Wrap Up and Transition

Hello, folks. Sorry about not posting a blog for a while. I've got  A LOT to tell you!

 

Wrapping-up in NYC

During our last weeks in our deployment to Hurricane Sandy I continued to work at DRC #41 as an  Applicant Services Program Specialists.  With every passing day, I was growing more comfortable and able to do the job without the help of the FEMA employees.

 

National AmeriCorps Week

A few weeks ago was National AmeriCorps week.  In recognition of this, FEMA Corps went to a Service Project in the Rockaways.  Alongside more than 200 AmeriCorps members serving in NYC, we helped clean up the beach of debris and trash.  It was quite an interesting experience because it was snowing the entire time.  CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer and Director of AmeriCorps Bill Basl were there to cheer us on our accomplishments so far and to serve with us as well.  Here are some quantifiables for the 2,400 AmeriCorps members deployed to Hurrican Sandy:

· Mucked and gutted 1,270 homes,

· Mobilized 16,000 volunteers for 128,000 hours of service (valued at $2.68 million), and

· Touched the lives of nearly 30,000 New York residents.

We rock!

  

Last Chance

I spent the last weekend in NYC with a few teammates of mine in Manhattan.  We went to a very hilarious comedy show as well as visited Times Square one last time.

 

Washington DC

On the way back to campus, my team had a great opportunity to visit the nations capitol and stay at our team leaders parents' house. It was a great experience! I hadn't been to DC since the 8th grade field trip, and I got to see almost everything in one day, which means I was pretty sore, but it was worth it.  Also, almost everyone on my team got a sunburn (sorry mom), but I LIKED it, because it means I actually went outside and there was SUNSHINE for once!

 

 

the team

 

 

Transition

I am now currently at the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern region campus in Vicksburg, Mississippi.  We are here for a week to debrief our last project, get our new projects assignments and prepare for deployment, as well as work on our professional goals.  This week we had many classes on our goals and achievements, awards, and most importantly our resumes. I now have a solid resume that I can use once I graduate from AmeriCorps in June.

 

Round 3 will be...

Ocean 7's next and final SPIKE will be a split round! This means that we will be in Emmitsburg, Maryland for a month and Boston, Massachusettes for the next! I am really excited about both of these locations. As for the work we will be doing: We will not be interacting with survivors, but rather with FEMA Employees to work towards creating and editing the FEMA Corps Training Program.  Honestly, I don't know what our day will look like yet, but I'm excited to get started.  As for housing, we know that we will be staying at the Emergency Management Institute and Firefighters Academy. This is the same location my team stayed when we were staging for Hurricane Sandy. This means that while others in our Corps will be camping out in tents in the desert of New Mexico, we will be in our own snug rooms with wifi, a cafeteria, a gym and indoor pool. We are so spoiled.

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter. peeps! He is risen, indeed! I celebrated Easter with a few of my fellow corps members at a local church called Triumph. I have been going to this church (off and on of course) for the past 8 months, and I am really going to miss their worship experience. I feel like I'm at a concert every time I go there, it is so legit. 

 

Salvation Army Volunteer

Yesterday I volunteered at the Salvation Army with fellow Corps Members. We sorted through clothing and organized the merchandise in the store. It was super fun, and I even went home with a few items myelf!

 

If you want to watch something funny

There was a competition throughout FEMA Corps and this video won...it's hilarious to us, I'm not totally sure if everyone will apprectiate it. But here it is nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96O9sVSWIIU

 

Stay tuned for my next blog where I will touch on FEMA Corps, the program- for those of you who are looking to sign up and those who just want to know more.

SNL and Other Stories

Here's an update on my life!

DRC 41 We are continuing to work at Disaster Recovery Center #41 in Staten Island.  I am no longer a trainee because I completed my task booklet with a specialist.  They had us pair up with specialists and once we completed our task books we paired up within our Ocean 7 team.  Now we are working either in pairs or by ourselves. There are no lone 120-160 survivors coming in every day, but rather 60 or so.  

Housing and Team Life We have been living in an extended stay hotel in Queens which is an interesting experience because we are actually housed in the same hotel as some Sandy survivors that are still displaced from their homes.  We are seeing survivors in a new setting rather than just in the Recovery Centers. I'm really enjoying cooking for my team.  I have made some pretty awesome fried rice as well as omelettes.

Farewell, Lizz.  Today Ocean Seven said farewell to our lovely friend and former teammate, Lizz.  She decided to leave the program a week ago and is excited to get back home and start volunteering with animals as well as go to college in the fall.  Our team didn't expect this because it was so late in the game, but we realize that some environments are stressful for some and because of that stress you are not able to function properly.  As a volunteer, we must remember that it's important to take care of yourself as well as the survivors, and when you are put in a stressful environment and aren't demonstrating self-care you begin to realize that you can't take care of anyone else and the stress just grows from there. Hopefully Lizz will find her corner of the sky back home.  We wish you the best, Lizz!

Getting Ready for Transition Our time left here in NYC is coming to an end. We will be sad yo leave this place, but excited to start a new adventure.  We head back to our Mississippi campus in two weeks, and we will be stopping to explore Washington D.C. for a day!

SNL Because this weekend was virtually going to be our last weekend here other than next weekend (and we have stuff planned) my teammate Nateanna and I decided to try and get Saturday Night Live tickets.  It is tradition that for every live show of SNL that people line up outside of the studio and wait for a chance to get in.  And yes, it is not guaranteed.  We got to the line at dinner-time Friday evening, stayed out all night in the freezing and wet weather, but made it until 7 when they hand out the tickets.  There were about 100 people ahead of us, but we chose to try for the dress rehearsal.  We were numbers 61 and 62 and we made it past security and to the elevators, but they stopped letting people in when we were 8 people away.  It was a close one! But the experience was well worth it.  We got to meet cool people, find shelter (we found some cardboard boxes and packing material) and sleep on the street. The host of the show was Justin Timberlake and he bought us all pizza and soup, but there was also others handing out free food and hot beverages.   I might try again the next time I'll be in NYC.

Here's a link to a video of the standby line, but we weren't as crazy as those in the front!

http://www.today.com/video/today/51098467#51098467

Disaster Recovery Center #41

     Well folks, good news.  Ocean 7 has officially found permanent work, and it feels great! We are now working at DRC 41 located in Stated Island.  Interestingly enough this DRC is seeing about 160 people every day, which means there is a lot to get done and learn at our new DRC.  We even got reunited with some of our FEMA Family from DRC 9, Leslie and Ricardo. We are glad to be back working with them.  What have we been doing? A mixture of things really.  The first day there I shadowed a reservist and helped him out with the cases.  The next day I learned how to do RIMS (which honestly I forget what it stands for), and it's the system they use to track the who what when where and why in the DRC.  I basically entered in the computer the applicants name and information, the time they came and left and also what they did there/what agencies they visited.  Then the next few days I did reception, which was quite overwhelming since there are just so many people to check in.  I honestly did not think there were any DRC's left that still had this many people coming every day.  It reminds me of why I'm here and I try to help as much as I can.  I am excited to get the chance to do my own casework again.
     This weekend I explored the streets of Manhattan with a few of my roommates and teammates, Nateanna and Casey. We also bought tickets to see a comedy show which we will be attending next weekend.  We went to Central Park in search for Balto, as well as for a tattoo shoppe in search for my friends to get tattoos.  Last weekend I went to Chinatown for the New Years and also went to see the 9/11 Memorial.  In other news, we are officially below our food budget which is pretty impressive for living in New York with very hungry teammates.  A FEMA Corps team from my Unit (Ocean) has been deployed to Mississippi in response to the tornadoes there, but as for Ocean 7 we are pretty sure we are staying put. We had a meeting with our Unit Leader named Justin who came up here to check on us and his other teams.  As for schedule, we are now leaving for work late morning! 9 AM we head to the van and get to Staten Island at around 10, and then leave around 4:30.  I have been cooking some cool new things recently, including fried rice the other day.  It was a success, although I forgot to add the tofu. Next time I suppose.  We are continuing to watch movies as a team and bond with board games.  Our newest game is called "Werewolves", which is a game very similar to Mafia but WAY cooler and a bit more complicated.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

BALTO

the Freedom Tower

9/11 memorial

Chinese New Year Parade

Can't wait to see how this movie turns out!

DRC's and Little Russia.

     Hello all.  I have had an interesting week here in NY.  My team has been traveling to Coney Island to support various DRC's or Disaster Recovery Centers.  Since there is not enough work or space for the entire team to be at one Center at one time, we have split up the team into 4 different DRC's.  We have been rotating which DRC's we go to and the people that we work with.  For the most part I have been working at a community center in Little Russia.  During my lunch break I have taken the opportunity to explore Little Russia and try some new foods and snacks, as well as buying some cool looking socks.  Exciting!  I have also gotten to know a few of the FEMA reservists during our down time.  They are some pretty cool people working for FEMA. Many of them speak a different language. It's fascinating to hear their stories and experiences as well as them speaking their first language. 
     More exciting news is that we are now not just shadowing the specialists, but rather taking on our own cases, with help when needed.  I am more confident navigating myself around the system and am getting a better sense of how to help the applicants.  I am really proud of myself for finally being able to do case work by myself! I was a little nervous at first but I have been getting better and better!  I have been able to assist many applicants with going through the appeal process for FEMA and referring them to the right place to get to the next step in the process.  We are being treated as more of specialists instead of trainees.  I am currently stationed at a Yacht Club where there is an injured swan outside, and we are waiting for the little guy (well actually big guy) to be picked up and hopefully get some medical attention. 

The Swan, or Mr. Swanny as I called him.

Little Russia.

     I am sure you all have heard of the recent tornados in Mississippi.  As for FEMA Corps deploying there, we have gotten no word about that yet.  Whatever happens with Ocean 7, we will be ready to serve.  I am often thinking of how crazy it is that our lives and work are dependent upon disasters.  Although it's never something we want, we are happy to be part of the response and recovery efforts. Part of me wants to go to Mississippi because even though there is still a lot to do here in New York, it no longer feels like a disaster anymore in the sense that DRC's are closing because not enough people are coming in.  Most are conglomerating tomorrow.  However if we do get sent to Mississippi we might not have the chance to do our own case work.   As for the weather here in New York, it snowed last weekend so it's been pretty chilly, however I heard that this is a warm winter compared to previous winters.  I do really miss my California summers!  Can't wait to go back and get a sunburn! (Just kidding mom, I know how important sunscreen is).
     Oh by the way, Happy (belated) Valentines Day! I don't really celebrate this holiday, but perhaps some of you readers do.  I am usually in Mexico at Rancho Santa Marta each Valentines Day.
Oh and I got a free month of Hulu Plus and I am trying to catch up on Bones!
It is also now a weekly tradition for my roomates and I to watch "American Idol".  We are hoping that a girl wins this year, and I've already got my heart set on Angela. 

Okay! TTFN!
    

I was reading one of my favorite books today, here's a passage:

Miss Twiggley found out
Something wonderful, too
When emergencies come
You don't think about you

You help all you can
And you never ask why
Then the first thing you know
You forget to be shy

-Miss Twiggley's Tree

You can listen to the whole story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_EkqiOh0Yc

Blitz.

     Well hello folks!  These last two weeks have been interesting.  I am now a (trial) member of a local gym in New York City, as well as most of my team. We have been going every day and taking classes, such as Zumba and abs.  It's a lot of fun!  As for work wise, Monday was MLK day which is a National Day of Service.  Ocean 7, along with another team called Summit 5, decided to help out with painting a community center in The Rockaways.  It was a lot of fun to wear our gray uniforms and do some physical work!  The NYC Service volunteers even gave us a free water-bottle and a free T-shirt for our service! After work we gathered in our hotel and talked about MLK day and did other service learning as well.

Cool T-shirts!

Ocean 7 - a silly picture!

     Other than MLK day, this week has been somewhat of a mess. We were struggling to have enough work at the Federal Court House, so they wanted us to join the Community Relations folks in a blitz in Coney Island.  A blitz is when they canvas neighborhoods and inform people to register for FEMA and also that they have the right to appeal and to go to the local Disaster Recovery Center.  Unfortunately I (and many others on my team) sat in the van for 3 days before being able to be part of the blitz, for a number of different reasons,  the main one being that there wasn't enough work to do.  Finally yesterday I got to canvas a neighborhood after being paired up with a FEMA employee. It sure was cold!  We were supposed to go again today, but it's snowing here which is not an ideal condition to be walking around outside all day.

the Corps.

In other news, FEMA Corps is starting up on other campuses throughout the United States!  Schweet!

Round 2.

Hello all.  Ocean 7 is back in New York City! We are living in an extended stay hotel in Brooklyn and working in Queens (for the most part).  We finished training yesterday and got to go out into the field today. Where did we go? Back where we started on our very first day of Sandy deployment: Breezy Point.  Our team had the opportunity to test out a new FEMA program on the iPad.  The program is for Preliminary Damage Assessments, or PDA's, which are necessary to conduct in order for FEMA to declare the area a  disaster.  The information we collected from using the program was not actually used for this disaster, but rather they received our feedback on the iPad Application.  We debriefed our experience at the Joint Field Office with the peeps in charge.  Today was a great opportunity to re-visit the neighborhood that will forever be burned into our minds as our first steps on the ground of our first disaster.  We saw improvements: the ocean water was gone, the sand was not in the streets, and there was a checkpoint to get in to deter looting. We saw rebuilding.  We saw hope: In the neighborhood that was completely destroyed by the fires someone had posted a sign with a picture of a house that said "Coming Soon"

"Coming Soon"

Today was a great day to start off Round 2 in FEMA Corps.  I am looking forward to what comes tomorrow, though of course I have no idea where I'll be or what I'll be doing.


In other news, Ocean 7 loves our new teammate Zack!  We are glad you are here, Zack.  Also, in the area we are living there is a gym nearby, and almost all of us are thinking about joining, so more news about that on the next post.  I have also decided to challenge myself this round by limiting the amount of money I spend to $75 dollars.  This includes all expenses.  I am challenging myself to do this because almost everything of necessity is provided by FEMA Corps, and most of the things I buy are stupid anyway.  I also want to save up money to spend over the summer when I get back to California.  I have been researching what I'm going to do next year/Life After AmeriCorps, and it turns out I might do another year of AmeriCorps- but a different program.  I am really interested in Food Corps, however there are a very limited amount of members in Food Corps so it would be challenging to get in.  Food Corps is essentially the same program but it is not team-based (Not NCCC) and instead of them providing housing they give more money for your living stipend.  I would serve at Elementary Schools, teaching kids about vegetables and real food, and helping them build their own gardens! I don't have a strong desire to go back to college/DVC, especially since I am getting old and these programs have age limits!
That's all for now folks, thanks for listening and checkin up on me :)

Breezy Point

 The whole Corps!

Winter Break and Transition

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderdul Christmas and Winter Break!  Many AmeriCorps Members, including myself, went home to their families for the holidays. I had a great time reuniting with my close and extended family, and was especially excited to see my little brothers!  They grow up too fast- seriously they need to stop growing. 

As of a few days ago, we are back in Vicksburg Mississippi, getting ready for leaving for our next SPIKE, which is in New York City.  We are leaving for Brooklyn tomorrow morning in our 15 Passenger van.  Today we had our Clearance Meeting which is when each team presents on what they are going to do on their next SPIKE.  Our team will be working at a Disaster Recovery Center (though this one is not in a tent! yay!)  and living in an extended stay hotel. 

I have a new team member!  A few days ago, staff decided to take a member from teams that had a lot of people and tranfer them to a smaller teams so that the teams would be more even.  We got a guy named Zack, who I am somewhat familiar with, so I'm excited that he is now on Ocean 7 with us!

Our team leader is being a bit stricter on the amount of stuff we are allowed to bring on our SPIKE, which is a good thing because I always bring too much stuff. I managed to pack everything I need (plus a little extra) in two bags; my red bag and my black backpack.  Of course I will also be bringing a sleeping bag, pillow, and my government laptop which I will most likely be using at "work" everyday. 

More good news is that I now have the appropraite clothing for cold weather.  When we were deployed to New York for Sandy we were in Georgia at the time and had no idea we were going to be serving somewhere so cold because New York in technically not in the Southern Region. 

Other than having a slight cough/cold, things are going well here.
Wish us luck for traveling to Tennesee tomorrow on our way to NYC!