Pre Service Orientation

This past week I did my pre-service training for Americorps VISTA in Santa Fe, NM. Arriving at Santa Fe I was extremely nervous and overwhelmed. I had just said goodbye to my Dad earlier that morning in Albuquerque and it tore me apart. What was I doing moving to an isolated part of the country when I could be in MA with my family and friends. It pretty much took all of my willpower to not drive back to Massachusetts. However, a bit into training I felt much better about this whole Americorps thing. Through training I was able to meet several other individuals who would be serving as VISTAs in tribal communities across the country. Many of them had the same worries I did. It was good to be able to hash it all out.

Training everyday was intense. We would have breakfast around 7:30 and be in training sessions by 8:30. This training was a first for Americorps. Although they have been doing PSOs for many years this was the first PSO design specifically for VISTA’s serving in tribal communities. The purpose of this PSO was to not only train people to be VISTAs but also to bring a greater understanding about the unique communities that we will be serving. One of the things that I was surprised by was it was continually repeated that many people in the communities we would be serving might be stand offish or right down upset about our presence. Additionally, they told us that it would take us a while to be welcomed into the communities. Well that threw me for a bit of a loop. One of the things that stresses me about the year is being lonely and isolated and now I am finding out that it will be pretty much guaranteed L

However, on the up and up PSO gave me a time and place to have a really fun experience before heading off to service. I met a bunch of really neat people and we had a ton of fun at meals getting to know each other. Also we had the evening free and we just had fun hanging out. One night we even ventured to the pool and hot tub. One of the awesome things we did was a service project at the Santa Fe Indian School. All 25 VISTAs were put in smaller groups and sent out to do various projects. Other groups had to pick up trash off school grounds and clean windows and toilets. My group lucked out in our service project in the middle school dormitory. We were brought to what seemed to be a huge closet that had boxes and shelves. What we found out was it was supposed to be a library/reading room for the kids but no one had the time to shelve the books. My group got to work and in no time we created a really nice space for the kids to relax (see picture). The final night in Santa Fe a bunch of us headed out for a night on the town and we hit up some of Santa Fe’s bars for dancing. On Friday it was sad to say goodbye to so many cool people. Luckily some of us are posted near each other and have plans to go hiking and maybe even a road trip to North Dakota?!?! Overall, I am excited for a year of service and also to a year of making memories with some new good friends.

Tulsa, Amarillo, and Grants

Well over the past two days I have managed to travel through the following states: Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The last three are all states I have never visited. I would like to say that traveling across all these states was awe inspiring but instead I am going to have to use the term REPETITIVE. One the first day I have to admit I was excited to start the next leg of the trip, having my first Sonic meal and seeing the St. Louis arch. Following St. Louis it was neat to see some road side attractions but about half way through Missouri I was ready to be done with the rolling fields of the mid west. That night Dad and I crashed in Tulsa hoping tomorrow would bring better better land scapes. Unfortunately, Oklahoma was not much of a change the rest of the way. By the time we got to the Texas state line. I hoped that the scenery would drastically change. WRONG! More flat land with with cows!

By the time Dad and I reached Amarillo TX we were ready for a break from the highway and the Big Texan Steak Ranch seemed like just the place. It was a tourist trap if I ever saw one and it was EXCELLENT!!! The Big Texan Steak Ranch is a Route 66 Icon. Picture a western themed restaurant in a disney-esque way. The exterior was painted to look like an old wild west town and inside there was more mounted horns and animal heads than I have ever seen. Waiters dressed up like cowboys and cowgirls bustled around serving long tables of weary travelers. Dad and I shared a steak dinner (so yummy). After a few tourist photos we were back on our way.

A while later we hit New Mexico and the scenery finally started to change. The landscape altered between mountains and canyons to flat plains and deserts. The drive was beautiful. We hit Grants later in the evening and now I am writing this post after a dinner of Subway. Tomorrow I move into my to my room on the reservation. For the time being I will be staying with a woman who has an extra bedroom in her house. I am excited but I am also a little nervous. Hopefully all will go well.

Road tripping to NM Day 1 and 2

Yesterday my Dad and I got up at the crack of dawn (literally we were awake at 5 am). By 6:15 we were on the road with our first destination being Fishers, Indiana. As we headed west on the Mass Pike it seemed surreal to me that it would be the last time I would be seeing Massachusetts for a while. As we passed into western Mass I made sure to take in the beauty of the mountains one last time, happy to see a few of the leaves changing color (a NE fall is something I am sad to miss). 17 hours and 3 McDonalds meals later Dad and I pulled into my uncle's house happy to get our of the cramped and over packed Buick and into some nice beds.

The next day I was lucky enough to spend time with some of my extended family. This short visit was well over due as it has been almost two years since I have seen this side of the family. It has shocked me how much my little cousins have grown up. We ended today with a royal feast of Pizza King (pretty much the best pizza ever). Later that night I found two massive spiders in my room and it got me thinking about what bugs will be co-existing with me in NM. Well a few google searches later I have come to the conclusion that my new BFF's will be black widows, tarantulas, and scorpions. Awesome really freaking awesome. It is a common known fact that spiders have some sort of magical effect that results in me turning into a prissy seven year old girl (at 23 I got my father to kill the spiders discovered in Indiana). A now I am living with the king and queen of the sig scary spider world. And scorpions, well to be honest I have had much interaction with them but I think it is safe to say I am I am not a big fan.

WELL...I wanted to post more but I am falling asleep while I types. So night everyone. Chat with you tomorrow.

Pack Up for New Mexico or Blog Instead??

So I am less than a week away from my departure date for my cross country trip to New Mexico.About a month ago I interviewed for the Americorps VISTA (Volunteer In Service To America) position in Pinehill, NM with the Ramah Navajo on the Native Americans to Work Program. In the same day I interviewed I was offered the position and accepted. I In the past month since I have accepted the Americorps VISTA placement my life has been non-stop whirlwind between working at my temp position full time, packing up,coordinate moving, and trying to find housing in New Mexico. Some of the biggest shocks I have encountered is finding out more about living out there. For one I have found that trying to find housing quite a challenge (still haven't figured it all out). Second, I have learned that I will be the only VISTA on site. Third, I will not have much access to cell service and Internet. However, I am totally excited to be going. Well I would write more but I need to do some packing!