Thanksgiving and Community

"You won't understand the unabashed power of a community until you are part of one." -Jon Acuff

A house that has 3 people somehow expanded to accommodate 8 people for 4 days and 3 nights.  It endured a truth or dare jenga, Thanksgiving cooking and dinner, a social affair, and the craziness of packing 8 people into a car for a trip to LA after all of that.  It was a blast and a highlight of being out in California!

We all knew that Thanksgiving was going to be different and a little emotional not being with our families.  For me it was much harder than expected and luckily got busy prepping the turkey.  Each one of us took the opportunity to talk to family at home, but also pushed forward to make a delicious meal and have a lot of fun together.  We were also able to Skype with the other AV communities and were once again "together" (sorry Peru and Deena!). 

The week before I made lists upon lists of what needed to be cleaned, what needed to be bought, what needs to happen on the food front, potential plans for the day, and where oh where are we going to fit 5 extra people.  No matter how many lists I made, I was still lying in bed wondering if the turkey would blow up in the oven.  Simultaneously I was planning the last segment of our Thanksgiving box distribution at Help of Ojai and dealing with a different type of turkey saga.  The Thanksgiving box distribution went well and the local schools and churches gave very generously this year.  When handing out food that is based off donation, it's always a very nice surprise to have extra go to our very low stocked pantry.

Thanksgiving arrives and Patty, Ryan and I decided to run a Turkey Trot 5K.  Why not add any more stress to this day? For cooking we had a system of who would prep and cook when.  It of course is only slightly used and everything worked out.  All that worrying has gone to waste and the turkey did not blow up!  The only glitch was me buying chorizo for the sausage stuffing, which is clearly not Polish but still delicious.  We had a beautiful setting (thanks Nicole!) and flowers (thanks Francis!) for our table and a picture (thanks Brian!) to commemorate this day.  We also were able to taste one of the most best apple pies ever made (thanks Martha!).

While on Skype with our other communities we went around and all said something we were thankful for.  We all have a lot to be thankful for always, but right now I am most thankful for the community that we continue to build across the country.  Not many people understand what this AV Tangerine Dream life is like and I often struggle to find words for what we do. I think that Jon Acuff describes it best, there truly is an abashed power behind our community. 

The Hats of an Intern

Having worked in public health before working at Help of Ojai, I am aware that one person wears many different hats.  Some of these projects are assigned and very strict, while others fall into your lap for reasons that nobody can tell you.  As my 3 months have gone on I have realized that I am wearing many hats that I didn't think I would.

This blog post came to me while simultaneously baking rolls for our work Thanksgiving Feast fundraiser and trying to make sure 25 high school students stayed busy for their service day.  The first hat I didn't expect to wear was a baking hat.  Twice now I have had the opportunity to bake with our executive director, Terri, for work fundraisers.  Both times have been fun and I was able to learn some tricks about baking, including how to make perfectly round rolls and how to efficiently bake mass quantities.  During this time I was also able to enjoy talking to Terri and other kitchen staff that I don't see regularly.

Service coordinator is another hat I did not see myself wearing at Help of Ojai.  The above mentioned service day and a few side projects have fallen into my lap and needed to be organized.  This hat is not my favorite because I always get nervous about which type of high school students you will get.  It's fun when everyone is enjoying themselves, having fun and helping, but can become uncomfortable if I have to become the "adult" and make them work or break up the groups of friends. 

Bill payer is another hat that I did not expect to wear while working at Help of Ojai. Luckily they are not my bills and it's not my money, but our clients come in and ask for help with writing checks.  Some of them feel their handwriting isn't legible enough, while others can't remember so we write a check and have them sign it.  Being a check writer can help us keep a tab on their budget and can alert us to any fishy schemes that might be going on.

This last one isn't a hat, but I would really like to wear the cape of defender against all evil.  This cape often comes with a sticky situation and usually ends up with me getting an answer I don't like.  For example, if you call Adult Protective Services (APS) about an elderly person whose "friend" wipes out their bank account every month, if that elderly person doesn't want to move forward the investigation is dropped.  As a person I can't do anything, but maybe I could change the person's mind for dropping the investigation or having APS realize the dire consequences of no action if I was the defender against all evil.

On a clothing related note, over Thanksgiving the San Diego and Ventura communities learned all about the different pants I wear.  They learned most about my sassy pants and bossy pants over the five-ish days we spent together.  Don't worry, a whole post about Thanksgiving is up next!

The Road Not Taken

On Monday I was a chaperone on the junior retreat for Villanova Prep. While on this retreat four different situations took place that made me pause and think.  For the junior retreat the students travel 45 minutes to Los Padres National Park to hike to Piedra Blanca. 

The first situation of the day took place on the bus ride.  In conversation with one of the Augustinian's that meets with our community frequently, we started problem solving for a situation that had occurred.  I've always thought most priests and religious life have all the answers, even though I know they don't because they are human too.  A refresher for my outlook on religious life and a gentle reminder to not be so quick to criticize.

The hike is an easy mile and a half long and leads to Piedra Blanca, meaning white stone.  The white stones are excellent for climbing and exploring.  On the way up to the groups stop along the way and read aloud scripture or poems.  Once all the groups got up to Piedra Blanca the students had mass.

This was the second situation that I thought was interesting for my day.  I climbed a rock to be stationed in a no climbing zone for the students and was overlooking mass.  My hearing of mass was directly related to how strong the wind was blowing.  If there was a strong wind I couldn't hear anything and if there was no wind I could hear everything.  Even when I couldn't hear what Fr. Alvin was saying, I knew exactly what was going on by the motions and actions of him and others.  It was powerful to be able to see mass from that height and distance, but also feel so close to what was going on.    

After mass the students had to sit alone for 30 minutes to reflect, pray or journal.  They came back together for lunch and then had time to explore the stones.  The last activity before hiking back was a small group discussion.   Surprise!  As a chaperone you have to lead a small group.

My third situation is about my small group.  First, I have to say that I don't miss the days of high school youth group of thinking of begging a small group to talk.  It is awful when you ask a question and the small group stares at you like you asked them to memorize the bible in 10 languages by tomorrow.  That about sums up my group.  I did ask what their least favorite part of the day was and one of the students said mass.  Another student started answering a question saying, "If I was Catholic I would probably believe...".  Both of these answers made me think about how hard it must be for a non-Catholic (and possibly Christian) to go to a school where they are surrounded by these beliefs.  Although it is a choice they (and their parents) make, it could still be difficult to be constantly having the reminders of being different or having to participate in something you don't fully understand.

The fourth situation is literally the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost and Villanova Prep juniors.  We came to a fork in the road on the hike back and I had no idea which way to go.  One group of students had taken off for the right fork, while another group went to the left. Luckily both forks led to the same parking lot, but we had read this poem earlier that day.  What road do you travel?  There was no right or wrong answer in this case, but the strong belief in their path was the correct path was overwhelming. I hope they realize soon that not all paths lead to the same parking lot.  I hope they also learn that it's okay for adventure, but it's also okay to stop and ask for directions.

A Community of Fear Conquerors

For Halloween the Ventura Community traveled to visit the San Diego Community.  Since the Peru Community doesn't leave until January, we met them there as well.  I was very sad that Chicago and Lawrence were unable to be there, but I was so excited to see San Diego and Peru.  It was a long week for the Ventura Community, but we decided to get up early on Saturday to be able to meet the other communities for a hike at Potato Chip Rock.  As you can see in the picture, Potato Chip Rock is a thin sliver that juts out over the valley.  Unfortunately you can't see the view or the path you take to get on to the chip.

After watching a few groups of people hang out over the side and do yoga poses on the rock, we decided to do community pictures due to heart palpitations of multiple community members.  Peru goes first and they crawl onto the rock.  It was then decided that we did not come all the way up the service road (side story, see below!) for us to only get community pictures.  As a klutzy, not graceful person who often trips and falls while running and has a shoulder that is prone to subluxation, I literally thought I would not make it onto Potato Chip Rock.  After all, you're talking about the girl that wiped out on the trolley tracks during orientation.  Whenever a situation like this comes about, I can see myself falling off the mountain or sliding down into a crevice I can't get out of.   The small miracle is not only did I make it onto Potato Chip Rock, but I also made it back to solid ground.

How I made it can be described in one word: community.  It was community members that helped me pull myself up on the first rock. Bridget literally talked me into taking a leap of faith onto the second rock, reminding me to lean forward.  During the picture we all held on, some for dear life and other to dear friends.  After the photo, Francis literally gave me a knee up to be able to pull myself up onto the rock to return to the first rock.  Sliding down onto solid ground and having my heart return to a normal rhythm, I thought that wasn't so bad.

Every single one of us has come to the AVs with some sort of fear.  Whether it be about moving away from home, living in community, at our respective service sites or something we haven't faced yet.   I hope that  we continue to be a community that builds each other up to conquer fears.

Side note story: Ventura and San Diego/Peru met at the hike and both ended up at the service road  up to Potato Chip Rock.  The service road was a paved, straight up hike while the other hike was a 4 mile slope up the mountain.  Not the first time the Ventura Community has hiked the wrong path and probably won't be the last time. 

The Other Ojai

Working at Help of Ojai I have a skewed perspective of who I think makes up Ojai.  I have had multiple opportunities this past week to enjoy the other parts of Ojai and here are a few stories from those days.

In a small town you always have some sort of festival that takes place.  Ojai's festival is called Ojai Day and people go around the week before wishing others a “Happy Ojai Day”.  The night before Ojai Day the main street is closed to paint a mandala on the street.  Different artists come up with designs for the sections.  Ryan and I helped paint sections of red and white.  It was a zoo and some of the artists were very particular about each color and how you painted.  Luckily I was just told to fill in the pre-drawn circles.  I'm glad my three years of art in high school came in handy.  On Ojai Day shops set up booths to sell merchandise, there are performances at stages, food venues and different organizations set up informational tables.  Of course Help of Ojai has a table every year.  The most popular question during my shift was, "Oh, Help of Ojai!  Can you be helpful and point me in the direction of the Raptor Center?”  The crowd in attendance is mostly moms with children, hipsters and dogs.  It's everything that you are imagining right now.  During the entire day, we had the belly dancers performing behind us.  I never knew that one dance(?) studio could have a 6 hour long performance.  The music ranged from bohemian to rap to an Irish jig.  At another stage, mimes acted out the Passion of the Christ with rock music. My favorite booth was one with printed t-shirts had phrases like Coffee O'clock and Half Mermaid.

Next, I had the pleasure of attending the Best of Ojai Reception.  Year round people vote for the “Best of” categories in Ojai through the newspaper.  All of the winners come together and are recognized during the reception.  Each winner donates to the event to make it a fun evening.  If you are a restaurant winner you donate food or drink and if you are in another category you donate something from your business.  I won a free haircut from a local salon and our executive director won a pair of free sunglasses from a local optometrist.  You would think this would be a formal event for networking purposes. It was really jeans casual because everyone already knows everyone.  It was a delightful evening and I enjoyed being informed on the town's gossip.

Lastly, there was the Help of Ojai's Pumpkin Social.  I would equate the Pumpkin Social to a church festival.  Everyone at Help of Ojai puts in a lot of time and effort to make sure it runs smoothly.  First, I got to help bake the first half of the 198 pumpkin pies that we sell at the social.  It was a lot of fun working with people at other Help of Ojai’s sites and seeing how our senior nutrition program is run while we used their kitchen.  Next, we spent Friday afternoon setting up and decorating.  This consisted of Halloween and fall decorations coming out of multiple boxes and being tossed onto trees and tied onto poles.  We all came in the next day to finish setting up and run the event.  There were a lot of seniors with great lipstick color choices, which reminded me fondly of Honey.  There were also a lot of people with what looked like hoarding problems as they bought 6 almost dead plants.  Even if you put them in the ground, we are still in a drought!  The best part of the day was a toss-up between the live music and the pumpkin pie.  The music was good enough to be played at the International Bluegrass Festival.  It's a small band that picks up a few people for this event every year and you would never know they don't play together full time.

So here is the other Ojai and a cheer to this small town.

How Was I Supposed to Know?

Three weeks of frustration came to a resounding end when a client finally (FINALLY!) figured out the last issue with her medical insurance.  After coming in multiple times a week with new information, spending countless times on hold, leaving numerous messages with different agencies, we finally figured out what the last holdup was.

It was truly a team effort of the client, the pro (Karen) and the rookie (me).  She is one of my first clients that I did a complete intake on and had her continually meet with me.  I have felt so bad for this woman as she is constantly telling me the story as I'm taking notes and then looking at Karen with my deer in a head light expression.  What do I do next?  Who do I call next?  What information do I need now?  The biggest question we still haven't figured out is how do we put our phones on speakerphone?

So what exactly was the hold up in this?  First, we had to change the client's medi-CAL insurance to Ventura County.  This process started before she left her previous county and was still not completed by the time she moved and needed to see a doctor and get prescriptions for  very serious medical problems.  Finally, a very nice man at the medi-CAL office told us about the Omnibus Office that can enroll in the plan over the phone and grant emergency medical access.  If this client hadn't come to us, would she ever have found out about this office?  Maybe.  How did it take us so long to find about this office? We didn't talk to the right people.  How do you know who the right person to talk to is?  I have no clue.

First hurdle was cleared, but second hurdle came when medications could not be picked up due to no prescription coverage.   What?  I thought we figured all of the insurance out when we called the Omnibus Office!  Well medi-CAL and Medicare don't communicate.  As Karen is talking to her girls in public health and the client am I are on the phone with a very nice medi-CAL worker we have the light bulb go off that it's a plan that ended on September 30th.  We're talking to the wrong agency and we need to call Medicare.  The irritated Medicare worker and I get cut off due to lack of speakerphone skills.  We try again and the Medicare worker explains that yes that plan ends, yes she is enrolled in a new plan to start December 1st and yes we have enrolled her in a new plan until that one starts.  Excellent! She should've been notified by letter, but no letter was received at the current address.  Medicare takes so long to process changes of address, the letter was most likely sent to the previous address even after a month's notice of change.

So now we have a happy client that has medical coverage and insurance coverage, but she looked at me afterwards and simply asked, "How was I supposed to know?".  We have no answer for that.

A Lesson (or Rambling) In Giving Back

Last week I had the pleasure of going down to Help of Ojai's West Campus and help put together our monthly food boxes because the staff was not sure they would have enough volunteers to be efficient.  Enough volunteers showed up and I was looking forward to meeting new people, but to my surprise most of the volunteers are clients that we help.  This is not the first time I've seen a client or former client giving back whatever they can to Help of Ojai.  We have one man that does his laundry every week and while it's washing he takes out our trash and tidies up the office.  I hope this doesn't get preachy, but this giving back means so much more to me then people who just want to write a check (which is kind of ironic as I'm writing letters this week asking for money).  Donating money is great, always appreciated and I 100% understand the need for monetary donations. The service that these clients are doing means more to me though because I see their struggles on paper and what they're telling me.  It's the effort they take to care enough about others to prepare food boxes, even though they are struggling. Or to not be able to give anything because you have nothing, but looking around the office and seeing a need and quietly doing it.

These deeds are what I am trying to aim for during this year.  Whether it's participating in a community member's project or a part of my own service project, I want to be able to do it in a manner that is humble and true.  Yes, I get frustrated all the time. Yes, I have no problem using my swim coach voice to tell a certain client we are not talking about religion. Yes, I have a different certain client that I always make a sarcastic remark to about the no politics at my desk rule.  But to all of those types of "yes", there is the small victory yes.  The proud smile I give when the client takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down when medi-Cal is not understanding her problem (for the fourth day in a row).  The thank you to the neighbor that acts as a liaison to her elderly neighbor just because.  The certain client that credits Karen for him still being alive (which I whole heartily agree with!).  And the other certain client that shoots a sarcastic remark right back at me and says just give me Donald Trump's address.  Those are the moments that I hope to fill my journals up with.

The whole giving money to an organization was also brought up in a conversation I had with someone about the Adopt A Family project I am working on.  The program works by a person/group/family saying they want to adopt a family in need and buy presents for the children and donate a box of food.  In this conversation I was too busy be frustrated and distracted to listen and understand what the problem was.  They wanted to be selective in who they donated to (the children only) and wanted to give the children the presents or donate money that would be guaranteed to buy presents for children only.  After three days of frustration I realized it was the principle that I think is being reinforced in this situation and not that someone wanted to donate the money.  I would gladly take donations and shop and wrap presents for all of these families.  It would be awesome! The reinforcement that could have been there was we get to handpick who we want to help.  The possible reinforcement of we can write a check and send someone else to do the work so we don't have to see the full scope of what poverty looks like in a family.  Maybe the reinforcement that as long as I donate money, I don't have to directly think about a problem and how it can impact a person.  Even if this wasn't the message that was meant, it was the one conveyed.  It frustrates me that there could be so many teachable moments in this project for everyone in the community and we won't be able to try.

In other news, I had my first surf lesson and it was incredible.  I rode the board in twice and wiped out a lot.  I hope I get to go again so I can try to figure out how to stand up on the board.  From my research, I need to work on my core strength and balance.  This might be my metaphor for life right now: strength and balance.  Or maybe that’s just my hippy way of thinking that it's all connected. 

Just Begin - One, One, One

Apparently Mother Teresa of Calcutta was the theme for the week. She has helped me a lot with her infinite wisdom.

It's very interesting to stare into the blank faces of high school seniors that are participating in a service day helping clean apartments of seniors and the disabled in low income housing.  How do you capture their attention and explain to them being present to the people they are serving is far more important than their cleaning ability?  How do you explain what subsidized housing is and the feeling of not being able to afford paying rent?  I do my best to explain in the most simple terms of subsidized housing, but try to convey the message of service through the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved. The greatest suffering is also having no one, forgetting what an intimate, truly human relationship is, not knowing what it means to be loved, not having a family or friends. -Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Later that week I realized that candy was the real answer, as I tabled at the same high school explaining Help of Ojai's volunteer activities and what we did as an organization.  The candy was there for anyone, meaning I was frequently chosen as the organization to fill our their assignment on.

Mother Teresa came into play again as I started a new project this week helping connect low income seniors in the Ojai Valley with the Rotary Club to home improvement projects around the house.  I did my first home visits, scheduled my own appointments and was on the phone with mobile home park managers constantly.  How am I going to get this all done by Monday afternoon?  Well of course I looked to Mother Teresa again and I just begin - one, one, one.

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand....The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.”

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I should clarify, I am not saying I'm Mother Teresa by any stretch of the imagination.  We can start by simply saying patience is NOT my strong suit.  But we do begin one, one, one.  I completely humbled myself this week when realizing I was not being a present person, like I had asked the high schoolers to be.  I was having the opportunity to go on these home visits and made the mistake of scheduling them back to back.  My goal was to do an intake and take pictures of the projects needed to be done.  What was more important?  Making those visits much longer so I had the opportunity to sit and talk with each person in the way they wanted and deserved.

Sink or Swim, I'm Diving In

Sunset before Community Prayer

The first week at the CAP (Community Assistance Program) Office at Help of Ojai is over and I have already learned a lot about the organization, the clients and Ojai.  When they said they would throw me in, they were not lying.  On my third day I did my first intake of a new client "on my own" and have been sifting through clients files to piece together information for the people I will be helping in the future.  It has been eyeopening to see the difference in what people need.

Help of Ojai works off of case managing.  This means if you would like help from the CAP office, you have to be willing to come in and work with a case manager.  No matter how often you come in, you only get one food box per a month.  Some people come in once a month for food support and to check in with their case manager.  Others come in weekly to sort through bills, talk through any concerns and problem solve for what lies ahead. Still others come in multiple times a week for help contacting doctors, filling out paperwork, sorting through bills and having the case manager advocate for them. Although each case is very different, the basic goal is to work with a client and have them be able to come more independent as time goes on.

The view of Ventura from our hike

I can see why case workers get burnt out quickly.  I'm already learning to make a line on what I can and can't do. I'm thankful for my coworkers and being able to ask them a million questions about why we do or why we don't do certain things.  They have been patient in showing me their job.  I also appreciate being able to count on them when I don't know what the next step is or how to refer the client.

Our first In-N-Out trip

As a community we enjoyed In-N-Out Burger and went on our first full community hike.  It has been an experience in cooking and we can all be grateful nobody has starved yet.  I'm also incredibly excited to be able to watch part of the East Carolina game today!  Even though I'm on the west coast, I still bleed purple and gold!  Go Pirates!

Welcome to Ventura (and Ojai!)

Sunset at the beach our first night in Ventura

Everyone knows that I love the beach and am the flipflop girl in the family.  Ventura is a little slice of beach heaven I have dreamed about living in.  Our house is a little over one mile from the beach, perfect for running in the morning or walking to enjoy the beach for the day!  There are sidewalks everywhere in this town, making it easy to get around without a car and not have to worry about parking.  St. Bonaventure's High School, the volunteer site my community member is at, has been very welcoming to us and we went to see their football team play Friday night.

Ojai is the town my volunteer site is in.  25 minutes away and we are driving through the mountains.  It's beautiful and there is so much exploring to be done.  We have already logged one hike in Ojai and I can't wait to go again!  The people at Villanova Prep, my other community member's volunteer site, were very welcoming and friendly.  We will meet with Br. Mike and Fr. Alvin once a week at Villanova Prep to stay connected with the Augustinians while we are here.

View on our hike in Ojai

On Friday I started at Help of Ojai, my volunteer site.  My favorite first day moment was the pirate themed note left by the former volunteer.  The note was accompanied by some mighty large shoes to fill.  Everyone in the office took time to explain to me what was going on and what projects I would be working on.  I met my first clients, including one who will be on my caseload.  I am really lucky that once again I work in a place that has welcomed me and have said they will do their best to help me grow in anyway I can.  I can't wait to dive in next week and get started!

What I Learned in Philadelphia

Monday, August 24th 17 new Augustinian Volunteers (AVs) met for 8 long days of training before we were sent to our sites.  On the first day, we awkwardly sat in the church fellowship hall talking and introducing ourselves every time a new person came in.  Throughout the week the office staff, Joanna, Hannah and Taylor, drove us around, taught us about the Augustinians, and tried to explain what our 10 months would look like.  Eight short days later we said goodbye to our new family and headed to our sites.  We never thought the goodbye would be hard, but that shows how important this week was for our training.  To recap our time in Philadelphia I have put together a list of things we learned throughout the week.  Although Tori said she didn't learn anything, I think the Tangerine Dreams (explanation in the next blog post) can agree on most of this!

1. Roll down the windows when backing in large vehicles.

2. Saint Augustine's Rule and the charism of the Augustinians.

3. Check the church basement for prayer groups.

4. The pillars of the Augustinian's are community, spirituality and service.

5. Your phone will deactivate your room key.

6. The meaning of community living and how special this time is together.

7. Midwestern drives get lost in Philadelphia.

8. Philadelphia was the first place the Augustinian's became established in the United States.  We know this because every Augustinian we met told us.

9. Always go to dinner thirsty when visiting an Augustinian community.

10. The many ways to pray and the many people who are praying for us.

11. Anyone can rock a polo.

12. What the Social Justice teachings of the Catholic church are and why they are important.

13. Sunday night is a good night to enjoy Afro Beats at Bleu Martini

14. Don't run on the trolley tracks.

15. "Our hearts are restless until they rest in God"  -St. Augustine

What About Everything

What About Everything

Well I have already failed at writing this blog.  It's day two of training and I've got one post so far.  I didn't realize how hard it was to write these and am now giving credit to the blog authors I've read in the past.

What about everything?  The name of the blog is from the Carbon Leaf song What About Everything.  I encourage everyone to go listen to this song, especially if they need a little optimism in their life.  I also encourage everyone to become a full fledged Carbon Leaf groupie because I think they are a fantastic band.  I will wait here while you do the above...

So what about everything?  When you start to think about everything, your possibilities of opportunity become endless.  This year I hope to learn and seek out opportunities more frequently.  I'm not talking about drastic let's go jump out of an airplane opportunity, but be more willing to join local groups and getting more involved in the surrounding community.  I want to experience everything Southern California has to offer, especially service sites in the area and the outdoors.

On day two of training the possibilities still seem endless and our team is going strong!  We have survived the awkwardness of first introductions and a scavenger hunt around Philadelphia.  We now have the daunting task of writing and talking about our faith journey for five to ten minutes.  We all know that if my talk doesn't last for five minutes I can ramble about anything, let's just hope it's appropriate and at least slightly not awkward.

T-minus 7 Days

It's t-minus 7 days until I leave for my California adVENTURA!

A little background on what is going on and how it started:
On Monday, August 24th I leave the Chapel Hill/Durham/Cary area to do 10 months of service with an organization called the Augustinian Volunteers (AV) in Ventura, California.  It all started when a coworker talked to me about her experience with a different organization.  This conversation and a persistent question of "What is my next step??" motivated me to look at my options.  I started doing research and came across a lot of organizations that had great opportunities.  I found the Augustinian Volunteers and felt their mission of service through educational, social and health programs is something I fully believe in and would want to be a part of.

After interviews and a lot of nervous waiting I found out I would be moving to Ventura, California and my site placement would be Help of Ojai in Ojai, California.  For the fall semester I will be working as a caseworker for chronically homeless people and helping organize the cities Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets.

To start the term off I will fly to Philadelphia for training and meet the other volunteers, including my brand new roommates!  From Philadelphia we will fly to California and start at our sites.  I will have a week at home for Christmas (put me on your schedule now!) and a week in Philadelphia for more training.  At the end of the spring semester we will all meet one last time in Philadelphia.

I am so lucky to have the support of family, friends and coworkers who have encouraged and pushed me to go on this adVENTURA.  I look forward to sharing my 10 months with you and will try to keep blog posts short and sweet!