Oh, they oriented me all right...

I'm almost done with week two of three of training, though it really feels like the past two weeks have been a month long. The real world is exhausting. I was able to function on a pretty little amount of sleep in college, but now I find my eyelids drooping in meetings unless I get at least seven hours of sleep (which I forced myself to get last night, what a difference!). The other VISTA who is training with me at College Bound and I decided that our brains were close to being fried today - the weekend will be a welcome break.

Here are Pre-Service Orientation (PSO) and onsite orientation in a nutshell.

Sunday, October 31st, around 11:30 PM: Finish packing, book a cab to the airport for the next morning and double-check itinerary. Realize that despite the fact that you told AmeriCorps THREE times that you were moving to St. Louis from Indianapolis, and despite the fact that both you and your parents looked at your flight itinerary before, you are booked on a morning flight from Indianapolis, not St. Louis. Panic and call parents with life crisis #8,764 (number is approximate). Decide to call AmeriCorps State Office in morning because according to your paperwork, nothing can be done without their approval.

Monday, November 1st, around 7 AM: Get up and begin calling AmeriCorps State Office, only to be told when you finally get through that you should have just called the travel agent in charge of PSO. Call and get your flight changed to a 3ish flight out of St. Louis. Arrive in Albuquerque and discover gratefully that you are not the only one coming late. Arrive at hotel only to be told that "dinner was at 6:45" (you were aware, thanks) and that you can't check in and get your PSO materials until breakfast the next morning. Oh, did I mention that you've also been assigned a room with a roommate but only one bed? The bright side of the evening includes dinner at nearby Jason's Deli with two other latecomers and getting yourself switched to a room of your own.

Tuesday, November 1st through Thursday, November 4th: Meet a handful of the 150 other VISTAs at PSO from other southern states. Learn a lot about poverty. Learn probably more than you ever wanted to know about poverty, and get angry about it. Have I mentioned yet that you talk a lot about poverty? Go over your VAD (VISTA Assignment Description), which tells you what you'll actually be doing for the next year (sort of). Explore a little bit of Albuquerque, but mostly when things are closed because you're in training until dinnertime and shops close early for unknown reasons. Luckily, find a Mexican restaurant with delicious margaritas and a friend who's willing to treat.

Break for the weekend, when you meet one of your favorite singers, Dave Barnes, after arriving back in St. Louis just in time to see the last half of his concert at Blueberry Hill (note: singers are impressed when you tell them you came to their show all the way from Albuquerque, even if they know you live in St. Louis), and help raise over $166,000 for children's hospitals by dancing for 12 hours at Dance Marathon. You know, the usual.

Monday, November 8th through the present: Start on-site orientation at College Bound. Learn pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about College Bound's history, mission and programs. Meet all of the wonderful College Bound staff, who make you laugh your way through lunch everyday. Learn that you have a lot of work to do and that you "can't start soon enough," according to your supervisor. Help lead College Bound students through BizTown, a town/business simulation through Junior Achievement, and observe them in the classroom. They are funny and energetic and facing incredible odds. You are happy to work for them.

I'm getting sleepier just thinking about everything I've been doing lately. But I have a feeling life isn't going to slow down anytime soon... Wish me luck!

Here we go again!

Well, here we are again. Another adventure, another blog. This time my journey will be closer to home, but I don't think that will make it any less adventurous.

For those of you who may not know, I graduated from Washington University in May (hooray!... boo), and two days ago I moved back to St. Louis to start a job. Specifically, I'll be serving as an AmeriCorps*VISTA for the next year. VISTA stands for Volunteer in Service to America, and VISTA is the branch of AmeriCorps that specifically deals with poverty. The other branch of AmeriCorps is State, and State members perform direct service - tutoring, counseling, etc. VISTAs do not perform direct service but are responsible for the behind-the-scenes work at organizations, such as development (fundraising) and volunteer coordination. My official title is Development/Education and Awareness VISTA, and the site where I'll be serving is a nonprofit organization called College Bound. College Bound works with under-resourced high school students in St. Louis, with the ultimate goal for them being graduation from a four-year college or university. I'll be responsible, along with my co-VISTA, for writing grant applications, planning fundraisers and working with various donor groups.

As a VISTA, I am a "federally funded national service participant" (words from one of the online tutorials I went through in preparation for orientation), which basically translates into "you're going to do a lot of great things for your country, and we're not going to pay you very much for it in hopes that you gain a better understanding of poverty." Though I try to be reasonable with money, I've never really had to follow a strict budget, so that will be a new experience. My roommate, a friend from college, is working for College Bound through AmeriCorps State, so I'm sure you will hear stories of the ways we come up with to pinch pennies.

I've been anticipating the start of my job since I got hired in March, so I'm very excited to get started, but also a little overwhelmed. I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Pre-Service Orientation (PSO) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I will meet my fellow VISTAs, learn a lot about poverty and what we can do to fight it, and hopefully have some time to explore the city, since I've never been to New Mexico. I also hope that they'll finally explain why there is a star in the AmeriCorps*VISTA name. Why not just a space? Does AmeriCorps want us to feel like stars? Is serving like getting beaten up until you see stars? Do we get a free ride into space when we finish our year? So many possibilities...

*SHAMELESS PLUG* I will get back from PSO just in time to dance on an alumni team at Dance Marathon 2010! Dance Marathon, or DM, is a fabulous event at Washington University that raises money for Children's Miracle Network. All of the money goes to two outstanding pediatric hospitals in St. Louis. I was a team leader, or Morale Captain, my sophomore year, and then served on the Executive Board for two years. I am so excited to dance again (without having to worry about a single logistical detail!), and I'd love to raise as much money as I can. If you feel so inclined, you can donate online and read more about my DM experience here: http://www.dmstl.org/profile/2467. Thanks so much for your support of all my nonprofit endeavors!