Keene, California: WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!

To update you on the last month of my life:

• I was placed on a team of 11 individuals-one of which was already sent home. Now, I have a team leader, Heather (24), and 9 teammates: Jackie (24), Tommy (21), Kyle (18), Andre (19), Alex (23), Julie (22), Lisabeth (23), and Anna (19). 

• We spent a good month training in a number of different areas including team building, communication, CPR, First Aid, Diversity, Van safety, Shelter Operations, and many other things...
• I chose to be specially trained in Flood Fighting, where I learned how to sustain natural levees as well as reinforce levees before a storm.  It was a whole lot of carrying around heavy sandbags in the hot sun, but interesting!
• 
• I also received training on my team position which is CAPper (Corps Ambassador Program).  The CAPping position involves informing people about the AmericCorps program to hopefully recruit future members.  I just set up for me and one of my teammates to go to Tehachapi High School on Wed. November 16th to a career fair to talk to high school students about the program.  We are excited!
• Finally, after receiving copious amounts of training, we found out about our first project for Round 1.
• We then briefed the staff on campus about our project, had our Induction/Completion ceremony for training, and heading down south.

Round 1: Keene, California

• Our first project is at the Cesar Chavez Foundation in Keene.  Cesar Chavez was a very well-known civil rights leader in the West.  He worked primarily for the rights of farm workers and we have been given the opportunity to learn more about his work and help out the foundation.
• Our actual work involves building a trail/garden area for visitors.  IT started as a open field of tall grass and junk yard "collectibles."  In the first week we trimmed the tall grass on the entire plot using weed whackers, raked the hay-like grass from the property, trimmed a number of different trees, hauled at least 30 truck fulls of hay/grass/branches/rocks out to designated piles, excavated a number of large boulders (bigger than me!) from the ground for a monument, raked/leveled out the trail, lined the trail with cobblestones, dug trenches on both sides of the trail for irrigation, dug 300 feet of trenches with pick-axes, and cleared away enough car parts to build about 3 automobiles.

 I will add more details when they come!