I realize that the last time I wrote here, it was the middle of October. It's now the day after Thanksgiving, and I am no longer in Kansas City, no longer doing our first assignment we were given.
No, now I am a thousand miles away in New Jersey. Shortly after we arrived in KC, Hurricane Sandy struck the Atlantic coast, and as part of FEMA, we were deployed to assist the state of New Jersey. We've been here since November 2nd, doing a job that's not completely ours, and trying to make it through a difficult and sometimes maddeningly frustrating assignment. Some days I miss Kansas City and the work we had there, while other days I'm glad to be here, enjoying the oftentimes crazy schedule. We're currently working in Community Relations, going door to door asking survivors if they sustained any damage and registered with FEMA yet. I haven't had the opportunity to see some of the worse off damage on the coast, but there are a lot of people out in the counties my team has been working in with downed trees and power lines. It's not the job we were trained to do, but we accept it with a smile and a positive attitude, because we know that it's something that needs to get done.
I can't really give you all the details because each day blurs into the next. But the past two days have been a nice refresher. I went with three other members of my team to visit New York City for Thanksgiving. It was just a time to get away from the rest of the Corps and step away from the stress. We all have a fantastic time. We made it to the Macy's Parade and ate at some really cool little restaurants. We spent more time than not walking around Times Square and just taking in the feeling of being in New York. I did the touristy thing and bought myself a shirt, as well as some keychains for my siblings back home. (It sucks being broke and not being able to get them something cooler.) We rode the subway, went to Central Park, and then finished off the evening at McGee's, which, if you're ever up there, go to. Fantastic food and a homey atmosphere. It was probably the highlight of the entire trip for me. It sucked that it was towards the end and we couldn't stay longer unless we wanted to miss our train back.
And now I'm back here with the team, taking the time to get myself caught up on sleep and alone time before we go back to work tomorrow. There's word that we might get phased into a logistics position tomorrow, but that's something we're not positive about. It would be amazing to have that opportunity, but we'll see what the morning brings. At least when I leave here I can say I was cross-trained in CR and Logistics.
Time to go read a good book or something. I just figured I would take the time to update while I was sitting in front of a computer. I'm going to make an effort to update again before we leave here. Christmas break is only in a month. I'm looking forward to going home!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Graduation and First Assignment
So it's been a long two weeks, full of nothing but training for the entire Vinton class. We took our last test yesterday afternoon, finishing our class early. It was an easy test, and it was by far my favorite class out of the three we took. The instructors were fantastic, and they gave us candy. We all had a great time and it was sad to say good-bye to them. But that's what has to happen if we want to get out there and do what we came here to do.
Today we have graduation. I don't quite know how that's going to work out, but I'm going to have a hard time focusing because we leave early tomorrow morning for...drumroll please...
KANSAS CITY!
There are going to be four teams going there, and while I know it's in Missouri and I don't really want to go back to my state, it's been a long time since I visited KC and I'm really excited to see it again. One of my friends here on another team lives there, an she's super jealous. I wish she was going because she's awesome, but wherever she ends up I'll bet it would be just as great. (Her team still has yet to find out, and they're waiting rather impatiently.)
I have a lot left to do today. We're packing the van soon with everything but our backpacks, so I need to get set for that. It's going to be a fun game of Tetris. And then lunch, paperwork, graduation, and then freedom until our drive tomorrow! Next time I talk to you, I'll be in Kansas City!
Today we have graduation. I don't quite know how that's going to work out, but I'm going to have a hard time focusing because we leave early tomorrow morning for...drumroll please...
KANSAS CITY!
There are going to be four teams going there, and while I know it's in Missouri and I don't really want to go back to my state, it's been a long time since I visited KC and I'm really excited to see it again. One of my friends here on another team lives there, an she's super jealous. I wish she was going because she's awesome, but wherever she ends up I'll bet it would be just as great. (Her team still has yet to find out, and they're waiting rather impatiently.)
I have a lot left to do today. We're packing the van soon with everything but our backpacks, so I need to get set for that. It's going to be a fun game of Tetris. And then lunch, paperwork, graduation, and then freedom until our drive tomorrow! Next time I talk to you, I'll be in Kansas City!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Autumn, Training, Hiking
I think it's just easier for me to title things by what I've been doing instead of trying to come up with something clever.
So first thing being first, it's the beginning of October, which is special for three things. Halloween, my birthday (26th!) and the changing of the weather. I'm a very big fan of fall weather. It's always been my favorite growing up, and there's never really been anything to change that. However, Iowa started to get so damn cold! I was beginning to wonder if they even had an autumn. I figured that I'd rather take the eighty degrees here in the south than the thirty in Vinton.
Today is somewhere in the fifties though. I have fall weather! It has a certain vibe to it that just fills you with warmth and childlike memories. The leaves are changing colors, the wind is brisk, and there's just a certain smell that you can't help but inhale. It feels amazing. And when you go hiking, it feels even better. We got up this morning and had breakfast at our scheduled time of 5:15, and from there headed out to the Talladega National Forest. I think now is a good time to mention that it's the weekend of Talladega, so the highway was a parking lot. We saw it as we took a different route to the park. I know there were some people from the Corps who went and had a lot of fun, but I don't much care for it. I'm glad those who went though had a good time.
The park was gorgeous. We got a little lost and drove on a winding road that finally got us to the main office. Took about 30-45 minutes though. Nice team bonding. We hiked up a nice trail that was mainly covered in pine needles. It didn't seem to me that a lot of people used the trails, and at one point I think it was more us just walking in a dry creek bed. But we had a lot of fun. Climbed over some rocks and then sat and discussed the past week in a little clearing. It was peaceful and calming, and just what all of us needed. It's hard being stuck on a base where the only thing we do is go to class. I enjoy the trainings, I really do. They're interesting to attend, and we all seem to have a lot of fun. But there are just some moments when you feel like there's nothing else to do but sit and stare at the wall. So getting out and enjoying the beauty of the mountains here really rejuvenated all of us.
When we got back, I took a really long nap. Four hours long. Then I went to dinner and hung around with a few other Corps members not on my team. For future members, you're going to miss the time you spend with them when you're on spike. It's why a lot of people enjoy transition throughout the year. You get the chance to see the friends you make during CTI who aren't on your team. I'm cherishing what time we have left. We're leaving on the 17th, or 18th, I can't quite remember. So we have a week and a half left with each other. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll know what our assignments are going to be by the end of the week. We're all getting cabin fever and we want to get out and do what we signed up to do.
Now it's time to get ready for bed. The wonderful day off is coming to a close, and training starts again tomorrow. Until next time.
So first thing being first, it's the beginning of October, which is special for three things. Halloween, my birthday (26th!) and the changing of the weather. I'm a very big fan of fall weather. It's always been my favorite growing up, and there's never really been anything to change that. However, Iowa started to get so damn cold! I was beginning to wonder if they even had an autumn. I figured that I'd rather take the eighty degrees here in the south than the thirty in Vinton.
Today is somewhere in the fifties though. I have fall weather! It has a certain vibe to it that just fills you with warmth and childlike memories. The leaves are changing colors, the wind is brisk, and there's just a certain smell that you can't help but inhale. It feels amazing. And when you go hiking, it feels even better. We got up this morning and had breakfast at our scheduled time of 5:15, and from there headed out to the Talladega National Forest. I think now is a good time to mention that it's the weekend of Talladega, so the highway was a parking lot. We saw it as we took a different route to the park. I know there were some people from the Corps who went and had a lot of fun, but I don't much care for it. I'm glad those who went though had a good time.
The park was gorgeous. We got a little lost and drove on a winding road that finally got us to the main office. Took about 30-45 minutes though. Nice team bonding. We hiked up a nice trail that was mainly covered in pine needles. It didn't seem to me that a lot of people used the trails, and at one point I think it was more us just walking in a dry creek bed. But we had a lot of fun. Climbed over some rocks and then sat and discussed the past week in a little clearing. It was peaceful and calming, and just what all of us needed. It's hard being stuck on a base where the only thing we do is go to class. I enjoy the trainings, I really do. They're interesting to attend, and we all seem to have a lot of fun. But there are just some moments when you feel like there's nothing else to do but sit and stare at the wall. So getting out and enjoying the beauty of the mountains here really rejuvenated all of us.
When we got back, I took a really long nap. Four hours long. Then I went to dinner and hung around with a few other Corps members not on my team. For future members, you're going to miss the time you spend with them when you're on spike. It's why a lot of people enjoy transition throughout the year. You get the chance to see the friends you make during CTI who aren't on your team. I'm cherishing what time we have left. We're leaving on the 17th, or 18th, I can't quite remember. So we have a week and a half left with each other. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll know what our assignments are going to be by the end of the week. We're all getting cabin fever and we want to get out and do what we signed up to do.
Now it's time to get ready for bed. The wonderful day off is coming to a close, and training starts again tomorrow. Until next time.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Anniston, Alabama and the CDP
Made it to our destination this afternoon! We had a five hour car ride, and I think I speak for the entire team when I say about time! For being a two day trip in a van stuffed full of everything, I think we did pretty damn good sanity-wise. There were a few moments, but nothing worth really mentioning. We got here around two and were allowed into the complex for a quick briefing and to receive the rest of our uniforms, as listed:
The rooms are hotel style-ish. There are two Corps members in each room, with a bathroom connecting two rooms together. I have Jessie, a girl on my team, in my room, and we share a bathroom with two other girls on our team. It's very basic, but it's comfortable and it works. There's a tiny recliner in the room that's quite comfortable, and if it wasn't for back problems, I wouldn't mind sleeping in it. The two of us have decided that we're just going to share the bed though. Should be comfortable enough. There's also a TV, little coffee maker, and a decent-sized fridge, but I have no idea what to put in it since we're going to receive meals from the CDP for the next two and a half weeks.
As I said before, training starts tomorrow. We're all looking forward to it. The first week is geared towards FEMA and what they do, which is exciting, but I'm more looking forward to the second week, where we'll learn about our specific roles. Breakfast is starting at 6:45 in the morning, so I should probably start working on going to bed. Just going to add that I miss being back in the South, and I'm glad to be here. It's not Tuscaloosa, but I think Anniston will grow on m rather fast. Tomorrow begins a new day. Hopefully I can manage to post a little more often than normal while we're here.
- Two polos
- Three t-shirts
- One long-sleeve shirt
- Hoodie
- Jacket
- Baseball hat
The rooms are hotel style-ish. There are two Corps members in each room, with a bathroom connecting two rooms together. I have Jessie, a girl on my team, in my room, and we share a bathroom with two other girls on our team. It's very basic, but it's comfortable and it works. There's a tiny recliner in the room that's quite comfortable, and if it wasn't for back problems, I wouldn't mind sleeping in it. The two of us have decided that we're just going to share the bed though. Should be comfortable enough. There's also a TV, little coffee maker, and a decent-sized fridge, but I have no idea what to put in it since we're going to receive meals from the CDP for the next two and a half weeks.
As I said before, training starts tomorrow. We're all looking forward to it. The first week is geared towards FEMA and what they do, which is exciting, but I'm more looking forward to the second week, where we'll learn about our specific roles. Breakfast is starting at 6:45 in the morning, so I should probably start working on going to bed. Just going to add that I miss being back in the South, and I'm glad to be here. It's not Tuscaloosa, but I think Anniston will grow on m rather fast. Tomorrow begins a new day. Hopefully I can manage to post a little more often than normal while we're here.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I've Been Pretty Bad at This
I'm not really going to bore you with all of the training that we did since the last time I posted. It was mainly diversity training, ethics and EEO, and a few other things that are important but I'm too tired right now to recall.
I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Clarksville, TN with two other girls in the Pine unit. All of us in FEMA Corps got inducted into the program officially on Friday, and then we all piled into our vans this morning to head down to Anniston, AL for FEMA training. So far it hasn't been too bad, up until the end when the hotel was in sight but there was a detour right in front of the first entrance we found, so we had to maneuver around to try and get into the parking lot. At that point everyone realized there were beds within reach and some of us were getting cranky. The highlight of the entire trip I think was when we went through St. Louis and I got to see my girlfriend for all of ten minutes, but when you're away for ten months learning to live with a bunch of strangers, I'll take whatever familiarity I can get.
Tomorrow we're going to be leaving sometime between six and seven in the morning to finish the last leg of the trip. Anniston is only about four or five hours if I remember right, so it won't be as bad. We'll begin in-processing as soon as we get there. The first week will be filled with general FEMA training, which I assume so far is mainly history and what FEMA actually does in detail. The second week will be filled with position-specific training. I mentioned earlier at some point that my team is Logistics, so we're going to be focusing on setting up and taking down the JFOs that FEMA runs during disasters, plus a few other things. It's been a really long day, can't you tell? I'm having a hard time remembering all of the things that I wanted to say right now. I should probably head to bed. We're hoping to spend a little bit of time in Nashville tomorrow and just hang out some, since some members on the team haven't actually been in the South.
I know there wasn't much fascinating about this post, but CTI is very dry and tedious. Some parts are fun, but there's a lot of trainings that you really don't want to have to write about. Hopefully the FEMA training is far more interesting, and then we'll be heading off to our first project assignment! The Vicksburg campus has already received theirs, I believe last night, and they're spending the next day or two traveling to them. I can't wait for ours. It's going to be an awesome time, and then I'll actually have more to write about! Let's just hope I have internet.
Until next time.
I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Clarksville, TN with two other girls in the Pine unit. All of us in FEMA Corps got inducted into the program officially on Friday, and then we all piled into our vans this morning to head down to Anniston, AL for FEMA training. So far it hasn't been too bad, up until the end when the hotel was in sight but there was a detour right in front of the first entrance we found, so we had to maneuver around to try and get into the parking lot. At that point everyone realized there were beds within reach and some of us were getting cranky. The highlight of the entire trip I think was when we went through St. Louis and I got to see my girlfriend for all of ten minutes, but when you're away for ten months learning to live with a bunch of strangers, I'll take whatever familiarity I can get.
Tomorrow we're going to be leaving sometime between six and seven in the morning to finish the last leg of the trip. Anniston is only about four or five hours if I remember right, so it won't be as bad. We'll begin in-processing as soon as we get there. The first week will be filled with general FEMA training, which I assume so far is mainly history and what FEMA actually does in detail. The second week will be filled with position-specific training. I mentioned earlier at some point that my team is Logistics, so we're going to be focusing on setting up and taking down the JFOs that FEMA runs during disasters, plus a few other things. It's been a really long day, can't you tell? I'm having a hard time remembering all of the things that I wanted to say right now. I should probably head to bed. We're hoping to spend a little bit of time in Nashville tomorrow and just hang out some, since some members on the team haven't actually been in the South.
I know there wasn't much fascinating about this post, but CTI is very dry and tedious. Some parts are fun, but there's a lot of trainings that you really don't want to have to write about. Hopefully the FEMA training is far more interesting, and then we'll be heading off to our first project assignment! The Vicksburg campus has already received theirs, I believe last night, and they're spending the next day or two traveling to them. I can't wait for ours. It's going to be an awesome time, and then I'll actually have more to write about! Let's just hope I have internet.
Until next time.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Training, Training, Training
I didn't realize I hadn't posted for two weeks now. I've been so busy with everything going on around here in the Ameribubble that I lost track of time. Last I left, I had just gotten my temporary team. Well, last Wednesday I got my permanent team! I am now a member of Pine 5, with ten other members and our Team Leader. I won't bore you with the list of trainings we hard to do these past two weeks. Like I said, I've been really busy. This post is mainly to prove that I'm still alive. I will touch on just a couple things though.
First, NCCC has everyone in the group hold a role for the year. There are six, and mine is Service Learning Initiator (hereby known as SLI). I did SLI last year, and I was hoping to not get it again, but the only other one I wanted, Support Ranger, got taken, so I decided to give it another go. Basically we're the ones asking questions. Why are we doing this? What do we or the community get out of this project we do? We facilitate reflections for the rest of the team to think back on the project to try and take something positive out of something that might have gone so horribly wrong.
The other thing is that each team has one specific role given to us by FEMA. Pine 5 is technically a hybrid team. We have nine of us as Logistics Specialists, and two members are Logistics Systems Specialists. Basically we set up and take down FEMA offices during disasters, and assist with distributing items needed in the community. I'm really excited for it.
But now I have more training that I have to get to. I'm very tired because we had our first real PT at 5:30 this morning, but I've got to get over it because we have a ropes course in Iowa City this afternoon, and then we're going to stay up there for a couple of hours and just hang out and eat dinner. It's going to be awesome!
Until next time.
First, NCCC has everyone in the group hold a role for the year. There are six, and mine is Service Learning Initiator (hereby known as SLI). I did SLI last year, and I was hoping to not get it again, but the only other one I wanted, Support Ranger, got taken, so I decided to give it another go. Basically we're the ones asking questions. Why are we doing this? What do we or the community get out of this project we do? We facilitate reflections for the rest of the team to think back on the project to try and take something positive out of something that might have gone so horribly wrong.
The other thing is that each team has one specific role given to us by FEMA. Pine 5 is technically a hybrid team. We have nine of us as Logistics Specialists, and two members are Logistics Systems Specialists. Basically we set up and take down FEMA offices during disasters, and assist with distributing items needed in the community. I'm really excited for it.
But now I have more training that I have to get to. I'm very tired because we had our first real PT at 5:30 this morning, but I've got to get over it because we have a ropes course in Iowa City this afternoon, and then we're going to stay up there for a couple of hours and just hang out and eat dinner. It's going to be awesome!
Until next time.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Just Like Before
As I stated before on my blog, this is the second time doing this. So a lot of what I'm currently going through is stuff I've done already. But there's enough things specific to the campus to keep everything interesting.
I arrived yesterday at about 12:30 to the small Eastern Iowa airport. It was only one terminal, extremely simple to navigate, and it was suddenly flooded by my entire plane unloading all the new FEMA Corps members. We collected our bags and hopped on a shuttle bus that drove us about forty minutes to Vinton, Iowa itself. Once there we checked in and immediately began inprocessing. We got fitted for our romm assignments, filled out some paperwork, and received roommates. My roommate's name is Teresa, and so far we've gotten along wonderfully. She's an awesome person to talk to. We actually met at the airport and then sat on the bus back to campus, so we'd been able to talk beforehand. I'm one of the lucky ones. The building we're staying in, Palmer, has all the girls in two-person rooms. (At least I think they all are. Haven't seen more than two names on each door.) Some of the other rooms have up to eight people, so we're pretty lucky. Not only that, but we also have the only Wi-fi on campus, and our room is directly over the computer lab, so we get a pretty decent connection here instead of going downstairs to the lounge. Oh, and we apparently have the best AC. It's still really hot here, just like in Missouri. I didn't much get to enjoy it though because we were all really busy.
After inprocessing, we had to go to what's called an All-Corps meeting, which I think is pretty self-explanatory. By that point though I had a headache because I'd only gotten about three hours of sleep and hadn't eaten for eight hours, so I was really ready to go to bed. But when I got back to my room and laid down, I was just too gross to sleep. But somehow, the girl's shower on our floor flooded! So after talking to a TL, I found out that there was a bathroom downstairs with showers in it that we could use temporarily. So Teresa and I went down there and were able to go to bed feeling refreshed.
Today was a little different. I met my temporary team, which they are only calling groups, for the first time. We met twice throughout the day, to get a more thorough tour of the campus, and then to discuss food shopping for the next few days. I also had Residence Hall Orientation, which was just an overview of what you can and can't do in the dorms, and what kind of things they have here on campus that we can use.
And now it's time for dinner. Right now they're catering food for us from Iowa City, but tomorrow night two people from the groups are going to go shopping for the next few days and then we're going to start cooking for ourselves. Can't wait for that. It's going to be interesting.
I arrived yesterday at about 12:30 to the small Eastern Iowa airport. It was only one terminal, extremely simple to navigate, and it was suddenly flooded by my entire plane unloading all the new FEMA Corps members. We collected our bags and hopped on a shuttle bus that drove us about forty minutes to Vinton, Iowa itself. Once there we checked in and immediately began inprocessing. We got fitted for our romm assignments, filled out some paperwork, and received roommates. My roommate's name is Teresa, and so far we've gotten along wonderfully. She's an awesome person to talk to. We actually met at the airport and then sat on the bus back to campus, so we'd been able to talk beforehand. I'm one of the lucky ones. The building we're staying in, Palmer, has all the girls in two-person rooms. (At least I think they all are. Haven't seen more than two names on each door.) Some of the other rooms have up to eight people, so we're pretty lucky. Not only that, but we also have the only Wi-fi on campus, and our room is directly over the computer lab, so we get a pretty decent connection here instead of going downstairs to the lounge. Oh, and we apparently have the best AC. It's still really hot here, just like in Missouri. I didn't much get to enjoy it though because we were all really busy.
After inprocessing, we had to go to what's called an All-Corps meeting, which I think is pretty self-explanatory. By that point though I had a headache because I'd only gotten about three hours of sleep and hadn't eaten for eight hours, so I was really ready to go to bed. But when I got back to my room and laid down, I was just too gross to sleep. But somehow, the girl's shower on our floor flooded! So after talking to a TL, I found out that there was a bathroom downstairs with showers in it that we could use temporarily. So Teresa and I went down there and were able to go to bed feeling refreshed.
Today was a little different. I met my temporary team, which they are only calling groups, for the first time. We met twice throughout the day, to get a more thorough tour of the campus, and then to discuss food shopping for the next few days. I also had Residence Hall Orientation, which was just an overview of what you can and can't do in the dorms, and what kind of things they have here on campus that we can use.
And now it's time for dinner. Right now they're catering food for us from Iowa City, but tomorrow night two people from the groups are going to go shopping for the next few days and then we're going to start cooking for ourselves. Can't wait for that. It's going to be interesting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)