Isaac's Americorps Southwest "adventure"

     It might be surprising to learn, but for the most part the first weeksof week of Americorps isn't really that exciting. Instead of planting trees, helping families and rebuilding houses the initial training focuses on the protocols for those actions as well as other fascinating concepts like travel reimbursement and insurance policies. Now while I am not putting these parts of training down as they are actually very important for success in NCCC it didn't really make the most exciting thing to write about, which is why I've decided to skip to my first actual active assignment, removing flowers in Denver City Park.   Pictured Above Statue of some Roman Senator/Emporer/Philosopher/God(dess) in city park    Like most large and relatively affluent cities, Denver puts great stock in the aesthetics and quality of their public parks to the point where one public display out of step could be a major embarrassment for the city, which includes dying f...

     Today I woke up at exactly 5 am, which while not exactly normal or pleasant is still something I'm at least kind of used to, but this time felt different. Instead of the usual mix of irritation and excitement there was just pure excitement and dread which I hadn't really felt before. Still I got out of bed, got dressed, showered and made myself up in a way that was at least semi normal, despite the underlying concerns. On the last walk I took my dog on, my mom and I got a near perfect view of Orion the hunter which my mom assumed was some kind of good omen, I wasn't exactly sure about her thoughts but I deeply hoped so. The plane ride and trip to the airport were pretty uneventful save for massively heavy baggage and meeting a woman who served in vista, which for those of you who don't know is essentially the ancestor of the Americorps which gave me some hope and reassurement. The meetings and other bureaucratic stuff  I experienced after a very scenic bus r...

 I woke up today relatively calm despite having a nightmare which from what I can vaguely recall involved scooby doo characters and a giant Egyptian themed mansion. The reason this is important is because for most of the week or so preceding my departure to Denver I've woken up incredibly nervous about leaving for Americorps, but today I just sort of woke up feeling nice and serene to the point where I decided to stay in for the first half of the day and watch Lupin III instead of actually getting anything done.   In terms of my actual tasks for today, the only thing I really had to do was get the process started that would allow me to get a new passport after I lost my old one. The reason I'm getting a passport right now despite knowing full well that I'm going to be staying in the same country for at least a year is because right now I only have one photo ID I can carry, my state license which for those who don't know is basically the participation trophy of Ide...

 Hi my name is Isaac Vizas, I am an 18 year old male human from Studio City California and for the next ten months I am going to be serving my country through Americorps NCCC, which to those unfamiliar with it is basically the peace corps that stays in the U.S. There are a lot of things that people should be feeling right now, patriotism, compassion, and general positive attitudes about helping my country and all sorts of other things listed in the website. If I said I was feeling those things right now I'd be lying, what I'm feeling right now is a mix of pure primeval terror and excitement at the thought of leaving my family, my friends, my dogs,  my home and everything else I ever knew save for a few items that I'll be bringing with me on my journey. To put this emotion into words imagine the first time you rode an actual rollercoaster, or haunted house, butterflies  in the chest and everything but this time you are going on alone no friends or family to go with you, wi...