Time to Play Catch Up: Arriving in Green River, Utah

The Drive:
It took 2 days to drive from Sacramento, California to Green River, Utah.  Under normal circumstances it would have taken a day, but driving a government van means you have to play by a lot of rules.  We stopped the first night at a hotel and casino set up that still allowed smoking in the hallways, and had an entire wall of mirrors in each room.  It was...classy.  Or maybe it wasn't.  You can decide. 

The drive itself was a bit strange.  We have our 15 passenger van and a mini van (to bring to tools in) and only four drivers.  In Americorps, drivers are only allowed to drive for two hours before they are made to switch as a safety precaution.  BTW, I am one of the drivers now.  I was trained over the transition in Sacramento because one of the drivers broke her ankle, and another lost her license.  As a result of having two cars and only four drivers, I spent exactly half of the road trip behind the wheel.  Once we got past all of the snow and mountains in the Tahoe area, the scenery was similar to what you could expect to see driving on the moon.  It was very flat and bare.  And at one point, the desert was so flooded out that all you could see was water, starting at the edge of the highway, and reaching out as far as you could see.

Our Greeting:
I am driving the lead van when we finally pull off the highway and make our way to Green River.  As we approach the end of the exit ramp, we notice a group of guys all piled into the back of a pick up truck, singing, dancing, and waving American flags.  Oh boy.  This place is starting of a bit strange.  We try to avoid them and pull around them, but they block our way.  We reinspect the scene, and begin to wonder if they are there to greet us.  Are they the people we'll be working for?!  We decide to take a gamble and follow them as they parade us through town.  We end up at the Community Center, where they hop out of the truck and formally introduce themselves.  Wow.  This is going to be interesting, haha.  We enter the Community Center and have a brief greeting and introduction.  We go on a walking tour around town (there's no need for cars here...it's very small) and have it explained that most buildings aren't what they say they are...in fact, most buildings are empty and completely run down.  We make it back to the Center and are immediately put to work.  We haven't put our bags in the house yet...we haven't even seen the house.  Yet, here we go to pick up the students from school and run the after school camp.  As soon as the kids get fed and sent home, we are asked to attend a Habitat for Humanity Ground Breaking Ceremony.  Immediately after this, I am asked to go to the Habitat for Humanity board of directors meeting, since I will be one of the key people working on the house in our two months in Utah.  So I go directly to another building for a meeting that lasts about an hour.  The meeting ends in prayer...in my government uniform...yeah.  Anyway, I'm contemplating how random the day has been, and how exhausted I am as I make my way home.  I walk through our front door, ready for a shower and bed, but that's not in the cards just yet.  As I walk past our living room, I notice my entire team is playing cards with two very well dressed men.  Mormon missionaries.  Apparently they come by the house every Tuesday night and hang out for a bit.  Huh.  I decline joining the game of rummy, take a shower, and pass out on the top bunk. 

Time to Play Catch Up: Spring Break

So, I have not been very good about keeping up with my blog.  The next few posts will cover the highlights of the last 3 months. 

Spring Break 2011 (Back in April)
Location: San Diego

We had four days off for Spring Break.  A couple teammates decided to go home, a couple had family and friends flying out to visit them.  The rest of us decided to rent a hotel in San Diego together.  Actually, the original plan was just for Lauren and I to get a hotel room.  We decided to save money and get a room in the beautiful Little Italy section of San Diego.  The thing is...we got a room called the "Cozy Queen."  It is called this because the room itself is hardly bigger than the one queen bed that fits in it.  There's a good chance the bathroom was bigger than the room.  Either way...the Cozy Queen became home to five of us girls for the four day weekend.  Good thing we all get along well.  ;) 

...I just wrote out the entire description of my Spring Break experience, and then thought better of posting it online.  It'll have to suffice to say that it was incredibly fun.  You'll have to ask in person if you want the details.