Camp Pecometh

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Camp Pecometh!

Conrad and myself finger dancing. Duh.

The trusty hunk-o-junk that we used to move all of the wood from Point A to Point B

One of those pairs of boots belongs to me. Hot.

These are some of the cabins the campers stay in. Kinda creepy, kinda cute.

Buddy! He was a mad man on that tractor!

Conrad was pretty lonely working with that crazy machine all of the time. It was used to grind up the tree stumps. Whatta hunk!

We just got back to "the Point" after an exhausting few days! We were wrong when we thought we would only be painting, that's for sure!...Buddy (the camp man) had 11, 50yr. old trees cut down for us to haul away. Yikes. I spent most of the trip hauling away molding cypress and white oaks. My guns sure are sore. The coolest part is that we hauled all of the logs, branches, trash...etc. in one day. We busted our butts! Today we had to help the paint crews finish up their jobs. They painted the dining hall and two "houses". It was a lot of work and because we weren't exactly working with our own teams, I was given the opportunity to work with new people and personalities...something i definitely learned from. I tried to keep my spirits high and remember that because of our help the camp had a larger budget to help under priveledged kids come to camp for free!

It's officially time to buckle down and start preparing for our first SPIKE! We have a lot of work to get done this weekend before our Directors Brief on Wednesday (a 30min. presentation about our project the team has to give to the "top dogs" of our campus) and the many little tasks that need to get done before we leave!

nola.

BIG NEWS. We finally found out that my team, BADGER 4! along with 4 or 5 other teams will be traveling south to N'AWLINS (new orleans) for our first SPIKE project!!! We will be working there until around May 6 = 2 MONTHS! We will be working with an organization called UNITED SAINTS <-- check it out! There is a lot of prep that the team has to do before we leave. But more importantly: today, Monday Feb. 23 was officially the LAST day of formal training! (finally...!) 

Tomorrow we leave on a Mini-SPIKE. We will be heading about an hour and  a 1/2 south to fix up (paint...repair things..) a summer camp. There will be 2 other teams going with us...so hopefully we get a lot done! The project will last for 3 days and after that its back to Perry Point to prepare for our departure on the 6th! 

We recently found out our individual team roles. Myself along with anotha fella, Conrad, will be the CAP (Corps Ambassador Program) Reps. We are pretty much the cheerleaders/mascots of the team and AmeriCorps*NCCC. For each project round we have to set up 3 different times in which we go out to the local community and promote the program. It should be really fun, considering Conrad has already made up a song to play on his guitar! The other role that i was assigned to is the Assistant Team Leader (ATL). The job is to help out TL TONY and if by chance he needs to leave the project, i step in as the TL. I'm pretty pumped that i was given this awesome opportunity! 

I couldn't be more excited to get out and start doing what i came here for!..SERVICE! Training was an essential part to what is going to happen in the next 9 months but i think we are all ready to go out and get things done! I haven't done a lot of research about our project just yet but from what i know it sounds pretty awesome and we will be doing some great work!

...we will miss mardi gras by a week...  :-)

Power Tools.

Training is in full swing and I couldn't be more anxious to go out on our first Spike! (project) In the past few days I have managed to get myself certified in CPR and First Aid (i'm pretty sweet at splinting and slinging) Tuesday and Wednesday found me learning about and getting certified in Disaster Relief..which basically means I can now help start and run a shelter...(it was kind of a review for me because for a bit there 11 Pratt St. Athens, Ohio was a shelter..or hostel. ha.) Today was the MOST important day in training. BLACK AND DECKER UNIVERSITY. Yep. That's Right. I got myself trained in power tools. Drills, saws and nails guns GALORE.  Not only did i get trained in power tools but i had to sport my steel toed boots while doing it. That is surely a sentence i never imagined myself saying. 

Tonight Team Leader Phillip Anthony Smith...TONY..is taking our team out for dinner. He's buying. Whatta guy. Our team dynamic is hilarious. After a week we are already pretty comfortable with each other. There are a few crazies, some shy guys and a few inbetweenie weenies. (Mom & Dad, Tony keeps asking me where i came from and if he will ever get to meet you fine folks...i guess i'm a "crazy"..) We still havent found out where we are being sent to for first round but I. CANT. WAIT! 

One thing that is pretty cool that i havent mentioned is the fact that we get free access to the YMCA. They have an awesome weight/cardio room and a pool. Tony tries to take us a few times a week. I have definitely been taking advantage of that and i can now run 4 miles. in one day. without stopping. whoa. 

I will try to post some more pictures soon! OVER. AND. OUT.

Who's in the House?

Badgers in the house! We Ready. We Steady. You know we lead the way! ooooo

So...that's our unit cheer. I'm a Badger 4. --Here is a little information incase you are unaware of this extraordinary creature Badger

There are three units - wolves, ravens and BADGERS. In each unit there is about 6 or 7 different teams (Badger 4) My team leader is TONY. He was actually a Badger4 corps member last year so he knows what we are going through, which is a great thing. He is really enthusiastic and appeared to be speechless (and awfully tired) when we found out our teams yesterday. There are 8 folks on my team : 5 ladies and 3 gentlemen. We have a great range of personalities and i'm exited to get to know everyone. 

Yesterday officially started our training. Physical Training. At 5:30AM. All i'm sayin' is that i am going to be darn good at the side straddle hop (known to regular people as the "jumping jack") and AmeriCorps squats. oh, and counting and lining up. OOOOBOY. We also started our in-class training. It's going to be a long month but the 9months of projects will definitely make up for it. We arent really sure what the rest of our schedule is going to look like. Going with the flow is a huge part of this year which i think i've already mastered. 

I officially decided that my life long dream of being on Supermarket Sweep has been shattered...Not only because i'm pretty sure it doesn't even exist anymore but because grocery shopping for 7 people is stressful and not something i plan on doing ever again..willingly.

 Side note: Thanks Mama...for feeding my belly for 20 years. 

So far my expectations have been exceeded..and it's only been a week! I'm meeting so many great individuals and i can already tell its going to be a fantastic year with so many unforgettable experiences. 

I will leave you with THIS

PEACE&LOVE

This is my temporary team (until monday) in front of some old lighthouse on the Susquehanna River

This is the view at sunset from my front door..it's okay to be jealous.

This the awfully humble abode that i will be residing in for the next 4weeks.

I Shower in a Clawed Tub.

Current Time: 7:30 AM.

Current Status: SHOWERED.

Yep. This is my new life. Waking up early AND showering. Rumors are that when on SPIKE (see glossary at the end...seriously) showers may or may not be hard to come by so i am taking full advantage of the clawed wonder in my bathroom. ANYWAYS, I'M HERE! and ALIVE! Its day four and today i have to pack a lunch (that's really all i know about what is going on today) I live with 6 other girls in well..a dump. Luckily our house has all of its windows and a stove. The water leaks got fixed! And the little piles of dead critters have been Cloroxed. There is a pretty good age range in the house (24, 23, 22, 19) and one girl is even from Hamilton, Ohio (nope, she doesnt know Uncle Paul) We have found out what UNIT we are in: BADGERS. We don't find out what TEAMS we are in until Monday. Cross.your.fingers.

Yesterday i basically found out that i am: TB, fetus and cancer free! VICTORY! We had our physicals. It was special. We also had a our first house meal! We made pasta, chicken, salad and broccoli. We no longer eat in the giant group of 136 because we got to go shopping! Each week we get about $150 as a house. It will certainly be interesting. 

I will post some pictures up here so ya'll can see and be jealous that my front yard is a body of water..also known as the Chesapeake Bay (or maybe the river that intersects it)  

So far everything is great! and i look DAMN good in a uniform! Peace&Love!

SPIKEs are when we leave the campus to do our projects. 

UNITS are the larger groups comprised by teams (Badger, Raven, Wolf)

TEAMS are the small groups with 8 corps members and a team leader. 

Here I Go...

Hanna Hopkins- Class XV
AmeriCorps NCCC
PO Box 209
Perry Point, MD 21902


T-Minus five hours until I officially embark on this GIANT adventure and the only thing i feel confident about is the address that was provided for me...3 months ago (except it said something along the lines of "Jane Doe"....not Hanna Hopkins)