The Land of Enchantment

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!