Training, Training, Training

I've been here for about a week and our days are packed full of early mornings and meeting after meeting! For the next few weeks we will be receiving all the training that we need to be successful when we head out on spikes, our six to eight week projects. Soon we will go on a short spike, probably somewhere in Iowa, to get a feel for what the longer ones will be like. There are ten people in my team, nine members and a team leader. We found out our permanent assignments last Sunday. I am serving in Oak 2. This week we have been getting to know each other, as we participated in a low ropes course and talked about how we can work as a team when stress gets in the way. My wonderful roommate is in my unit, so even though we aren't in the same team, we have a lot of training together. This past week I learned basic van maintenance, got certified in first aide and adult CPR, and participated in training sessions where we learned about the different representative roles. I am going to be the Project Outreach Liason (POL) with my friend James, as well as a member of CAP (Corp Ambassador). With one other person we are responsible for doing recruitment events to get people in the community more aware of the program and what we do. As a CAP, James and I will research different non profit organizations that our team can do our ISP's (Independent Service Projects). In addition to our regular hours of service, we also have to perform at least 8- hours of independent service, which happens in addition to the time spent on projects. Yesterday we spent the morning in the hospital getting medical testing taken care of, and then had two short meetings. Afterwards I went with my roommate Becky, my friend Stacie, and Becky's friend Zach to a nearby diner, and then Becky and I walked around the town, taking pictures and trying to find a nature trail (that was a fail). I went out with some friends later in the evening, but came back early and got some sleep. Tonight I am cooking dinner with Gabe, one of the other members in the group. We do our own cooking and shopping, and thanks to Gabe we went under budget which is really cool. This coming week I have a cooking class,extra training for my representative (REP) roles, a disaster services overview, and shelter ops and simulation, in case we have to set up a shelter. We also have weekly room inspections and kitchen/common area inspections. It's a lot of working, but I'm learning a lot!

New Beginings

On Tuesday I received a call from AmeriCorp, officially asking me if I was interested in serving. I of course said yes, but was in shock. I had to listen to the message twice before I finally understood what they were asking. When I had called the day before, they had asked me if I would still be interested in serving should a spot become available. I had three days to get ready! It was pretty crazy, since I had people to contact and last minute shopping to do to get ready for this next adventure. I flew to my new home in Vinton, IA on Friday, and the chaos began. This week is what is known as in processing-getting all the paperwork taken care of, meetings to go over policies and expectations, and fittings for our uniforms. We are placed into a temporary team. We eat our meals with them and go to meetings at the same time. Tomorrow we get our official group assignments, and these are the people that we will be with for the remainder of our stay. Monday starts CTI- Corp Training Institute, where we get certifications in CPR and first aide, participate three days a week in physical training, and get the skills necessary to go out into the field and start our term of service. This is going to be an amazing adventure. It will be challenging, and I have so much to learn (and of course I'm not just talking about learning how to navigate the complex tunnel system), but I know that I am going to come away from this ten month experience with new skills, new friends, and more confidence in myself and my abilities as a leader. I will post more as things start rolling, but hopefully this post provides the reader with some information as to what I have been up to since arriving in my new home.