I just realized I haven't blogged at all while in New Mexico, so I have a lot to fill you in on.
First of all, we had a great ride down from Denver. We were the first team to arrive, which meant we flew through badging and room assignments, and had time to use our travel per diem on a nice dinner at La Fonda, Artesia's Mexican restaurant. I was going to make a great Napoleon Dynamite hyperlink there, but I can't get it to work. : (
The training center that we're at is also being used by the Sacramento FEMA Corps, so it was cool to meet our counterparts from the other campus. They came in a few days earlier and just left yesterday.
The first four weeks of our training in Denver was for the most part the basic AmeriCorps NCCC training that traditional corps gets as well, but with a few FEMA specific things peppered in. This 2 weeks in New Mexico has been all about FEMA. We started by getting our equipment and badges issued (I feel so official!). Of course, I look absolutely terrible in my ID picture. My campus ID that I was issued here looks like a meth head's mugshot, which I find much preferable to my FEMA badge, which looks like I'm sunburnt and am about to cry and/or punch someone in the face.
After that process was done, we started training. We had some general sessions and then got split into our specific job training. First, I had training for the Individual Assistance Applicant Services Program Specialist role, or IA ASPS. That lasted a few days, and went over the process that disaster victims go through in receiving aid from FEMA and voluntary agencies, and explained the ways in which people qualify or don't qualify for FEMA assistance. In addition, we got to learn a little bit about the computer systems that we'll be working with while we're assisting applicants in the Disaster Recovery Center. It was a lot of information to process but I think I have a grasp on the basics now.
After we finished ASPS training, we started training to be Community Relations Specialists. Because it's a new program, and they might need us to be "FEMA flexible" with our roles, they decided to cross train IA and CR in both. The job of a CR specialist is to go out into the community and talk to people, make sure they've registered for FEMA, explain the different programs and the application process, and also interview them to report information back to the Joint Field Office about what's going on in the community. It sounds like an interesting job, so I'm glad I'll be trained to do that as well.
It's nice to meet all our trainers and get a real idea about what it's like to work with FEMA. And now for the big news.....
WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!!
If you've seen my facebook post pertaining to that issue, than I'm sorry that you were throroughly unimpressed by my shouty capital letter exclamation mark sentence.
But if you haven't seen my facebook, then here's the big news. We're going to Denton, TX!!!
Denton is home of FEMA's Region VI head office, and is also the location of one of their National Processing Service Centers (NPSC), which is where they take the calls of people trying to register with FEMA (1-800-621-3362 --It's burned in my brain) and is also, as the name implies, where they process applications.
Fun fact, Denton is also the home of Dr. Phil!
We will be working in the regional office doing some filing and archiving and whatnot. I know that doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs to a lot of people, but I'm really excited to see how the regional office is run, and maybe even the NPSC, although I'm not sure if our job will take us there. Our first spike (the NCCC term for a project away from your campus, i.e. outside Denver) is set to last until June 6th, but since tornado season is beginning, and we'll be right in tornado alley, I have a feeling we might get called up to go somewhere else before that date comes around.
What's really exciting is that Denton is right outside Dallas, so it just takes a half hour on the light rail and you're there! I've already been looking up concerts and things to do. Plus, one of my teammates used to live in Denton, and she says it's a fun little city with a good nightlife and live music. It should be a good time!
Just today we found out where we would be leaving. If my information is correct we'll be at Camp Copass, a church retreat out on a lake. I googled it and it looks awesome! It's totally going to be summer camp style, like a room full of bunk beds, a lake, all kinds of rec activities. When I was little I always wanted to go to summer camp (do you remember watching Bugjuice on the Disney Channel? I was so jealous of those guys!), but I never got to go. So here's my chance! I'm not sure whether they'll give us access to all their facilities or not, but let's just say that if they do, I'll be zip-linin' and mini-golfin' my little heart out!
We leave in 2 days!! Which is incredibly exciting, but also sad. A lot of the friends that we've made over the last month and a half will be spread out across Kansas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There will be 2 other teams with us in TX, but they are from other units, and all our Alpine friends will be gone. Hopefully we'll all be able to meet back up again during transition weeks, but because we're doing disaster relief, there are no guaranteed schedules or timelines. Although I'll miss my friends, I won't miss Artesia. There's really not a lot here, and anything that is here is a 45 minute walk away. Not to mention some rules that are a bit stricter here than they were back in Denver. I will miss the food though. It's probably going to be awhile before I have access to an ice cream machine again.
So here we go! First spike of the season! I love my team and I'm so excited to start working for FEMA! It's gonna be a great year!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The end of CTI
Ok guys, I'm going to make this quick, because we're leaving for FEMA training in New Mexico bright and early tomorrow morning and I still have a lot of stuff to get ready!
It's been about a week since I last posted, and I can't even recall all the stuff that's happened since then. First of all, we had our induction ceremony. In attendance was the Lt. Governor of Colorado, some higher-ups in FEMA, and the Director of AmeriCorps NCCC. A few CMs from Alpine Unit (represent!) sang the National Anthem beautifully, we listened to some speeches, and we're all officially in the Corps now!!
After the ceremony, we had a session with the NCCC director and the FEMA people to ask questions and get a little more concrete information about what our year is going to be like. Afterward, we had a nice luncheon, and were free to enjoy the rest of the day. Of course, we decided to celebrate, so some friends and I went downtown to sample the fine offerings of a few of Denver's breweries. We were given the weekend free to enjoy ourselves, but unfortunately the snow made it a little difficult to get out and about.
On Monday, we started doing a FEMA 101 course with some trainers that have come in and we're continuing that today. We'll finish up this afternoon and then it will be a scramble to pack, clean and get everything ready so that we can have final room inspection at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. Then it's an 8-10 hour drive down to Artesia, New Mexico to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which we will call home during the next few weeks, and where I'll be getting the information I need to start working as an Individual Assistance Applicant Services Specialist!
We still don't know where we're going, but one of the Federal Coordinating Officers from FEMA was telling us which areas currently need Individual Assistance (IA) and it seems to be mostly on the west coast - NJ, NY, CT, ME - but also Mississippi, so hopefully we should find out soon!
It's been about a week since I last posted, and I can't even recall all the stuff that's happened since then. First of all, we had our induction ceremony. In attendance was the Lt. Governor of Colorado, some higher-ups in FEMA, and the Director of AmeriCorps NCCC. A few CMs from Alpine Unit (represent!) sang the National Anthem beautifully, we listened to some speeches, and we're all officially in the Corps now!!
After the ceremony, we had a session with the NCCC director and the FEMA people to ask questions and get a little more concrete information about what our year is going to be like. Afterward, we had a nice luncheon, and were free to enjoy the rest of the day. Of course, we decided to celebrate, so some friends and I went downtown to sample the fine offerings of a few of Denver's breweries. We were given the weekend free to enjoy ourselves, but unfortunately the snow made it a little difficult to get out and about.
On Monday, we started doing a FEMA 101 course with some trainers that have come in and we're continuing that today. We'll finish up this afternoon and then it will be a scramble to pack, clean and get everything ready so that we can have final room inspection at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. Then it's an 8-10 hour drive down to Artesia, New Mexico to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which we will call home during the next few weeks, and where I'll be getting the information I need to start working as an Individual Assistance Applicant Services Specialist!
We still don't know where we're going, but one of the Federal Coordinating Officers from FEMA was telling us which areas currently need Individual Assistance (IA) and it seems to be mostly on the west coast - NJ, NY, CT, ME - but also Mississippi, so hopefully we should find out soon!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Fun with Alpine
This has been one of the funnest weeks so far. Monday was classroom time, where we learned about our new team roles. I will be a CAPper. CAP stands for Corps Ambassador Program, and I, along with one of my teammates, will be responsible for setting up events to recruit new people to the program. We will go to events like career fairs at high schools and colleges to set up an AmeriCorps NCCC booth, and we will also set up our own info sessions at different places, post fliers, give out brochures and bumper stickers, and stuff like that. I was hoping for that role, and I'm really excited about it.
My other team role will be Portfolio Editor. After each project, the team has to turn in a portfolio to sum up our time there, what we accomplished, what we learned, etc. and me and a teammate will be the ones making sure it gets put together professionally and turned in in time.
In addition, for the first round, I will be the Food POC (point of contact) along with 2 other teammates. Which means we go to the grocery store with the TL and make sure we have the food situation under control and are keeping everybody happy and well fed.
On Tuesday, they took our unit to an indoor rock climbing center, where we got to spend the morning climbing our hearts out. It was a lot of fun, and a great workout. My arms are still sore.
Yesterday, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It took a couple hours to get there, and then we went on a nice hike, stopped at a waterfall to have lunch, and headed back.
Today we met with an FCO (Federal Coordinating Officer) from FEMA to talk a little more about our job. It was great hearing about what our role as Individual Applicant Assistants will be. I'm so excited to go to training in New Mexico and start working! He hinted that they would likely need us up on the east coast, but that tornado season is right around the corner and that could mean we would pick up and move if something were to happen. I think I may have mentioned this a couple times in every single post, but I'm really excited!!!
Now we have the rest of the day free to get started on prepping to go to New Mexico, and tomorrow is induction!!
Also, you'll notice that I finally got my pictures uploaded! Hopefully I'll keep 'em coming!
My other team role will be Portfolio Editor. After each project, the team has to turn in a portfolio to sum up our time there, what we accomplished, what we learned, etc. and me and a teammate will be the ones making sure it gets put together professionally and turned in in time.
In addition, for the first round, I will be the Food POC (point of contact) along with 2 other teammates. Which means we go to the grocery store with the TL and make sure we have the food situation under control and are keeping everybody happy and well fed.
On Tuesday, they took our unit to an indoor rock climbing center, where we got to spend the morning climbing our hearts out. It was a lot of fun, and a great workout. My arms are still sore.
Yesterday, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It took a couple hours to get there, and then we went on a nice hike, stopped at a waterfall to have lunch, and headed back.
Today we met with an FCO (Federal Coordinating Officer) from FEMA to talk a little more about our job. It was great hearing about what our role as Individual Applicant Assistants will be. I'm so excited to go to training in New Mexico and start working! He hinted that they would likely need us up on the east coast, but that tornado season is right around the corner and that could mean we would pick up and move if something were to happen. I think I may have mentioned this a couple times in every single post, but I'm really excited!!!
Now we have the rest of the day free to get started on prepping to go to New Mexico, and tomorrow is induction!!
Also, you'll notice that I finally got my pictures uploaded! Hopefully I'll keep 'em coming!
Monday, March 4, 2013
My Permanent Team and Life in the Rockies
I'll pick up where I left off on Thursday afternoon. We had our PT baseline tests, and it went pretty well. I did the mile and a half in 14:14 so I have my time to beat for next time. I did 31 push-ups (they were even man-push-ups) in a minute and 42 crunches. Technically we were supposed to do actual sit-ups, not crunches, but being the genius that I am, I decided to go sledding over a snow ramp that some corps members had made on campus. The problem was, there wasn't that thick of a layer of snow on the ground, and shockingly, the thin layer of plastic between my tailbone and the ground didn't do too much to soften the blow. So actually sitting up was out of the question since it made me want to cry.
Friday was the big day. We were told that we would be finding out our permanent teams and team leaders, and also what our FEMA job would be at 9:00 a.m. What we didn't know was that they weren't going to make it easy for us. Instead of just making an announcement, they decided to make us work for it. First we were handed slips of paper with our names on it. When we unfolded them, we found a quote and people with the same quote had to find each other and form a group. Once that was done, we were told "Welcome to your permanent teams."
This was exciting. I am happy about my team members, and I think we have a great group. A few of the 8 people on our team are people that I haven't really gotten to know too well yet, because we'd never been on temporary teams together, but I'm sure after 9 months of living, working, and playing together, that won't be an issue.
Next, we were sent on a scavenger hunt to find out who our team leader (TL) was and what our job assignment was. We had all had different preferences for jobs. Most on our team wanted Public Assistance, some wanted Community Relations, I wanted Individual Assistance, and none of us wanted Logistics. So with that combination we had no inkling as to what our assignment would actually be.
The clues took us from the library to our dorms, to the cafeteria, back to the dorms, to the sledding hill, to the offices, and back to the library. It's almost like they were trying to sneak in some PT with our scavenger hunt. We met a TL at every station, and a few of them tried to convince us that they were ours, followed by a "just kidding" and the next clue. By the time we got to our real team leader, it took a good 20 minutes before we were fully convinced that it was actually our team.
So here's what I got. Our job assignment is Individual Applicant Assistance. Yay!! That was my number one choice and I'm pumped!! Our team leader is Brittany, and I'm excited about that, too. All the Apine Unit TLs are awesome so I wasn't too worried about that aspect. Now that all is said and done, I'm stoked. It's going to be a good year.
Friday afternoon we had some team time, and went out for ice cream. If anyone is familiar with my Ivanna Cone obsession, you'll be pleased to hear that I've found a Denver ice cream shop that is almost as good. Nothing beats Ivanna Cone's Rice Krispie Ice Cream, but a scoop of Mexican Chocolate Stout ice cream with a scoop of vegan Snickerdoodle. Can you say ice cream heaven?
But besides eating delicious ice cream, what else have I been doing in Denver? My first time downtown was when we were dropped off at the 16th Street Mall after the Denver tour that I mentioned last time. I went downtown again one weekend with some friends to celebrate National Margarita Day. We headed to Rio Grande because it supposedly has the best margaritas in Denver (they also have a 3 margarita limit, if that tells you anything). I went with my roomie to Taita, a delicious Peruvian restaurant so I could have a taste of Peru, which I miss so much! We've been very lucky in that the weather has magically turned gorgeous most weekends, so I've gone on a few hikes with friends. The problem is, my friends and I have terrible senses of direction. The first hike we took was in Genesee Park on the Beaver Brook Trail. Unfortunately, some footprints in the snow at a picnic area led us to believe the trail veered off to the right. And we were following a brook, so everything seemed to be going well, until we got to a few sketchy areas where some barbed wire fence started and we couldn't really tell which side of the fence we were supposed to be on. We ended up at this really cool rock formation with beautiful views of the mountains, and from there we decided to head back. Once we got back to the picnic area, someone spotted a sign on the opposite side of it that said "Beaver Brook Trail." Oops. We decided to check it out, and whaddya know, it was a very well worn trail, clearly marked with little "BB" signs at various intervals. Oh well, we blaze our own trails. Our next hiking adventure was yesterday. We headed to the Castle and Tower hike at Mt. Falcon. It was pretty snowy and slippery, and none of us really had good hiking boots, but it was a fun hike nonetheless. It was interesting because we got to see ruins of an old mansion that had been built on the mountainside, and there was also a lookout that used to be someone's summer home. It offered amazingly gorgeous views of the mountains. (Still working on figuring out how to post my pics from my camera, but I have a few cell phone pics on facebook). I also had a chance to go with a friend to a concert down at the Marquis Theater. My friend from Vermillion, SD who was an exchange student with me in Germany has a brother who is in a band called Paradise Fears, and they're on tour with Go Radio, We Are the In Crowd, and The Summer Set. They stopped in Denver Saturday night, and it was a great concert. If you haven't heard of them, click on the link and check them out! (In an effort to expand my blogging capabilities, I've started linking stuff, if you haven't noticed, so click because, if you don't, you may miss out on seeing some pictures of adorable puppies and that would be a shame).
There's tons of other stuff I want to do in Denver, so I'm a little sad that we'll be leaving in 10 days. I've made a list of all the things I still want to check out while I'm here, and it's super long, considering we only have 2 more days off, but we'll be back for transition weeks, hopefully, so that should give me more time to see Pike's Peak, the Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Cave Dwellings, the museums, the Coors Brewery Tour (try saying that 5 times fast - it always makes me think of a certain 30 Rock episode), and all the other stuff on my 2 page long list.
This coming week is an exciting one. We have our induction on Friday which means we've made it through CTI and we're ready to head off to FEMA training and then to our first project! I'll keep you posted!
And here's a little something to brighten your day.
Friday was the big day. We were told that we would be finding out our permanent teams and team leaders, and also what our FEMA job would be at 9:00 a.m. What we didn't know was that they weren't going to make it easy for us. Instead of just making an announcement, they decided to make us work for it. First we were handed slips of paper with our names on it. When we unfolded them, we found a quote and people with the same quote had to find each other and form a group. Once that was done, we were told "Welcome to your permanent teams."
This was exciting. I am happy about my team members, and I think we have a great group. A few of the 8 people on our team are people that I haven't really gotten to know too well yet, because we'd never been on temporary teams together, but I'm sure after 9 months of living, working, and playing together, that won't be an issue.
Next, we were sent on a scavenger hunt to find out who our team leader (TL) was and what our job assignment was. We had all had different preferences for jobs. Most on our team wanted Public Assistance, some wanted Community Relations, I wanted Individual Assistance, and none of us wanted Logistics. So with that combination we had no inkling as to what our assignment would actually be.
The clues took us from the library to our dorms, to the cafeteria, back to the dorms, to the sledding hill, to the offices, and back to the library. It's almost like they were trying to sneak in some PT with our scavenger hunt. We met a TL at every station, and a few of them tried to convince us that they were ours, followed by a "just kidding" and the next clue. By the time we got to our real team leader, it took a good 20 minutes before we were fully convinced that it was actually our team.
So here's what I got. Our job assignment is Individual Applicant Assistance. Yay!! That was my number one choice and I'm pumped!! Our team leader is Brittany, and I'm excited about that, too. All the Apine Unit TLs are awesome so I wasn't too worried about that aspect. Now that all is said and done, I'm stoked. It's going to be a good year.
Friday afternoon we had some team time, and went out for ice cream. If anyone is familiar with my Ivanna Cone obsession, you'll be pleased to hear that I've found a Denver ice cream shop that is almost as good. Nothing beats Ivanna Cone's Rice Krispie Ice Cream, but a scoop of Mexican Chocolate Stout ice cream with a scoop of vegan Snickerdoodle. Can you say ice cream heaven?
But besides eating delicious ice cream, what else have I been doing in Denver? My first time downtown was when we were dropped off at the 16th Street Mall after the Denver tour that I mentioned last time. I went downtown again one weekend with some friends to celebrate National Margarita Day. We headed to Rio Grande because it supposedly has the best margaritas in Denver (they also have a 3 margarita limit, if that tells you anything). I went with my roomie to Taita, a delicious Peruvian restaurant so I could have a taste of Peru, which I miss so much! We've been very lucky in that the weather has magically turned gorgeous most weekends, so I've gone on a few hikes with friends. The problem is, my friends and I have terrible senses of direction. The first hike we took was in Genesee Park on the Beaver Brook Trail. Unfortunately, some footprints in the snow at a picnic area led us to believe the trail veered off to the right. And we were following a brook, so everything seemed to be going well, until we got to a few sketchy areas where some barbed wire fence started and we couldn't really tell which side of the fence we were supposed to be on. We ended up at this really cool rock formation with beautiful views of the mountains, and from there we decided to head back. Once we got back to the picnic area, someone spotted a sign on the opposite side of it that said "Beaver Brook Trail." Oops. We decided to check it out, and whaddya know, it was a very well worn trail, clearly marked with little "BB" signs at various intervals. Oh well, we blaze our own trails. Our next hiking adventure was yesterday. We headed to the Castle and Tower hike at Mt. Falcon. It was pretty snowy and slippery, and none of us really had good hiking boots, but it was a fun hike nonetheless. It was interesting because we got to see ruins of an old mansion that had been built on the mountainside, and there was also a lookout that used to be someone's summer home. It offered amazingly gorgeous views of the mountains. (Still working on figuring out how to post my pics from my camera, but I have a few cell phone pics on facebook). I also had a chance to go with a friend to a concert down at the Marquis Theater. My friend from Vermillion, SD who was an exchange student with me in Germany has a brother who is in a band called Paradise Fears, and they're on tour with Go Radio, We Are the In Crowd, and The Summer Set. They stopped in Denver Saturday night, and it was a great concert. If you haven't heard of them, click on the link and check them out! (In an effort to expand my blogging capabilities, I've started linking stuff, if you haven't noticed, so click because, if you don't, you may miss out on seeing some pictures of adorable puppies and that would be a shame).
There's tons of other stuff I want to do in Denver, so I'm a little sad that we'll be leaving in 10 days. I've made a list of all the things I still want to check out while I'm here, and it's super long, considering we only have 2 more days off, but we'll be back for transition weeks, hopefully, so that should give me more time to see Pike's Peak, the Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Cave Dwellings, the museums, the Coors Brewery Tour (try saying that 5 times fast - it always makes me think of a certain 30 Rock episode), and all the other stuff on my 2 page long list.
This coming week is an exciting one. We have our induction on Friday which means we've made it through CTI and we're ready to head off to FEMA training and then to our first project! I'll keep you posted!
And here's a little something to brighten your day.
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