Monday, November 30, 2009
A Very AmeriCorps Thanksgiving
Ended up having quite a nice little Thanksgiving with a few other AmeriCorps folks. One of my fellow Corps members' wife is a great cook and was gracious enough to cook dinner and they were great hosts for a great dinner! It snowed several inches the night before Thanksgiving and it looked more like Christmas than turkey day!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Up for the Challenge
So I think I have proven that I am not the best blogger. I blame it on not being a true kid of the computer age. I distinctly remember going to the computer lab in elementary school and playing Oregon Trail and Number Munchers on the old Apple computers with the black screen with green writing. This was waaaay before everyone had a Mac. :) While I have come to rely on e-mail as a primary method of communication since I am a million timezones away from everyone I know and love, I have realized that I am not so good with the blogging. :)
Since my official decision to stick it out in Alaska things have been looking up. I received a promotion at my part time job. I have worked for the same retailer for 9 years so I was about due for a promotion. :) This promotion has taken off a lot of the financial burden and although working 3oish hours a week on top of full time volunteering isn't ideal, it's necessary for me to keep up my end of the deal I made with myself when I took the AmeriCorps position in Alaska (aka be financially responsible and pay off my credit card instead of living off of it). I am well into my training as a key holder and will be closing down the store for the first time alone tomorrow. Wish me luck! :)
I have also had a bit of a shift in my AmeriCorps schedule...a few weeks into my time here in Anchorage they sent out a call to see who would be available to work at the after school program while one of their full time staff members were on vacation. My first few days at this program was interesting to say the least. A first grader had a complete meltdown on me because I wouldn't let him call John Cena (the professional wrestler). For all I know, the phone number he found online was some random guy who happened to be named John Cena who lived in Palo Alto. He had a huge temper tantrum, hid under the table, and I'm pretty sure he wanted to see me suffer intense pain. That next day, I had a 5th grader tell me I needed to "get a hobby" because I didn't have a husband, baby, or even a boyfriend. Getting judged by a 10 year old is always good for the self-esteem. :)
By the end of my week and a half there, I had grown really attached to many of kids. I found myself thinking about them a lot over the past few weeks. In talking to other family members, friends, and fellow AmeriCorps members, I had to think really critically about what I wanted out of my experience in Alaska. Volunteering at an after school program to help kids with their homework, read books, make arts and crafts, etc. sounded like a pretty awesome way to spend a service year so I decided to pursue a permanent placement at the after school program.
So after (quite a bit) of prodding (thank you Columbia for teaching me that sometimes you have to be persistent to a point where it's a pain to get things done), I was able to adjust my schedule so now I am serving in the mornings as a Teaching Assistant for the English as a Second Language program and serving in the afternoons at the after school program. I also spend a few nights a week and most of the weekend at my part time job. I spend a lot of time on the bus and a lot less time sleeping than I would like, but I'm in a position where I like my jobs...all three of them.
Since my official decision to stick it out in Alaska things have been looking up. I received a promotion at my part time job. I have worked for the same retailer for 9 years so I was about due for a promotion. :) This promotion has taken off a lot of the financial burden and although working 3oish hours a week on top of full time volunteering isn't ideal, it's necessary for me to keep up my end of the deal I made with myself when I took the AmeriCorps position in Alaska (aka be financially responsible and pay off my credit card instead of living off of it). I am well into my training as a key holder and will be closing down the store for the first time alone tomorrow. Wish me luck! :)
I have also had a bit of a shift in my AmeriCorps schedule...a few weeks into my time here in Anchorage they sent out a call to see who would be available to work at the after school program while one of their full time staff members were on vacation. My first few days at this program was interesting to say the least. A first grader had a complete meltdown on me because I wouldn't let him call John Cena (the professional wrestler). For all I know, the phone number he found online was some random guy who happened to be named John Cena who lived in Palo Alto. He had a huge temper tantrum, hid under the table, and I'm pretty sure he wanted to see me suffer intense pain. That next day, I had a 5th grader tell me I needed to "get a hobby" because I didn't have a husband, baby, or even a boyfriend. Getting judged by a 10 year old is always good for the self-esteem. :)
By the end of my week and a half there, I had grown really attached to many of kids. I found myself thinking about them a lot over the past few weeks. In talking to other family members, friends, and fellow AmeriCorps members, I had to think really critically about what I wanted out of my experience in Alaska. Volunteering at an after school program to help kids with their homework, read books, make arts and crafts, etc. sounded like a pretty awesome way to spend a service year so I decided to pursue a permanent placement at the after school program.
So after (quite a bit) of prodding (thank you Columbia for teaching me that sometimes you have to be persistent to a point where it's a pain to get things done), I was able to adjust my schedule so now I am serving in the mornings as a Teaching Assistant for the English as a Second Language program and serving in the afternoons at the after school program. I also spend a few nights a week and most of the weekend at my part time job. I spend a lot of time on the bus and a lot less time sleeping than I would like, but I'm in a position where I like my jobs...all three of them.
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