Pre-Project Prep

The week so far has been uneventful, but also very busy. I'm pleased to announce that we have unofficially completed the Corps Training Institute! Yesterday afternoon we had our last training session, this one on anger and stress management. However, I've still been very occupied this week because we leave for Wyoming on Sunday, and much of our time has been dedicated to preparing for the trip.

Today was our official briefing, in which we formally presented our project to the unit leader and program directors and demonstrated our readiness to depart by presenting our research on the town and organizations with whom we will be working. I'm pleased to say we totally rocked it; during the feedback session, they said we sounded like seasoned presenters and had great information.

We've also had a series of meetings concerning our team positions. Every person on the team has an official role, from peer helpers, who provide emotional support and counseling to the team, the CAPpers, or Corps Ambassador Program coordinators, who visit schools, churches, and other institutions to recruit for the NCCC. My team role is photojournalist and media representative (no big surprises there, right?). As you've seen, I've already been taking photos like crazy, and hopefully some of the shots can be used in future AmeriCorps publicity efforts or in the campus's internal Common Grounds newsletter. As one of my first tasks, I helped design and create a team brochure, which you can view and download here. I'll also be writing press releases and contacting local media outlets when we travel to our project locations.

The final challenge of this week was switching rooms. When we first arrived on campus, we were assigned dorms alphabetically by last name. Now that we have been divided into our permanent teams, they want to group us together so that when we are back in Sacramento, we can stay housed close together instead of being spread out of six floors worth of rooms. Needless to say, trying to get 300 corps members moved simultaneously was an utter madhouse. As we were moving out, others were moving in; stairways and doorways were jam packed, and it was a miracle that belongings managed to end up in the right place. I fortunately got an headstart, so I was able to get settled in my new room early in the evening.



I like my new room a lot better than the previous one. Out of the two dormitory buildings on campus, mine is definitely the cleaner and better maintained one. My room is right by the computer lab, so I get wireless Internet in my room, which is by far the biggest perk! I'm also situated right next to the exit doors for easy access to the stairs and to the lounges (my previous room was located at the very farthest end of the hallway, which was quite a hike). In addition, I only have one roommate instead of two, and though we haven't hung out much, my new roomie Dustin was very upfront about laying down preferences and ground rules and seems like a cool guy. Since we are on separate teams, I probably will frequently have the dorm to myself since our project schedules differ, and we will likely be in Sacramento and different times. The only downside to the new living arrangement is that my mattress is a lot lumpier than before, but that's a minor price to pay for the benefits I'm receiving.

Tomorrow, we will have one last day of service before leaving for Wyoming. From what I've heard, we will be working with a local railroad museum, which sounds like it will be a lot of fun. This Friday will be my induction, which you are all invited to attend (which is purely a courtesy; I certainly don't expect anyone to come), followed by a free day on Saturday. I'm planning to go downtown with my old pod members (good old 22!) for an art walk event they hold monthly in Sacramento called Second Saturday. I'll be sure to update you with plenty of photos and stories, and then it's off to Wyoming!