Rocktober Happenings

I really like the month of October. September is always spent adjusting to something new, the weather is getting colder. But by October, the weather is full (in New York) of that nice autumn air, the leaves are changing, but more importantly I always associate October with feeling comfortable. By that time I am usually used to my schedule and find myself in a nice routine. This October seems to be more or less falling into that same pattern. Though the leaves are still green and it's still jeans and t-shirt weather, I am starting to feel more comfortable at my job and with my surroundings in general.

Chicora keeps me on my toes. It reminds me of college in the way that there is always something I could be doing. There is no time to be bored, because there are many projects that I am constantly working on. Every day I am in charge of the mentoring program. The Lunch Buddy program is the most popular, and my personal favorite thing that I do. For the Lunch Buddy Program, I recruit mentors to come into the school to sit and eat lunch with a student, then go out and play with them at recess. I admit that when I first heard about this program, I was kind of reluctant. I was skeptical about the difference eating lunch with a student would be. I was worried that students might not really want to eat lunch with an adult rather than their class. Boy was I wrong. I can't go one day without walking down the hallway and having a student come up to me and say "Miss. Erin, I want a mentor SO BAD." And Nothing makes me feel so good as to when I tell a student that he or she has a mentor and their entire face lights up. It's a similar feeling to when you watch someone you love get excited about a present that you put a lot of time and effort into. A lot of these kids just need someone to listen to them. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it really makes all the difference in the world. I realize that I really like my job because I care so much about these students and I want them to succeed so bad! I would by lying if I said that there weren't some mornings where getting out of bed is the hardest thing in the world, or some afternoons when I come home so worn out that I am tempted to say that I am fed up. But all and all I can honestly say that I enjoy my job and really feel like I make a positive difference.

I have also been really enjoying our little group of VISTAS in Charleston. We all are emotionally supportive of each other and we also have fun together. Most of us moved to Charleston from far away, so it's really great to have such a tight knit group. I like how we all bring different things to the table.

Last week I got the unique opportunity to work at McDonalds. They have a promotion called "McTeachers Night" where if the faculty and staff work at McDonalds for three hours, the school gets 20% of the proceeds. So, I put on my hat and got to work! It was actually a lot of fun. They had some of us flippin burgers, some making fries, some working the front register. They had me on the drive thru. It was quite an experience, I definitely have a new respect for McDonalds employee.

Charlotte, Camping

Sorry I've neglected you for a few weeks! I've been super busy with work and being social too! Last weekend I visited my friend Shannon from Siena in Charlotte. She is going to Charlotte School of Law and also just recently moved there. She has an awesome apartment on the outside of the city with a roommate who furnished the entire place, pays rent, but never sleeps there. Talk about a deal! Charlotte is a cool city, though it's smaller than I thought it would be. It seemed really clean to me and reminded me of Stamford, CT in the way that it has a lot of 'young professionals' working and socializing there. We hung out with some of her friends from law school and everyone was really nice. The second day we kind of bummed around her apartment and ended up checking out a raw oyster bar down the road from where she lives. We had some delicious sea food! All in all it was a great trip, and it's so easy to get to from Charleston that I will definitely go back!

There was little time to relax in between leaving Charlotte and my next adventure. I spent that Sunday night watching the Steelers beat the Chargers and packing for the woods! Americorps sponsored a retreat for the Americorps VISTA people from all of South Carolina, which only consists of 22 Charleston people and about the same number of people from the Spartenberg area. So, at 7:45 Monday morning, me and twelve of my fellow VISTAS drove the 4.5 hours up to YMCA camp Greenville on the NC/SC border. The ride wasn't too bad- we rented two big vans so I slept most of the way. The camp- well it was interesting. We slept in cabins with bunk beds. The weather was actually COLD- a feeling I had almost forgotten! haha. The retreat was not too bad, although I would have enjoyed having some more down time. There were three speakers who I thought were actually pretty effective. One was on how to hold an effective meeting, one was on Marketing and the last was on Fundraising. It was cool to network with other VISTAs as well. Throughout the three days we did some team building exercises and did a ropes course. My favorite part of the trip was the last day. My friends Will, Michelle, Ashley, Jen and I went off the beaten trail and hiked through the woods. We had heard from a camp employee that there was an Awesome water fall, and we found it! To me, the hike felt like 5 miles, but the others said it was probably only about one! It was tough though!! So worth it once we actually got to the water fall. It was absolutely breath taking! It was cool to see the leaves turn too, it finally felt like autumn. I forgot how much I love the leaves and the autumn air- and that feeling of "new beginnings" that is often associated with autumn. It was refreshing to breath in that autumn air but I was happy to get leave on Wednesday. And work was happy to have me back!

The first picture is the crew in a cave taking a breather on the way to the waterfall. Underneath that is a picture of the pretty leaves. The water fall itself is to the right and right next to this is "pretty place". I thought it looked cool with the cross and you could see for miles!

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!

Charleston

I realized in my last post I did not really get a chance to talk too much about the city of Charleston itself. I am really liking it so far. Though I technically live in North Charleston, it is only about 8 miles from the city. One of the reasons that I like the city is because it's so small! Charleston is actually a peninsula. There seems to be two or three streets that most of the action happens. King Street is the big street with all the fancy shopping and some of the touristy restaurants. Meeting Street runs parallel to King and has a lot of nice restaurants and bars. East Bay Street runs on the other side of Meeting, and has some of the more swanky places to eat and hang out at. Market Street is another cool street connecting King and Meeting. Market Street has a cool indoor/outdoor market running through it that draws a Great American Weekend type crowd. Vendors have tables and they sell everything from jewelery to art to food. It is fun to walk down on a nice day!

If I could describe the city of Charleston in one word it would probably be charming. Many of the buildings downtown are protected by the historical society, and maintaine an old style of architecture. The city offers a horse and buggy ride if you wish to skip the taxi and hear a little bit about the city from a tour guide. The city definitly embraces the charming vibe and entacts certain laws to keep it that way. For example, my friend Jen, a charleston native, told me that a year ago she wanted to get a tattoo and had to travel 90 miles to Savannah, Georgia because Charleston had outlawed tattoo parlors. Liquor stores are closed on Sundays. On that note, just about everything is closed on Sundays- even chick filet!

The majority of people I have met while in Charleston are very nice. I am still getting used to be addressed as "mam" and I haven't been able to call people "sir" and keep a straight face. Store Clerks are very friendly and genuinelly want to know how you are when they ask, rather than just saying it like a robot. Not that people are any meaner up north, it is just differnt. An example of this is last week when I went grocery shopping at Piggly Wiggly. I had a full cart and had just opened my trunk to start packing the car. The employee who was gathering the carts came up to me and just started putting my bags in my car. My initil reaction was, "why is this man stealing my bags?" But he was just being nice! He even put my purse in the front seat of my car and then just told me to have a great afternoon. I am not used to that kind of service!

Probably the best thing about Charleston is the weather and how close it is to the beach. Currently, it's Septemeber 20th, and still feels like August - a cool 82 degrees. The beaches are all free and the weather has just been perfect. There are about three beaches to choose from. I have bene to all of them, and they are all great. My fellow VISTA Becky lives on the Isle of palms so we went out to visit her the other day. It was so Beautiful! I can already tell that going to the beach will never get old!

The beginning of life in the lowcountry

Well, though I miss everyone a lot and would love the chance to chat with everyone on a daily basis, this is the easiest way to keep everyone updated on my where abouts.
At this point I have been living in North Charleston, South Carolina for 23 days. I came down in my trusty goldie (thanks Aunt Jean- she's still moving fine!) with my parents following (sorry about the speeding dad) close by. Dad, you are the best for doing that awful drive on your birthday.

The move in process was a little hectic- things did not exactly go as planned. I have a feeling that that will be the theme of my year here- part of the appeal to me for sure. The house wasn't exactly ideal. Though, for the price, you really can't beat it. I stole the idea of a blog from my neighbor Kelly, who actually posted the above picture of her own on her blog, but mine is just a mirror image. It is pretty spacious. It has three bedrooms. The master bedroom is the biggest, with the perks of having a bathroom and a tv jack in it. The other two bedrooms are still decently sized though and share a bathroom. We have a kitchen with a dishwasher and a washer and dryer (a huge plus)

I am living with two other VISTAS; Michelle and Ashley. Michelle is from Pennsylvania and Ashley is from Virginia. The three of us live at the end of Manley Ave along with some other VISTAS. Although we are all VISTAS we are doing different things. It is nice that there is a community of us all going through a lot of the same things; Lack of money, hard work, and living far from friends and family.

Before I go any further I should probably explain what it means to be an Americorp VISTA. Americorps broadly implies service for non-profits. VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America. It specifically works to fight poverty to America. So basically, if you are a VISTA, you are working to fight poverty in whatever town/sector you are working in.

I am fighting poverty in the Chicora/Chereoke section of North Charleston. North Charleston, one of the highest crime rates per capita in the United States. I also happen to live in North Charleston, about two miles from school, at the level of poverty. Doing so ensures that the VISTA worker is on the same economical level as the people they are serving. Honestly, I just feel like I'm living like I was in college, just working a lot harder, haha.

It's hard to say what my role is exactly at Chicora Elementary School.
On one hand I am the Americorp *VISTA
I've also been called the Community Liason
or, the Volunteer Coordinator
I've also heard the Mentor Coordinator
but in reality I am also the person who checks in tardy kids, the person who picks up the phone, the person who counts at hand outs for class, the person who runs the back pack buddy program, the person who takes minutes at meetings, the person who is supposed to launch a student run newspaper, recycling team, the public relations specialists, the grant writer, the person who asks kids where their pass is if they are roaming the hallways? and part of the parenting commitee.

Yeah, it is a lot. But I don't want anyone to think that I am complaining. I feel fortunete to have my first job out of college to come with so much responsibility and so many learning opportunities. I did Americorps to move to a new city (check) get some job expeirence (check) be consumed in a life that I knew little about (almost a check) figure out what I want to do with my life ( in progress) among other things. I know a lot of people would not be able to do what I am doing. It definitly has been an emotional rollar coaster and a lot of self reflection already. But I am excited and ready for this adventure!