Minot photos

I held a snake!

We conquered the pile of trash





You can see the water line on the shed where the water came up in 2011 because of the flood


FEMA trailers that people affected by the flood can live in while repairing their homes, however, rent is charged so they're faced with a new rent bill on top of their mortages on damaged homes and all other expenses towards the recovery

Minot

So far so good!
We got in on Friday and got a short orientation to Hope Village and the housing situations. We're staying in a house owned by a Lutheran church (we're working with Lutheran Disaster Response) for the first month then switching with the team which is currently staying in Hope Village. Hope Village is an area for volunteers to stay in donated trailers. The house is right down town so we can walk EVERYWHERE so that aspect is amazing, but HV has catered meals so both have good aspects.
As for the work...my team is based in the warehouse (recoverywarehouse.org) which is a building supplied by the city to house building materials for flood victims. Victims go through a process known as RAFT to apply for aid in the form of building materials. We go out on deliveries which include dry wall as well as other small building materials such as dry wall mud, house wrap, paint, etc...so far there haven't been many deliveries but we've done 3 and they were amazing. We delivered drywall to two houses and some dishes to a church...the people here are super greatful for the aid they get. It's a very good feeling.

Minot in itself is very interesting. I like the city so far. It's not like Richmond, there's not necessarily a "good" part of time nor is there a "bad" part of town..it's pretty equal. Seems like the flood kind of knocked everyone onto the same playing field...you can see how the community has come together to help each other build up their lives. One example are the hope stars on every corner...painted wooden stars are on nearly every corner with inspirational things on them to help boost moral.
The house started out having wifi but that quickly faded..now I just walk to local places (like right now I'm at a FroYo place, but normally I run to the laundromat) for wifi...my phone has absolutely no service out here..it's interesting. I am learning to cope, I have an app where I can text on via wifi but i obviously don't have wifi all the time so it's a little stressful but nothing I can't handle.
We got a membership at the YMCA in town so that's where we go to work out, I'm hoping people will want to go more than 3 days a week...i feel like I've gotten out of shape so I'd like to start working out more.

I've become a lot more adventurous with my food! Tonight I had a veggie casserole..which was baked onions, celery, carrots, corn, and broccoli :) I also had chili the other day!

Our sponsor is former NCCC so it's fun to talk to him, he was actually a corps member with another team mate of mine..small ameriworld! It's interesting how we worked with LDR when he was in NCCC and now he's staff there - such a good example of a benefit of NCCC, the networking aspect, you just meet people ALL over and you never know where you could end up!

That's about it, no cell phone service, eating better food/being more adventurous, I like Minot so far...yup :)

Stayed in south dakota for the night off to north dakota today! Dont know if ill have phone service or not...should be interesting

and the first comes to an end

It's hard to believe I've been in St. Paul, Indiana for over a month, 7 weeks to be exact. It feels like NOTHING. I've explained the time warp I'm in as the days DRAG by but the weeks fly by! It's insane...it feels like I have lived here all my life but haven't been here quite long enough, if that makes sense.
The YMCA has treated us so well, I'm really going to miss the staff more than anything. I don't think any state can beat Indiana...the pure untouched beauty of it all is just amazing. I feel like a kid discovering the outside world for the first time, but I guess that's kind of what it's like...the first time I've been out "on my own" and seeing everything I've never been exposed to...I now understand why people travel.

I have loved our first round, even though the work has been long and sometimes rough it's so worth it..the appreciation in the sponsors face really makes up for any negative thing that's ever crossed my mind. The team isn't perfect and we do have our disagreements but I feel like we've learned how to come together and overcome a lot. There's been talk of other teams being disbanded because of people quitting and what not..I couldn't imagine. Obviously we'd be nice to anyone BUT we're already so close and just bonded...I couldn't imagine someone comeing from the "outside."

Our next project is Minot, North Dakota. We'll be there approx. the same amount of time; however, this time we'll be with another team. I know the TL of the team he was my temporary group leader so I think that'll be nice. It'll just be interesting working with another team because we've never worked with another team and nobody really knows anyone on that team..I'm excited though. I think it'll be nice.
This experience has really helped me grow out of my shell...I can only imagine where I'll be in 7 months.

I went to Louisville last weekend for Thunder Over Louisville, it's the kick off of the Kentucky derby. It was so much fun! A lot of walking though...pretty sure I hiked MILES AND MILES...got 4 blisters and sore body BUT it was so beautiful! It's a great way to explain Americorps NCCC...it may hurt and you may want to stop and take a break but if you keep going and perservere you'll eventually have the time of your life (maybe without even knowing) and make memories you'd never have otherwise..this time last year I never thought I'd be sitting in Indiana talking about my day trip to Kentucky before going back to Iowa to prepare for North Dakota...going to North Carolina was a big deal for me...Americorps has opened my eyes I guess you could say to put things in perspective.

okay I've just rambled a lot but that's what's going on in my head :)
I love and miss you all - please write me or text me or something...I like hearing about things.
However, in North Dakota I may not have cell phone service...should be interesting.

Just some photos from this weekend's ISP at Stapp's Circle S Ranch

over half way there!

Almost finished with my first round project, such a weird idea! Feels like the days drag by - meal to meal however the weeks FLY by....the concept of time obviously is warped at camp. I still love it here though, part of me is looking forward to leaving while the other part wants to cling to the camp and never leave!
As far as work goes I've been doing a lot of different things! I've planed wood, split wood, painted (everything!), scraped paint off cabins, moved debris, and helped with rock climbing! Quite the varitiy of tasks to go around.
I really like helping with the rock climbing, it's nice to interact with different people - even if they're much yonuger (like 7th grades today) it's just nice to see different faces...not that I don't LOVE my team :)
Speaking of...my TL's mom found my blog the other day :P Alyssa ran up to me giggling about it, good thing I keep it all positive and upbeat for you guys, right?
It's really weird to think we're leaving soon, and we still don't know our next project! We find out on the 17th though! Priase! So excited....I'm not really anxious about it though like other people tend to be...figure there's nothing I can do about it anyway so why be anxious to find out.

For the next few weeks that we are here we have a lot planned (on weekends anyway)...this weekend we're doing ISP's all weekend. This weekend it's at the local petting zoo! It's not just any pettting zoo, it's an exotic petting zoo - like bears and tigers! The bears are famous and have been in movies...super excited....i still squeal whenever I see animals anywhere so when I get to pet them I'm probably going to cry!
Next weekend we're going to Louisville,KY. It's the kick off of the kentucky derby also apparently it's the biggest firework show east of the mississippi - so hopefully we get to see that..but even if we don't see fireworks there will be A LOT going on downtown that weekend :) Hopefully we get to see some cool stuff and maybe get some free stuff?! I love free stuff :) stipend life!
Then  the sunday after Louisville we're doing another ISP at a local art gallery. We're doing landscaping and just maintenance around their facility.

I'm not sure what the work schedule will be for the next couple weeks but it'll probably be interestnig..the weather around here is pretty simliar to VA. Today i was in the 70s but was REALLY humid....hmmm makes me think of home haha.

Sad to hear about some accidents and deaths at home, my thoughts are with you all...but also the birth of Shannon and Jon's new baby...such a sweet gift :) can't wait to come home and meet her!

ok i think that's it! time to finish up some paper work and enjoy sleep!

Explanation...

Okay my last post about my "plans for the future" was a little vague so I'll elaborate on it for a minute just because I'd like to explain it to you guys first off and also just so I have a place to refer back to if I ever find myself off the course I've chosen.
First off of course I need to finish this program I'm in...I'll be here until November 2013. After that I will be applying for the spring semester at JTCC, I've already filed financial aid information for the semester so hopefully that will all pan out in my favor. Also I've indicated my interest in work study so hopefully I could work around my schedule. At JTCC I plan to continue my general education classes. In addition to work study I'm planning applying for a state and national program which works with state parks in VA. I'd apply directly to the park I wanted, Pocahontas, and would work there for about 6 months I believe (I still have to look further into the details of that program before I make a commitment) and while working there I could also hold another job which I plan on looking into at the local YMCA camp which is close to my house AND school. After that I am going to apply for another Americorps NCCC term as a support team leader, STL, in either Vinton or Denver. Depending on the campus would determine WHEN I'd go. Depending on the summer schedule I could also take some classes over the summer possibily. After finishing my STL term I'd then go back to VA to work on my bachelors at VCU, I'm going for the bachelor of science in environmental studies. While going to school there I'd look into work opprotunities either in Chesterfield/Colonial heights area or Richmond area...
Doing other americorps programs such as state and national allow me to further network, especially in my local areas in fields of work I'm interested in and since we all know it's not necessarily WHAT you know opposed to WHO you know I'll have the best of both worlds. Also doing another term would give me an additional education award to go towards schooling. Also I'm sending out letters to several VA colleges about possibily doubling my education award. A lot of schools around the nation do it already so I figured no harm in asking and VCU is already aware of Americorps and what we do so I'm hoping by asking and sending a personal letter it'll persuade them to help me out a little bit.

Okay to sum up just so I can get it all out my head and on to a blog to hold myself responsibile...

1. JTCC spring semester 2013
1. work study
2. Americorps State/National - parks and rec work at Pocahontas
1. YMCA summer camp job
3. STL in Denver or Vinton
1. earn second edu. award.
4. VCU for bachelors in environmental studies
5. BE SUCCESSFUL IN EVERYTHING AND MOVE TO THE MIDWEST BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS BEAUITUFL AND LOOKS LIKE A WINDOWS DESK TOP WITH ALL THE ROLLING HILLS

:) hope this answers any and all questions...it sure helped me to get it out but I'm sure I'll be posting more of this information just as my mind freaks out...it's still like 7 months away BUT I'm already paranoid and freaking out!