My last entry was July 19. Holy moley....
Its October now and so many adventures have impacted the appreciation I have for my life. I spent 6 weeks in Pensacola FL a while back and it was absolutely wonderful.


Florida is filled with angels, imbibery, and sunshine.
I venture to say that my third round project was my favorite round. I cannot say that truthfully though as (those who know me understand) Im hard pressed to pick a favorite anything. That and Im only halfway through my fourth round project so I cannot judge this round and feel comfortable with myself. For my third round I got placed onto a composite team with an amazing group of people and we were assigned a great project in the Gulf to help with oil spill relief efforts. There were so many people who wanted to help with the oil spill but that was such a hard thing to do. To help with any of the clean-up efforts, you had to have had the right training. You also were not able be a volunteer. BP is hiring people who have lost their jobs as a result of the oil spill to do the clean-up. If they use volunteers, then that is less work that can be paid to someone who needs it. So part of our job was to connect those volunteers to volunteer opportunities. To do this we have created and implemented the Citizen Information Station. We set up CISs on the beach near clean-up crews to provide relevant, unbiased, and correct information to the public. For the most part we were received well. It was a pretty sweet deal. My office was the beach for a few weeks. I did get ridiculously hot out there but I got more than my daily doses of sunshine and ocean views.

Side notes:
~Living in a bomb shelter drains you after a while cause there are no windows.
~If you ever find yourself in Pensacola, make a stop at Flounders and Hopjacks.
~I am now in a documentary.
~Boycotting BP will do no good. If you dont agree then talk to me and Ill set you straight.So now Im in Suffolk VA. How did that happen? Im so close to home that it makes me sad sometimes. But not in the way that you would think. I want to preface what Im about to say with this...I LOVE my family and I LOVE my friends and I miss them all terribly.
That being said being close to home makes me realize what home isnt. While in AmeriCorps Ive been able to see, do, and learn so much. I cant get any of that at home and it makes me sad to think that way. Last weekend I went for a visit to see my family and brought a teammate with me. I focused on seeing Norfolk in the way a newcomer would and I didnt like what I saw. Its just this huge urban sprawl of car dealerships, gas stations, rude people and traffic. Im starting to get nervous for November 18th. I want to see the people I left at home but I dont want to go home.
I'll work this out. Its what I do.

A Pleasant Surprise

Today was spent inside the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallhassee, FL.

We got to participate in the daily briefing.

It was exactly like a movie.

It was awesome.

For the next six weeks, I will be in Pensacola, FL working for Volunteer Florida. We are working to create sustainable volunteer programs for the Floridian citizens in efforts to minimize the impact of the oil spill in the Gulf. When I first found out about the project I was... upset (to put it lightly).

I wanted to clean up oil.

Thats what I signed up for.

Thats what I took the 24 hour HAZWOPER course for.

But alas, President Obama said that no government money will be used to clean up the oil. Thats what BP's money is for. We are government money so we cannot touch the oil. So I acted like a baby and complained about it for 2 days. Mostly because I wont be with my regular team for the rest of the year. Im on a composite team for this project and then I will be on a composite team for my fire round after this. I LOVE my regular team and they have a kick-ass project in Maine this round. So I was bitter because I am away from them and I didnt get the project I was expecting.

All of that said, Im learning that I really like my new team too. So I thought to myself "I need to quit my complaining and give this project a chance."

So I stopped being bitter.

And now we are in Florida.

And now I am excited about my project.

The Big Easy

Ok so here is my compliment sandwich. I am loving New Orleans more and more. The people here are great, the food is amazing, and there is live music every where we go.
Our first night in the city is hard to explain. Im still not too sure how I feel about this city. In some ways it was great... I was glad not to be driving anymore (after 2 ten hour days of it), we meet some great locals, our housing is amazing, and we discovered the wonders of J. Gumbos. Through all of that though, it is easy to see the impact that Katrina left on this city even 5 years after the fact. There are still so many abandoned and dilapitated houses.

Having a project in the Big Easy is not as easy as you would think. For our second round Badger 6 is working with Habitat for Humanity at their warehouse and restore. I was thrilled to learn about our project because its freakin New Orleans! But the nature of our job is proving to be difficult for me. Up until this point we have spent our workdays outside in the sunshine and fresh air. Working in a warehouse down south is quite different from that. I sweat though my clothes about a half an hour into the work day. We do a lot of heavy lifting and Im learning that with this kind of a work a woman has to prove that she can do the job just as well (if not better) than a man. Im getting there though. Even though it is a bit harder to see the effect our project has on the city, we do know that we make a difference. Yesterday we went to a local market to get some lunch and a man bought our food saying "New Orleans thanks you." AmeriCorps has had a HUGE influence on the rebuild of the city and people know it. They know our uniforms, our government vans, and the work we have put into the city. Knowing that makes our jobs easier.
My team is doing a lot better now that its getting close to the end of the round. Our honeymoon stage came to an end about a week into the project. I have learned a few things from it though. The most important thing I learned was how to deal with tension in a small group of people I see 18 hours a day. Getting alone time in this program is hard so its important to know how to handle your emotions when tensions are high.
The weekends have been spent exploring the city and that has been great. I love the colors of the houses, the individuality of the people, and the cool of all the music everywhere.One weekend I got to go on a swamp tour and that was pretty amazing. It was on a slow, covered boat so it was very relaxing. And we got to see SO many alligators! Most of them were on the smaller side; about 4 or 5 feet long. The last gator we saw though was 12 feet long! His name was Big Joe and our tour guide had made friends with him over the years. He got Big Joe to come up to the side of the boat and he leaned over and pulled the gator's tail onto the boat and I got to touch it. That was pretty awesome. In the picture below, Big Joe is in the front and a friend of his is swimming in the back.


On a recent Sunday we volunteered at the Bayou Boogaloo Festival and had a great day in the sunshine. There was awesome music and I tried my first taste of gator! It was pretty good :)
They also had a rubber ducky race. A lot of people entered. It was a little absurd.
So now I am back in Perry Point. I have written this a little at a time and am just now getting to post it. Sorry if the tenses dont match up or if you have a hard time following this. It was hard to get internet long enough to write what I was thinking. Summer break is in 4 days! I will be headed home, then to DE, and lastly to DC. I cant wait!

Round 1 Done

Much to our dismay, we have finished up our round in Camden, New Jersey. Our last days were filled with fun, Dominican food, silly songs, lots of photo shoots, and good byes. Here are some fun pictures Id like to share with you.


At the Bridge of Peace Youth Group


The whole garden staff with our team




The most amazing market ever :)



Painting the Giant's Chair!



We love group photos.



Harvesting spinach as big as Katherine's face



Camden was a blast!
Lets see what New Orleans holds for us :)

I'm a gardener

Today I had an audience for my PT session. Apparently people dont exercise for fun in Camden and my girls and I put on quite a show. :) Camden has definitely proven to be an interesting and wonderful place for me. We have discovered all sorts of jems in this city. The most recent being MiniMarket #1 located just across the street. I can get a can of soda and a fudgesicle for a mere 85 cents. And the owner, Jose, loves us! I can also get HomeGirl Chips and Rap Snacks there! I suppose that in order to appreciate this bit of info you have to see them. For now just take my word for it. We have also tested our tastebuds with treats from other corner markets such as Litwin's which is right near one of our community gardens. They have the best Spanish meat pies and potato balls I have ever tried. Mmmmm mmm.

Our work at the Camden Children's Garden continues to be amazing every day. We usually split up into two groups each day. One group stays at the Children's Garden and the other group goes out into the city to work on one of the community gardens. There are about 60 community gardens throughout Camden so we get to see a lot of the area in which we live. So far, I havent seen a garden that I dont like. That is true to the garden itself and to the gardeners. The gardeners love our help and they usually show it with superfluous praises, cold drinks, sweet snacks, or lunches! Its also so wonderful to see such a wide variety of camden residents who enjoy gardening. This week we got to help residents of a low income housing building start their new garden. A few folks were all about it but others were a bit more apprehensive. We stayed to help them transplant a bunch of veggies and to give them a few pointers but in the end they have the greatest effect on thier plots. I sure hope their interst sticks through the whole growing season so that they can eat so many wonderful veggies!
Working at the Children's Garden also has its perks. The garden staff is still amazing and its great to be able to joke around and have a good time with your bosses. We are just helping the garden recover after the winter here as well. Lots of weeding, planting flowers and veggies, painting, rearranging, watering, and even a bit off office work. Working at both of the locations, my team has greatly broadened our range of outdoor skills!! We are getting really good at weeding, picking up trash, planting, harvesting, and mulching. It may not sound like exciting work but it really is and Im having so much fun with my team. Any job that I can do in the sunshine with friends is a good one for me. We even find fun things to do during our downtime. We ARE working in a children's garden after all :) We can play in the dinosaur garden, sit in the Queen's chair in the Alice in Wonderland garden, explore the butterfly house, take a ride on the train, or spin around on the carousel...the choices are plentiful!

Camp Conowingo, we hold you in our hearts!

Camden NJ....what a sight!

We are starting our new project this week at the Camden Children's Garden. We left MD on Friday much to our dismay. Camp Conowingo was a wonderful place to have our first project because it was easy work and fun afternoons. We spent most of our working hours picking up sticks, raking leaves, maintaining trails, and trying to stretch out our work so that we can have a full work day. The work was easy so that gave us plenty of time to goof off and enjoy each other's company. Our sponsors were also awesome. Dennis and Jeff work at the camp year round and it is just to two of them on the 600 acre camp. My team saved the two of them about a month of work beautifing the camp.
Working there also allowed us to do some great team bonding! Because we were well secluded there were two options for my team. We could have either learned to hate each other with so much time to get on everyone's nerves...or we could have enjoyed the company that each one of us had to give. Luckily we learned to love each other! We played lots of games, had a few bonfires, asked lots of get to know you questions, and went exploring together. We even got to tell ghost stories in a haunted manor at midnight! We had no internet access and no cell phone reception so it was great to get out of the daily grind. I learned that I LOVE to go trail running, that any body of water can calm my brain, and that using a latrine is 10 times better when it has pictures of ponies and princesses painted inside :)

But alas, now we are in Camden, NJ. Its pretty much a 180 turn around. But, despite the negative stigma and the high crime rates of this place, I am really enjoying myself. We do have wireless and cell phone reception at our housing so thats always nice. And I am very excited for our project. We got to do a walk around at the project site on Sat and the garden looks like it will be a blast! Its so colorful, there are rides and mazes, and we can see penguins! 5 weeks in Camden may not be so bad :)

Burn, baby, burn

Second day in a row I can get to a computer! Woo hoo :)

Today.Best. Day. Ever.

I got to go on my first prescribed burn! I finished my firefighting training last week and that was amazing in itself but it was 10 times better to put all of that learning to use. We spent a whole week in Kinston NC at a forestry center which happened to be in the middle of nowhere. Our days were pretty much set in stone everyday but it was nice to have the structure.

5:30am-PT

7:00- Breakfast

8:00- Class

Noon- Lunch

1:00pm-Class

5:30-Dinner

Then the rest of the night was playtime! We had frisbees, a football, a soccer ball, a ping pong table, and a pool table. A bunch of us would also do some yoga every night at 8:00pm. It was so relaxing. The classes themselves were pretty awesome as well. We learned all sorts of things about creating fires with drip torches, fuzees, and fuels. We learned how to put out fires with fire lines, pumps, fuel types, engines, tools, and cunning tactics! We also learned about safety. Take home message numero uno is that we all come home. There are no super secret equations that figure out what percentage of us will perish in a certain fire... the plan is that we all come home. So, mom and dad (and sister cause I know you worry too) dont worry ;)

I also got to meet so many new people throughout the training. The firefighters are split between three units so I got to know others from the raven and wolf unit and made new friends! :)

Soooo....back to the best day ever. I was assigned to a prescribed burn today with 2 other AmeriCorps firefighters. It was planned to burn about 42 acres and there were 14 firefighters there all together. Well, the weather was pretty crappy so we didnt quite accomplish what we set out to do but it was still awesome. The relative humidity was pretty high and it was pretty cloudy so the sun couldnt dry anything out. We burned about 15 acres and it was a nice "practice fire" The flames didnt get higher than 4 feet and the wind cooperated so it was a great learning experience. I know for my next fire I will be way more confident and comfortable. AND I got to drive a marsh master!!! If you dont know what it is then look it up. Its totally BA. Now I am ready for my nap :)

Fire Team

The fire team!

A quick one

Soooo I only get a chance to get online about once every two weeks. This one will be short.
I am doing AMAZINGLY well! :)
I am now a Type 2 federal Wildland Firefighter! I finished my training in NC last week and now I am back with my team in MD. I missed them so much!
My time is gone but Ill fill you in later!

Finally Getting Some Work Done

The AmeriCorps NCCC motto is "getting things done" and up until about a week ago that meant sitting in large groups and listening to other people talk about what we need to know and what we will be doing, while fighting the urge to fall asleep. However; now, things are starting to get interesting. (But, dont get me wrong, I am extremely glad I got so much training.)

This past week we had our mini spike in Wilmington, DE. We worked with in the state parks completing a variety of tasks. It was quite an adventure packing our van with everything we needed for the week. It makes me very nervous to think about packing the van for 8 weeks....but I guess we shall cross that bridge when the time comes. The day we showed up I got to work at a nature center in one of the parks. I wrestled with a large mass of thorn ridden vines for about an hour. I was beginning to think that the vines would conquer but I soon showed them who's boss. They put up a good fight though, as proven by a few thorn pieces still lodged under my skin and scratches up my legs. The second day we worked at the DuPont Mansion. We cleaned out the basement which was kind of cool. The house was originally built as a castle so there were lots of secret passageways and cool ghost stories. The next day we worked at the Brandywine State Park. We picked up a lot of debris left over from the snow storms. We had to saw a bunch of huge branches into a bunch of small branches. Then we got to do some hiking. For the last day we went back to the nature center and did some sanding and painting. We also got to do a lot of team bonding during the trip and I am so happy with my team now :)

Everyone of us has something to give everyone else. Jamie adds the totally unnecessary (but def in a good way!), Alexa adds the party, Tyler adds the comedic relief, Kathrine adds the sneaky, Alisa adds the awesome cooking and the acting, Evelyn adds the sick nasty , Josh adds the cards and frisbee, Jeremy adds the voices, Rob adds the quiet funny, and I am somewhere in all of that. I am so lucky to have a team that gets along.

In another week we will be going on our for real spike. It will be 8 weeks long and it will be slpit into two different projects. The first 4 weeks will be spent in Conowingo, MD at a girl scout camp and the second 4 weeks will be spent in Camden, NJ working at the Camden Children's garden. I am pumped about the split because that will give us a chance to learn more about different areas. Ill even get to see dinosaurs! ( I hear the children's garden has a dinosaur garden!)

Lots going on but I take it day by day and so far, so good :)

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

Breathe in. Breathe out.


My life resembles nothing of what it was 2 weeks ago. This past week has been filled with so many low lows and high highs that sometimes I dont know what to do with myself! But overall I am extremely happy with my adventure so far.


My training has increased my knowledge on the following:

CPR and First Aid
Tools
Shelter Simulations and Logistics
Diversity
Communicating Peacefully
NCCC Programing
Unit Bonding
Creating Child Friendly Spaces
Corps Life
Specialty Roles in NCCC
and....next week we get Healthy Sexuality I. Awesome. No teamcest!
And that list is only of the structured learning.

For something that is a bit more exciting...
I AM A FIREFIGHTER!!!

I took the pack test on Sat. I had to walk 3 miles in under 45 mins while wearing a 45lb vest. I completed with a final time of 40:35. I rock socks :)
There were 68 people who took the pack test (24 of them female). Out of the ones who passed we had to write a letter of interest and the final selection was based off of that letter. I must have sounded pretty awesome because I got picked and I start my training next month! Oh and as a sidenote; out of the 36 firefighters selected, I am one of only 7 females. Again....I rock socks.


We also got placed into our permanent teams. This was a huge bummer because my awesome team got split up. 3 of us got to stay together and we are learning to adjust. I am now a permanent member of the Badger Unit Group 6. We will do a mini spike project next week in DE so it will be exciting to see how we all work together. Its just a 4 day project. We will work in some state parks fixing up some trails, gardening, and eradicating invasive species!

On a more serious note. I found out that my grandmother has cancer and her time with us is now very limited. So if you try to call me and Im not so enthusiastic; thats why. Please pray that her last weeks with us are filled with love and comfort. Please also pray for my mom.

Through all of our team and unit bonding sessions I have had to answer a lot of questions about myself. A recurring question keeps popping up..."what is your favorite quote?" Now, for those of you who know me pretty well, you know I can be pretty indecisive. I dislike having to answer any question involving the words "What is your favorite_______??" But at the moment I have one and it happens to be a book title by Dr. Seuss.

"Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?"

Think about it.

:)

My Start in Perry Point

I have a big year ahead of me!

I arrived safely in Baltimore on Monday and rode out to Perry Point soon after. Perry Point is such a quaint town...if you every drive through it dont blink!
Its so beautiful though. Driving through the campus the first time I saw about 30 deer running through the snow! We are staying in an old hospital on the VA Medical Center campus but its really not bad at all. I really lucked out with my room and my roommates. This week has been quite an adventure all ready. There are so many people here from all over the US and the differences between us all never cease to amaze me. I am keeping a running list of some of the bizzare things that are coming out of people's mouths. Keep a lookout for the final product :P

Ive got my physical, my steel-toed boots, my kakis, and my (temporary) team. I am totally ready to get started.
....
....
Totally ready to get started on my month of training that is. BORING!
I will be in Perry Point for the month listening and learning.

On a more exciting note, our PT starts next week! And, Saturday is the big pack test for firefighting training. Please say a prayer or cross your fingers for me! I want to get in SO bad!

Getting Ready!

I had the best of intentions when I came home from DC.
I was going to unpack all of my clothes, art supplies, picture frames, toys, books, shower supplies, and other random oddities the day I arrived home. I was also going to completely revamp my room. I was going to get rid of the million and one things that I
A) Dont use
B) Dont need
C) Dont know I have
D) All of the above

Of course, I didnt get those two done the way I had intended. Ive still got a few things to unpack and my room is a wreck from all of the unpacking that I have gotten done. BUT! Fear not....I will get it done last minute like I always do :)

Until then, I am going to enjoy the last days with the greatest of friends and family. Good-byes are the worst. My DC good-byes were the hardest good-byes Ive ever had. I guess thats what happens when you make so many great friends. My roommates (all 9 of them) were the best I could ever ask for and I am so glad they are now part of my life. Now I just have to face my Norfolk good-byes. I know this will suck too. The friends Ive stayed in touch with after I graduated are so wonderful. However, I know I will see all these people again :)

A lot of people have asked many questions about what Im doing. They are always the same questions so Im giving out the same answers over and over agian. Maybe I should start making up stuff so that I can sound more exciting....but I wont. Instead I will answer questions here. Then you read the answers. Then I dont have to answer anymore :)

1) Alicia, where are you going?
I have no idea. Its a travel based program and each project is in a different part of the region. I wont know where Im heading to next until they tell us. I can tell you that I am headed to Perry Point, MD as a base. I arrive there on Monday and we will go through all sorts of training and they will split us up into groups and then I will find out where our projects will be.

2) What are these projects you speak of, Alicia??
All projects fall into five broad categories: natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation and urban and rural development. Each team completes about four to six projects during the year.

3) Can you you still text and talk on the phone??
Yes folks, Im just going to volunteer for a while in the US. Im not going to live in shacks in third world countries. Call me anytime you like ;)

4) What's your address there?
Alicia Smith-Class XVI
AmeriCorps NCCC
P.O. Box 209
Perry Point, MD 21902

5) Why are you doing this?
Because its awesome! I get to help people who need it, I get to meet, live with, and work with like-minded and amazing people, I don't have to worry about growing up and getting a career just yet, I get to travel, I get to help people who need it, I get an education award when I finish, I get a broad range of experience(and training) in new skills, I get health insurance while participating, and (oh, did I mention?) I get to help people who need it.