Settling into our Daily Routine

So I've been writing a little each day but some are not big enough to fill an entire entry so I will most likely in the future be combining multiple entries in one large blog entry when I find them too small or too dry and not interesting enough for you guys to read.

Day 2 - On Wednesday (15), we woke up a bit later than usual at 7:20. We then headed down to breakfast. They do a good job of having things that vegetarians can eat. Today we had the option of potatoes, eggs, sausage, French toast, cereal, and fruit. So there was a good variety and no one from our team went away hungry. We started the day with a meeting and then we went to do some shots and a drug screening. After, we went to do some surveys and pre-test in their computer lab and then we attended more meetings. Last but not least, we finally got our uniforms! They gave us a ton of stuff and I mean a ton of stuff. To fill a large, rectangular bucket would be a more accurate description. Like I could fit in the bucket and put the lid on top! We also get to keep everything except like two things which is pretty cool. After uniforms, we had some downtime before dinner. We just went into everybody's rooms and chatted. We're down from the original 9 member team to 8, so we're now probably the smallest Summit team. Also during downtime, the power and AC generators blew out which is not so good because it so hot and sticky here. But they got it running back up quickly and they do a good job of keeping all buildings nice and cool!

Day 3 - Thursday (16), this was probably my least favorite and least eventful day so far. We had 5 meetings/class sessions to attend to between the hours of 8 am - 5 pm. We had a couple short ones and a couple long ones that were 2-3 hours each. And most of you that know me well knows that I cannot sit still for very long so today was slightly difficult for me to keep focus especially during the longer class sessions. So that was basically our day today so not too much exciting thing going on.

Day 4 - Friday (17), today we had more meetings to attend to but not as long as yesterday. Our day finished around 4. Today we started cooking for ourselves. So for dinner, we had rice and veggies which were pretty good! After dinner, I went out to play soccer with about 30+ people. It was really hot and humid so I got drenched in no time, but the cardio felt really good for my out of shape body. I also went on a run with about 3 other girls after soccer. Later after every one took a shower, we wanted to watch a movie so I hooked up my computer to the TV and we had a movie night. Our team (Summit 1) also bought a projector so we could watch movies with, which is pretty cool!

Just a heads up for most of you reading the blogs for the next month, majority of them will be quite dry because we will have been in meetings, basic trainings, or a classroom like learning environment for majority of the time. And I also apologize again for the lack of pics because we have been on campus for the majority of time attending classes/meetings. But after all the training is over, hopefully it will get more interesting when we spread out for our project rounds. And I hope to promise you a more interesting blog this weekend because I think we finally will be able to visit Vicksburg so I have the opportunity to take some pics.

Many of you have had problems with posting comments on my page and I apologize. I think I have fixed the situation, but I'm not 100% sure, so I will know when you try and leave comments on this post. If it doesn't work, just text me or email me and I have another option I could try. It might help if you clear your cookies also. If I can't get it solved, email me (or text me) your questions and I will do a Q&A sometime in the future if the comments section is becoming an issue.

Also many of you are asking for my mailing address. My mailing address is:
Kelly Ruder - Class 22 FEMA Corps/ Summit 1
AmeriCorps NCCC
2715 Confederate Avenue
Vicksburg, MS 39180

If you send me packages, this is just a heads up! Please do not send any items that will perish! Because when I am away from campus, the office will not forward our packages to the location where we are staying so I might not be able to open them for about 2 or 3 months at the most. If you send letters, those are easier for them to forward to our locations because it is cheaper for them to mail. You can send me packages currently because I will be on campus until August 18. So for the next month, I will be able to receive any mail sent to me.

Thanks for reading! This weekend will definitely be more eventful hopefully! Let me know if the comments sections works better for you!





All the clothes they gave us plus the pants and misc stuff on the shelf above





Our first team selfie!

Left to right - Kodiak, Andre, Alex, me! :), Madeleine, Drew, Sean, and our Team Leader (TL) in green, Kristina. We are Summit 1! And one of the best teams on campus! :)