And into 2011...

In addition to my obvious break from blogging, I'm also in the midst of NCCC's winter break. I consider myself lucky to be able to visit both Chicago and Ann Arbor along with a side trip to El Paso, IL to see my grandma and other relatives. I flew into Chicago and spent several days there with Ashkon and seeing friends while trying to adjust to what real winter feels like. I headed to Ann Arbor a few days before Christmas and really enjoyed catching up with lots of friends from high school and reuniting with some of my best friends. Christmas was relaxing and my family supplied me with some NCCC essentials, including warm socks and new running shoes. We spent a few days with my grandma and I'm posting this from Chicago where I've returned for New Year's Eve. It's been nice to have some time in the "real world" outside AmeriCorps but time is rushing by and I'll be heading back to Sacramento early Sunday morning.

I guess I need to backtrack a little and talk about the rest of our first round project at Larchmont Elementary. By the last few weeks at school I felt completely comfortable in the classroom environment and working with students. We had established routines in each classroom and the students knew what to expect and were able to make real progress with their work. I also was able to connect personally with several students who seemed to need extra emotional and social support in addition to help with schoolwork. I feel like I was able to make the most difference by taking time to talk with those students who were labeled as troublemakers or seen as lost causes. A lot of them just wanted someone to hear their frustrations with whatever was going on in their lives and had an amazing awareness of what they could do to succeed more in school. I only hope that some of what we talked about stuck with them and that they can move forward in a positive way. It was so hard to leave all the students and teachers at Larchmont. They truly made us feel like part of the community and it's hard to know we won't be going back after break. We were able to go out on a positive note by introducing the next team during the morning of our last day. I think the students were glad to see that they would have new AmeriCorps friends (a favorite word at Larchmont which is used instead of saying "boys and girls" or other ways of referring to students). We also returned to the school for a holiday concert on the students' last day of school. It was great to see them perform, especially since many of us worked with classes on their songs. They also sang us a special goodbye song and the teachers said their thanks and goodbyes. It was definitely a tear-jerking experience but it was nice to have closure. The good thing about having our first project be in Sacramento is that when we're back on transition we will hopefully be able to visit school and see the students. We also plan on writing postcards to classes to keep them updated on where we are and let them know we still think about them.

One of my favorite things about the end of the round was getting to hear from all the teams who were away on spike. It gave me a new perspective on how relatively easy we had it last round with our living situation and supportive sponsor. Many teams faced challenges that we may see in the future and it helped to hear about how they dealt with them. We also had a chance to celebrate our accomplishments with one another and check-in with NCCC staff about how the project went.  While it was a bit of a shock to have everyone back on campus when we were used to having it to ourselves it ended up being really nice to reconnect and share experiences.

Now that our first round project is over it's time to start thinking about what comes next! My team is heading to Healdsburg, CA (in Sonoma County) to The Bishop's Ranch. It hosts retreats, conferences, and camps for religious groups and non-profit organizations. They are also focused on environmental education and cultural programs. We will be living at the ranch, which happens to be in the middle of wine country, and working on a variety of environmental stewardship and conservation tasks in addition to some infrastructure improvement. I'm not sure exactly what this will entail but I know we'll be doing some trail clearing, watershed restoration, and invasive species removal in addition to working on some of the educational aspects of the sponsor's mission. This kind of work isn't my favorite but I'll be looking for ways to get the most out of the experience anyway. I'm excited that our team will be working together in an outdoor environment because I think it will allow us to get to know each other a lot better and have some fun while we work. I'm also excited to see a different part of California (even though it's only about 2.5 hours away from where we are now) and be surrounded by beautiful scenery.

I'll post again once we're settled in Healdsburg, it should be another great adventure!

Thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!

Laura