round 2

currently en route to washington dc for round 2. will be staying in west virginia tonight; arriving in virginia tomorrow. 

spent the past few days in jellystone park campground outside of st. louis, missouri. traveled into the city each day to participate in trainings, briefings, debriefings, etc. as a part of transition at the americorps st. louis office. this past week we've been able to decompress from the past four and a half months of traveling and working everywhere from new mexico to new york to illinois. we were able to meet up with teams that had been to deployed to oklahoma and teams we hadn't seen since mid-march because they were on the west coast while we have been on the east. during transition, we were able to escape into the city for an afternoon (spent it at the city museum, aka a large playground within a museum which I'm pretty sure served as some PT requirements as well...killing two birds with one stone...FEMA corps style). it was wonderful to spend a few days with people I haven't seen in months, hearing about their experiences and exchanging farmer's tan lines. I have no complaints about spending several nights in cabins in the middle of jellystone woods with yogi bear and fellow FEMA corps members roasting marshmallows and having water balloon fights (except for the extreme humidity, the complete front side sunburn I received the first day, being introduced to entirely new species of insects, and the fact that I may forever be paranoid about ticks burrowing into my skin) but other than those minor things....it was perfect.

missouri (transition)

woke up at 3:45am. left northwestern illinois at 4:30am. made it st. louis by around 10:30/11:00am. sat by the pool at our campground outside six flags while waiting to check into our mini cabin in the woods. 91 degree weather (with what I can only assume to be 110% humidity). enjoyed an ice cream social and a nap. put together last minute debriefs for our big presentations all day tomorrow.

all in all I'd day it was a good day. and now off to bed along with all of the little missouri insects and critters that climbed into my bunk with me. 

looking back (and looking ahead)

thursday: served at a local food pantry called Feed My Starving Children for a few hours with my team for our ISP (independent service project). it was a wonderful experience filled with packaging meals for people in third-world countries. this particular food pantry focused on packing meals for malnourished children, which consisted of rice, veggies, soy, and certain vitamins. we worked alongside children, adults, and other volunteer-oriented groups to pack these meals and get them into boxes to be shipped asap.

friday: last day of work in illinois. we spent the day at the town hall in chicago heights, where we registered more than 80 people (which is, by the way, a large amount of people). I prefer to work in areas, such as chicago heights, that are more low-income areas because so many people aren't aware that there is federal aid out there for them from natural disaster damage and I feel that we could make an incredible impact if we focus on going to town halls in low-income areas and offer to be there all day to register as many people as possible. we were able to assist so many people by being there all day and it was wonderful to see people appreciate that and find hope in the fact that FEMA is still here offering aid to those affected. 

saturday: spent all day with some of my team members at chicago pride fest 2013. it was a wonderful way to end our time in illinois. we spent the day at pride, roaming the streets of chi city, soaking in the sun, and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.

flash forward to today....(rather, tonight).

sitting in bed finally trying to catch up on my blog (aka journal so that whenever I want to look back at what happened on june 23rd of 2013 I can just flip on the internet and check up on the past). instead of blogging I should really be sleeping...seeing as how my team will be leaving the quaint town of naperville, illinois, at 4:30am tomorrow morning to head to st. louis for a few days. in st. louis we will be doing debriefings and briefings for both our past projects as well as our future project in dc. we will also be reunited with all of the other teams that were working in illinois as well as the teams that were working in oklahoma. it'll be wonderful to be with other teams and catch up on everyone's FEMA corps adventures. 

and now.....off to sleep I go. good bye illinois, how I will miss you.

the world of emergency management

yesterday I had the privilege to attend an emergency management summit in downtown chicago with one other FEMA corps member and an assistant community relations specialist from americorps nccc's vinton, iowa campus. we were surrounded by all types of professionals within the emergency management field, including firefighters, police chiefs, military personnel, the red cross, as well as the keynote speaker who was a former NASA astronaut (who's presentation may or may have not convinced me to drop all my future plans and become an astronaut. but we'll decide that later I guess). his presentation, though, was incredibly inspiring and spoke to the incredible nature of people in the field of serving their communities. he reiterated that the things that are hard for us are the ones that we should go after. and the field of serving others selflessly and endlessly on a daily basis (for example, firefighters who risk their lives all the time for the sake of others) is a difficult field to be in but the overall goal is so incredibly worth it.

it was wonderful being surrounded by people in the field of emergency management and being fully immersed in that culture for a day. being in FEMA corps can be tricky sometimes because we often don't have time to stop and realize what it is that we're doing....which is helping others in communities recover from whatever disaster they may have experienced. we don't often realize how wonderful of a job we are doing or how important of a job it is. 

we will be leaving for dc by way of st. louis within the next few days. I'm trying to soak in every moment of illinois that I can and also to reach as many people that were affected by the flooding as I can before we leave here. my hopes are that the communities of illinois were able to receive FEMA assistance, especially those that wouldn't have otherwise known about available assistance had we not been here to help. all I can do is take it a day at a time and hope that each day I'm able to make a difference to at least one other person. 

tea time

("two blog posts in one day.....unheard of!") due to my lack of journal writing and increasingly shortened attention span in lieu of the fickle and ever changing nature of working with natural disasters (not to mention the quick and easy blogger app that the itunes store has so conveniently supplied me with), I have turned to my blog to act as my journal...bear with me....

it already being halfway through the program, I am already anticipating graduation from FEMA corps in november and have begun to reminisce the program already. it's nights like these where my two room/team/work/life mates and I crowd onto the one bed our room has to offer us (there's also a pullout couch...we aren't actually sleeping three people to one bed...at least not yet in this deployment anyway) and sip tea and talk about everything from sweating through our khakis everyday (sorry for the image) to issues of social justice and where we think society is headed to sharing pictures and stories our of homes and lives away from the program that I feel incredibly grateful to be living the life I am living. I feel as though so many people feel stuck in their jobs or homes or lives and don't know how to get out or how to make a change to their world that will make them live each day a little happier. I am grateful for the opportunity to live ten months of my life on the cusp on adventure and the unknown. it seems such a simple thing to just choose to be happy with our lives. and maybe it is that simple. if I hadn't blindly applied for americorps nccc, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to live outside of my comfort zone for ten months and have the opportunity to see what life holds outside of my everyday routine. sure, I probably don't want to live with three/four people to a hotel room for the rest of my life, but I've gotten to experience all the craziness that life has to offer (ok maybe not ALL the craziness, I'm sure there are still a few crazy things awaiting me). 

the point is, mr blog (blog version of "dear diary"), is that I love life too much to continue to feel trapped by routine. if I find myself in a job in the future that I feel trapped in, I hope I can muster the courage to take a huge unknown step and try for something that makes me happy. all we have is the day we're living right now. and by george, if that means more nights drinking tea that is out of our budget price range on a shared mattress in a humid and stuffy hotel room wearing the same clothes I have worn every night for the past four and a half months and talking until one in the morning at the sake of not making even an ounce of what could be considered "decent money," then I prefer the former. I've learned I'm driven more by people and passion than by money and stability (sorry parents about the "money and stability" part....probably not what you wanted to hear). 

and on that note...goodnight, illinois (or as my illinoisan teammate calls her home state: chillinois).

next stop: washington dc

we've been in illinois for almost four and a half weeks. by the time we leave on monday, the 24th, we'll have been here for a little over five weeks and a total of four and a half months in the program altogether. my how time flies (or drives....if you're moving through the year in a 15-passenger like I am).

my last post was the stormy tornado watch day that resulted in a tornado touching down a few towns over from us (nothing too big or serious though, but if you're from california like I am where the weather forecast consists of sun, clouds, and a light drizzle every now and then, then any tornado warning creates high anxiety and lends to a long night of stress eating....which my budget can't even afford...which leads to more stress....it's a vicious cycle). but my point: we survived the tornado warning despite the television losing signal, the hotel fire alarm going off, and a crack of thunder over our heads that sounded like all of naperville just exploded. 

a few days ago we learned that we will be deployed to washington dc next to work in FEMA headquarters. before we arrive in our nation's capitol, we will be transitioning from the past two deployments in st. louis with the other FEMA corps teams in illinois as well as the FEMA corps teams in oklahoma. transitioning will include some debriefings, reviewals of our project portfolios (long "end of project" completion reports essentially), and celebrations of our projects (which could be either a skit or slideshow or something of the sort performed by each team to celebrate each round). once we complete transition in missouri, it will be dc bound for us. in dc we will be working at FEMA headquarters in the external affairs department. our job description is vague as of yet but once we learn more details about specific tasks and duties, I will diligently update my blog (just for you, moms and pops!)

in the meantime, we will be finishing out our deployment here by spending this next week being "on call," meaning we will find out our daily assignment either the morning of or the night before. 

this tuesday, however, I will be representing FEMA corps along with one other FEMA corps member at a big emergency management summit in chicago, accompanied by some of the top people in the areas of emergency management, including a former NASA astronaut. so....I guess I should be getting myself prepared and ready to mingle with the emergency management gurus of chicago...next up on "my year in khaki pants and steel-toed boots": update on how the emergency management mingling went (without breaking the chain of command, of course), plans to repack my red duffel while also figuring out what winter-ish clothes to flat rate mail home, and hopefully no more tornadic activity in these parts of illinois. til next time.

day inside

as I sit in bed at our extended stay (which is my go-to place to sit and relax seeing as how we have limited space to do much in our lovely little room) I am researching everything from the weather to graduate schools for next year to ways to update my team's facebook page (the link to which is:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacific-Region-NCCC-FEMA-Corps-Silver-2/551924724841157?ref=hl) hopefully that works...

we have been called off today for work due to severe weather for this afternoon in northwest illinois, including a "moderate chance of tornadic activity." so in the meantime, I will be catching up on sleep, eating my favorite meal of cereal and milk, and hoping we don't get swept by tornados.

also, any family members out there who still don't fully understand what I've been doing or where the heck I've been for the past four months, my mother forwarded me a press release that was sent to my high school that I will include now for your clarification...

Local Residents Answer Call to Service in FEMA Corps

 

IRVINE, Calif. — Lyly Tran of Irvine, Calif., Elizabeth Villegas of Garden Grove, Calif., and Michelle Simes of Fountain Valley, Calif. are among 331 young people currently serving in the nation’s first class of FEMA Corps, a new unit of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) solely devoted to disaster preparedness and response.

 

During their 10-month term of service, Tran, 24, Villegas, 21, and Simes, 23, are providing important support to disaster survivors and gaining significant training and professional experience in emergency management.   Serving on teams of 10 to 12 people, FEMA Corps members both travel to disaster-affected communities and support longer-term recovery operations across the country. Projects range from working directly with disaster survivors to administrative disaster management tasks to sharing disaster preparedness and mitigation information with the public.

 

“Tran, Villegas, and Simes are part of a historic new chapter in the history of national service that will enhance our nation’s disaster capabilities and give  thousands of young people the opportunity to serve their country and gain valuable skills and experience for their future careers,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  “I commend them for answering the call to serve and making a difference for people and communities affected by disasters.”

 

“FEMA Corps will strengthen the nation’s disaster response by providing a dedicated, trained and reliable workforce to support disaster survivors and impacted communities during their greatest time of need,” said FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino.  “We have seen first-hand the value they have brought in assisting survivors following Hurricane Sandy and other disasters.”

 

Tran arrived at the AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region campus in Sacramento, Calif. in January and completed four weeks of leadership training and now serves as the Support Team Leader. 

 

Villegas arrived at the AmeriCorps NCCC Southwest Region campus in Denver, Colo. in February and completed six weeks of specialized training in the area of Community Relations.  Villegas is nearing the end of her first project round, during which she traveled to Lincroft, N.J. to help external affairs including writing press releases and reports, producing videos, and working on field photography.

 

Simes arrived at the AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region campus in Sacramento, Calif. in February and completed six weeks of specialized training in the area of Community Relations.  Simes is nearing the end of her first project round, during which she traveled to Forest Hills, N.Y. to provide support for emergency management and FEMA application processes before being called to serve in Chicago, Ill. The three will serve on several more projects before graduating from FEMA Corps in November.

 

FEMA Corps, a new unit within AmeriCorps NCCC that launched in Fall 2012, is an innovative partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).  People ages 18 to 24 from around the nation provide 10 months of full-time service on emergency management projects.  The program will engage 1,600 members annually when fully operational next year.

 

All 42 FEMA Corps teams that started last fall deployed to New York and New Jersey immediately after Hurricane Sandy and provided vital support to disaster survivors. In their first 10 weeks, FEMA Corps members conducted more than 11,700 case reviews, collected or distributed more than 400,000 gallons of water, distributed more than 14,000 education materials or preparedness kits, answered more than 4,500 FEMA registration or helpline calls, and  assisted more than 261,000 disaster survivors.

 

Prior to joining FEMA Corps, Villegas graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2010 and attended Cal State Fullerton studying Psychology.  Villegas said, “I chose to apply to AmeriCorps because my values parallel those of AmeriCorps and FEMA Corps. Those of the service field and a desire to see new locations are high in those values.” Elizabeth is the daughter of Laura Santana.

 

Prior to joining FEMA Corps, Simes graduated from Mater Dei High School in 2008 and California State University, Long Beach in 2012 with a degree in Psychology.  Simes said, “I chose to do a term of national service because I wanted to take part in a program that was committed to the service and aid of others. I was looking to be a part of something greater than myself, where I could utilize the gifts and abilities I've been given to assist others.” Michelle is the daughter of Kevin and Terri Simes.

 

Prior to joining FEMA Corps, Tran graduated from Garden Grove High School in 2006 and University of California, Irvine in 2010 with a degree in Biology.  Tran said, “[I chose to do a term of national service because] it is very gratifying to give back to the community and by doing a whole term I will be able to grow and learn more about myself while helping others.” Lyly is the daughter of Steve Tran.

 

After completing 1,700 hours of service, FEMA Corps members will receive a $5,550 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for tuition or student loans.  FEMA Corps operates out of five regional NCCC campuses: Sacramento, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Vinton, Iowa; Perry Point, Md.; and, Vicksburg, Miss., but deploys teams nationally wherever the disaster-related need is the greatest.  For more information about FEMA Corps or AmeriCorps NCCC, or to apply online, visitwww.nationalservice.gov.

chi town

this past weekend we got a surprising full two days off and my teammates and I spent our luxurious time off venturing out into the city. we walked around free from time restraints and report writing but most importantly from the restraints of our belted khakis. with no plans for our weekend, we ended up walking right into the chicago blues festival, as well as exploring the seaside and doing all things touristy in chicago. it was the most lovely of weekends.

back to the grind on tuesday morning....(because tuesdays are the new mondays clearly)...woke up in the bed I share with my teammate, threw on my khakis and steel-toeds (reluctantly), hung my badge around my neck, strapped on my pedometer (thanks to my teammate's generous and pro-exercise parents), and headed off in our van to lombard to begin our day. 

today consisted of a luxurious meal of an oatmeal to-go bar and free hotel coffee, planning and mapping out the areas we were going to canvass, a trip to starbucks for more coffee, then hitting the town to inform faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and individuals about registering for FEMA assistance if they haven't done so already. we were able to register one person today who happened to catch us walking towards the town library we were about to enter. he let us know about the extensive damage he had from the flood and had several questions about FEMA assistance that we were able to help him with. we were able to whip out our handy dandy iPads and get him registered on the spot. 

currently wrapping up the day with a p90x yoga workout and some granola and yogurt that my $4.25 for food a day bought me. just living the good life. 

june

so I guess it's june already. where the last few months went, I'm not so sure...(but try looking somewhere near sacramento, new mexico, new york, or northern illinois for starters...). we've finally gotten into an illinoisan rhythm over here and it's quite wonderful (except of course the pattern has tended to be that once we settle into a routine we get plucked from it and dropped somewhere else to lend our disaster relief services so we'll see how long this routine lasts). 

in the meantime, I will continue to thoroughly enjoy the beautiful days like these where I get to walk/run eight miles (between work and PT -physical training- after work), humidity is less than 100%, and the sky is a brilliant blue. illinois can have me anytime.