So I had my first snow day ever on Friday! It had snowed all night and into the morning so the facilitators for our Disaster Training were unable to make it to campus. Which is unfortunate because I was really looking forward to that training! O well, it will be rescheduled for some time later this week. So our team went into Cedar Rapids to do some shopping and just get out of town.

Jackie taught Casey and I how to make hemp rings and I am looking forward to making some awesome bracelets. She knows so many rad crafty things, so I'm pretty excited about it.

Craft Nights! That's my ring in the making on my leg

I miss home a lot. I had a great conversation with my mom the other night and it just made me realize how lucky I am to be here. I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime and I have no intention on wasting that. My parents have given me everything I have and made me the person I am today. I am so proud to be their daughter. My mother has sacrificed so many dreams and adventures on other's behalf's and I can't wait to see the adventures she takes. I can't wait to see her accomplish some of her own dreams :) We all have the chance. Each day is a new day, a new opportunity to change our lives. Being here has made me realize that I don't want to be on the back burner. I have already upgraded my leadership skills and everyday, I feel like I am learning something new or realizing the progress in my self.

Last night we saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close at the local theater. It was so good. The boy who played Oskar was FANTASTIC! Such a difficult role to play and he nailed it. The book is amazing. The movie was pretty up to par with the book. I just can't describe it. Just go see it.

Training week 2 is almost over. This week we’ve been through Red Cross CPR/First Aid, Diversity Training, Hands of Peace, Physical Training, Driving Test, and Jess and I finished our team brochure!

CPR/First aid was great because now that I am Red Cross certified, I am able to take some of the online/class courses RC offers to increase my knowledge regarding disaster! Today we have Disaster Training and Shelter Management training. I’ve been looking forward to these courses all week.

Diversity Training was a great team builder for our team. It was basically an overview of all the ethics courses I’ve taken, but having it be geared towards our program was helpful in the team building aspect.

Part of our Group in Diversity Training

Hands of Peace was great. I not only took away a sense of connection with our team, but I want to take the Hands of Peace training with me to whatever future job/back to camp. It was such a great team building course. You discuss Active Listening, I-Messages, Mediation, etc., and focus on understanding and listening to one another through all of these aspects. I think our team really took something away from it.

Awkward Group Picture Number 1!

Physical Training has been so great. Although I hate initially waking up for it, I really do enjoy it. I feel great and I am definitely feeling the change in my aura, ha-ha. We do PT every MWF. Monday we did the “Deck o’ Death” in which each suite is assigned an exercise and the number on the card is the amount of that exercise you do. Ex: Diamonds are Push-Ups, so the 5 of Diamonds means you do 5 push-ups. Each member draws a card until the deck is over. It was killer. I have never done as many push-ups as I have done here. I hate them, but I noticed today that I AM getting stronger and can last longer! Progress! Wednesday we worked out in the gym doing Ladders and Stretching. Ladders are you  climbing a ladder and the only way to the top is to do push-ups and sit-ups. So on the 1^st step, you do 1 of each thing (1 push-up, 1 sit-up), the 2^nd step you do 2 of each item (2 push-ups, 2 sit-ups), the 3^rd you do three, and so on and so on. We went to ten, then down to 5, then back up to 10, then down to 1. Then this morning, Friday, we went to the local middle school and played an awesome game of dodgeball! So needless to say, not all PT is bad. I’ve come to look forward to it. I like the routine.

The Driving Test was great! I passed the test to drive our 15 passenger vans that our issued to our team. Jess and I, besides John, are the only two official team drivers. Another girl is in the process of getting her driving record so she will be able to be a driver. We drove to the World’s Largest Frying Pan in Brandon, Iowa.

My happy ass in the Worlds Largest Frying Pan

The Other Van Drivers and Myself!

Jess and I completed our team brochure last night and I personally think it looks awesome! We still need to take an official group picture to complete it.

It snowed last night and it was so much fun. It snowed over the weekend as well and we had a glorious time sledding and making snowmen! We also had a great snowball fight going on.

The snow from last night has stuck and it was beautiful this morning. A beautiful white landscape that is so pure and clean. It’s just a beautiful site to wake up to.

I am starting to feel really comfortable here. My team is beginning to open up and step out of their comfort zones. I am getting to know my new friends very well and beginning to really grow a friendship.

Hoping around the town

Last night had to be one of the best nights, not only while being in Vinton, but in general. After a hard week of training and lectures, we all let loose and relaxed for a good night on the town. Although I won't get into details on here, it was filled with Karaoke, LOTS of singing and dancing, laughing, amazing pool shots, party fouls, pizza hut, and the only two of age places in town within walking distance of campus :) . Everyone, whether you knew each other or not, sang together and danced together like we had been friends for a life time. The one benefit to nights like those :)

(I'm sure you can all figure it out. Since I am representing Americorp, I don't feel the need to go into detail about some things, if you dig what I mean.)

Americorps has brought us all together from all walks of life. We all have differences and similarities. Last night was just an all around, amazing night, other than breaking my camera and the awkward moments with some older male locals :) i At least for me :)

Today is a day of rest and relaxation. Well deserved I do believe!

Training week 1: DONE!

So this week was hectic and full of plenty of training programs! Today we finally did the ISP, or Independent Service Hours training program, which means we can start contacting local organizations to see if they are in need of any services that we can do for them. Everyday was pretty much waking up around 6 am and going to training programs from 8 am to around 5!

I haven't posted many pictures so here is a boat load (not really, just a few haha)

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Such a cute town :)

We were enjoying the cold weather!

Our Hotel room at the Cobblestone

Jason was actually really excited to ditch me! haha. JK!

last picture together for a while :(

My bed, as well as my roommates bed

My dresser. I'm on the Left

The daily garb. We all look sexy

Palmer Hall

The main Hall

It started snowing!! 

Loveeee the snow!

So today is our first day to ourselves in the past week so a bunch of us are going to get food then head over to Mickeys to celebrate the weekend, and Mardi Gras, with the locals! More pictures will be coming soon and a better, more in-depth post shall be coming as well. Off to enjoy some Rest and Relaxation!

Teams today, training tomorrow!

So not having wireless in our dorm room is a pain in the ass. The only place to get the wireless is in Palmer Hall which is across the way from me so it's not too bad.

This week has been hard for me, since I'm new to the dorm life and have really had to step out of my comfort zone.

My week here before with Jason was amazing. We had such a fantastic time just driving around and seeing the countryside. We went down to Des Moines on Monday, then drove into Vinton that night to enjoy some relaxing last nights together before Wed. He helped me check in and get my stuff moved into my rooms and then, sadly, he had to drive back to Cedar Rapids alone :(. That first night was extremely hard for me. I won't bother you with the details, but I was terribly homesick. It all just hit me that I would be here, without my family and friends, for 10-months. What was worse is realizing that my next opportunity to really go home isn't until about July. So the first night was really hard.

The next day we had nothing but lectures on policies and general information all day in the Auditorium. And by all day, I mean, ALL DAY! As the day's go on, it gets easier and easier, in a manner of speaking. It still saddens me to be away from everything and everyone I love. However, meeting more and more people have made it easier for me. I've met some awesome people so far and I am starting to feel more and more comfortable about being here.

Last night we got the chance to go into Cedar Rapids and a few friends and I made it to the Target. Talk about enjoying the little things! We were so happy to be in a town of more like a thousand people! Don't get me wrong, Vinton is adorable. This town looks like it's stuck in the '50s. It's awesome. They have the local bars, which we prefer Mickeys (the local dive bar with great people), they have a 2 dollar movie theater (with 3-4 dollar 3D movies), a nice grocery store, and ALCO! ALCO is a saving grace. It has every random item and it is right across the street from campus. Its been so cold that we can only really balls up to walk there.

The other night we decided to walk to Mickeys Bar which is about 10-minutes from Campus. What a bad idea that was. The bar was great and pizza hut afterwards was great, but the walk to and, especially from, was the worst! It was about 10 degrees outside that night. It was starting to snow while we were walking there. I've completely under-estimated the degree of cold here. Yesterday was a high of 8 degrees! WHAT! I'm from San Diego. We don't experience that kind of cold! Tomorrow we are supposed to get 1 to 2 inches of snow all day. I'm hoping for more. I can't wait to see it snow a good amount!

It's strange being so far away. This whole month is nothing but training. We have so many organizations coming to do presentations with us. We are also getting certified in many things, which is ALWAYS a plus.

Today we learn who are official team is for the rest of the 10-months of service. These are the people that will be my surrogate family for the rest of this term. I'm hoping that at least one of the people I've come to call my friends will be in my team, although I'm obviously not opposed to meeting new people, clearly.

Well, hopefully I will have pictures to post next time I get on here. It's been really hard to find time to make it over to the computer lab these past few days. Luckily we had a free day today until 5. Well, until the next post!

1st Official Americorp Member Post!

Woo! Finally made it to the Palmer computer lab. It's been a pretty hectic few days, exploring and learning the Americorps way of life :)

I love it though. It's been hard adjusting to being the the dorm setting and really stepping out of my element and engaging in random conversations and interacting with the other members. It's already been a hectic few days and it's not even the end of week 1!

Tomorrow we learn who our team is and if we are in the Cedar, Maple, or Oak teams. These are the people I will be going on spike with, living with, eating with, traveling with, and learning with for the next 10-months. This will be interesting :)

I'll update more tomorrow. :)

Cedar Rapids: Des Moines to Vinton

I can't believe it's already Monday night :( I've been having a wonderful time traveling around with my love but tomorrow is our last full day together. I still don't know how I will handle being away from him for so long. I know we will be fine but I dread the tough days :(

On a happier note, we traveled to Des Moines this morning and spent the afternoon venturing around there!

On our way to Des Moines!

It snowed a tid-bit while we were crusing

We passed a truck carrying a blade for a Wind Turbine. It was huge!

We arrived in Des Moines to see this haha

We arrived and found this amazing restaurant named Raccoon Brewery. We had their western veggie burger which was probably the best veggie burger I've ever had. Such good food. It was a nice change for us since it had been so hard to find any sort of veggie food in Cedar Rapids the past few days. After this, we continued to explore the town

Found a Cabin Memorial!

The beautiful capital building

Jason and I by the river in Des Moines

There was so much snow. It was amazing. Also enjoying my new kicks!

Just two of the many monuments by the capital building. 

Enjoying the cold weather! 

A view from the Capital building

I enjoyed all the statues but I couldn't figure this one out....

:)

On our way out of the city, heading to Vinton

Jason found on the GPS that there was a train museum nearby, so we ventured to it. Needless to say, it was nothing special. It looked a bit shady so we skipped out on it. haha

My zune died so Jason got to listen to his. He was rocking out to Danger Zone after being disappointed that the train museum was more like a train wreck!

So here we are, in our hotel room in Vinton. Its a very nice hotel. When we got in, we were exhausted, so we checked in and Jason passed out on the bed. So here I am, watching Diary of Anne Frank and listen to him snore loudly :) Music to my ears haha. As I watch this, I think back to my Europe trip. When we were in Amsterdam, we visited the Frank house. It was a terribly dreadful feeling, being in the same home in which they had to hide away in. Probably one of the most moving experiences of my life. Her life was so short yet look at the impact her life has had on the world. I'm not saying I want my name to be known far and wide, I just want to have some sort of positive impact on the world around me, even if its only known by one person. Wednesday starts a part of that journey for me. Wednesday starts a whole new chapter of my life. Here's to one more day with the man I love before we have to start on this difficult long distance road again. Here's to an experience that I need to have and with the support of my friends and family, I will persevere :)

Cedar Rapids: Day 2

Today was filled with ventures and education!

Started the morning off with a nice apple and some OJ. We decided that we wanted to explore the Czech village first of all.

The mural on a wall of a local business in the village. Just happens to be done in the Mucha style which made me extremely happy :)

We enjoyed the local shops and ended up going to the local museum that discussed not only some of the history behind the Czech village, but also had an exhibit about the huge flood that devastated Cedar Rapids in 2008. Which, unfortunately, I had never heard about. I feel ashamed that something to this scale happened and I had no recognition of it ever occurring.  

Main part of the Czech museum

This was the main picture of the extent of the flood. The block in the lower right corner is the Czech village!

This is their recreation of what the typical home looked like after the water had cleared.

The museum was a great way to learn a bit about the history of not only the Czech village but the recent history that brought such a devastating reminder of the force mother nature can bring. After seeing this and talking to the museum guide for a bit, he sent us across the street to the Red Frog for lunch, which was pretty good.

After this, we found a small trail that we used to walk off our delicious meal we just consumed.

Just a brisk 35 outside!

Look mom! I actually had to put on my gloves!

Walked out over the bridge to see the beautiful scenery of the river . 

We decided to take a drive after this and just happened to jump on the 380, which if my memory serves me correct (since it is 2:38 in the morning, I don't care to fact check), is the freeway that you take to go up to Vinton. So, we decided to drive up to the place that I will be calling home for the next month and will be my home base for the next 10-months.

Just a beautiful house on the way to Vinton

My first view of my new home!

Vinton is adorable. It's like we stepped right into the 1950's. I can't wait to explore it on foot

The campus in which will be our home base

I can't tell you how excited I got to see the Americorp sign :)

As we were driving around, I saw that many of the trees where split and broken, which confused me. When I got back to the hotel, I was researching the history of the town and found that some crazy weather had hit Vinton in July of 2011. Apparently a massive wind storm swept through Vinton and caused a lot of damage to the town, including the Braille School. Information Here <<< this site has an article about the storm. I also found a fellow Americorp member who had a blog while she was a member. If you're interested, her blog is HERE. I was amazed that this occurred just months ago. It's a scary feeling when you realize that you are in another state where these things are possibilities. I mean, we have the potential to have crazy weather in San Diego, but it's so unlikely. We have earthquakes....which shake us around for a few seconds and knock down a glass, MAYBE. I've never experienced more than some heavy rain and some amazing lightening storms in my day. I've never experienced a natural disaster that is life threatening. This is so new to me.

After all this driving around and exploring we decided to go see a movie, but we had to waste some time beforehand so we walked around the local mall.

While we were walking around, Jason found a train that, if you paid 50 cents, it went around on the track...SWEET

We ended the night with a viewing of "The Woman in Black" and a subway salad. Good movie and a decent salad.

Jason was tuckered out from the long day :)

All in all, a pretty good day. Tomorrow we may venture west to Des Moines. We want to see more of Iowa. The only down part is it's been pretty weird being a vegetarian in Cedar Rapids. Of the few places we've gone to, veggie options are EXTREMELY limited. Not even veggie burgers! But that's ok, maybe I'm just spoiled in San Diego haha. :) I really like it here though. Everyone we've met so far has been extremely friendly and helpful.