I need more than one "thankful feather..."

It is hard to believe it is Thanksgiving week and how fast this year is actually flying by.  Last year during this week, I was stationed in New York helping survivors of Hurricane Sandy in shelters.  This year, my life has changed significantly, and honestly, I am still so happy.  Now having lived in New Orleans for 7 months now, I am apart of the rebuild process.  This time around I am a site supervisor of volunteers that come in and out of the city weekly or sometimes daily to volunteer with our organization.  I got out of training in about the end of October and we started to be site supervisors of our own houses.  I have had the opportunity to work with a few different groups of volunteers so far on one particular house and these volunteers have changed my life. 

SBP sporadically gets a volunteer who I now like to think of as the SBP town crier.  Carl P Lewis is his name and he comes from Boulder Colorado.  He is an adult who has high functioning Asperger's Syndrome.  He worked with me for the past 2 weeks doing any task I asked of him.  His fixation with his disability is transportation...boy does he know his stuff.  He told me that he has visited Boston before on a stop coming from Maine, with a layover in Atlanta that took him to Denver DIA airport on an American Airways flight.  I had him doing tasks with me all week that had me working closely with him and I really got to know Carl pretty well.  He loves holding hands and getting to know others, too.  Carl reminded me how much I love people and how much I love getting to know the stories of people.  I can't wait for him to come back and visit my sites because as he calls me, "Christy, my friend," will be waiting for his return!

Last week was "Nuns Build."  This particular week was amazing for me.  My house I work at was sent 22 Nuns from all over the country, most were Sisters of Charity.  We were on the Drywall stage of construction so these nuns, ages 26-81 were lifting 12ft sheets of drywall upstairs, holding it high on ceilings, walls, and using drills to screw the pieces into walls.  They were amazing.  One of the nuns, Sister Theresa, was from Dorchester.  She was a little spitfire, no taller than 5'2.  She had the "Medfa" accent and worked in my BAAAA-thrum all week.  She gave me the most sarcastic remarks to my teachings and anything I had to say.  All of the sisters as a whole were literally unreal.  Before this week with my volunteers, I was feeling very unconfident in my knowledge and skill set.  After a week with these amazing women, I knew I was doing okay.  I would explain an idea or a skill to them and I would get an standing ovation at the end of my demonstration, now that gave me some hope.  On Friday, their last day, to start the morning they had Lauren, my co-worker, and I go in the front of the house.  They took some drywall home with them the night before.  They gave each of us a piece of it with the square of drywall outlined in beads from Bourbon Street (yes they can drink and go out, AND they DID).  This piece of drywall had their picture on it with the saying "Nun as Fun as Nuns build 2013."  As they were giving it to us they were singing an Latin Hymn and honestly I lost it in the front yard.  Having had a great 2 weeks with carl and then these fantastic ladies hit me hard and made me realize how happy and thankful I am to be doing the work I am doing.

The nuns+ Carl

With that being said, and given that it is Thanksgiving week, I am thankful for...

My family and our traditions...lately I have been talking to my friends here and other people about traditions.  The traditions we started as young kids with our parents are something I am so happy we have and I can talk about.  Not coming home for Thanksgiving this year made me really think about traditions we have.  One of the best- the bread on the table.  This is the first major holiday I am missing ever so I have put some thought into our traditions.  I am lucky to be raised in a family surrounded by deep tradition.  That stems from our solid upbringing, which makes me thankful for my parents.  They have taught the 5 of us that true love exists and can last, that family always comes first, and that if you want something, work hard and you will get it.  I am lucky to have the C parents allowing me to blaze my own trail.  They always put their 5 children first and make sure we all know they care, even from 1,500 miles away.  I am always thankful for Momma and Daddy-z Conceison.

My siblings...all 4 of my siblings are different in their own way.  Bobby is the silent (sometimes) leader of us all.  He leads by example and paves the way for us all to do good. (yes good, not well) MaryKathryn is our fun, spirited teacher.  She teaches all of us about everything.  She makes me laugh constantly and is the ideal older sister role model.  Paul is the fearless Axel. He does his own thing and is very independent. He has goals that I admire and is a great older sibling for Bridget. Then there is Bridgie, the life of the party.  She can light up a room with her smile, she is curious, and most of all she is caring.  Bridget cares about people in a way that most 11 year olds cant even comprehend.  She is our rock and always will be.  I don't think she knows how important she is to so many people, especially me. I am thankful for my siblings everyday...especially when they send me a little extra love $$

Casey Joseph Walsh Conceison...the cutest, most lovable Godson on the planet.  Almost daily I get a picture sent to me of Casey from Kara and everyday he gets more adorable.  What Casey doesn't know that his little face sometimes is the best part of my day.  The day he was born I felt a sense of responsibility for this little guy and I am more than happy to be his Godmother.  Coming home in October was a priority to meet this little stud and be able to be at his Christening.  I hope he knows i will be at his important events, just like his mother was right there front row at all of mine (minus one). I am really thankful for this little guy and to see him again at Christmas!

Rachel and Margaret...It is safe to say that without these 2, I would be pretty lost.  The three of us talked last year as our NCCC term was coming to a close about moving to New Orleans together.  The 2 of them made it a reality, and honestly, my case of FOMO was out of control.  I found myself a job and now we are happily living together in a great place (maybe) where we laugh, cry, snuggle, eat (a lot), and do just about everything together.  There aren't any2 other friends who have made an immediate impact on my life and there aren't any 2 people who understand the ups and downs of the life we are living quite like they do.  I am so lucky to have them in my life.  They bring me happiness, make bad days good, support my every move even when they know they shouldn't, a reeses fastbreak when we go grocery shopping, and some of the best memories of this city I have had so far.  I am more than thankful to have 2 best friends in this city with me.

New friends...starting a job in August brought on a whole group of new friends.  AmeriCorps is a beautiful program in that way.  There were 6 of us that trained on a house that we built together from start to finish.  I learned so much about these people and it is safe to say they are some of my best friends in this city.  I have never laughed so hard as I did for the 6 weeks we were all together working as hard as we did on our house.  These people in a short time have changed me for the better and I am really thankful for them this thanksgiving.

Second chances at things in life that are worth it...distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? I am more than thankful for the fact that two people can remain happy with one another after realizing what is really important in a relationship.  I am happy to have such a solid rock, maybe too far away, but still there enough with a caring loving attitude. Hey, if Joe can put up with my crazy as much as he has, something is going well.

Friends old and new...I've met a ton of people in New Orleans in the past 7 months, and i have remained close to friends at home.  I have had visitors, phone calls, and random presents sent to me that all mean more than words can say.  I am lucky for all I have in my life, but friendship is very important to me.  All friendship, old and new, is one big thing I am thankful for.

My life...it may seem weird to say, but I am so thankful for the life I am living.  Turning 25 for me was a little shocking.  I didn't really know what to make of it. I was reading an article online one day and it kind of hit me.  At 25 I've done more than I thought I would have ever done, I am the happiest I have ever been, and I am at a place in my life where I know I am supposed to be.  My age is just an age and I am happy I am where I am.  I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for everything I am thankful for this year.  I am volunteering for some of the most incredible home owners, I have traveled the country more than I ever thought I could, and I am living independently in an unbelievable city.  I feel very lucky this year on a holiday I love.  My turkey feather would be out of control!

This Thanksgiving is going to be different for me, but I am starting new traditions on my own.  I will be with awesome friends eating great food.  It wont be 10 Thomas, but it will be close as I am bringing cranberry sauce and squash, thanks to Dad.  I wont forget to put the cranberry sauce out, at least one Conceison has to remember.  I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving wherever you are.  Save me a seat at the kitchen table, in front of the onion dip, and a piece of chocolate cream pie for dessert! Ill be thinking of my family on Thursday hopefully winning the football game and enjoying Elf after dinner.  Little tradition to uphold even though I'm not home :) Love you all! Gobble Gobble

All Kinds of Kinds

It has been quite some time since I have even logged into this account never mind even typed a single word.  I decided to take this blog on a little bit of a ride instead of solely updating about my life.  To start, I have since left my job with one non-profit organization and joined another, St. Bernard Project.  This organization is rebuilding homes for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Yes, as of tomorrow 8 years later, rebuilding New Orleans.  I have fallen completely in love with this city.  I knew coming down here that I loved everything about New Orleans, the culture, the people, the food, the music, and the overall love each person also has for the city.  Never did I think after 4 almost 5 months living here that I would love it more. I have met some of the most incredible people since I moved down.  People from all over the country come here to serve with the same ideas and purpose in life as I have.  I know now that I am a lot happier in the job department of my life.  I was missing something since I moved here and started a job that involved me sitting behind a computer, we all know how well I do not interacting with people, so there's that.

I started at my new job almost two weeks ago, and honestly, I am so happy.  The organization has been rebuilding homes for individuals who lost theirs from the hurricane since 2006.  Now, 8 years later, they have completed 500 homes, as of TONIGHT.  Rachel became the site supervisor of the 500th house of the organization about a  month ago.  She knew the deadline for the home to be done was tomorrow, the 8th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  The family who the home was rebuilt for are 4 of the most incredible people I have ever met.  The two kids in the home are being raised by their superhero grandparents.  I have learned so much from all of them, especially little Quinnton.  This 8 year old with a love for the world around him is one of the most life changing little boys ever.  I got to meet him about two weeks ago, and I instantly fell in love.  He is so curious about the world around him and told Rachel, Margaret, and myself that he doesn't care what his room looks like, he just wants somewhere to sleep...and to watch animal planet.  Since I moved down here to a city that my two best friends happened to be living in, we don't really do anything alone.  Needless to say, we were at this house working until, sometimes, the wee hours of the morning, just so this family has somewhere to finally "eight years too long" as one family member said, call home.  Everyday we had Vanessa come check on us to make sure we were okay, and to share a few stories about anything going on that she cared to share, which we loved hearing.  The Ross family has changed my life forever.  Their home was the first home I worked on with SBP and it will be a thing I honestly will never forget.  Each time a home is completed, our organization puts together a welcome home party for the family.  This one is the #500 home and it is going to be kiiiiind of a big deal.  I am really excited to see the faces of the kids when they go into the home and to experience what it is like to see a family come home from something the rest of our country views as something that is totally fixed. I am more than happy to have helped out on this house and more than proud of the job Rachel did leading the way the entire time.  This family is lucky to have someone as dedicated as she is to her job be in charge of leading the force on this home.

That being said, one thing I have really learned in the last almost 5 months being here is that, "to keep the world spinning it takes all kinds of kinds."  All Kinds of Kinds is a song by none other than Miranda Lambert (genius) that got me thinking, and gets me thinking every time I hear it.  She then created a music video that has people holding signs that say what "kind" of person they are and it got me thinking.  How does this song relate to my life you ask? Over the past 5 months I have had ups and I've had downs.  Ultimately, I have learned so much about who I am and who I want to be and quite honestly, who I want to share that journey with.  I have met some of the most amazing people, all who are EXTREMELY different than I am.  Everyone has their own story. In turn, everyone is their own kind of person.  I was trying to identify myself with a certain "kind of kind" but  trying to do this, I have discovered that my kind is an accepting kind.  Before the last 2 years, I haven't thought of anything outside of my bubble of where I came from.  Now, I couldn't picture my life without the different kinds of people I have met.  Those people, whether friends, coworkers, or the Ross family, have shaped me and molded me into who I am today; the happiest and most accepting me I have ever been.  If everyone I associate with here hasn't dropped me, the crazy person I've always been, like a bad habit yet, I must be doing something right!

Just a little review...in April I came down here to work for one non-profit.  I have a great relationship with my supervisors still which is awesome.  I love everything that organization stands for, I just ultimately had to do what was best for me, which involved getting a new job.  For the month of June until the beginning of July, Joe came to visit! He rented this sweet apartment close to where I live and work.  I got to show him around the city, he got to meet my friends, and I got to share my life down here with someone who now can understand what I am constantly talking about.  One fast month for sure! I started my new job 2 weeks ago and I haven't been this happy in a LONG time.  September brings a few friends coming to visit for a bit.  Then October, MK is coming to see me on my birthday again! Pretty exciting stuff coming up. As for this long weekend, I have never wanted to sleep, drink beer, and relax more than I have in the last 2 weeks.  Now that the house is done and our new little family is home, the three of us can relax, which we are looking forward to!

That's all I have for now. Keep the people of New Orleans and the Ross family in your thoughts tomorrow, and always! Thanks for reading!

My new life

So here I am week 3 into living in New Orleans.  Still haven't decided the route I am going to take for this year's blog, but I will figure it out.  Let's rewind to getting here almost 3 weeks ago...

I got here on Thursday the 11th.  Nice and easy travel day for me which was great.  Had a reunion of all reunions with Rachel and Margaret.  I still can't believe that the three of us are actually living in the same city kind of like we planned last year.  It may have taken longer for it to sink in for Margaret than it did for me since she did tackle me the second she got home and kept reminding me where I was...I didn't hate it, still don't.  I had nothing to do all weekend, but enjoy being in New Orleans during French Quarter Fest, meeting all of their awesome friends who kept reminding me that I LIVE here now, and trying to prepare for a week in Denver.  That brings me to Monday the 15th...

Marathon Monday for me has always been one of my favorite days with my family.  I remember growing up each year we packed the station wagon/green van/silver van full of coolers with subs from Burlington Cold Cut, cokes, water, the terrible radio so we could hear the start of the Marathon and sox updates. We would go with what seemed like a million people we knew and their kids clapping all day and screaming out whatever was on each runners shirts going by.  Standing at mile 17 each year, across from the oriental rug place, rollerblading behind buildings with Jill, Paul, ad Joey usually every year, trying to beat the runner across the street.  As we got older, I started to remember the people we all knew running by us, occasionally mom and dad jumping in to run with their friends, or even seeing Mom pass us running her first Marathon.  Now, making new traditions with my friends from home going into the Fenway area and enjoying the day with them.  These are the kinds of days I remember as Marathon Monday, until this one.  I got off the plane in Denver to read tweets about praying for Boston and getting texts from friends across the country asking me if my family was okay.  Immediately I checked the news, that is when I heard about the bombing.  Never in a million years would I think something like this could happen to this city on a day where the entire city is out on the streets enjoying an event that people all over the world tune in to.  This day was now filled with making sure my family was alright and that everyone I knew from home was safe.  Thankfully everyone is, but still being so far away, this feeling was uneasy for me.  Hearing stories about some of the people we know being minutes from the bombing, some people not finishing the marathon, and fear among the city made it hard to focus on what I was about to embark on.  That is how I felt the whole week following this event.  All I wanted was to be in Burlington with my family watching the news instead of a hotel room in Denver watching CNN with people who didn't really understand what was going on.  I spent a lot of time with Nick who I met who is from Boston and he actually went to Bridgewater himself.  We updated each other all week on what we were hearing and kind of stuck together to make sure we were okay.  Kind of the comfort we both needed.  This one day could never take away the memories from Marathon Monday growing up as a kid, but it has changed my view on my city for sure.  Watching Rene Rancourt give up his spot light we all know he loves to have the Garden sing the National Anthem was probably the highlight of the week for me.  I cried like a baby watching on my air mattress as the videos got quickly uploaded, and nobody will ever understand what this whole event means to our city besides people from Boston.  I am so proud of my upbringing, my accent, being rough and tough around the edges (not really) because of where I am from, but most of all I am proud to say the Marathon is one of the best family traditions we have.  Someday I will run the 26.2 miles and run by mile 17 with the memories we made and the same feelings I have now knowing those Monday's were some of the best ways to start April vacation ever.

With that being said, moving on to Pre Service Orientation in Denver.  This week was filled with learning about our roles as AmeriCorps VISTA's for the year.  I learned a lot about poverty in the United States and how as a VISTA we will be living at the poverty level of the city our organization is in.  No big deal, nothing I can't handle.  Basically we were separated into class rooms all day learning different things, I learned a lot, but most of all I made some new connections.  I met some aw3esome people in the 5 days 4 nights I spent in Denver.  We explored the city a bit, saw Coors Field right next to a sweet bar we found, drank a Coors Light in Denver, and enjoyed getting to know each other as like minded people about to start a year doing similar work.  Side note...the Rockies game was cancelled one day while we were there because of snow.  Never heard that one before, but God damn it was cold so I get it.  After this one week, I knew that choosing to come here and do another year of service was definitely the right choice.

When I got back to New Orleans I didn't do much all weekend.  Monday started my first day of work SINCE DECEMBER.  Did I miss working or what?  Monday and Tuesday were used to meet the people of the office I will be working in, getting to know my supervisor, and learning more about what I will be doing.  So...what I will be doing...this year for me is primarily recruiting volunteers.  I work closely with Johnny, he was a VISTA 2 years ago in my position and now is the front man of my position.  He brought me to the different facilities that Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans serves.  I met a whole bunch of people and honestly, I remember like 2 names.  But this year there are different events already set up that I have to recruit some volunteers for.  I was at my desk everyday this week doing research on different VOA's in America so I could see what our organization offers as a whole.  Pretty interesting stuff if I do say so myself.  There are already a few events I need to create volunteer recruitment material for, but that is next weeks work.  One major highlight from this week, amongst a lot of them, was Friday.  Not only was it Friday, but Johnny, Caitlin (my other supervisor who is actually from Marshfield, MA) went to the Hilton downtown to see where we will be hosting an event in early June.  The representative from the hotel took us to the room we are utilizing, toured our area, then treated us to lunch.  Again, food was my highlight.  We went to a seafood place, my mouth watered the second we got there.  She asked if I had tried oysters yet since I moved, and since I said no, she ordered a dozen.  I absolutely loved them.  She ordered those, Fleur de Lis shrimp which was unreal, and I got a catfish po boy.  I was pretty New Orleans all afternoon.  I thought I would never eat again after that. 

This weekend was veeeeeeeeery relaxing.  Friday night I made some pizza for the three of us.  We ate, sat on the couch hysterically laughing and eating Ben and Jerry's, and were in bed by 11.  Perfect Friday night.  Saturday Rachel and I got up early to go to the beach with one of her friends she works with.  The beach was quite a drive, but it was an adventure to say the least.  We packed basically a 7 course meal for the beach, laid out all day, went in the WARM water (Gulf of Mexico), I stepped on a fish and since I am afraid of fish it was traumatizing, and obviously since it is me I got FRIED.  I am currently the color of a Maine Lobster.  I will be tan in a few days so it is fine, but lesson learned, the sun is stronger here.  I should have known.  Last night we did a bit of the same, laid around and went to bed EARLY.  Today is another relaxing day for me doing a whole lot of nothing but catching up on shows and house hunting still.  Someday soon I will have an update saying I have an apartment finally...can't wait for that day!  This week is going to be extremely busy for me so I am glad I got to use today to do nothing. 

One last thing I forgot to mention...since I don't have a car here and where I'm living is pretty far away from work, I have a nice hour commute in the morning and night after work on the bus and street car.  You thought your life was weird, try to ride the New Orleans public transportation.  I laugh at my life every morning at each stop.  I stick out like a sore thumb and wouldn't have it any other way.  This ride gives me the opportunity to really watch the culture of NOLA come alive, to put it in the most PC way possible.  There are some characters in this city, let me tell you.  However, on the first day of work on my first  day on the bus, mom you'll be proud, I did it all panic stricken all by MYSELF.  Brave little toaster.  Now, I am giving directions to people who need help and I am an old pro navigating bus 88 from the Lower 9th ward to Canal Street.  I tweet out bus diaries daily, look out for those.

Anyway, again, I am glad everyone in my family and my friends are safe.  I know a lot of you were in Boston or near Boston that day or were somehow affected by the "man hunt" in Watertown.  I love now more than ever telling people I am from Massachusetts because, as Big Papi said, it is our ******* city! I hope all is well with everyone at home! I miss everyone! Until next time..

Successfully avoiding packing...

I guess I can start blogging again!

Tomorrow I leave for another AmeriCorps adventure, because why the hell not.  This year is different from last year.  I am going to be an AmeriCorps VISTA instead of being in NCCC.  The difference being I am not traveling around the country, I am staying in one city working with one non-profit for a whole year.  I am moving to New Orleans to work for Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans.  Yes, like I said many blogs ago, I AM actually moving to the city I wanted to!  I am very, very excited. 

Since last term ended, my life again has changed.  I came home in December to a tough transition back into life here.  I felt like I didn't fit in anywhere and didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  Frankly, I still don't know what I want to do.  The one silver lining to coming home for me was I got to get back into an activity I loved and that is coaching.  In November, the head coach of the high school varsity team in Burlington asked me if I wanted to join the staff when I came home.  Thankfully enough, they allowed me to come into the season two weeks late.  From day one at the rink I knew the team was something special.  I got to coach the girls into the first state tournament birth in school history, I got to help 20 teenage girls become 1 team, and I got to develop relationships with athletes that will forever be in my life.  In three short months, I learned many things about myself from these girls everyday.  They taught me the true definition of perseverance.  Some of them have been on the team for 5 years, 5 unsuccessful years.  They did not give up on their team and made it as far as a team could go.  That taught me, without them knowing, that anything is possible if you just stick to it.  I am going to take that lesson with me and remind myself that everyday while I am gone.  I owe a lot of my happiness in my life to the girls because of how easy they made my transition from the Amerilife to real life for a short period of time.  These girls have changed my life forever.

In addition to coaching, I lived the unemployed life.  Let me tell you, that was not fun.  I found odds and ends to do thanks to dirty windows and an office moving.  I interviewed for a few jobs, but this one is definitely the one I want.  I am feeling a bit different this time around about leaving.  My excitement comes from knowing I am going to a city I loved AND two of my best friends live there.  They are two of the reasons why I am really thankful AmeriCorps happened in my life.  I am going to be staying at their place for a bit while I find a place of my own and we are going to have one HELL of a reunion tomorrow.  I honestly can't wait.  I am also excited to be starting a new adventure in the "job" slash volunteering world.  I am going to be a volunteer recruiter for the non-profit.  I will be working with almost each employee in the non-profit.  I will know more after my first two days of orientation with them, and I will for sure fill y'all in on my life when I know more.  I move tomorrow and will be spending the weekend in NOLA, but then Monday I have VISTA training through AmeriCorps.  I will be traveling to Denver for 3 nights 4 days of training.  Warmer weather, to snow for 4 days, then back to warm.  Kind of New England like for me.  I am excited about that too.

This week for me has been full of seeing people to say bye, looking at everything I need to pack because yes I haven't started yet, and trying to not think about how I am again taking a year to be making minimal money.  But honestly, I wouldn't have my life any other way than it is right now.  I have some of the most supportive people around me daily and I am really lucky that I am going to be living the life I want again for another year.  I am happy and ready to start a new journey in New Orleans.  The way I look at it, everyone I know now has an unreal place to come visit.  I hope the city is ready for me!

Again, I am excited to start a new adventure and I am so thankful for the people who have come into my life in the  last year and for the people who have always been there with the utmost support.  I think Winnie the Pooh sums up perfectly how I feel right now...“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." In my case something is somethingS. 

Until next time blog readers...

It's all over.

Where do I begin? Today was graduation day.  As I said in my last post I had the honor of being emcee, or "ameridictorian" as my friends called it, for the ceremony.  This is my speech I submitted to get chosen to speak...I read the last paragraph.

Ever since I can remember leadership and service have remained a prominent event in my life.  Leading others takes a certain kind of person.  Before AmeriCorps, leadership to me meant showing people the way.  After meeting my team leader I have learned that leadership is more leading by doing.  People follow by watching someone they emulate.  I look up to my team leader more than she will ever know and from her, I have learned that leadership is not just showing a team how to run it.  Leadership digs deep into the surface of the word lead.  I feel leadership is showing others the proper way.  My team leader has taught me this simply by being the leader that she is daily. 

When I wake up for a day of service I think of, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” I risked leaving my home, job, and the known to come to a life of the unknown.  I feel as though service is the same concept.  Daily our job consists of waking up, greeting people of communities, and simply serving them.  Service makes me feel like my life is complete.  Daily we take part in some aspect of service through our work.  Service gives me a feeling of accomplishment.  It is important for everyone, young and old, take part in service throughout their lives because giving back to others is the ultimate way of showing appreciation for the next person.  People never really know what they are capable of doing in any aspect of life if you sit and let life pass you by.  It is imperative, in this program especially, that we all risk going too far to see how far we actually can go.

It is hard to put into words exactly what the experience in NCCC has been like.  The only couple of words that I can possibly think of would be, life changing.  We started on February 27^th where we entered a world that immediately I thought was MTV's the real world.  We were strangers, picked to be in a program where people stop living their real life and start living in the ameriworld a world where real clothes were a thing of the past and khaki and gray or green became something you wore and wore it looking good daily.  Training could not have prepared us for what we were about to embark upon for the whole experience.  Once in our permanent teams we set out for our spikes.  Each day we were faced with adversity and we persevered.  Our team became a family, a family that nobody else in the world would understand why.  Spending each day together, working, eating, laughing, cooking, and dancing are experiences that cannot even be explained.  You wouldn’t get half of the stuff each collective team went through unless you were on the team.  I am forever changed because of the 8 members of my team, other team members, other team leaders, and our staff.   This program has taught me that when you think that you can’t, you can and you realize you can because of your teammates.  This program has taught me that no matter what is going on in your life, you will survive with the help of your team.  This program has taught me that friendship goes beyond Massachusetts.  Friendship is now in Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware and every other state in the country.  Most importantly, this program has taught me that you have a family you are born into and a family you create for yourself.  I can honestly say that I come from a large family, but now it has significantly grown because of this program.   I would not change this experience, every tear, every laugh, every terrible singing and dancing session in the van, every fight, every ISP, every home gutted, every trail blazed, every ride with Roe, every tire slashed, every glass block installed, every WPR, every piece of drywall installed, every sleeping situation and everyday with my team and others for anything.  How do you sum up what I have experienced in NCCC into words? You can’t, you have to live it to understand

I was so happy I got to address the Corps as emcee for the ceremony.  It meant the world to me. 

I have met some of the most amazing people in the last 10 months.  I am forever changed by each and every person I have met in the last 10 months.  I am so grateful I have a supportive family that allowed me to leave a full time job and making money to be in a national community service volunteer program.  I am so thankful for my best friends, 5 girls I can now NEVER live without.  I am thankful for my team and the year we had together.  The members of River Ten will forever hold a place in my heart. 

Tonight is the last night in Vicksburg, our little community.  I remember the night before I left we all googled Vicksburg and I was more nervous because of what I saw, different things than Burlington.  Weird.  Now, I am in love with our little city.  The sunsets, the Mississippi river, highway 61 coffee, The Tomato Place, Biscuit Company, Duffs, Roe's Cab service, and especially the Southern Region Campus.  You can't really explain this to anyone.  I love the south and I am moving the second I get somewhere down here. 

As I reflect on the last 10 months I am realizing I am totally different than I was in February.  I am happier, more open minded, more skilled, and my cooking is at it's prime.  I really am trying my best to think of a good way to sum up what I am feeling and the last 10 months, but I am at a loss for words.  This program has meant the world to me and I am so happy that I joined.  I will forever be an AmeriCorps member, and I will try my hardest to "get things done" even outside of my "A" uniform. 

I am so happy I got to share my journey with all of my readers out there.  I hope a story or two has stuck with you while reading and it has made some sort of impact.  I head to the airport at 4:30am tomorrow and will be in Boston by 4pm, just in time to hop on the ice with the high school team.  For those of you who have read my 10 month journey, thank you.  I enjoyed sharing my thoughts for everyone to read.  Maybe I will continue writing, who knows.  I am going to end this post with a quote that was read at graduation, but is one of my absolute favorites.  I thought about it a lot while in the program, and it has helped me through some of my days where I wanted to quit. 

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss

One week left...

I can't even believe this is where I am...I am in Vicksburg for one last time.  We left New York on Monday morning to trek back for a nice 26 hour, 3 day drive.  Before I get to the emotional mushy gushy stuff, there is still some New York to talk about!

One of the best parts of the last 2 weeks had to be the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting.  A few teammates and myself went to see the big 80 foot tree be lit while listening to the live music from Rod Stewart, Cee Lo Green, and Mariah Carey.  I have always watched this on TV and it was awesome to be there for once.

I went home for Thanksgiving and my 5 year reunion for a nice 4 day vacation from the disaster life.  It was the most perfect 4 days.  I slept, saw old classmates, family, and enjoyed not being in New York.  When I got back, our team got switched to bulk distribution.  We now were helping stock up box trucks and Emergency Response Vehicles to provide hot meals to the Rockaways that are STILL without power.  These past two weeks were great.  I worked along side the site manager who was in charge of the food.  I pretty much was his little slave, but he will forever be someone I use as a reference for jobs.  He told me that I was one of the hardest workers he has ever worked with and on my last day got a standing ovation at the staff meeting that we had daily.  I loved the little projects that he had me doing.  This little time with him gave me new insight to the Red Cross.  We ended work on Sunday by out processing from the ARC.  Sam and I used Sunday to walk around the city and see things we hadn't seen yet.  We went to FAO Schwartz, Grand Central Station, and Central Park.  It was kind of the best day ever.  Our team went to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to take a nice team picture and then Chris Sam and I went to dinner at a French Steak House.  Holy damn, it was amazing. 

On Monday morning, our team piled into Scooter the 15p one last time to start the trip back to Vicksburg.  We made two stops in Richmond Virginia and Atlanta Georgia.  This ride back was one of the best rides yet.  We all knew that it was our last one, so naturally I made sure everyone knew every 5 minutes how sad I was.  We sang, danced, and fought like we usually did.  It was awesome to get back to campus and see everyone.  I missed my best friends a lot this round and I am so happy that we are back together!  We got to choose our roommates this time, which was great.  Rachel, Margaret, Julia and I have the greatest little room ever.  We have been enjoying our time since we got back on Wednesday.  Not too many tears yet.

This week is our last week in AmeriCorps.  I can hardly wrap my head around this.  I have made some of the best friends ever in this program.  I don't really know what I am going to do not surrounded by my team and friends daily anymore.  Wednesday and Thursday are our final days in AmeriCorps.  Wednesday we have our banquet and Thursday we have graduation.  I have been chosen to be the emcee of graduation Thursday so I have some speech writing to do in the next few days.  Pretty excited about that.  I don't really know what to think at this point about graduation.  I am nervous for life after AmeriCorps knowing I don't have a job, besides assistant coaching the high school girl's hockey team! I am so excited for that.  But, all in all, I am really sad about this program coming to an end.  I have always said how it has changed my life, and it sure has changed my life.  The experiences have forever changed my life, but more importantly, the people I have met really have left a large imprint on my heart.  This week, I will go on with a heavy heart because of how sad it is that I am leaving, but completing over 2,000 hours of community service and earning a presidential award for community service make it all worth while.  I am excited to be the emcee of graduation or as Julia likes to call it the valedictorian of AmeriCorps.  I am just glad part of my speech I wrote gets to be heard by everyone! 

I will write more during the week, but this is where I am at now.  Thanks for reading!

I am thankful for...

Hello y'all...or since I am in the Northeast, Hello you guys.  I am still in New York, in Times Square.  Awesome living conditions for us.  Work is going okay.  We finished our last shelter day about an HOUR AGO! Thank God.  We are happy.  Tomorrow we will be moved to bulk distribution to start delivering supplies to those in need.  I can't wait to see what another sector of Red Cross does for disaster relief. 

We had to say bye to some clients this week who, again, have changed my life.  I met a grandmother, "Mama" and her 5 grandsons that she raises on her own at our first shelter.  These boys are full of life, spunk, and energy.  I loved them.  They got placed in a home this week with Mama and watching them react to the housing decision was awesome.  They at first were so upset because they were leaving us, one actually asked how to join AmeriCorps when he is 18.  They were so down until someone told them their new apartment has a basketball hoop.  Little things in life make people happy is what these boys taught me.  Their grandmother is a saint.  Another couple told me they want to adopt me to make them PB&J everyday.  I was told I make a mean sandwich, I have a gift what can I say.  All of the clients we have met in the shelters are amazing.  I hope they all recover quickly and find a warm home for the holidays.

Since it is Thanksgiving week, I thought I would share what I am thankful for...

I am thankful for:

My mom & dad...they are my rocks.  Without their love and support over the last 10 months, I would not be where I am today.  I loved during training calling in the morning and talking to Dad-Z and I love the inspirational texts I got from the best mom in the world.  I would be lost without these two.

Bobby..There is no way I would have even heard of AmeriCorps without Bobby.  My brother is one of the people in my life I look up to most.  He calls weekly even during his busy schedule to ask how my spike is going, uses the AmeriCorps acronyms that nobody else in the world knows, and is constantly checking up on me.  This Ameriworld is a complicated one and it has helped so much to have a family member know what I am going through.  I am lucky to have such a positive role model in my life.

MaryKathryn...My birthday wouldn't have been the same without my sister.  I am not just thankful she came to visit me, but I am thankful I got to share my life that I am living now with a family member.  I am also thankful for the fact that MaryKarthryn has taught me the true meaning of teaching.  She is an unreal teacher, but she also teaches me about life.  Without an older sister to guide me along some tough roads, I probably wouldn't have survived as well as I have.  I am so lucky to have the support of a sister like I do in MaryKathryn.

Paul...This is Paul's senior year in college and as many of you know has played hockey for the past 3 years at Worcester.  This year he is not because he wasn't happy.  I am thankful that Paul has taught me, without knowing, that if you aren't truly happy and don't do what makes you happy, you ultimately won't be happy.  I am so happy Paul is doing what he wants and is enjoying his last year in college.

Bridget...I am more than thankful for Bridget.  Her curiosity and love for everything I am doing makes me happy everyday.  I joined this program to try to make our country a better one for Bridget to live in.  I hope someday I can share with her in detail my projects and all I have done.  From the day she was born until now she has been the most important person in my life.  I bring her with me everyday in my pocket through a sock of hers I found in my clean laundry and I can't wait to come home and finally see her play hockey.  She makes me happier than anyone in the world and I am so thankful she is my little Mini Me.

River 10...Beste, Sam, Chris, Terrell, David, Johnny and Lannise AND Jamie have changed my life in ways they don't even know.  I have learned so much about people, myself, and our world just from these 7 people.  I am so thankful for this program for bringing these people into my life.  My River 10 family have been the reason why I do what I love everyday and I honestly wouldn't have had the year I have had without them. 

Rachel, Margaret, Julia, Tiffany, and Sam...these 5 girls are 5 of the best people to have ever come into my life.  The past 10 months have been a roller coaster of emotions and without these 5 to go through it all with, I would be in Burlington by now.  I know that I have 5 of the best friends across the country (kind of) now because of them.  I am more than thankful I met them, they have changed my life forever and I wll forever be thankful for AmeriCorps for bringing them into my life.

Jill...I have the best friend in the world.  Jill is the one constant friend in my life that has been there for me through EVERYTHING.  Without her support this year through my journey, I would be lost!  She has been my touch of home daily just by saying hi.  I am so lucky to have a best friend like her that cares so much about what I am doing.

My GF's, haverhill girls, and the suitelife...where would I be without Bridgewater?  all of my gf's are the best!  They know how thankful I am for them and I honestly would be lost without them.  I know I say that about everyone, but these girls are it. 

Alyssa, Julie, Jen, and Amanda...they may be younger than me, but my gangstas are awesome.  I am thankful for their constant friendship and love.  I am lucky to say I have so many groups of friends especially these ones to count on.

My extended family...I have one giant family that I miss a whole lot.  I have heard from a lot of them this past year and I am so thankful for everything everyone has done for me.  I can't wait to see some of you over the holidays!

AmeriCorps & every person I have met this year...this year has changed my life.  I am not the person I was when I started.  I am so happy I joined the program and met everyone I have whether it is fellow Corps Members, Team Leaders, sponsors, people of the communities we have worked in, or a stranger in WalMart.  Everyone has changed me for the better and I will be forever thankful for AmeriCorps.

Last but not least...
Volunteerism...I said this last year in my blog, but without volunteers, the would would not turn.  Volunteerism is so important and I am so happy I chose this path for my life right now.  Volunteering makes me so happy and I can honestly say, I am so happy in my life right now.


I have several other things I am thankful for, but I wanted to highlight my important things in life right now.  I am such a lucky girl to have the life I do.  Everyday I am thankful this is my work and I am serving others.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year. 

Enjoy the turkey, family, friends, and relaxation.  I know I sure will be at 10 Thomas Street with the bread on the table and hoepfully a win from BHS.  Yes, I am going home!  I am thankful for that!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Now where are we...

It has been almost 3 weeks since I last posted, and boy, these 3 weeks have been crazy.  I don't even know where to begin.  We arrived in Albany when I last posted and quite honestly, I wish I could remember everywhere we have been since then.  Until I remember, I will just type some word vomit...
Our first shelter turned out to just be staff.  Terrell, Lannise, and myself were placed together.  We hung out at a shelter with the American Red Cross peeps, getting to know them.  We met some awesome people, especially Morris.  He really took us under his sarcastic a-hole wing.  He told the three of us we reminded him of his grand children and he joked around with us.  We got sent back to our head quarters in Albany after one night there to be placed again.  We took advantage of the hotels, showers, and team time while we could. 

My next shelter was in Deer Park Long Island.  I was put on a team with Liz and Erika from River 8.  We decided since our teams become one, we were now River 18.  The three of us drove down with two really awesome (sarcastic) older men.  We got SO LOST that we ended up in New Jersey.  Yes, New Jersey, 4 hours out of the way.  Our quick 1 hour 30 minute drive turned into FREAKING 10.  At least I had two of the best people I've met in the last ten months with me.  We arrived at the shelter where 115 people were staying.  These people were amazing.  We were at this shelter for about a week.  I met some of the greatest people of Long Island and quickly became attached to them.  One woman in particular had two daughters ages 1.5 and 5 months, she is 22.  She had no power and brought her kids to the shelter to stay warm.  I loved her daughters, Lala  and Nana, were their nicknames.  Lala and I played catch or "ball" everyday and she came to me when she was crying.  One over night shift I had, the mother was falling asleep holding the baby so I offered at 5am to take the baby so she could sleep.  She was laughing, talking, and enjoying 5-6am until she went to sleep again.  Her mother called me her angel, second tears of the disaster deployment.  My first tears came when I met Patrick, an older gentleman at the shelter with his mom.  I got to talking to him because he looked like he needed someone to talk to.  He showed me pictures of his flooded home, his son, boats on his road, his basketball team, and his whole life.  He has been a varsity coach for 28 years and immediately I thought of my own family.  He was describing how he has helped players through tough times with parents, school, deaths, etc. and how now his past players are reaching out to him to help him.  When he started crying, it opened the flood gates for me too.  I couldn't help but think of my own family and how something could happen to us, too.  He was so down to earth and awesome to talk to.  These are just two stories among the two thousand I have heard in the last three weeks.  Over the week we were there, we had zero showers.  Luckily, Long Island residents are unreal. I met two wonderful women that opened their homes for Liz, Erika and I took advantage of that right away.  We met one woman who literally was Aunt Marie with Irish knit sweaters, Irish blessings around her home, and she made us tea!  Little things like a warm towel and tea go a LONG WAY.  Yes, the tea and towel made me cry, too.  Really emotional week.  We got moved from this shelter to another on Wednesday after completing 100 hours of work.

When we moved, we got reunited with most of River 10! We missed each other so much it was like a family reunion.  This shelter was less than good for us.  We were at a college in a gym.  The staff slept on the indoor track above the clients on the gym floor.  We were living, sleeping, and breathing with the clients.  There fore sickness was spreading.  Long story short on this shelter, we left by Friday because we have the world's best Team Leaders ever. 

We got sent back to head quarters this time in Manhattan.  I have never been to NYC so this was awesome for me.  We gave ourselves the weekend off and we got placed in the Paramount Hotel in TIMES FREAKING SQUARE.  I can see the lights of the billboards from my room.  It is insane.  The weekend was spent sleeping, sight seeing, and hanging doing nothing.  I walked to Central Park, Ground Zero, and all NYC tourists sites.  We went to see the sun set on the Hudson River and actually saw the most beautiful sunset on the Statue of Liberty.  Really an American Sunday.  My most independent moment came Sunday before site seeing.  I put my headphones in, googled a laundromat, and walked to find it.  Asked for no directions, and did my laundry.  I felt on top of the world.  Life's little victories.

I feel so blessed to be in New York.  Seeing how bad the damage is first hand really hits me hard.  One of the most incredible places in the world has had its world rocked by a storm.  It is insane.  I have met some unreal people who I will never forget.  I really love AmeriCorps and appreciate the program after these last 3 weeks.  I feel so thankful that I am doing this program and making a difference in at least some people's lives.  I really can't put into words how I feel about being here during this just yet, maybe I can come up with it after this week is completed. 

Today marks 30 days until graduation.  I can't even begin to believe it.  I have met the best friends in the world here and some of the best people in general.  How can something that was so many different emotion be explained, you ask?  Good question..stay tuned for my answer.

I am looking forward to helping more New Yorkers in the upcoming weeks.  I just got home from a 16 hour day to my hotel bed that I am going to crash into.  I miss home like crazy being so close...maybe I will make a trip home soon.  That is all for now from the city that never sleeps...but I for sure do, when I can!  I can now say pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd without getting made fun of, Uncle Joe!  Enjoy that!

Until next time readers...keep NY, NJ, all those touched by Sandy, all AmeriCorps teams, especially River 10 in your thoughts and prayers! 

Where in the world is River 10

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.

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.



The crew at the Grand Ole Opry.

 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.



Very proud of my social media shout out

 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.



Me and MK

 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!

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

Round 3 coming to a close

This week in New Orleans...
This week was a little different for River 10.  Monday was by far the best day ever.  We all got up for work and got ready, but it was POURING here.  Did the usual routine, put on my beautiful uniform, made some eggs, drank black coffee, you know the usual.  As we were all about to get into Scooter, our 15p, Beste told us that work was...get this...cancelled.  What this meant for us was we had a SNOW DAY!  We deemed this day as a snow day because it was exactly like watching the news and seeing your school scrolling down teh bottom of the screen.  So, Jamie, Chris, Sam, and I decided to brave the rain and head downtown.  Our mission on this day: eat our first beignets of our time in NOLA.  We went to Cafe de Monde and had coffee and beignets.  It was quite honestly the best Ameri-snow day ever.  On Monday afternoon we had 4^th round project reveal.  I can’t even believe it is 4^th round already.  We found out that we are going back to Virginia to Great Falls.  We are going to be working with Living Classrooms of the Nations Capital Region.  This non-profit provides a hands-on learning, job training, community service, and community development programs for students with diverse backgrounds with an emphasis on serving disadvantaged youth in at-risk environments.  We are going to be doing a number of things with LCNCR.  Our project consists of debris removal from the wind storms that hit Virginia in June which also includes trail upkeep on the site, bridge repair and invasive species removal, we will do indoor and outdoor repairs of the lodge at Camp Fraser where the Living Classrooms site is, we will do repairs to sleeping pavilions and outdoor classroom space, we will be creating a garden for educational usage, and last but not least we will be doing educational programming.  The educational programming is something I hope I can do well in since it is planning a spring break plan for 4^th/5^th grade students who come to the camp for their break.  We also get to create a park outreach program which brings students out into the park to do environmental education programs.  Right up my alley.  Although this wasn’t our first choice of projects, I am excited to be in Virginia for the fall.  I get to feel the fall weather that I am really missing these days.  It will be the little things that I will appreciate about round 4 since it is the last round of my service, can’t believe it. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we were back at it.  We spent the day at the distribution center handing out personal care bags to people who are still in need to supplies.  It is kind of mind blowing that even two months after that some individuals are still in need of cleaning supplies and food.  The distribution center has become kind of our second home in NOLA since the staff there now know all of us and we have been there so often that we can run the show.  It does get kind of boring, but hey, it beats Lake City!

Thursday five of us went into a home and did some mucking and gutting.  We had to tear down the ceiling and help clear the rest of the house out.  This house wasn't so bad since a crew had been in earlier in the week and did all of the walls.  We came in to finish the ceilings.  Pretty simple and easy day.

Our van had a little tire issue, so he has been out of commission all week.  Thank God for our tiny truck!  Due to this little mishap, 3 of us had to go work with River 6 for the day.  I enjoyed working with another team for a day.  We got to work with their sponsor organization on their homes.  I got to paint my fair share for the day.  After work, a group of us went to Magazine Street to shop.  Since I love shopping so much I purchased zero things.  I may leave New Orleans with a t-shirt or two since well, we all know my usual outfit consists of a t-shirt at some point.  I had a nice bowl of gumbo for dinner and we all literally came back to our housing and went to bed. 

Saturday a few of us from each team got together to do an ISP.  We spent the day working with Green Light New Orleans.  This unbelievably cool non-profit was started after Katrina hit by the founder because he was on tour with his band.  He came up with a pretty bright idea, if you ask me...har har...The concept behind the organization is to change incandescent light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights.  We got to canvas around to homes to ask each home owner if they wanted their light bulbs changed to the CLF bulbs.  Each bulb will help the residents of New Orleans to reduce their carbon foot print and reduce the amount of money they spend on their bills.  The bulbs also last for an extremely long time, much longer than the incandescent bulbs.  The concept of the whole non-profit is pretty amazing. I enjoyed a sweet nap after the day and did the usual on our last Saturday night here. 

I absolutely am in love with New Orleans.  I love everything about the entire city.  I am looking into non-profits down here for next year in hopes that maybe I can do another AmeriCorps program and live here for a bit.  Blazing my own trail as Dad-Z likes to say.  We will see...just a thought now.  Anyway, this is our last week here and we are mucking and gutting in a neighborhood that needs some serious help.  We are working with a Delta team that got sent here to help.  It should be a good week.  Friday we are back to Vicksburg for the start of transition for a week, then it is fall break.  Fall break means, relaxing on campus, my birthday and NASHVILLE with some of the best friends and the best sister in the world.  I can't wait.  Big happy birthday to Pauly wog and Dad this week! Miss you guys! Again, pictures are taking way too long for my attention span...Hope y'all have a good week!

Disaster relief 65.25 hour week...no big deal

So since the last time I posted, it has been one crazy week.  We left Lake City, Florida and got to New Orleans last Saturday.  We got here and had a real brief orientation of the housing we are staying at.  We also learned that our project is all disaster relief in the parish's (a Parish how the city is split, not churches here people) that were most affected by Hurricane Isaac.  Mucking and gutting homes along with distribution of materials here and there.  We are working for a number of sponsors, but we are staying at Project Homecoming's volunteer housing.  Pretty cool, all the girls are back in a room together which we have been oh so longing for since we haven't been together since last spike.  Once we were situated we pretty much dropped our bags and got ready to go out.  It kind of felt like the first night out freshman year of college.  It is just nice to be in a city where we are not limited to Applebee's or a restaurant to go out to.  We sure went out.  NOLA is insane, but I love it.  We are staying at our housing with another team, River 6, which also is great since we haven't seen another team since we left campus AND Rachel and Margaret are on their team.  Pretty neat-o.  Sunday was used as a day off and pretty much a recovery day.  Much needed.

Monday was day one of work.  We went to a distribution center in a local Parish that was affected by Hurricane Isaac.  Our team put together personal care bags at a location where different churches come to give out to their parishioners.  We did over 300 bags for the day.  Jamie and I got to help a kitchen that was feeding volunteers clean out their area.  Their kitchen is called Mercy Chefs and they travel to disaster areas to make food to feed volunteers.  Debby, the head chef, told us that it is her duty to feed volunteers because without food for them, there essentially couldn't be any volunteers.  Never until this day did I once think of how volunteers and first responders to disasters eat.  Now I know.  Sam, Jamie, and I got to work with another kitchen, The Chow Train.  These people were the best.  We pulled chicken for them so they could make enchiladas the following day.  Once we had all of the chicken done, the whole team got in on the fun.  We made about 30 trays of food for the next day, leaving the chefs to do the other about 40.  Once we were done, they popped a tray of food for us in the oven.  We did some good work.  This lovely 12 hour day ended around 8ish.



Just me and the debris from the house.

 Tuesday was September 11th which is a National day of service.  We kind of got to work with River 6 for the day to do the national day of service together.  We went into Slidell another town in NOLA.  We worked on a house mucking and gutting the whole thing.  The homes were under water about 2 feet.  On Wednesday we got to go back to the same home to finish up cleaning the lovely mess we made.  It literally took all day to sweep, vac, and mop the drywall we took down.  Hopefully this helped the family who lives in the house to start the rebuild process.

Thursday and Friday we were back at a different distribution center.  This place hands out food, drinks, diapers, and cleaning supplies.  The line never ends.  It is open from 9-4 and cars are constantly coming.  Friday we actually counted that there were 317 cars that came from the late opening time of 12-4.  I really enjoyed working at these places because we got to meet some of the people that the food and supplies were going to.  Everyone is so thankful we are helping them and it makes me feel like the reason I signed up for the program is really coming full circle on this part of our project. 

Yesterday we traveled to a different Parish to do some mucking and gutting of a neighborhood that was really devastated by the hurricane.  The damage was unreal.  The home we worked on had water 3 feet high on the second floor.  That means the entire first floor was under water and up to 3 feet upstairs.  We had to gut the whole first floor from the ceiling to the floor.  We typically only do 2 feet above the water line on the drywall, but this house and neighborhood was that damaged.  The awesome part about this neighborhood was that they go from house to house everyday and help each other out.  They are rebuilding their neighborhood together and they all have an awesome sense of community.  It was nice to work with about 25 neighbors and really help them speed recovery process up.  We only worked a half day since it was our 6th day of work.  6th long day of work.  65.25 hours worth of work this week to be exact, no big deal though.  I earned my night last night that is for sure.  Let's hope my body can keep up with me this week!

Needless to say, River 10 is more than thrilled to be in NOLA.  I personally love the fact we are doing real disaster work because Florida was kind of a bust as far as the work load.  I signed up for AmeriCorps knowing the possibility of responding to a disaster would be high.  I am so glad that we are helping out here because they need it.  Talking to people while working and really hearing how happy we are that we are helping reassures me that even through some tough days, I am so glad I am doing this work.  We have another 2 weeks of disaster relief here in NOLA and I personally am thrilled.  The work days are long, but so worth it in the long run. 


That's all I have for this long 65.25 hour week! Really looking forward to hearing about what our 4th round project will be.  We should know today or tomorrow.  Can't believe it is 4th round already! More to come next week from me in NOLA! Pictures are taking way too long for my patience, maybe next week!

On the road again

Hello y'all...quick post for a nice little update on what is going on with River 10.  So this week we had the bare minimum work load.  Florida has been nothing but awesome for us.  We were living in a hotel, our sponsor bent over backwards for us, and we were in Florida, what more could you want?  This is all great, however, AmeriCorps is not just for cool hotels and awesome gifts from sponsors.  We are here to help others, and to be quite honest, we really weren't doing that much work here.  We were told that 20-30 homes needed to be mucked and gutted from Tropical Storm Debby, however, there really weren't many homes.  We did a total of 4, and that total is being generous.  We did a significant amount of work in these homes and it is work we are proud of.  Our disaster relief here in Florida was only supposed to be 30 days and today is the 30th day.  We stayed the time we were supposed to, which makes us feel better.  Yesterday we got word from campus that we have a new project assignment starting tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will get in the van and drive to New Orleans, Louisiana! I am SO excited.  We will be doing some disaster relief from Hurricane Isaac.  We really have no idea what we are doing while there except we know we are going to clear debris and muck and gut homes.  When I know more, I will fill y'all in.  I've only been to New Orleans for a weekend last round and the little taste of the city I got I loved.  I am really excited to spend the next 3 weeks in such an exciting place, however, my bank account probably isn't as excited as I am.  Let's see how that works out...

So tomorrow we are on the road again and moving to a new location.  We have to keep reminding ourselves of the AmeriCorps F word frequently as we continue in this round, flexibility.  Just go where the wind blows us/campus calls us and tells us where to go.  Either way, we are leaving and excited for the next 3 weeks!  Enjoy your weekend!