So I have officially been in Charleston for a month as of yesterday. It has definitely been a roller- coaster, though I think I have adjusted well. I've enjoyed decorating my room and my house, food shopping and cooking my own meals. It is fun to be on my own, though I do miss my parent's cooking!

Having the responsibilities of a real full time job has also been a challenge. For the first time in my life my job actually depends on me. I am not just pushing paper or folding clothes. It can be overwhelming at times. I'm constantly worried that I am not doing as much as I could be doing, or that there is an easier way to do a project that I am not thinking about. And with this job, if I mess up, it's not my job on the line (it's very hard to get fired from an Americorps job) but a student might not get a mentor that he or she would greatly benefit from. I really believe that these kids need mentors and that a mentor could help get these kids on the right path.

But I don't want to turn this into a blog just about work! I have been having fun also. Charleston has a vibrarnt night life for a little city! Since the College of Charleston is right in the city there are a lot of cheapish bars down town. And even though I am a college graduate, I am not above them! To my Pittsburgh family, I found a great Steelers's bar where I watched the Steelers win the first game of the season. Also, a little off topic but I found this great article today (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/09/24/pittsburgh.neighborhoods.travel/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail) Yay good publicity!!

Last Saturday I woke up early to do a Beach Sweep/River Sweep which was sponsored by my roommate Michelle's company. We woke up early and cleaned up the trash in the river that flows right by my house. It was actually fun! We found some pretty nasty things though, including an entire package of ground beef- gross! There's a picture of my roommate Michelle and me with some trash that we collected!

Well that's it for now. I am still recovering from the "seasonal" flu so my mind is a little boggled! I'll write more later! chao for now!