Week 2 update

So, you should read the previous posting, for week 2 before this. I'm sure most of you won't so it's your fault if you are confused! =)

Good news. . .my CMIT who went home, came back!! YAY!! THe next evening she called me up and said that she wanted to come back. Our Unit leader had called her Friday to try to talk her into coming back and David and i were going to call anyways on Friday evening to see how she was doing and to give it one more try. Her parents and a friend from home talked her into being strong and coming back. She knows she shouldn't quit something just because others want her to, or are rude and immature. She has been a welcome readdition to the team over the last few days.

On the other hand, I have become more frustrated with certain attitudes of teenagers here. I know that all teenagers arn't like this but those that are, just break my heart (and aggravate the crap out of me). I just don't understand the apathy and attitude. I know that a lot of it is a result of the home life and the pressures in the neighborhood and schools they are in the other 51 weeks out of the year. Some of them are starting to come around, and I am really enjoying getting to know them. Others however, will probably not remain here for graduation on Saturday morning. We are not putting up with things anymore. I say that, but last night David and i decided to keep one of ours, and we regretted it about 10 minutes after making the decision. We saw taht attitude when we told him his punishment for this week, instead of going home.

Today, 3 of the guy were not with us. One (the one previously mentioned) stayed here to work with staff, and 2 of the guys were sick (?). Anyways, it was a wonderful day. We learned about the Monks at Mepkin Abbey and the history of the Abbey. We didn't do a lot of hard work but they learned a lot and it was fun to see them engaged in what we were doing.

Time to go take a short nap. . .or read some more Harry Potter.

Week 2

So you are wondering, what was my life like this week?

Sunday/Monday - see previous posting. Also, after writing the last posting on Monday night one of my CMITS was kicked out of the program. Hard decision, but it was one staff felt needed to happen. Long, complicated explaination on this one, so i'll spare you the details of why.

Tuesday- Last day at the Summer day camp. We ran the activities that we organized during the morning and said our goodbyes to the kids. It was only slightly awkward with the staff, considering one of the main ones missed the memo and didn't know we were leaving? Yeah. So we came back here for the afternoon and did a formal debriefing, similar to what we do w/ our teams, for some of the staff here, as a way to bring some closure to the project. The CMITS had to present what the project was, the accomplishments, one thing they learned and some Plusses and Deltas. Deltas are things they feel could have been changed but they have to offer solutions too, instead of just complaining about things. Then we had a team building session with the counselor here, where we did some active listening and a little conflict resolution.

Wednesday - First day at new project, Old Santee Canal State Park. It is in Moncks Corner up about 45 minutes north of Charleston. Over the 3 days we were there this week we pulled some weeds, applied more finishing solution to some old wood floors in a 19th century plantation home, and cleared about a 400 sq foot wooded area so they can make it a picnic area. Cutting down trees was a lot of fun, and i enjoy making my group work since work ethic is a huge problem. We did a few other odd and end jobs around the park as well.

Thursday - During the day thursday I was informed that one of the girls on my team wanted to quit the program. This surprised me because the girl who wanted to quit, we'll call her Sue, is one of the brightest girls in the program. She is smart, well mannered, and well behaved. I mean sure, she can be a teenager sometimes, but David and I really enjoy having her on our team. By the time we got back to base after working she had made up her mind that she was going home. As her friends started finding out she wanted to go home they stole her suitcase, sheets, cell phone and room key trying to keep her to stay. No matter what I said to her, she wasn't budging. It just didn't make sense. So, that evening, David and I met with the Program Manager and Sue to try one last attempt at keeping her here. The truth came out during this meeting, that someone had said something extremely offensive to her, and she just decided that she wasn't going to be here anymore. She said we shouldn't have to be punishing and disciplining 14-17 yr olds because they should just not be so immature and disrespectful. She goes to one of the top private schools here in this area so i guess she doesn't deal with this problem much. I, however, came into this knowing I would be dealing with immaturity so disciplining isn't a problem for me. She told us she really didn't want to go home, but she also didn't want to stay. She is an insanely head strong young lady, so nothing we said helped in our 45 minute meeting. Her father came to pick her up later that evening, and David and I were beyond frustrated/mad/sad/etc. We both had the night off, but since the meeting lasted way past dinner time we sulked for the rest of the evening, but did manage to get away to a burger joint (not fast food) for a fattening burger and fries. Luckily we did not see any of our group when we got back later that evening, because even though she did not tell us who said this offensive comment, we know who it was (99% sure) but couldn't do anything about it because she didn't tell us. Two of our guys were placed on Probation that night though, along with a handfull of other CMITS who cause the most trouble on each team. One more thing, and they are out. . . they just don't get it.

MOving on. . .
Friday- We had a some what lighter day workwise. After doing a little work around the park in the morning we were able to go canoeing in the swampy waters of the Santee river for a while. We saw one baby aligator and lots of pretty Osprey. I enjoyed teaching my group to canoe (with the basic skills I have) since most of them hadn't ever been in a canoe before. Luckily there were no casualties to the swampy water. I was proud of them.

Saturday - 12:00 AM. I waited in line, with 2 other devoted Crew leaders, to receive Harry Potter #7! I will refrain from saying anymore on this subject for those of you who are currently reading, or will be reading it. If ANYONE tells me what happens I will not speak to you till I get home. If you wish to discuss anything related to it, send me an email with (ONLY) what page you are on, and if I am past that point I will be open to limited discussion.

Ameri-folks- There shall be no discussion till Transition. See ya'll in 2 1/2 weeks.

Oh, and on a side note, I found out this week I will be in Biloxi, working at Hands On Gulf Coast for my 4th round project. I think the dates are Aug 8-Sept 19th!!!! (bonus points for all who know what falls between those dates)
More details about that to follow.

One week of SOS left. . . I am working at Mepkin Abbey this week. I get to eat lunch w/ monks on Monday. A silent lunch for my team, i can't wait to see this!

SOS Week 1

So, I have survived the first week of Summer of Service. The CMITS (corps members in training, the youth), arrived on Sunday. We greeted them, met parents, showed them their luxurious (haha) rooms in the old barracks. Sunday night we had our first team meeting and introductions with the team. Monday they had some exciting trainings all day. They also received their stylish uniforms. Their shirts are canary yellow. . .i still rock the gray. I have a pretty crazy bunch. They are all 14 and 15 yrs old. A couple of them went to the same school so they knew each other in advance. In some ways that wasn't good, because they were causing trouble from the beginning. Actually they havn't been too bad. We are starting to crack down on things, because there are some kids (not necessarily mine, but sometimes. . .) who arn't here for the right reasons and shouldn't be here, ruining everyone else's experiences. One girl has already left, we took care of that this past weekend. I won't get into that long story on here, but lets just say i was up till 2 AM Sat night w/ staff trying to figure things out, and then up again by 7 Sunday morning. Then David and I had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with a parent Sunday evening. I did get to a church here, and to see Harry Potter, but it was a very long day, and i am still recovering, sleep/exhaustion wise.

The project my team (Blue 4) has been working on this week has been at a Summer day camp, sponsored by the Charleston Recreation and Parks department. Our first day was Tuesday, and we found out when we got there than the camp wasn't exactly what we were told it would be. It is located a a small park complex in Charleson, near a project community. Apparently, last session they had 35 kids, but this session we have never had more than 14. With 12 of us there, you can imagine there is a lot of sitting around going on. Plus, to make it worse, the staff there is not supportive at all. They don't plan activities for the kids to do, and it has been a real headache for David and I to try to work things out with them. We have met with our unit leader here on base every day since tuesday, trying to work things out, and get ideas. The staff here has been amazingly supportive and I could not ask for better people to work under (even though a few of them are tarheel's). Side note- it has been a lot of fun to have people back in my life that understand the rivarly that we all, NC'ers, know and love.
Back to the project. . . David and I decided on Friday that we would be willing to try to plan and run the activities at this camp, but only if our team was willing to be in it 100%. We talked to them, and were completely honest about where things stood, and they said they were willing. Well, today came and that definitly wasn't the same group that agreed to put forth 100%. So, this aft ernoon we met with staff and decided to move to a different project. Our team wasn't happy with this, mainly because they don't wanna leave the kids. I don't wanna leave the kids either, but there has to be enough work to do. Plain and simple. Plus, today was rough on them because david and i are done taking attitudes. Ours definitly arn't the worst attitudes in the program, but it's enough that is disrespectful and needs to change. Otherwise, they can go home. Sounds harsh, i know. I don't wan't to send them home, but we don't have time, in a 3 week program, no only 2 left, to deal with people that don't wanna be here, and don't wanna do the service. All of the crew leaders feel the staff is being too lenient with some things. Heck, there was some kind of altercation between 2 guys tonight and i don't know if they are getting sent home or not. Ugh. . .so frustrating, all the talk about sending people home, and not carrying it out. It is hard, this is a good program for these kids to be in, but if they arn't going to cooperate, our hands are somewhat tied.

That is definitly no where near what all has happened, but this would be insanely long and I don't have the time to tell much more. This has been an amazing experience already, and It is only 1/3rd done. This has also been one of the hardest experiences, especially in this short amount of time. Student teaching was insanely exhausting, but not anywhere near this soon. We racked up 113 hours of work last week. We are pretty much on duty from 5:30 AM (for PT) till 10:30 or later at night. It is going to be so strange going back to a regular corps member for 2 months after this. I am looking forward to seeing what these next 2 weeks have in store.

Tonight is going to be an early night to bed. (hopefully 10:30??) Some of us, crazy crew leaders, staff and a few committed youth are getting up to do a 40 min run on the Ravanelle Bridge here in Charleston at 5:30AM. It's a really pretty bridge. . .a long pretty bridge. The sunrise makes the run worth it.

Hopefully i can write again soon. Time is not something I get, even on my "off duty" nights.
Happy Harry Potter release week!!!

Summer of Service

The next 3 weeks are going to be some crazy weeks. We have finished our training, so I finally have a pretty good idea what we are going to be doing. Then again, with teenagers, all that could go out the window too!
Basically, this program, Summer of service, is a pilot program, that is being held in 3 locations this summer. Charleston SC; Denver, CO; and New Orleans, LA. Each campus will have 100, 14-17 yr olds, who will be the CMITS (Corps Members in Training), 2 Group leaders, and 20 Crew Leaders, which is what I am. My campus, here in Charleston, is the exception, but the Crew Leaders are current Americorps members, who have left their teams to do this project for 5 weeks (2 weeks of training and 3 weeks of camp). My campus is an exception because we have 13 people who have finished their 10 months, back in May, and have come back to do more service for 5 weeks. There are 9 of us, 3 from each of the other campus's, who are filling out the rest of the Crew Leader positions. My co-leader is actually a guy who was at the Charleston campus.

Last week, as i mentioned in my last posting, was National training. All of the crew leaders from each of the three Summer of Service (SOS) sites were in Sacramento CA. This week we had more trainings at our individual campus's. This was more site specific things for our individual programs. It was nice to be able to get to know the other crew leaders and the Charleston staff. I really like the staff, they are on top of their game and they really have their stuff together. Incase i havn't mentioned this before, the Charleston campus is closing after this program. The class that graduated in May, is the last Americorps class that will be here. Apparently headquarters is dealing with the funding cuts (remember those, last year when i didn't know what i was going to be doing??), by shutting down this campus since it's lease with the buildings was going to be up this next year. It really stinks that this campus is closing. From what I can tell the corps members here really like the program and it kinda seems like they get more out of it than I do in Sacramento. Sure, they have plenty of team and team leader problems, but that is gonna be anywhere!

Back to what I am doing these next few weeks. . .
The youth come on Sunday, and we will get them settled in their rooms and do a lot of the introduction stuff. We have our first team meetings where we gotta lay down the law so they stay in line for the rest of the time =). Monday we do inprocessing where they get uniforms, ID's, and some basic trainings on what the program is and what they will be doing. We have some teambuilding stuff early the first week and we start working on our projects on Tuesday. My team will be working at a summer camp for low income kids in Charleston. The camp has about 35 kids and they do arts and crafts, dance, sports, swimming, a little tutoring, and other fun activities during the day. My co-leader and I are really excited about the swimming a few times a week! Our CMITS (youth) are going to be able to plan some activities for the kids, and we get to go on 2 cool fieldtrips with them. David and I visited our site earlier this week and met the sponsors, it seems like they are really organized so working with them should be fun.
In the evenings we have some team activites that we get to plan for our groups, and they have a couple speakers coming, and other workshops on skills/ or subjects that they requested during orientation. I know that my team is going on what we like to call a "team date" with another team Friday, to the minor league baseball game. The other team's leaders are 2 people we've been hanging out with a lot so we decided a date would be fun. The teams at my Sacramento campus also team date, it's a lot of fun, and an easy way to get to hang out with other teams.

I think that kinda sums up the first week or so. I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes, and more details along the way, as it comes up, of course. I am really excited about the next three weeks. The last two have been 2 of the best weeks i've had in Americorps, so I am hoping this continues, like I think it will. We are prepared and ready to go. . . lets hope the youth are too!!

Who?? me??

"Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

"The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

"But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
Exodus 4:10-13

I don't know about you, but i've felt like this a lot over this past year. I, like Moses, often feel like i can't think of the right words to say, or that I get tongue tied when I am trying to explain myself. However, as we know, God used Moses as his hands and feet, to do amazing things. If He could use Moses, he can use me, and you, as well.

This week we are continuing our training and preparation for the Summer of Service program. 100 youth arrive on Sunday (the 8th), and will be here with us for 3 crazy weeks. Training last week was pretty good. Having grown up in the humid summers in NC, I loved the weather in California. The lack of humidity and nice warm temperatures were wonderful. We arrived in Charleston late Friday night, and got settled into our permanent rooms Saturday afternoon. The Americorps campus here is located on the old navy base, that is now run by Homeland Security. We have to show our Americorps ID's every time we come onto base and then again to get into our gated dorms. Unfortunately I could go to jail for taking pictures inside base, so you'll have to use your imagination if you wanna know what it looks like here.

We explored a little in Charleston this weekend, and will do a little more of that this weekend, along with planning, preparing and getting psyched up about the youth coming next week! It would have been nice to do SOS in New Orleans with a bunch of my friends on other teams, but i think i got the good end of the deal because the staff here are great and they are on the ball. The other leaders here are a lot of fun too, so overall i think this will be a good experience. I'll fill you in about what all will be going down here for Summer of Service (SOS) later this week once i know more!

Happy first week of July!! (crazy!!)