California, CALIFORNIA! (In-processing)

I don't even know what to start with because soooo many things have changed in the last few days... I guess I'll start with at the beginning (its a very good place to start). Welly well well, Mom drove me to the airport in the morning, we left at 3:45am in order to get there in time and I demanded we bring Maggie (my German shepherd) in the car with us. Before I had even made it past security I ran into another Boston Americorps. Apparently the Boston NCCC members are taking over because sitting in the waiting area before the flight I looked around and realized that all the young people were probably going to Sacramento too, they were (I asked them). We had about a 15 minute layover when we landed in Phoenix and when we got on the PHX-SAC flight the ENTIRE back of the plane with inundated with members, all asking the same questions (age, location, school), swapping roomers about the program or sharing nostalgia about the last time they smoked (drug test on Sat.).

IN-processing was just a a chaotic-ly organized mess of paperwork, fitting for the uniforms and getting little orientation pep talks. EVERYONE WAS NICE. Group leaders, staff, members. Literally there was no one, and still has been no one, that has been mean or majorly annoying.

The campus is small, only three building; 2 dorms, 1 multi-purpose room, 1 office building. Everything is decently nice. Nothing is spectacular. The rooms are all different. Some have a nice wardrobe for both roommates, some have no storage furniture at all, some have one set of furniture. Some people have three people in 1 room hahah. Josh, one of my friends down the hall, somehow lucked out because his roommate was a girl so they moved her to a triple and he has a single now with TONS of storage furniture.

They have warned us early on that drinking on campus (for anyone) is strictly prohibited and apparently has dire consequences. But there are some bars in walking distance for people of legal age. Apparently there are basically two bars nearby. One is for team leaders and the other for members and they DON't cross paths, haha.

Uniforms are hideous but amazing. They are huge baggy shirts with Americorps Labels, long sleeve, short sleeve or polo. We also got sweatshirts and vests and bandanna all with americoprs labels. We got big floppy sunhats and hard-helmets and big SICK steel toed boots. The pants are baggy high waisted extra long and COMFY haha. When you are on duty you where you're uniform as instructed NO EXCEPTIONS.

AHH I have so much more to say but no time to say it!

I'll write agian soon to tell you guys past the first day.