CCC, LA and CYB

It's late for me (I have to wake up at 6 AM every day) but I'm going to update. I know I'll fall behind if I don't. However, my computer is broken yet again. This means no photos and videos. Yeah yeah, I know. The lack of these elements makes my blog boring. Good thing you're all just SO interested in my life that you'll read anyway! No, but really... I'm revealing some big news in this post!

But before the big news, I'll talk about CCC (Camp Coast Care). Last week we had the most people in the camp that I've seen. Many of them were from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and I want to say hi to them, if they're reading! The Lafayette kids were amazing. We got along really well and I got to know many of them. I'm going to miss them a lot and I wish I had more than a week to spend with them! Of everything, we probably spent the most time playing Spades (I won, of course). So yeah - hi, Lafayette! Come back. No, really.

This week has been good. The one and only group here is a huge group from Kent State in Ohio. I was a site supervisor today and once we got all of our materials together, I think we did good work. We've been priming the walls and putting in hardwood flooring (we'll be tiling on Wednesday, most likely). This work is being done at the "Bowser House", the location that I worked on for my first day with Camp Coast Care. The house has come a long was since then and it's been amazing to see! The family has suffered a lot of misfortune, so I really care about doing a good job and getting a lot of work done before I leave.

Aside from Camp Coast Care, we found out our next project!!! I'm REALLY pumped about this one. We're going to Los Angeles to do education work! I'm so excited to be living in the midst of a real city and doing education. Most of the team seems decently enthusiastic about it too. From what I've heard, we're working with an organization that provides educational support to children who need it and has a special concentration on foster children. I think this project will be perfect for me.

So we'll be leaving Camp Coast Care one week from today and we'll be driving to Sacramento for transition. There we'll also have our spring break. I plan on going to Lake Tahoe with a bunch of friends, which should be a blast. We head down to LA once our transition is over.

And then I have even bigger news. I officially know what I'm doing next year! I applied to a program called City Year Boston and got accepted! City Year is an educational program that has branches all over the United States. I applied to the Boston one because they have a large corps there and the City Year headquarters is located there. Also, I hear great things about Boston and I love the prospect of moving to a city that I've never been to before.

Most of the City Year members do mentoring and tutoring work for substandard school systems. They work on lesson plans and things like that and are quite similar to teachers. I would definitely enjoy a job like that, but I'm hoping for something a little different. City Year Boston has a special program call City Heroes, where they take students and they provide community service programs for them to participate in. I really believe in the effects community service can have on both the community and on the people who perform the service, so I think this is a brilliant program. Ideally, City Heroes is where I'll be placed. However, I don't find out until I've started the program.

On that note, City Year Boston starts in early September. AmeriCorps NCCC ends July 22. That means I'll have a little over a month to hang out at home in Chicago. I'll probably be studying for a test or two, but otherwise I'll be free.

Well, those are my main news items. If anyone has any questions about City Year or AmeriCorps (of course), please let me know. I'm really excited about all of the things in my future and it feels great to have things planned so far ahead.

If you made it all the way through without pictures, thank you!

-Scott

Monomedia! Think you can handle it?

That's right, no pictures in this one. So for those of you who just scroll down looking for eye candy, you may just have to fire some synapses this time (you know who you are)!

I had a very good week, despite the fact that I made an emergency trip to Chicago that lasted most of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Actually, the trip to Chicago was rewarding, considering its circumstances. I got to see a lot of family and some good friends as well.

Camp Coast Care has been a lot of fun. I've been doing a lot of drywall, mudding and sanding recently. Basically, I've making the walls of a home and preparing them to be primed and painted. On Friday, I was even the supervisor of my site (technically). People knew what to do by then, however, so I wasn't asked many questions and it wasn't a big deal.

We had two main groups of volunteers this week: a group of nearly 40 came from Virginia Tech and a group of nearly 20 came from Penn College. These groups were amazing to have around! While we weren't working, we played football or sat around the campfire.

Every week I look forward to the new volunteers coming in. Last week we had about 90 of them and this upcoming week it looks like we'll have around 120! So far, most of the people who have moved in are older and are extremely friendly. Then, at about 1 AM last night (err... this morning...) a group got in from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. I was the only volunteer awake, so I helped show them around and such. They seem like a good group of people, so I'm excited to get to know them more.

We have one more week after this one (which should have more volunteers coming in than any other). Following that, Silver One heads back to Sacramento for Life After AmeriCorps Day and our "spring break", which is a couple of days attached to a weekend. I'm thinking that I'll go to Lake Tahoe with some friends for the break, which should be a lot of fun. At that time, I will also know where my next project will be! I'm especially excited because it will almost definitely be on the west coast.

Last piece of information - some of you know that my computer was totally screwed by a virus recently. Well I spent many long hours working on it and finally got rid of that. Peace of mind ensues. Also, if you ever have a virus problem, I'd be a good person to come to!

La fin.

-Scott

NCCC + CCC = Awesome

Alright, so I haven't updated in a while. Notice my last post, which explained that I didn't have internet where I lived (I didn't send an e-mail update for it because it was a short post). Also, I have recently gotten a very bad virus on my laptop, so that complicated things even more. Nevertheless, I've managed to update tonight compliments of Sarah and her laptop (thanks Sarah)!

AmeriCorps has been EXCELLENT. Where to start... Maynor Creek in Waynesboro was great. We worked on environmental projects the whole time; we did a lot of trail-building, painting and raking up leaf litter (to prevent wildfires). We worked a four-day work week (ten hours per day). Each day was spent outside, which was really refreshing. In our leisure, we were able to just leave our cabins and take hikes or go for nature runs.

What was probably most memorable about Maynor Creek, however, was the support we recieved from our sponsor and the community. Pat Harrison Waterway District was kind enough to allow us to stay in their guest cabins which were very nice! Here's a video tour of one of them:

Also, our site supervisor, Stuart, was a really fantastic guy. He was really laid-back and wanted to make sure we enjoyed our time there. We also got to meet his family. Additionally, the Waynesboro community was incredibly hospitable! I'd say about every other day we were treated to dinner or lunch. These came from various organizations in Wayne County such as the Lions Club or the fire department. Some even came from individual households who simply were inspired by our work there. It was amazing to meet everyone!

Here are several pictures of Maynor Creek:

Above: The Ampitheatre and a pavilion in the background. We worked on both of these.

Above: A controlled burn. Burning the leaf litter prevents wildfires in the long run.

Above: Ryan using the fireplace in our cabin!

Above: Lindsey working hard in a pavilion.

Above: More working.

Above: Picture of the sky during a controlled burn.

Silver One was sad to leave Maynor Creek, but it's become clear that things are going to continue to be great! From Maynor Creek we moved to the Pearlington Recovery Center on the Mississippi coast where we lived with four other Sacramento NCCC teams and a Denver NCCC team. These were teams already working in the Mississippi area. We gathered to help out with the Great American Cleanup, a national day of service run by Keep America Beautiful.

So we worked side-by-side with hundreds of volunteers from around the country. We worked in Waveland, Misssissippi where we cleaned up and improved five different parks and a cemetary in one day. There I met some non-AmeriCorps people, including a group of students from Loyola College in Maryland. Also, I know I say this every time it happens, but it was again great to meet up with friends from Sacramento. The PRC was NOT the ideal place to live, but it was fun to live in close quarters with so many AmeriCorps kids (we slept in one large room together where everyone socialized and had fun). The Denver team, Sun Two, was also really incredible and I'm so glad I got to meet them! The only negative thing was that at the PRC we were back to port-o-potties and sulfur-water showers. There were also gnats all over and I got bitten up really badly. My arms and legs are still covered with bites of various sizes.

We lived at the PRC for five days and then moved to my current home, Camp Coast Care in Long Beach, Mississippi. We expected something reminiscent of Camp Orange, but what we found was infinitely better. We live in close quarters like in the PRC, but aside from that, it's really nice. We have beautiful, clean bathrooms along with other facilities. We have a nice volunteer room with a TV, computer and games.

Camp Coast Care has an interesting history. It went up right after Hurricane Katrina and began by handing out immediate goods like food and water. Back then, all of the volunteers only lived in a huge warehouse. Since then, Camp Coast Care went to case management, home rehabilitation and construction. I've only worked a day with Camp Coast Care so far, but it's been very good. I put up sheet rock in a home all day, which kept me interested.

However, my favorite part of Camp Coast Care has been meeting people. Volunteers move in on Sundays and leave on Saturdays, almost all of them staying for just a week. Since we're going to be here for a few weeks, we'll be the veterans at the end of it, able to supervise volunteers. Everyone here is from all over the country, and it's so much fun to just talk to them and exchange stories. The groups from College of Charleston and Lock Haven University have been great to have around this week. I hung out at the bonfire with the Charleston kids and Silver One challenged the LHU kids to an intense game of soccer tonight. Also, there are some people from Connecticut who are really nice.

Tonight Silver One and the LHU kids went to a great cafe called Mockingbird Cafe in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. They have live music there every Thursday. We met up with Green One, who's staying at the PRC permanently. It actually turned out to be a huge AmeriCorps hangout. A bunch of AmeriCorps Direct people were also there, so we got to see a bunch of them and meet some new ones. It's amazing to discover the AmeriCorps community down here. Everyone is doing their unique work, and it all adds up to a huge effect here on the coast!

So that's where I am right now. I'm meeting new interesting people, old and young, every single day. I can only hope that my later projects are as amazing as these have been. Shout out to the Sacramento kids, Sun Two, Loyola College in Maryland, College of Charleston and Lock Haven University. Due to my lack of internet and power for my phone, I haven't really been able to keep up with people as much as I would like to. I'll try harder.

Sorry about the huge delay and hopefully I'll post more frequently from now on (though my computer is still down). Good night!

-Scott