On Wednesday, I am headed to South Carolina. I am so ready for it.
Perhaps I’ve mentioned this, but I’m just so ready for a
break. Really, other than the weekend in Denver
in August, I haven’t had a break.
It’s not that I’m stressed out or anything, but I’m due as
well as deserving.
And the food is good. So very good.
A break will be nice, though. Some of the stuff here is just
insane.
First off, AmeriCorps week is coming up. What, you say?
Yeah, right. My thought exactly.
Although they’re both service under the federal government
AC differs from PC in many ways. In PC you give your live for two years and
you’re on the clock, really, all the time.
For most, AC is 40 hours a week. I guess, anyway.
Considering what crap the local office gave me when I reported my well-over-40
hours the first month I was here, you’d think I’d turn to stone after working
40 hours and a serious earful.
Having been in PC, I told them it was OK with me, and it is.
I like what I do and, let’s face it, there’s not too much else to do here.
So maybe the 40-hour thing enters into AC’s reasoning, but
three times a year, they *require* volunteers to do a service project. In
addition, you know, to the 12 months we’re already doing.
I find it really, really stupid. I mean, come on, I worked
all summer at 9.5 hours a day, seven days a week and still average over 40.
So why wouldn’t I welcome another freaking project, in my
spare time, right? Good grief.
So for the 9/11 and MLK days, I pretty much just put a title
on something I was doing anyway. And since I’m all about service, it was a
service project.
But this AC week is different. They expect us to go in and
recruit for them.
Uh, no. My experience with the local office has been
less-than stellar, honestly, and I would not recommend this to many people.
It’s not like I wouldn’t recommend it to some people, but
like Peace Corps, I would not just go out and say, “Hey, do this!” I’d have to
know the person first. It’s not for everyone.
I’m happy to answer questions, and do so often in a couple
of online forums. But one of the suggestions given to me was to go to a high
school and recruit. That is just not going to happen. Beyond having no time for
it, I have very little interest in it.
But I am psyched for North Augusta,
that is for sure. I’m not remotely ready for it, although I did start packing.
There’s not a whole lot I can do since I still need to wash a load of clothes.
There’s a new guy working with one of the partners and I’ve
given him a key to housesit. He’s currently living on campus with no running
water. Apparently guys are more OK with this than women are, because he said he
probably wouldn’t sleep over here
but just cook, shower and wash clothes.
And water the five plants, which I’m a little worried about.
Plants aren’t supposed to shed, I don’t think. But I have a little problem with two of them. Let’s just say I’m glad I
have a vacuum.
The idea of leaving for over a week is really freaky,
honestly. I don’t remember taking a vacation for this long. I mean, even Alaska, India
and Russia
were only 10 days or so. And those were rarities.
The trip after PC was a month, but that wasn’t time off
work. (Oh, that was fun: nothing so sad as listing your job as “unemployed
volunteer”) And Morocco,
the second time, was a month but that was work.
This trip, though, isn’t 100 percent vacation. Beyond the
entire point of helping Karen with the Bayou Spice catering, I’m bringing work
with me. I will be working at least a couple hours a day.
It’s kind of odd because most of my work is done online,
even the local stuff. We don’t have one central location and I even send emails
and make phone calls to the trailer across the parking lot or the one on the
other side of the building. So really, there’s just not a lot of difference
between me being in my “Vicar” office or on, for example, a Greek island.
So I figure the land of Chick-Fil-A is a happy compromise.
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