Can you believe that there was a time I wrote this much?

This is another one of the posts where I take a look back to NCCC. This is actually getting quite fun to do, believe it or not.

8/12/06

I suppose everyone needs a lazy day now and then. That's exactly what today was. And it did feel good. No PT, no ISP, no any other useless acronym loved by our wonderful federal government. We are now in Waveland, MS enjoying a few days off. A bunch of us are going to a block party in Bay St. Louis tonight, and they are ready to go now, so I am going to sign off for now and complete the entry later...

8/13/06

So our team has arrived in Waveland, Mississippi and has enjoyed a weekend off settling into our Quanset huts and cots, going to the "block party" in Bay St. Louis, and seeing Taladega Nights today and going to the bookstore. I think we are eagerly awaiting our first day of work at Harrison County Long Term Recovery Committee for our orientation tomorrow. I don't know how I feel about office work either. Half of me says I'd rather be doing the physical labor work that so desperately needs to be done down here, but the other half of me says that I'm smart to be avoiding the heat and if there really is work that needs to be done in this office than maybe we are the people that need to be doing it. And it did occur to me recently that it might be nice to "hide behind a computer" and appease my introverted side for a few weeks.

I'm trying to tell myself so frequently to take days one at a time and soak up every moment possible from that day. I might come out with some pretty sweet skills at the end of this (volunteer management, data entry, office database stuff, etc.) but I can't let me get ahead of myself. There is so much to absorb her, starting with our drive to our housing on Friday (our month anniversary as a team, btw, of which we celebrated with a gov't.-funded dinner at the local Chinese buffet, yum!)

But driving to our housing we continued on the road we turned onto after turning of I-10 until said road (I can't remember the name now) come to a T-end with a road running parallel alongside a beach. the beach is unswimmable due to debris in the water, a sign warns. I don't really see the debris from the a car, though. we drive a few mils along the beach before turning right at a church (or what used to be a church but is now a quanset hut not unlike the ones that comprise our current living/dining quarters for the month.)

A sign reads "Katrina was big but GOD is bigger." Running along the beach today (Sunday morning) I marveled at the traffic coming to and from the hut that makes the sanctuary of the church. It's still going strong, with no physical permanent structure, almost a year after the Great Storm. The "camp" we're staying is called "Camp Sunshine" and was created as classrooms to the church, but the church is letting AmeriCorps members use them for the time we are here. They feel like tents, w/air conditioning, and I am slowly getting used to the cots. I had to assemble cot #2 after the first night of squeaking and almost impaling myself on one of the springs.

Cot #2 is much sturdier and w/the matress pad it's rally not much worse than the tent beds at camp that I slept in for 6-weeks running during any given summer. Good Stuff. I just can't move much while I sleep. I'll learn to adjust. I actually like it a lot BECAUSE it reminds me of camp. No e-mail or cell phone to worry about, clothes sprawled out beside my cot and only my book and journal and letter-writing stuff to worry about. It's great. I just hope our work matches up and is equally fulfilling.

I find myself getting into moments where I have to stop and think "who knew last year that in a year I'd see myself living in a 15-passenger van w/10 other people having amazing experiences helping fix whatever ails the country?" and then I have to pinch myself for fear of this all being a dream. But it's not, and so I have to stop and admit that this is the happiest I've been in a year. No matter how nervous I am or can get around my teammates, I really can't ask for a better opportunity. So I am about to embark upon 9 more months. Of learning. Of fun. Of happiness and responsibility. Of wonder. Those are some hefty expectations.

This is my journal. This is my journey. I don't know where this journey will lead, but I'm going to let my gut lead me, metaphorically. This is my journey...I'm excited!!!