Americorps NCCC

This is just a quick update to keep in touch with my latest journey.  Last summer when things were so bad I signed up for Americorps NCCC under the direction of a friend.  After going through all the paper work and waiting all I heard back was that I was wait-listed and would find out soon if I was getting in.  Months passed and I chose the internship at Agape Community instead.  Last Tuesday I unexpectedly heard from Americorps again.  Apparently there was a grant that allowed the program to hire on almost a hundred more members for the East coast branch of NCCC.  So one week later and I find myself sitting at the end of the hall of an old VA hospital wing in Perryville, Maryland wondering how things can change so quickly.

NCCC stands for national civilian community corps, a group of 18 - 24 year olds who are trained in natural disaster, CPR, firefighting, education and various other specialties.  The last group who came through here aided in the Katrina rebuild and other national efforts when they weren't here in Eastern efforts.  There is an impressively diverse group of people here that have kept me on my toes.  I've already started picking up a lot of sign language on account of a deaf kid in my barracks.  It's not even 24 hours later.  So I can't say what to expect but it looks like I'll be here for a few weeks in training and then head out to who knows where.  I could be living out of a tent for the greater part of this year.  The pay is decent and I'll get a lot of money taken off my student loans not to mention free room and board.  I think I'll use it to save up for this Winter, maybe move to California or look into the Peace Corps.... anywhere but the absurd world that tells you to pay this and do that.  I'll be working hard here and that should be the price of life.

There's a sergeant telling me it's time for lunch now... more later.