myself for what may seem like a little accomplishment, but if you know me, you know how hard it has been for me to read. Thanks to Kara for the great book! Looking for #4 for the fourth spike, any suggestions are welcome.
Thursday was our last day of work. We finished the home the team had been working on all week. I am glad we finished it and got to help this family with one of three homes they own. Thursday afternoon was spent packing until we had a service learning 3 hours with our sponsor, Jim. He lives in New Orleans and was here when Katrina hit. He took us around to the places in NOLA where Katrina hit the hardest. We saw the levees that broke and saw where they were rebuilt. It was amazing to see some parts of the city still not fixed from the hurricane. It was a real eye opener for me. Our team got to see the homes that Brad Pitt helped build. Kind of cool homes. It just made me really want to move to this awesome city. Hearing stories from a NOLA native really made me realize that the sense of community in this city is unlike any other city I have ever seen. It is amazing what people have gone through together. I love the sense of pride in homes and sense of pride in the entire city itself. I just have fallen in love New Orleans.
Friday was our travel day back to Vicksburg. Best part about it was, we used our travel money on PANERA. It has been since February that I have had a bacon turkey bravo. I was so happy. Since we got back to campus last Friday, my life has been stressful and a whirlwind of a week. Everything worked out positively for me, but I am taking full advantage of the weekend I am having currently. Yesterday I did an ISP with some people staying on campus for break. We got to go to "Happy Day" at the intermediate elementary school in town. This school is pre-K-3 and has 720 students. Each student is given a certain number of tokens to earn so they can enjoy a day outside doing fun events. It helps them practice positive behavior. It was a really cool concept. I got to play with these kids all day and sing and dance to Justin Bieber and One Direction with them. It was the best day I have had in a long time.
This week helped me realize that I joined the program for the right reasons and I am so lucky to have met the group of friends that I have here. I honestly have some people in my life here that will be in my life forever. I am on a team that was a team to begin the 10 months together and now we are a family. It is amazing how well we get along and how much we all love each other. My group of friends are the most supportive people of each other that I have ever met. We are all here for the same reasons and I would probably not complete the program without them.
Today is day 2 of fall break in Vicksburg. I am going to get a lot of job research done before Thursday when Sam, Tiffany and I get into a car and drive 7 hours to Nashville to meet Rachel for our little AmeriCorps vacation! I can't wait. Jill is flying down for the whole long weekend vacation and MaryKathryn decided spur of the moment to come join. I need that little taste of home for a few days and I couldn't be happier to introduce them to my friends from AmeriCorps. The south better get ready for the Conceison sisters taking over!
A lot of positives to look forward to for me, round 4 in Virginia with my family River 10, and my BIRTHDAY NEXT FRIDAY in a city I've always wanted to visit, and a new beginning at home in December! I need this kind of excitement in my life right now!
That's it for now, I hope everyone is doing well in the fall weather I miss so much. It will be weird not celebrating my birthday at home, but I am sure MK will fill that void for me. Can't wait to see everyone in 2 short months!
I am going to strategically place my address here... :)
Christine Conceison
AmeriCorps NCCC
2715 Confederate Ave.
Vicksburg, MS 39180
The last week in New Orleans was pretty crazy. Monday we went to a home to muck and gut it and when we got there it was literally a poopy mess. There was legitimate poop on the ground. It was the worst home we have been in so far. We had to wear the tyvek suits again to sweat all day. Well for me and David, we didn't have to sweat all day. He left his chargers for his electronics everything at the distribution center so I got nominated to drive him to get his things. This conveniently came at the right time since we ran into our first HUGE snake in the garage. It was probably tiny, but in my afraid of snakes mind, it was massive. David and I got more than lost and it took all day to retrieve his things. We ended up taking a ferry to get from one side of the Parish to the other. Really weird. But all in all the day was full of driving. Kind of the theme of the week..
Tuesday was the best day I had in New Orleans by far. Sam, Rachel, Margaret and I decided to take a personal day/life after AmeriCorps day. We decided the week before that there will never be a time where the 4 of us are together in a fun city again. We took full advantage of that and took the day to relax and go downtown and shop/hang out. The day started with beignets, per usual. Again, they were delicious. We then walked around and did some shopping/found a place with cheap beer. After the one beer we found the world's best nachos and margaritas. Kind of the perfect combination. Once we finished that mess of food, we ventured to Frenchman Street to the French Market. Then we went to Magazine Street to go to the Defend New Orleans store. Really cool t-shirt store where I made my first and only purchase. I wear the shirt loud and proud. Apparently it is Taco Tuesday at a local place on Magazine, so the 4 of us plus Sam's friends who live in NOLA came to eat with us. Such good tacos. Honestly, this day was what I needed to really bring to light that I definitely love the city. I am actually in love with it. Maybe I will be heading down there sooner than I think.
Wednesday we woke up to a wonderful surprise; 5 slashed tires! How nice of someone! Not only did our team's van need to be in the shop for almost a week because of hitting a ladder on the highway, but now our truck had a flat. The other 2 teams vans had their tires slashed, our truck, and a truck of the non-profit that ran the housing we stayed at. Due to the tires needing to be fixed immediately, Sam and I had to stay back and drive cars around. So, much like Monday, I drove the entire day Wednesday. Here, an hour there, back to the work site, back to the housing, back to work, it was a lot. But what can you do. Just some sick people in the world. Anyway, I got to watch Modern Family and The Middle premiers that night, which was a laugh that was needed big time. That night I actually finished book #3 on the year! I am really proud of myself for what may seem like a little accomplishment, but if you know me, you know how hard it has been for me to read. Thanks to Kara for the great book! Looking for #4 for the fourth spike, any suggestions are welcome.
Thursday was our last day of work. We finished the home the team had been working on all week. I am glad we finished it and got to help this family with one of three homes they own. Thursday afternoon was spent packing until we had a service learning 3 hours with our sponsor, Jim. He lives in New Orleans and was here when Katrina hit. He took us around to the places in NOLA where Katrina hit the hardest. We saw the levees that broke and saw where they were rebuilt. It was amazing to see some parts of the city still not fixed from the hurricane. It was a real eye opener for me. Our team got to see the homes that Brad Pitt helped build. Kind of cool homes. It just made me really want to move to this awesome city. Hearing stories from a NOLA native really made me realize that the sense of community in this city is unlike any other city I have ever seen. It is amazing what people have gone through together. I love the sense of pride in homes and sense of pride in the entire city itself. I just have fallen in love New Orleans.
Friday was our travel day back to Vicksburg. Best part about it was, we used our travel money on PANERA. It has been since February that I have had a bacon turkey bravo. I was so happy. Since we got back to campus last Friday, my life has been stressful and a whirlwind of a week. Everything worked out positively for me, but I am taking full advantage of the weekend I am having currently. Yesterday I did an ISP with some people staying on campus for break. We got to go to "Happy Day" at the intermediate elementary school in town. This school is pre-K-3 and has 720 students. Each student is given a certain number of tokens to earn so they can enjoy a day outside doing fun events. It helps them practice positive behavior. It was a really cool concept. I got to play with these kids all day and sing and dance to Justin Bieber and One Direction with them. It was the best day I have had in a long time.
This week helped me realize that I joined the program for the right reasons and I am so lucky to have met the group of friends that I have here. I honestly have some people in my life here that will be in my life forever. I am on a team that was a team to begin the 10 months together and now we are a family. It is amazing how well we get along and how much we all love each other. My group of friends are the most supportive people of each other that I have ever met. We are all here for the same reasons and I would probably not complete the program without them.
Today is day 2 of fall break in Vicksburg. I am going to get a lot of job research done before Thursday when Sam, Tiffany and I get into a car and drive 7 hours to Nashville to meet Rachel for our little AmeriCorps vacation! I can't wait. Jill is flying down for the whole long weekend vacation and MaryKathryn decided spur of the moment to come join. I need that little taste of home for a few days and I couldn't be happier to introduce them to my friends from AmeriCorps. The south better get ready for the Conceison sisters taking over!
A lot of positives to look forward to for me, round 4 in Virginia with my family River 10, and my BIRTHDAY NEXT FRIDAY in a city I've always wanted to visit, and a new beginning at home in December! I need this kind of excitement in my life right now!
That's it for now, I hope everyone is doing well in the fall weather I miss so much. It will be weird not celebrating my birthday at home, but I am sure MK will fill that void for me. Can't wait to see everyone in 2 short months!
I am going to strategically place my address here... :)
Christine Conceison
AmeriCorps NCCC
2715 Confederate Ave.
Vicksburg, MS 39180
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