Finally an update

Hello everyone! I had really intended to post something before I left after FACES was over, or maybe once I got here, but time sort of got away from me and I ended up putting it off until now. Where to even start!? It has really been a whirlwind of a couple weeks. The end of camp was amazing, and I am SO incredibly lucky to have had such an opportunity to work with all the wonderful kids who attended. They constantly taught me things every day that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and I am still thinking of them often. On top of being done with FACES, I had to say goodbye to everyone in Bellingham for the next ten months to embark on the beginning of my journey. I must say that this was one of the more difficult days I have experienced because last year I befriended some beautiful human beings that I am missing dearly every day out here in the cornfields of rural Iowa. There were tears, laughter, and probably a little too much wine, but the first round of goodbyes came and went leaving minimal battle scars. Unfortunately, the day I left Bellingham would be the first of those goodbyes, but now, because I have been gone for about two weeks, I know that the physical act of saying goodbye to someone you will not see for a very long time is the worst part, and that missing people doesn't always have to be such a bad thing. The trip out here was quite the adventure. I got to have to pleasure of riding in the back of my family's minivan with Joe, while my parents carted us out to the midwest. Something I always enjoyed as a child were the various roadtrips we took as a family, so it was really neat to do one again. Despite the nature of the trip, and the looming feeling that there were more goodbyes to come, we all had SO much fun! We sang along to our favorite songs; Cat Stevens, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Beatles, Dixie Chicks, Mumford & Sons, Simon & Garfunkle...you name it, we sang it. Joe and I had a lot of fun challenging each other to guess the name of songs, or playing the spelling game where the first person to spell a word loses. In other words, we kick ass at road trips. We stayed in Rochester, MN with my grandparents the two nights before I was dropped off, and it was great to spend some time with them. They are in the process of selling their house and downsizing to a condo to accomodate their traveling lifestyle...so cool for them! When the day came for me to finally leave for good, my parents and Joe drove me to Vinton, which is about three hours away from Rochester, to drop me off. It was pretty much just as sad as I had envisioned it to be. Maybe more.... It has certainly been difficult a few times, missing everyone so much back in Bellingham, and feeling farther away from my family in Waitsburg than I have ever been before, but the people I have met here are some of the kindest and most interesting that I have ever come across. I theorized about a month or so ago when I was feeling really down about leaving that the type of people who would give up whatever the heck they were doing at that point in their lives to do ten months of volunteer work while living on a stipend must not suck that badly, and so far that has proven to be very correct. Already, I feel like I have been welcomed into an impromptu family by the team I am working with, and that I have known some of these people for much longer than I actually have. Right now, we are still in the middle of training for our first round of projects here in Vinton. In a few weeks, we will be departing for Anniston, AL, for more in-depth FEMA training. I'm not entirely sure of everything this training will entail, but I am excited to check another state off the list and to take a road trip with the team. Our specific role for the next ten months will be Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA). More specifically, we'll be canvassing in communities that might have been affected by a natural disaster/flood/fire/etc., assessing their needs, and reporting them back so that they can get the resources they need to recover the things they've lost. Within the team, we have all been assigned different positions to help operations run more smoothly, and I have been assigned the position entitled "Service Learning Initiator." We haven't dug too deeply into any projects yet, but, along with another team member, I will be leading weekly reflection activities about our service to make sure we're all able to voice our opinions/thoughts/feelings about the different projects. From my understanding, this will probably involve researching social, environmental, or economic issues behind our projects, and getting creative about appealing to everyone's learning styles in our group! This could be challenging, but I am excited to delve into it! Overall, things have been going well so far. There are still a few times everyday where I kind of wonder why the hell I just dipped out of school for the year to live out of a duffel bag and travel around the country doing service projects, but I am usually able to justify that feeling, so I suppose that's a good sign. Hopefully, I'll post something before we leave for Alabama to talk about the rest of training, and maybe next time, I'll know what our first project will be, and I'll be able to tell you guys a little bit about it. I have already recieved some good old-fashioned snail mail, and it made my whole life, so if anyone wants to send me fun letters, I will try to reciprocate! I just biked down to the post office in the blazing midwestern heat last week and bought a bunch of stamped envelopes, so I'll be writing people like crazy! My address here is: Maya E. Garcia, 1004 G Avenue, Vinton, IA 52349. Of course, I wont really be here for very much of the next ten months, but from my underrstanding, they forward any mail to the prject sites, should it come to campus while we're gone. SO SEND ME FUN THINGS BECAUSE IT MAKES ME REALLY HAPPY. Love you all and miss your faces dearly, Maya

Trying this whole blog thing out...

Hello friends!

In a little less than a month, I will be traveling to Vinton, IA to begin my training for AmeriCorps NCCC.  The program that I am working with is partnered with FEMA, and is focused on disaster relief, education, and preparedness.  I will be serving a ten state region in the Midwestern US for the next ten months, so I certainly won't be in one place for too long.  As for the rest, there is still much I don't know.  A few months ago, I joined a Facebook group for Corps members that will also be serving the North Central region, and that has been helpful in providing some information on what it will actually be like, but I suppose it's hard to know, since I have done nothing like this in my entire life.  The summer has so far been an amazing one.  The day we finished finals, Joe and I embarked on a road trip through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and then back up to Washington.  We have some wonderful pictures, stories, and only minimal battle scars that we have shared with many of you already.  Upon our return to Bellingham, I started my summer job as an Instructional Assistant at a camp called F.A.C.E.S Northwest (Families for Autistic Children's Education and Support) and it has so far been an unbelievably amazing experience.  Our group is the youngest in the program, so there are always things to smile about every day.  Summer in Bellingham is beautiful!  It is the first summer I have spent here (I have been in Glacier Park for the past three summers) and I never thought I would be able to say this, but I think I found another place that is acceptable to be in the Summer, aside from Glacier.  The weather has been pristine (knock on wood) and I am spending it with some of the best people I know.  After F.A.C.E.S is over, my parents and Joe are planning on hauling me out to the magical land of Iowa...at this point in time, I'm wondering how shocking this will actually be haha.  There are many things I don't know, and the unexpected with most certainly happen, but I hope to be able to keep up with this blog as much as possible, because I want to keep in contact with as many people as I can while I am chasing tornadoes :-)  (or whatever I end up doing).  I am not sure about the availability of internet, or how much writing time we are going to have, but I will find little moments here and there to record things hopefully, even if they prove to be mundane, morbid, crazy, ridiculous, unbelievable, etc...etc....Seriously though, I actually have no idea what to expect.  Insanely busy with camp/work/friends/wine/avidly reading every book I can get my hands on, so this may be the last post for awhile, but I wanted to let everyone know that I will be documenting my adventures to the best of my abilities!  I love you all and I hope you are having amazing summers wherever you are in the world!
Love,
Maya