New{s}

It's incredibly hard to keep my blog updated when I don't have internet access, but luckily I have my phone and a trusty app!

The days are slow but the weeks are incredibly fast here in Vicksburg. Over the past (almost) month, I have been trained in many incredibly useful areas. Including CPR, First Aide, Disaster, Diversity, and a billion others.

Last weekend the entire corps loaded in the vans and took off to Oxford, Mississippi. There we stayed in a small summer camp and volunteered on their grounds. My team and I moved cross ties into a new trail formation all day. The next day we went to the ropes course at the campus of Ole Mis. We did team building exercises, rope challenges, ground challenge courses, and a lot of freezing to the bones! After that, we got back into the vans and headed back to Vicksburg.

Every Saturday night, my friends and I hit up one of the two local bars and unwind. Last Saturday we went to the Upper End, a karaoke bar, and had an amazing time. At least half of the corps was there, dancing, drinking, and singing karaoke. On Sunday, a group of 9 of my friends took a van to The Jackson Zoo to do some volunteer hours. We cleared brush from a fence for a couple of hours. But the thing about this type of work, is that we make it such a fun adventure every time. After working all day, we got to enjoy the zoo for free and check out the animals!

A couple of days later I found myself in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where a tornado recently hit. The entire corps took a day out of our training schedule to go clean up a park that had been badly impacted by the weight of the tornado. About half way through the day, I was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, taking a water break, and looking at the 100 other volunteers surrounding me. I think that was the very moment when I realized just how important and selfless what we are doing is. If only the entire nation could realize that there really are 18-24 year olds who think for the greater good of our nation. I am so happy to be a part of AmeriCorps NCCC.

Big things are going to be happening in the next week. For instance, IM GOING TO KENTUCKY FOR 8 WEEKS! My team (8 people) and I will be packing up all our clothes, gear, tools, and lives, and heading to our first project. In Kentucky we will be building trails in some very beautiful national parks. As I find out more, and get to a computer, I will add some pictures and more information.