Camp Mendocino & Project Reveal!

ooh, boy, it’s been an interesting/exciting past week.

On Monday I went to Camp Mendocino in northern California for a 3-day camping trip with the Blue Unit teams. The camp was in a redwood forest, so it was absolutely beautiful. The trees were so tall – I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so connected with nature. We went on a walk as a team to search for a tree that was supposedly 2,000 years old and 15ft. in diameter, but unfortunately we didn’t find it. However, we did do some exploring along the way and spent time with the other trees. I didn’t get too hippie though – there were spider webs on the tree trunks and it kept me from giving them real hugs. But it was still an amazing experience to be in that area.

As much as I have this appreciation for seeing and being in nature, I wasn’t necessarily keen on our “open air” cabins: there was a hanging screen for a door and canvas flaps over the windows that surrounded the cabin. Though I’m sure Iowa is colder right now, I was not a happy camper waking up at 5:15am in the freezing cabins with only a sleeping bag. Not to mention that I was waking up at 5:15 in the morning and doing PT. Gross. And the ever-present threat of bears. I was lucky this time, but every second I spend in California is a second in danger. Thank goodness I learned on a choir tour how to properly keep bears at bay.

It was a great 3 day trip because we got to do some team building activities, and we also were able to do some service at the camp. We did the “whale watcher” or teeter-totter low ropes activity, if you know which one I’m talking about, and we were awesome; I’ve never been on a team before that completed the task so efficiently, and kept the board balanced for quite a while. We also did a high ropes activity called the “flying squirrel.” If you can imagine these incredibly tall redwood trees, there was a cable between two and a rope hanging down that the team members pulled while the person connected went up into the trees. I’ve jumped out of a plane (twice!) but this made me quite nervous. Nonetheless, I went, as did the rest of my team, all the way to the top. It was great, and the view was amazing. All in all, the team-building portion of the day went really well and gave me a better sense of how my team might work together in the future.

Who would have thought that I would go from Iowa to California and move bales of hay for the first time in my life? Our team split into two groups, and one group painted a fence while my group moved bales of hay into the barn before the rainy season comes, and we got to feed the horses. This was the first official service project that we did as a team, and I’m glad to have finally done so! I think my team has a pretty positive attitude, and I’m sure it will be a pleasure to be working with them more closely in the future.

Besides the trees, some other highlights from the trip was stargazing on the riverbank, getting to know my team better, and participating in a three-person four-legged race. One member of my team, LM, is really into astronomy, so he gave the small group of us a little science lesson as we laid on the rocky riverbank under the night sky looking at the stars. Stargazing like that and being immersed in nature surrounded by full tall trees was an incredibly humbling experience – I just felt so small, but in such a good way. My worries melted away because in that place, I could tell that the world is so much more than I am.


Yesterday was a particularly long day – I wish that I were back at that peaceful camp. Another morning of 5:30am PT, and then when our team met up that morning, we learned that two members of our team were unable to stay with us. It was a real blow to our team to lose two fantastic people like that, but they have their own plans ahead of them that they will carry out. I don’t know, I suppose I think that when things happen, or don’t happen, there’s a bigger reason behind it, and though we may not see or understand that reason, everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

Though our team will certainly miss the contribution of these two fine individuals, we have great and amazing things ahead of us! Last night we found out our first service project as a team! On November 3rd, we will leave for Boise, Idaho!!! There, we will prepare for the Winter World Special Olympics! I am so incredibly excited for this opportunity. Having spent several summers working with people with disabilities, this project is especially close to my heart and interests and I am so delighted. We will assist with preparation for the special event including organizing volunteers, and we will be out there until late February. That’s a long spike! As of right now, I believe there are supposed to be 2-3 other Sacramento teams that will come assist with the actual event, but we are the only team that will be out there to help with the prep. I am so unbelievably pumped about this project. I don’t think it’s all sunk in yet. But I will be sure to post more and more information as I find it out. :o)

Today was another early morning of PT (stairs and push-ups and sit-ups and running), followed by an afternoon of training. I will be training for my team position, which is Service Learning Initiator (SLI). I am very excited because this is the position that I really wanted. According to our little info sheet, the goal of service learning for NCCC is to facilitate the team’s understanding of personal, social and community implications of the service in which they are engaged. My duties include coordinating and completing the Service Learning Development Plan (SLDP), identification of service learning opportunities in the implementation of the plan, facilitation reflection activities on a weekly basis, ensuring team orientation and training to the project, and documenting the service learning that occurred. I will be sharing my SLI duties with LM, the astronomy buff who builds rocket ships in his free time (no joke). With the team position and having this awesome first project, I am so excited! I am confident that the next 4 months will be challenging and very rewarding. :o)


Peace,
Emily

p.s. quick note: if you are still using my Wartburg email address, stop! It's been disabled, so please send all emails to my gmail account. Thanks! :o)
p.p.s. pictures soon!

Boy, is it sunny in California!

Hello friends! I know I said I would get this out sooner, I wanted to get this out soon, but alas, here we are, October 15, a full 2 weeks since my safe arrival in Sac-town, and here's my first blog entry. There's a lot here, and it may not be incredibly specific or interesting, but there you have it. I hope to be better about blogging when I'm actually on a spike, but we'll see. :o)

I safely arrived in Sacramento on Monday, and we have jumped right into the fun stuff: paperwork and policies. :o) But really, the campus seems great and the people are really friendly. We're started off in temporary teams [pods] while we went through the first phase of training, officially known as CTI (Corps Training Institute). I am now with my official team, which is awesome. My team leader spent several summers working at Camp Courageous in Monticello, Iowa, which is a camp similar to Camp Sunnyside, which I spent 3 lovely summers working at. So it's really great to have that connection. My other team members seems to be friendly and excited about serving, so I think it's going to be a good year. Honestly, the transition from pod to team was a little tough for a lot of corps members, but I think I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with my team now, so I have high hopes. :o)

Today I actually had physical training (PT) orientation, so tomorrow is my first day of actually PT. I'll tell you the truth, I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Tomorrow we do our baseline test, so it's sit-ups for 2 minutes (full sit-ups, none of those pansy crunches), push-ups for 2 minutes (same story: no push-ups on your knees, these are full-out, back straight, 90 degree angle monsters), and a timed 1.5 mile run. So, yes, not exactly looking forward to all this at 5:30 am, but I'm going to try to keep a positive attitude...somehow. Let's at least hope that I come out of this whole experience with some buff arms, eh?

Let's see...I currently don't have a roommate, and no news yet about whether she's coming late, or just not coming at all. However, the dorms are set up similar to the Manors at Wartburg, if you're familiar with that -- two rooms have a common bathroom in between. So, while I don't have a roommate, my 'suite-ies' are very friendly and have included me, so I'm not feeling too lonesome yet. Plus, I have been able to make friends within my team, my pod, and just other friendly faces on the floor. Additionally, I didn't realize until I got here how much I had gotten used to and really appreciated having my own personal space and alone time. I'm actually incredibly pleased to not have a roommate, and at this point, I'm hoping my luck will hold. Quick note: For those of you who have lived with me and understand how well I function in the morning, I have warned my team and suitemates about about my inability to get up in the morning, so they’ve been helping me out. Although I would like to say that I did get up on my own for PT this morning. I just doubt that I can make that 5:30am a regular habit.

There does seem to be so much more that I could say, but I know this post is sufficiently long enough for now. Since I do have an official team, I do have an official mailing address. I sent out an email with that, but if I inadvertently left you off, please let me know. I would love to get mail from anyone and everyone! :o) Ooh, and I'll try to get some pictures...eventually.

Missing everyone bunches and I hope everyone is doing well!

Peace,
Emily