Today, I had to wake up 30 minutes earlier than yesterday so I could get the bus station after the rail station by 7:15. The reason for this is that the principal of our school told us that Perrine is not an area we should be walking around in alone, so my teammates and myself thought it would be best to meet up at the bus station at the same time to travel the last leg of the trip together.
Today was a frustrating day for me. I had to wake up really early today and was extremely tired for pretty much no reason at all (or so it felt to me). Today was a teacher planning day, so there were no students for us to help or observe. We sat around in our classroom doing nothing until noon, which is when we went to the school library for a two-hour training. On the positive side for today, the training was for the tutoring method we will be using for this year, and was very useful. Also, since we still had nothing to do after the training, we were allowed to go home early!
On the down side for the rest of this week, we won't actually be starting to teach until Monday. One of our members was sick with the stomach flu today and two other members can't participate until Monday because of paperwork issues, so we didn't want to start all of our work in the school with only half of a team; that wouldn't have looked very good for us after we committed ourselves to helping a specific number of students. Also, some of the teachers still apparently don't understand what is going on with City Year. We will still be going into the school for the rest of this week, though, to do some other kinds of helpful work around the buildings.
-Aly
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
217 Hrs.
I have to wake up in five hours from now to start another day with City Year, so unfortunately, I have to make this post quick.
This morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. in order to give myself an hour in which to eat breakfast, pack lunch, walk Francheska, do some yoga, etc. At 6:00 a.m., I left my apartment for the short walk to the bus stop. I boarded my first bus, which took me to the City Year office in Downtown Miami that I went to every day for BTA. From there, I caught the southbound metrorail at 6:45. I took the metrorail as far south as it would go, and then caught another bus at 7:45. During the trip, I only had one minor hitch (I couldn't find the metrorail station), but still managed to arrive at R. R. Moton at 8:10, which was five minutes before we were set to begin our day.
After performing a short P.T. routine for the kids, we were let into the classroom that we will be using for this year, and were given about and hour and a half in which we set up, cleaned, and decorated. After that time, three of my team members headed off to shadow the reading coach for thirty minutes. When we arrived at the school, the music teacher had asked us to visit his class at 10:30, so that is what Nick, Mike and I did during that time. I had a great time in the music class, even when the teacher made the three of us stand up in front of his class and perform the anti-drug rap while the students backed us up! After that, the three of us took a turn shadowing one of the reading coaches with our other three team members finished setting up our classroom.
Then came lunch, and after that was more classroom shadowing. At one point, Nick, Mike and I had no specific class we had to sit in on and were able to watch the dance class for a little while. Wow! The students at R. R. Moton are incredibly talented!
At the end of the day, we met with the Vice Principal and a few of the reading coaches and were given our class lists for the year. I will be working only with third and fourth graders this year, unless one of the other people on my team wants to switch lists with me. Sadly, one of the students I will be working with is in the third grade for the third time, so my goal for this year is to help her pass the third grade without having to be automatically promoted.
After the bell rang, we were asked to help with the buses and parent pick-up. One of the students I met during that time asked us to go visit the choir practice, but we didn't end up being able to do that after all. Hopefully another time, though.
Since we don't have any after-school programs to run yet, I was able to leave early and get home by 6:00. What a treat!
The kids were great today, and they seem very excited to have us. I even got lots of complements on my boots and red jacket! : )
I'm super excited to go back tomorrow, but in order to be alive, awake, alert, and enthusiastic tomorrow I have to get some sleep, so, goodnight!
-Aly
P.S. Happy 21st birthday, Brittney! I'm terrible at remembering birthdays, and I'm so sorry about that!
This morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. in order to give myself an hour in which to eat breakfast, pack lunch, walk Francheska, do some yoga, etc. At 6:00 a.m., I left my apartment for the short walk to the bus stop. I boarded my first bus, which took me to the City Year office in Downtown Miami that I went to every day for BTA. From there, I caught the southbound metrorail at 6:45. I took the metrorail as far south as it would go, and then caught another bus at 7:45. During the trip, I only had one minor hitch (I couldn't find the metrorail station), but still managed to arrive at R. R. Moton at 8:10, which was five minutes before we were set to begin our day.
After performing a short P.T. routine for the kids, we were let into the classroom that we will be using for this year, and were given about and hour and a half in which we set up, cleaned, and decorated. After that time, three of my team members headed off to shadow the reading coach for thirty minutes. When we arrived at the school, the music teacher had asked us to visit his class at 10:30, so that is what Nick, Mike and I did during that time. I had a great time in the music class, even when the teacher made the three of us stand up in front of his class and perform the anti-drug rap while the students backed us up! After that, the three of us took a turn shadowing one of the reading coaches with our other three team members finished setting up our classroom.
Then came lunch, and after that was more classroom shadowing. At one point, Nick, Mike and I had no specific class we had to sit in on and were able to watch the dance class for a little while. Wow! The students at R. R. Moton are incredibly talented!
At the end of the day, we met with the Vice Principal and a few of the reading coaches and were given our class lists for the year. I will be working only with third and fourth graders this year, unless one of the other people on my team wants to switch lists with me. Sadly, one of the students I will be working with is in the third grade for the third time, so my goal for this year is to help her pass the third grade without having to be automatically promoted.
After the bell rang, we were asked to help with the buses and parent pick-up. One of the students I met during that time asked us to go visit the choir practice, but we didn't end up being able to do that after all. Hopefully another time, though.
Since we don't have any after-school programs to run yet, I was able to leave early and get home by 6:00. What a treat!
The kids were great today, and they seem very excited to have us. I even got lots of complements on my boots and red jacket! : )
I'm super excited to go back tomorrow, but in order to be alive, awake, alert, and enthusiastic tomorrow I have to get some sleep, so, goodnight!
-Aly
P.S. Happy 21st birthday, Brittney! I'm terrible at remembering birthdays, and I'm so sorry about that!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Another Boring Day
I have absolutely nothing to say about today, because today I did absolutely nothing other than go to church. Well, I guess I could say that the church service was nice. ; )
-Aly
-Aly
Saturday, September 27, 2008
208 Hrs.
I was really excited for this weekend so I would have time to relax, and so far this weekend has lived up to my expectations.
This morning, I was able to sleep in for a little bit, but was still able to wake up early enough to get my laundry in before anyone else this morning. While my laundry was going, I walked to the grocery store to stock up on some of the items that I have been going without for a long time. I am very proud of myself because I was able to buy a couple weeks' worth of groceries for only $44!
In the afternoon, I went over to the main branch of the public library to help Irene (one of my fellow City Year corps members) with a service day that she had planned. Along with a few other City Year members, we demonstrated P.T. so we could give the audience a little taste of City Year Miami culture. I didn't stay very long because I had hoped to get to the post office before it closed, but didn't end up making it in time anyway.
Tonight was pretty low-key as well. At 6:30, I headed over to Trevor's for a movie night; we watched "Mulan" and "The Lion King". It is now 11:00 p.m., and I am already home from Trevor's and ready to go to bed and get lots of sleep tonight. I'm going to need lots of rest before starting at R. R. Moton on Monday!
-Aly
This morning, I was able to sleep in for a little bit, but was still able to wake up early enough to get my laundry in before anyone else this morning. While my laundry was going, I walked to the grocery store to stock up on some of the items that I have been going without for a long time. I am very proud of myself because I was able to buy a couple weeks' worth of groceries for only $44!
In the afternoon, I went over to the main branch of the public library to help Irene (one of my fellow City Year corps members) with a service day that she had planned. Along with a few other City Year members, we demonstrated P.T. so we could give the audience a little taste of City Year Miami culture. I didn't stay very long because I had hoped to get to the post office before it closed, but didn't end up making it in time anyway.
Tonight was pretty low-key as well. At 6:30, I headed over to Trevor's for a movie night; we watched "Mulan" and "The Lion King". It is now 11:00 p.m., and I am already home from Trevor's and ready to go to bed and get lots of sleep tonight. I'm going to need lots of rest before starting at R. R. Moton on Monday!
-Aly
Friday, September 26, 2008
206 Hrs.
I am now officially a City Year corps member! Whoo hoo!
This morning, I had to wake up extra early to take a bus out to South Beach, which is where our Opening Ceremony was held. For the first couple of hours we spent the time practicing the ceremony. After that, a few of us were able to go the the Champions' Reception where we would mingle with the people who made City Year Miami possible.
At noon, our Opening Day Ceremony began. The whole thing was awesome because of the incredibly high level of energy that the corp and everyone else in the audience had. The ceremony was about an hour long, and featured speakers such as the CEO of City Year, the Senior Vice President of City Smith Barney, members of the Miami-Dade County School Board and the Board of Commissioners, and a City Year Alumnus from City Year's first corp in 1988.
When the ceremony ended, everyone headed out to do a few hours of community service. I painted and helped garden, and other members of the corp completed various other projects in Liberty City.
City Year officially begins for me on Monday-I can't wait!!!
-Aly
P.S. Jose, here is the shout out I promised you! ; )
This morning, I had to wake up extra early to take a bus out to South Beach, which is where our Opening Ceremony was held. For the first couple of hours we spent the time practicing the ceremony. After that, a few of us were able to go the the Champions' Reception where we would mingle with the people who made City Year Miami possible.
At noon, our Opening Day Ceremony began. The whole thing was awesome because of the incredibly high level of energy that the corp and everyone else in the audience had. The ceremony was about an hour long, and featured speakers such as the CEO of City Year, the Senior Vice President of City Smith Barney, members of the Miami-Dade County School Board and the Board of Commissioners, and a City Year Alumnus from City Year's first corp in 1988.
When the ceremony ended, everyone headed out to do a few hours of community service. I painted and helped garden, and other members of the corp completed various other projects in Liberty City.
City Year officially begins for me on Monday-I can't wait!!!
-Aly
P.S. Jose, here is the shout out I promised you! ; )
Thursday, September 25, 2008
196 Hrs.
Absolutely nothing was accomplished today in terms of getting us more ready for helping the children, but we somehow still had a full day. All we did today was rehearse the Opening Day Ceremony and rehearse what we were going to do when the Florida Volunteer Commission visited. They visited our office today for a few minutes since they were a key component in getting a City Year site in Miami, so we had to make sure we greeted them well.
Tomorrow is Opening Day/service day! I can't wait!!!
-Aly
P.S. The picture below is of me in my lovely Timberland uniform.
Tomorrow is Opening Day/service day! I can't wait!!!
-Aly
P.S. The picture below is of me in my lovely Timberland uniform.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
188 Hrs.
I definitely did not want to wake up this morning. The lack of enthusiasm I had for today was entirely because of the fact that I stayed out until 2:00 a.m. this morning hanging out with C.T. and M & M. I know I should not have done that on a weeknight, but "so it goes."
To begin our day, we went over to Bayfront Park for P.T. After that and until lunch, we didn't really do much of anything, the reason being that the schedule for the day had been really messed up and they couldn't actually find anything else for us to do. After lunch, we listened to a workshop about how to encourage kids in the classroom, and then got to leave about 30 minutes early. At 6:30, Yasmine picked Erin, Erin, M & M, Beth, Bar and I up and took us out to Coconut Grove, which is where we would be attending out first Generation Engage meeting. As stated on the Generation Engage website, "GenerationEngage is a nonpartisan youth-civic-engagement initiative that connects young Americans to political leaders, to other civic organizations, and to meaningful debate about the future they will inherit." We met this evening at a restaurant to hear a Florida State Representative talk about Florida's education problems. It was really interesting to hear the person talk, but kind of frustrating that we were late to the meeting, couldn't find seats, and didn't get to eat any of the delicious food that was promised us. After the meeting, a bunch of City Year corp members went across the street to The Sandbar, but I was hungry and tired and decided just to go home.
I'm so excited-only one more day of BTA!
-Aly
To begin our day, we went over to Bayfront Park for P.T. After that and until lunch, we didn't really do much of anything, the reason being that the schedule for the day had been really messed up and they couldn't actually find anything else for us to do. After lunch, we listened to a workshop about how to encourage kids in the classroom, and then got to leave about 30 minutes early. At 6:30, Yasmine picked Erin, Erin, M & M, Beth, Bar and I up and took us out to Coconut Grove, which is where we would be attending out first Generation Engage meeting. As stated on the Generation Engage website, "GenerationEngage is a nonpartisan youth-civic-engagement initiative that connects young Americans to political leaders, to other civic organizations, and to meaningful debate about the future they will inherit." We met this evening at a restaurant to hear a Florida State Representative talk about Florida's education problems. It was really interesting to hear the person talk, but kind of frustrating that we were late to the meeting, couldn't find seats, and didn't get to eat any of the delicious food that was promised us. After the meeting, a bunch of City Year corp members went across the street to The Sandbar, but I was hungry and tired and decided just to go home.
I'm so excited-only one more day of BTA!
-Aly
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
179 Hrs.
Today was the first day we got to wear our uniforms! I was super excited about this for several reasons, one reason being that we were not told we would have to wear business casual every day during BTA, so I did not pack much of that to bring with me to Miami and all I had to wear was one black skirt and one pair of terrible black high heels along with a couple of tops. The uniforms look pretty dorky (brown Timberland work boots, khaki pants with the elastic waistband sitting above my belly button, and a white polo shirt that I swim in because it is so large), but it looks very nice and is incredibly comfortable. I was also excited to get the backpack that is part of our uniform since the only purse that I thought to bring with me is a small purple wristlet.
This morning, Charlie Rose, who is the Vice President and Dean of City Year, visited our office. He was given a tour of our office, and after lunch he spoke to us for a while about his life and the work he has done with City Year and other organizations. The rest of the day was the Red Jacket Ceremony. During this ceremony, we all sat in a circle and each person would stand up and announce who he was dedicating his jacket to before putting it on and zipping it up. The point of dedicating our jackets was to recognize people who have helped us get where we are today and to think about who we want to put on our jacket for each day to make them proud. I dedicated my jacket to all of you-to everyone who has ever had an impact on my life to make me the person I am today.
The ceremony was long, and we got out of work an hour later than usual. When we got home, Beth, Bernard, and I went to the gym, but only for a little while because the arthritis in my knees really started to bother me.
Two more days of BTA!!!
-Aly
This morning, Charlie Rose, who is the Vice President and Dean of City Year, visited our office. He was given a tour of our office, and after lunch he spoke to us for a while about his life and the work he has done with City Year and other organizations. The rest of the day was the Red Jacket Ceremony. During this ceremony, we all sat in a circle and each person would stand up and announce who he was dedicating his jacket to before putting it on and zipping it up. The point of dedicating our jackets was to recognize people who have helped us get where we are today and to think about who we want to put on our jacket for each day to make them proud. I dedicated my jacket to all of you-to everyone who has ever had an impact on my life to make me the person I am today.
The ceremony was long, and we got out of work an hour later than usual. When we got home, Beth, Bernard, and I went to the gym, but only for a little while because the arthritis in my knees really started to bother me.
Two more days of BTA!!!
-Aly
Monday, September 22, 2008
170 Hrs.
Only three more days of BTA! I am incredibly excited about this.
This morning, we started off the day performing PT at Bayfront park. From there, we went back to the office for a workshop on City Year culture. After that, we learned a little bit about the event occurring this week, including the Red Jacket Ceremony tomorrow. The red bomber jacket that each City Year members wears is a very special article of clothing that stands for unity, pride, spirit, discipline, and the hard work that has gone into earning the jacket and will be completed in the months to come by the person wearing the jacket. According to City Year's "Idealist Handbook 2008-2009", "Giving a bomber jacket is one of the highest honors that City Year bestows on champions" (p. 138). We also learned a bit about the Opening Day ceremony that will be on Friday.
After that we had lunch, and after lunch we received our uniforms! The rest of the afternoon was spent trying on uniform pieces.
-Aly
This morning, we started off the day performing PT at Bayfront park. From there, we went back to the office for a workshop on City Year culture. After that, we learned a little bit about the event occurring this week, including the Red Jacket Ceremony tomorrow. The red bomber jacket that each City Year members wears is a very special article of clothing that stands for unity, pride, spirit, discipline, and the hard work that has gone into earning the jacket and will be completed in the months to come by the person wearing the jacket. According to City Year's "Idealist Handbook 2008-2009", "Giving a bomber jacket is one of the highest honors that City Year bestows on champions" (p. 138). We also learned a bit about the Opening Day ceremony that will be on Friday.
After that we had lunch, and after lunch we received our uniforms! The rest of the afternoon was spent trying on uniform pieces.
-Aly
Sunday, September 21, 2008
162 Hrs.
This weekend was, thankfully, very relaxed for me.
On Saturday, I let myself sleep in late, and then went to South Beach in the afternoon with Erin, Erin, Bar, and Trevor. I got in the water once, but spent most of the time just sleeping in the sand. Surprisingly, I did not get sunburned! I guess that SPF 85 sunscreen really does work. At around 10:00 p.m., I went to Trevor's house for a party that didn't turn out to be as exciting as I had hoped, and I ended up leaving pretty early.
This morning, I accidentally slept in past my alarm and missed church, but fortunately still made it to a planning for a service day in Miami that one of the CYM corp members is organizing for next weekend. I got assigned to the PT committee, which means that I will be a part of the group performing a demonstration of our PT during the event. The rest of today was spent reading the newspaper, cleaning, and relaxing.
Five more days until Opening Day!
-Aly
On Saturday, I let myself sleep in late, and then went to South Beach in the afternoon with Erin, Erin, Bar, and Trevor. I got in the water once, but spent most of the time just sleeping in the sand. Surprisingly, I did not get sunburned! I guess that SPF 85 sunscreen really does work. At around 10:00 p.m., I went to Trevor's house for a party that didn't turn out to be as exciting as I had hoped, and I ended up leaving pretty early.
This morning, I accidentally slept in past my alarm and missed church, but fortunately still made it to a planning for a service day in Miami that one of the CYM corp members is organizing for next weekend. I got assigned to the PT committee, which means that I will be a part of the group performing a demonstration of our PT during the event. The rest of today was spent reading the newspaper, cleaning, and relaxing.
Five more days until Opening Day!
-Aly
Thursday, September 18, 2008
160 Hrs.
TGIF! I don't think I have ever needed a weekend this much.
My day today started out with P.T., which was fun, as always. After that, we walked back to the office and created some skits about different problems that may occur with corp members. After that, we played a game in which we broke up into seven teams and each team had to create a community. Before anyone could build anything, though, one representative from each team had to go up to the "city council" and present their idea to them to see if it would be approved. The corp members had no idea, but ahead of time, each team was tagged as either upper class, upper-middle class, middle class, lower class, or impoverished. The idea is that it was easier for the upper class communities to build things they needed than the lower class communities. We were a lower class community. In the beginning, I was the representative, and went up to the city council to ask permission to build a hospital. Twice I was asked to let other representative go in front of me before I got the idea that the city council was not going to listen to me. When I went back to my team, we decided to revolt, and that is where everything with my team went downhill. We were supposed to be demonstrating civil disobedience, but half of my team wasn't listening when we discussed the revolt, so when the city council finally decided to listen to us, I couldn't get my team to stop yelling. After listening to our request for a hospital, the city council agreed to grant us one, but only if we would also build a liquor store with neon lights and a prison. I agreed to those terms since I thought it best to compromise, but later my team started screaming at me because I made a "stupid decision". This made me very frustrated because I felt that they were taking it too seriously for a game. Right after all of that, the game was ended. After the game, Binsen, one of the senior corp members, set out for us a feast that was a "taste of Miami".
After the lunch break, the corp sat down for an hour to learn about reporting suspected child abuse. Then, we filled out our time cards, and got out two hours early!
For the rest of tonight, I plan on relaxing and going to bed early. Everyone else will be going out to a club on South Beach tonight, but since I am not yet 21, that option is out for me. I will be glad to catch up on my sleep, though.
-Aly
My day today started out with P.T., which was fun, as always. After that, we walked back to the office and created some skits about different problems that may occur with corp members. After that, we played a game in which we broke up into seven teams and each team had to create a community. Before anyone could build anything, though, one representative from each team had to go up to the "city council" and present their idea to them to see if it would be approved. The corp members had no idea, but ahead of time, each team was tagged as either upper class, upper-middle class, middle class, lower class, or impoverished. The idea is that it was easier for the upper class communities to build things they needed than the lower class communities. We were a lower class community. In the beginning, I was the representative, and went up to the city council to ask permission to build a hospital. Twice I was asked to let other representative go in front of me before I got the idea that the city council was not going to listen to me. When I went back to my team, we decided to revolt, and that is where everything with my team went downhill. We were supposed to be demonstrating civil disobedience, but half of my team wasn't listening when we discussed the revolt, so when the city council finally decided to listen to us, I couldn't get my team to stop yelling. After listening to our request for a hospital, the city council agreed to grant us one, but only if we would also build a liquor store with neon lights and a prison. I agreed to those terms since I thought it best to compromise, but later my team started screaming at me because I made a "stupid decision". This made me very frustrated because I felt that they were taking it too seriously for a game. Right after all of that, the game was ended. After the game, Binsen, one of the senior corp members, set out for us a feast that was a "taste of Miami".
After the lunch break, the corp sat down for an hour to learn about reporting suspected child abuse. Then, we filled out our time cards, and got out two hours early!
For the rest of tonight, I plan on relaxing and going to bed early. Everyone else will be going out to a club on South Beach tonight, but since I am not yet 21, that option is out for me. I will be glad to catch up on my sleep, though.
-Aly
151 Hrs.
Even though today did not seem like a particularly boring day, I still feel that there us not much to update you all on. BTA is winding down to its final days (only one more week of training, and then opening day!), but to tell the truth, I still don't feel very prepared for the upcoming year. How on earth am I going to be able to teach these children? They say we will taught the school's tutoring methodology in the next week of BTA, but it is hard for me to believe that this will really happen.
I got paid today! This is especially exciting because I have never had a real job before and this is my first paycheck ever!!! I am very proud of myself.
This evening, Beth, M & M, Erin, Yasmine, Mack, Mike, Bernard, Danni, Alisha, Jenny and I went out to a karaoke bar. I did not sing, of course, but it was awesome to see everyone else up there having a good time.
4.5 hours of sleep, nine hours of work, and then it is the weekend. TGIF!
-Aly
I got paid today! This is especially exciting because I have never had a real job before and this is my first paycheck ever!!! I am very proud of myself.
This evening, Beth, M & M, Erin, Yasmine, Mack, Mike, Bernard, Danni, Alisha, Jenny and I went out to a karaoke bar. I did not sing, of course, but it was awesome to see everyone else up there having a good time.
4.5 hours of sleep, nine hours of work, and then it is the weekend. TGIF!
-Aly
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
142 Hrs.
Today was yet another emotionally draining day. The reason for this may be the incredibly low maturity level that a lot of the corp has been experiencing lately, but this may also be because of a few other specific things that happened throughout the course of today.
This morning started out with the whole corp practicing P.T. They announced yesterday that about six corp members will get the chance to lead it on opening day, and I really want to be one of those people, so I worked really hard at it today. I specifically wore pants today so that I would be able to stretch my legs all the way during the exercises, and I made sure to yell the loudest and be the most enthusiastic. It was most definitely hot outside during P.T., but it didn't bother me too much since I was trying so hard to do a great job.
After P.T., we went back to the office and did a spiderweb game. For this game, one person held on the the end of a piece of thread, and then passed the spool to someone they felt connected to and explained why they felt that connection. The second person would then wrap the thread around their finger and then pass the spool to someone they felt a connection to. The end result was that every member of the corp was connected to everyone else by the spiderweb. That game made my day because my friend Brian passed the string to me and said he felt connected to me since we are going to get married someday! The explanation behind that joke is that Brian apparently has aspired to be the First Gentleman since the age of ten, and since I am going to be the President of the United States someday, Brian seems to think that he needs to marry me. The joke was even funnier, though, since almost no City Year members had heard us joking about that, so it came completely out of the blue for most of them that Brian and I are going to get married. The corp members couldn't stop laughing after Brian said what he said, and neither could I!
After that, the rest of the day was taken up with workshops focused on public speaking, which were very basic and only presented information that I was already familiar with. It is always good to reiterate the basics, though, I guess.
Wow! I can't believe it is already 9:00 p.m., and I feel like I haven't done anything since I got home. I think I'm going to go to bed now, though, since I REALLY need to catch up on my sleep. Good night, everyone.
-Aly
This morning started out with the whole corp practicing P.T. They announced yesterday that about six corp members will get the chance to lead it on opening day, and I really want to be one of those people, so I worked really hard at it today. I specifically wore pants today so that I would be able to stretch my legs all the way during the exercises, and I made sure to yell the loudest and be the most enthusiastic. It was most definitely hot outside during P.T., but it didn't bother me too much since I was trying so hard to do a great job.
After P.T., we went back to the office and did a spiderweb game. For this game, one person held on the the end of a piece of thread, and then passed the spool to someone they felt connected to and explained why they felt that connection. The second person would then wrap the thread around their finger and then pass the spool to someone they felt a connection to. The end result was that every member of the corp was connected to everyone else by the spiderweb. That game made my day because my friend Brian passed the string to me and said he felt connected to me since we are going to get married someday! The explanation behind that joke is that Brian apparently has aspired to be the First Gentleman since the age of ten, and since I am going to be the President of the United States someday, Brian seems to think that he needs to marry me. The joke was even funnier, though, since almost no City Year members had heard us joking about that, so it came completely out of the blue for most of them that Brian and I are going to get married. The corp members couldn't stop laughing after Brian said what he said, and neither could I!
After that, the rest of the day was taken up with workshops focused on public speaking, which were very basic and only presented information that I was already familiar with. It is always good to reiterate the basics, though, I guess.
Wow! I can't believe it is already 9:00 p.m., and I feel like I haven't done anything since I got home. I think I'm going to go to bed now, though, since I REALLY need to catch up on my sleep. Good night, everyone.
-Aly
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
133 Hrs.
Another night of little sleep, and another long and exhausting day. I enjoy hard work, though, and this is what I expected of a year of volunteer service, so I am not at all complaining.
This morning, the people on my R. R. Moton team went to visit our school. Below, you will find a picture of the welcome they gave us, and of my team. We met with the Principal, the Vice Principal, and a bunch of other people involved with what we will be doing in the school this year, and they loved us! We spent about four hours at the school, and during that time we looked at our schedule for the year, explored the layout of the school, and watched some of the classes. I am super excited for my work in the school to begin! After we got back to the office, we did some more teamwork building games, created a skit (which is a learning tool City Year apparently loves), and talked a little bit about the program we will be implementing this year in the schools called "Whole School Whole Child". I don't really know yet exactly what WSWC is, but I will definitely let you know when I find out myself.
-Aly
This morning, the people on my R. R. Moton team went to visit our school. Below, you will find a picture of the welcome they gave us, and of my team. We met with the Principal, the Vice Principal, and a bunch of other people involved with what we will be doing in the school this year, and they loved us! We spent about four hours at the school, and during that time we looked at our schedule for the year, explored the layout of the school, and watched some of the classes. I am super excited for my work in the school to begin! After we got back to the office, we did some more teamwork building games, created a skit (which is a learning tool City Year apparently loves), and talked a little bit about the program we will be implementing this year in the schools called "Whole School Whole Child". I don't really know yet exactly what WSWC is, but I will definitely let you know when I find out myself.
-Aly
Monday, September 15, 2008
124 Hrs.
Hour update: before the retreat, I had 53 hours. Last week, including the retreat, gave me 62 hours. Today gave me nine hours. Therefore, I now have 124 accumulated hours.
Ok, I'll admit it. I lied on Saturday when I said that I planned to hang around the apartment and do nothing. At 9:00 on Saturday evening, Trevor, Jarrel, Bernard, Erin, M & M, Beth, Yasmine, and I went to see the movie "Burn After Reading", which was an ok but not great movie. After the movie, we went to Trevor and Jarrel's house and met Kevin there. We were planning to invite a lot more people and have a party, but the ball never really got rolling, so we just hung out there for a while. I finally got home and into bed at 4:30 a.m.
Sunday morning, I had to wake up at 8:30 to get ready for church. Church was great again, and the sermon was amazing; I am very happy that I found Trinity Cathedral. After getting home from church, I stopped at the grocery store for salt and pasta, and then walked home and slept for about five hours. I didn't do much else for the rest of the evening, but didn't get to bed until late again since I was instant messaging people until 1:00 a.m.
Today I woke up early again for work. Today was a very low-energy day, and only involved us doing easy things such as filling out our time cards and talking about and commenting on the retreat. The day seemed to go by incredibly quickly. When I got home, I went to the gym for 30 minutes, walked Francheska, and then made myself dinner (pasta, pears out of a can, and chips ahoy cookies). The plan now is to clean my apartment and then get to bed before midnight so I can get at least six hours of sleep. Let's see if that actually happens. ; )
-Aly
Ok, I'll admit it. I lied on Saturday when I said that I planned to hang around the apartment and do nothing. At 9:00 on Saturday evening, Trevor, Jarrel, Bernard, Erin, M & M, Beth, Yasmine, and I went to see the movie "Burn After Reading", which was an ok but not great movie. After the movie, we went to Trevor and Jarrel's house and met Kevin there. We were planning to invite a lot more people and have a party, but the ball never really got rolling, so we just hung out there for a while. I finally got home and into bed at 4:30 a.m.
Sunday morning, I had to wake up at 8:30 to get ready for church. Church was great again, and the sermon was amazing; I am very happy that I found Trinity Cathedral. After getting home from church, I stopped at the grocery store for salt and pasta, and then walked home and slept for about five hours. I didn't do much else for the rest of the evening, but didn't get to bed until late again since I was instant messaging people until 1:00 a.m.
Today I woke up early again for work. Today was a very low-energy day, and only involved us doing easy things such as filling out our time cards and talking about and commenting on the retreat. The day seemed to go by incredibly quickly. When I got home, I went to the gym for 30 minutes, walked Francheska, and then made myself dinner (pasta, pears out of a can, and chips ahoy cookies). The plan now is to clean my apartment and then get to bed before midnight so I can get at least six hours of sleep. Let's see if that actually happens. ; )
-Aly
Saturday, September 13, 2008
BTR, ? Hrs.
As you have probably read, early Wednesday morning I left for the Basic Training Retreat (BTR). Wednesday, I woke up at 5:00 am, said goodbye to Francheska and Pip, and hauled my luggage and sleeping bag onto a bus and over to the City Year Miami office. I was feeling really terrible with a cold, and upset stomach, and a fever, and was really thinking about skipping a trip, but I ended up getting on the bus anyway for a four or five hour drive to Kissimmee, Florida. When we arrived, we went right to the camp's dining hall, where I found out that no vegetarian food would be served during the weekend. : ( After that, the first day of the retreat was filled with teamwork building activities. I did learn what school I will be serving in, though: Robert Russa Moton Elementary School, which is a magnet school for the arts. Can you guess why they placed me there? ; ) I don't yet which grade I will be teaching, but it will most likely be 3rd grade. Wednesday evening, we closed at 9:00 and had free time until 11:00. During that time I spent some time and the campfire and then playing the game "Mafia", which is apparently a big deal at City Year retreats.
Thursday, we woke up at 6:30, practiced PT, had breakfast, and did some more teamwork-building activities. The highlight of the day was an exercise we did called "the privilege line". During that activity, the whole group started out in a horizontal line, and each person then could forward or backward for each command. Some of the commands were "step forward if both of your parents have college degrees" or "step backward if you have ever felt threatened because of your race". The result was people all over the spectrum, with the underprivileged people at the back of the field and the people born with lots of privileges at the front of the field. It was really and eye-opening activity, and showed, among other things, both that we will encounter in our lives people from all across the spectrum and that even people born with seemingly nothing can make something of themselves and get to something like City Year. Thursday evening, we played Mafia again (I was the first person killed!), and got in bed at 11:30.
Friday morning was spent on a low ropes course, and Friday afternoon was spent doing service work around the camp we were staying at. At one point, I got bit/stung by some sort of bug, my thumb turned purple and got really swollen, and I lost all feeling in my thumb to the point of where I couldn't even bend it! I took some Benedryl and my thumb is fine now, but how strange! We left the camp around 5:00 pm, but didn't get home until after midnight since one of the buses broke down and we waited with it for a while to make sure that there would be some way to get everyone home. When we got back to the office, Beth, Bar, Erin, Erin, M & M and I missed our bus by only a second, and had to wait at the bus stop for another hour for the next bus. We finally got home at 2:30 am, and I was able to crash at 3:00 am.
Today, all I plan to do is rest, do laundry, swim in our pool, and relax.
As for the question mark in the title of this post: I have no idea how many hours of our retreat will count toward my hours. I will find out on Monday when we fill out our time cards for this past week.
-Aly
Thursday, we woke up at 6:30, practiced PT, had breakfast, and did some more teamwork-building activities. The highlight of the day was an exercise we did called "the privilege line". During that activity, the whole group started out in a horizontal line, and each person then could forward or backward for each command. Some of the commands were "step forward if both of your parents have college degrees" or "step backward if you have ever felt threatened because of your race". The result was people all over the spectrum, with the underprivileged people at the back of the field and the people born with lots of privileges at the front of the field. It was really and eye-opening activity, and showed, among other things, both that we will encounter in our lives people from all across the spectrum and that even people born with seemingly nothing can make something of themselves and get to something like City Year. Thursday evening, we played Mafia again (I was the first person killed!), and got in bed at 11:30.
Friday morning was spent on a low ropes course, and Friday afternoon was spent doing service work around the camp we were staying at. At one point, I got bit/stung by some sort of bug, my thumb turned purple and got really swollen, and I lost all feeling in my thumb to the point of where I couldn't even bend it! I took some Benedryl and my thumb is fine now, but how strange! We left the camp around 5:00 pm, but didn't get home until after midnight since one of the buses broke down and we waited with it for a while to make sure that there would be some way to get everyone home. When we got back to the office, Beth, Bar, Erin, Erin, M & M and I missed our bus by only a second, and had to wait at the bus stop for another hour for the next bus. We finally got home at 2:30 am, and I was able to crash at 3:00 am.
Today, all I plan to do is rest, do laundry, swim in our pool, and relax.
As for the question mark in the title of this post: I have no idea how many hours of our retreat will count toward my hours. I will find out on Monday when we fill out our time cards for this past week.
-Aly
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
53 Hrs.
Today was much of the same at BTA. I guess the only thing we did differently today was to get fingerprinted. Since we will be working in the schools, we have to have our fingerprints taken so they can look us up in the "database" as part of a background check. I've never had my fingerprints taken before, so I felt really strange having it done. I even thought that they still used ink pads-they don't, though, they use a scanner machine.
At 6:00 am tomorrow I will be leaving for the three-day Basic Training Retreat (BTR). I am definitely not looking forward to the retreat, but I am dreading it even more now that I have developed a fever in addition to my cold. I also feel bad about leaving Pip and Francheska for three days. : (
I will be home around 10:00 pm Friday evening, but who knows if I will have enough energy then to tell you all about the retreat. Have a good week, everyone!
-Aly
At 6:00 am tomorrow I will be leaving for the three-day Basic Training Retreat (BTR). I am definitely not looking forward to the retreat, but I am dreading it even more now that I have developed a fever in addition to my cold. I also feel bad about leaving Pip and Francheska for three days. : (
I will be home around 10:00 pm Friday evening, but who knows if I will have enough energy then to tell you all about the retreat. Have a good week, everyone!
-Aly
Monday, September 8, 2008
44 Hrs.
About 30 min. earlier than usual today, Beth, Bar, Erin, Erin, M&M and I left for BTA. We had to meet earlier this morning since we would be taking buses to a different location in order to be trained by the Red Cross in disaster relief. Because of all of the devastation that occurs in Miami and Southeast Florida each year as a result of the hurricanes, City Year Miami thought that disaster relief would be a good opportunity for us to help out our community even more. The training ended up being pretty dull and lasted for over three hours, but we are now all on the call roster for this hurricane season to help in Miami and the Florida Keys.
After that, we were bused back to the office and learned a little bit about the schools we will be helping in. We were let out early-around 4:30.
When we got home, Beth and I went to the gym for 30 min., and now I am exhausted.
As for Hurricane Ike, it seems like it will miss us completely. Thank goodness!
-Aly
After that, we were bused back to the office and learned a little bit about the schools we will be helping in. We were let out early-around 4:30.
When we got home, Beth and I went to the gym for 30 min., and now I am exhausted.
As for Hurricane Ike, it seems like it will miss us completely. Thank goodness!
-Aly
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sick Day
Nothing much going on today.
Last night, Beth, Erin, Erin, M&M and I went to the gym to "work out", and then went over to Erin, Erin, and M&M's apartment to play cards and Twister. I am the Twister queen, but I lost a game last night when Erin decided to push me over. ; ) I walked back to my apartment around 11:00 since I have been coming down with a cold and wanted to catch up on my sleep, but at around midnight, Bar brought home a couple of guys to play cards. Needless to say, they were very loud and I didn't get the sleep that I wanted.
This morning, I decided to let myself sleep in and skip church because I am feeling absolutely miserable. I know that I'm coming down with some kind of cold because my throat hurts, my whole head feels congested, my nose keeps running, and I've sneezed at least a billion times this morning.
No sign of the hurricane yet. Miami hasn't been evacuated as of yet, but it's still predicted to hit land on Monday or Tuesday as a category 4. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
-Aly
Last night, Beth, Erin, Erin, M&M and I went to the gym to "work out", and then went over to Erin, Erin, and M&M's apartment to play cards and Twister. I am the Twister queen, but I lost a game last night when Erin decided to push me over. ; ) I walked back to my apartment around 11:00 since I have been coming down with a cold and wanted to catch up on my sleep, but at around midnight, Bar brought home a couple of guys to play cards. Needless to say, they were very loud and I didn't get the sleep that I wanted.
This morning, I decided to let myself sleep in and skip church because I am feeling absolutely miserable. I know that I'm coming down with some kind of cold because my throat hurts, my whole head feels congested, my nose keeps running, and I've sneezed at least a billion times this morning.
No sign of the hurricane yet. Miami hasn't been evacuated as of yet, but it's still predicted to hit land on Monday or Tuesday as a category 4. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
-Aly
Saturday, September 6, 2008
35 Hrs.
I'm sorry I was unable to post yesterday, but our internet was down.
As for yesterday, it definitely was NOT boring. Yesterday was our first service day and we were going to go to a park in Overtown to paint and garden, but as of yesterday morning, we were unsure that we would be able perform that service. A lot of uncertainty has been surrounding our lives lately because of all the hurricanes and hurricane weather headed our way. We were able to go to the park, though, and I was assigned to the team that built and painted a trophy case for the local youth rec center. At about 1:30, all of the corp members were evacuated from the service area because of a shooting that occurred in the park we were working in. We went back to the Cy office, and spent the rest of the day talking about what had happened and about Hurricane, which is a very severe hurricane that may very well hit us. I wasn't really worried about the hurricane until yesterday, but now I am terrified. The storm will probably hit us early Monday morning and I may not have power for up to a few weeks after the storm, so I don't know when the next time is I will be able to update. Please keep all of us here in Southeastern Miami in your prayers, though.
-Aly
As for yesterday, it definitely was NOT boring. Yesterday was our first service day and we were going to go to a park in Overtown to paint and garden, but as of yesterday morning, we were unsure that we would be able perform that service. A lot of uncertainty has been surrounding our lives lately because of all the hurricanes and hurricane weather headed our way. We were able to go to the park, though, and I was assigned to the team that built and painted a trophy case for the local youth rec center. At about 1:30, all of the corp members were evacuated from the service area because of a shooting that occurred in the park we were working in. We went back to the Cy office, and spent the rest of the day talking about what had happened and about Hurricane, which is a very severe hurricane that may very well hit us. I wasn't really worried about the hurricane until yesterday, but now I am terrified. The storm will probably hit us early Monday morning and I may not have power for up to a few weeks after the storm, so I don't know when the next time is I will be able to update. Please keep all of us here in Southeastern Miami in your prayers, though.
-Aly
Thursday, September 4, 2008
26 Hrs.
Today was another long but fun-filled day with City Year. What we did was much of the same as we have been doing for the past two days, but I felt kind of frustrated today because of how much time was wasted by everyone talking and fooling around when we should have been listening to the people speaking. It's great that everyone is feeling so comfortable around everyone else, but I just wish that we could all remember to be respectful toward the people running the program and toward our peers.
Something different we did today, though, was to start learning City Year PT (physical training). PT is something we will be doing in the mornings before we start working, and is meant to help us become alert and enthusiastic each morning. They are just silly/fun exercises that a few of the CY members have made up. Today I felt incredibly silly, though, since I was wearing a skirt and high heels, and we were out at a local park learning these exercises!
-Aly
Something different we did today, though, was to start learning City Year PT (physical training). PT is something we will be doing in the mornings before we start working, and is meant to help us become alert and enthusiastic each morning. They are just silly/fun exercises that a few of the CY members have made up. Today I felt incredibly silly, though, since I was wearing a skirt and high heels, and we were out at a local park learning these exercises!
-Aly
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
18 Hrs.
The goal of City Year is to provide youth with an opportunity to complete an entire year of service, or approximately 1,700 hours. Throughout the year, Corp Members count their hours in order to be sure that they complete all of the 1,700 hours before graduation from the program in mid-June. From now on, the titles of my posts will be the tally of how many service hours I have completed thus far, in order to keep myself and other updated as to how close I am to reaching my goal. Yesterday and today I completed 9 hours each day during BTA, and those hours go under the category of "member development".
Today was much of the same as yesterday. I don't know if I enjoyed my time more today, but it was different because of the sense of camaraderie the has already developed between the CY members, and also because of the fact that a lot of the boring introduction stuff is now finished.
I can't wait until the ball actually starts rolling!
-Aly
Today was much of the same as yesterday. I don't know if I enjoyed my time more today, but it was different because of the sense of camaraderie the has already developed between the CY members, and also because of the fact that a lot of the boring introduction stuff is now finished.
I can't wait until the ball actually starts rolling!
-Aly
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
BTA Day 1
Today was the first day of City Year Miami training! Training was from 8:15 am until 5:00 pm. Overall, it was fun, and I am super excited for this upcoming year.
A lot of the day was just ice breaker games and getting-to-know-you games, which I am not usually thrilled about but were fun with the City Year group today.
There isn't really anything else to report for today, though, believe it or not. I did have a good time, however, and I can't wait to go back tomorrow!
A lot of the day was just ice breaker games and getting-to-know-you games, which I am not usually thrilled about but were fun with the City Year group today.
There isn't really anything else to report for today, though, believe it or not. I did have a good time, however, and I can't wait to go back tomorrow!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Countdown to Basic Training Academy
Today I stayed home with a migraine, so nothing really to report. I spent the day reading the 235 page handbook for City Year in order to be prepared for the Basic Training Academy (BTA) to begin tomorrow. And, after reading through the handbook, I have found that any City Year member who has a personal web page with which they convey their personal views must display this disclaimer:
"The contents of this Web site do not reflect in any way the positions of City Year or AmeriCorps. For official City Year policy see http://www.cityyear.org."
-Aly
"The contents of this Web site do not reflect in any way the positions of City Year or AmeriCorps. For official City Year policy see http://www.cityyear.org."
-Aly
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