Catching Up!

So I am finally getting back to my blog...I wrote one the other night, but it suddenly quit and I lost everything I typed so I gave up and decided to continue another time, which is now! Diversity training went really well the other day, we did some fun activities and it was much more interesting than some of the other lectures we have had the past week. We did one activity where we went to the gym, lined up, and when a statement was read, if it was true, you took either a step forward or a step back, based on your answer....it ended up being more positive things that let you step forward, and negative things that had you step back, so by the end of it you could look around and see how we have all come from very different places in our pasts. It was an intense activity, because it wasn't a "feel good" thing at all....no matter where you were you felt bad. If you were way up front you felt guilty for being so fortunate and if you were way in the back you felt bad about yourself because everyone else was way ahead. I ended up being in the front-middle area, taking a couple steps forward, than one back, etc. A lot of this activity had to do with one's upbringing and economic class. After the activity, we split into two groups, one meeting downstairs and the other (my group) meeting upstairs in a classroom to sit in a giant circle and express how we were feeling about the activity. I was surprised by how many people opened up and told their stories about their tough pasts. There were a lot of tears shed in my group, which of course made me teary too. Even after hearing some really sad stories, it was nice to hear other people point out the fact that it doesn't actually matter whether individuals were in the upper, middle, or lower class and what their background was, because we were all in the same room, in the same uniforms, doing the same training for AmeriCorps. So the day ended with a strong sense of growing closer as an AmeriCorps family with high hopes for the future.
So Wednesday was our last day with our temporary teams and it went well, but got crazy around dinner time because everyone was nervous about who their new teammates were going to be! So for the "team reveal, we were each told an animal, and we had to (without talking) act out our animal and find the others in our group. I was a pig hahaha so I eventually found my new team and there were three other guys from my temporary team on it with me! I was so excited, because I had become good friends with my first team, and now I still had them in my group! We then went off on a scavenger hunt to find our new team leaders, and we eventually found ours, Alleigh, who is also from Maine! Woo! She is really awesome and funny and loves to joke around and laugh, so I am really excited and the rest of my teammates are awesome too!
Today we have been getting to know our new team members and getting information on different jobs we will have during our projects. I don't know which one I will get yet, but I am really interested in being the Team Helper, kinda like the guidance counselor of the team. I'll let you know what I end up getting assigned, though! Oh yeah! Today we also found out what our first project will be! My group is joining with another group (who is awesome and has a couple other people from my original team too, so its like a big reunion!) and working for the St. Bernard Project in Chalmette, Louisiana! We are going to be living in a town house and we wil be rebuilding houses and supervising other volunteers. I am really excited, but also kinda nervous to be supervising other people! AH! I don't know what the other groups are doing yet, but I'm sure they are doing some awesome stuff too! And we will only be there for 6 weeks since it is our first project...then we have 3 more! But we won't find out what those are for awhile.