Our Dish Soap Defrosted!

BACK IN THE BUTTE

So we drove back to Eagle Butte late Tuesday night when the power came back to the main towns. When we were here without power, our dish soap froze which made washing dishes very difficult. When we returned, ti had defrosted- yay! Unfortunately, anyone who lives outside the towns do not have electricity yet and may not have it for a few more weeks. The water is still undrinkable so we have been distributing clean water around the reservation. Also, we have been taking shifts at the Emergency Operations Command Center answering emergency calls 24/7. For me, this means waking up every 4 hours to drive people to switch shifts. But, it's very interesting working with the Tribal Government and working with the people who are at the forefront of the disaster relief.

SWEAT
On Saturday we were invited to a Sweat Lodge! It is an outdoor dome covered in tarps that is pitch black. Rocks are heated in a fire until they are red and then they are placed in the dome and water is poured over them to create intense steam. We had 13 people in ours. The experience is very spiritual and intended for cleansing and prayer. We sat through 3 rounds of the steam which took about 2 hours. I sweat buckets. And my nose hairs burned.

BUFFALO
I saw a herd of Buffalo! They were beautiful and I photographed them in black and white. Then I ate buffalo. I don't think it was kosher, but who knows, the buffalo had some pretty intense peyos.

PICTURES FINALLY! WHERE WE LIVE:
OUR HOUSE:

OUR GROCERY STORE (THE LTM):

THE HABITAT OFFICE:

Where do we live? Next to the Quonset on the corner.

FIRETRAINING

The week after New Year's (in Boston, AMAZING break), I headed back to Iowa for a week of transition (translation: paperwork) and another week of wildland fire training! This portion of fire training was the classroom portion so while it was at times very tiring and school-like, it was really interesting. I learned all about weather conditions for a perfect fire, how to start a fire safely, and fire suppression techniques. Also, we tested out fire shelters, which are reflective covered mini tents that you can deploy if as a last resort. And you look like a burrito:
My team is very excited for our fire round which will be in a couple months in Northwestern Iowa. We will be setting controlled fires that support the environment because they would have naturally occurred if it weren't for humans. Paradox, I know.

SOUTH DAKOTA: GREAT FACES, GREAT PLACES
Oh where to begin.
My location this morning: Eagle Butte, SD
My current location: Hotel in Rapid City, SD, due to safety concerns. (yes folks, this is a cliff hanger, ingeniously inserted to make you keep reading)

We arrived in Eagle Butte, SD on Tuesday and started work with Habitat for Humanity. We work in a "Quonset", or hut/mini warehouse next to our house and also in homes an hour away from the reservation. This week we began to repair doors and windows in the house of an elderly woman with "Renovating the Rez." The idea of this project is that Habitat doesn't have enough money to get everyone sufficient housing on the reservation, but they can make the housing a bit warmer (even if it's still sub-standard).
Being in this area is like being on another planet. The few days we arrived the fog was so heavy that we couldn't see past 10 feet in any direction so we had no idea what our surroundings were. When the fog lifted, we discovered that we were surrounded by flat, snow-covered plains in all directions, dotted with power lines. It's really a beautiful landscape. The town of Eagle Butte is a cute little street long (or short). Unfortunately, internet only seems to exist on one computer in the Habitat office in Eagle Butte, so my blog may be lacking this round (I am currently writing from a hotel).

I really really want to put pictures up but I didn't bring my camera with me to Rapid City! I'll get them up when I can.

WHERE WE LIVE
We live on a road that does not have a name, and therefore we do not have an address. And so, attempting to be a responsible Team Leader, I asked how we should describe our location should there be an emergency? Our supervisor responded: "you live next to the Quonset on the corner." I'm still trying to find that on Mapquest.

Our Sponsor is a very nice, and well-respected man named Jerree. He lives on a ranch about 25 minutes outside of town and he has been wonderful. Jerree describes himself as mixed Native American and White and is very knowledgeable about the Lakota culture. We hope to be invited to a sweat lodge during our stay!

DISASTER RELIEF TEAM SENT OUT OF DISASTER AREA
Thursday afternoon, Jerree informed us that a storm was approaching this weekend and that power might go out sometime in the next few days. Power went out Thursday at 7pm due to high winds and ice. We stayed in the house with a propane tank attached to a heater but we tried not to use it because of the fumes, so it got pretty chilly. Jerree's cousin dropped off a couple burners to attach to the propane so we used that for a bit to make meals, but after two nights without heat the storm still hadn't hit and so the high winds and temperatures could only get worse. Furthermore, because power was out in the entire town (and we were in about a 200 mile radius that was without power), the supermarket had to close down. They opened for a few hours on Friday for customers to be led around with flashlights and pay cash only. Crazy! May I just say, there is nothing quite like 11 people in a tiny house in the dark with nothing to do and no end in sight? We joked about cannibalism just enough to make me uncomfortable...

Anyways, Saturday morning, the roads were finally ok to drive (less icy) so we piled the team into the van and headed out to Rapid City, 2 1/2 hours away. During the drive, we passed National Guard trucks on their way to the affected areas. When we arrived in Rapid City, we learned that Eagle Butte had run out of water.
And so, now we are in a hotel in Rapid City until further notice. They expect it won't be that long, probably a day or two and we will head back.

All of the hotels in South Dakota for some crazy reason have a water park INSIDE them. It's strange but wonderful. Anyways, we are staying in a hotel that has a waterpark. Yet our town has no water. The irony is kinda ridiculous.

Miss youuu! YES YOU!

Extra! Extra! Omaha is cold.

SNOW DAYS!

Last week after Nebraska dumped a couple feet of snow on us we had 2 snow days! It was just like being in school again. I got to watch movies and bake cookies and do nothing. Sometimes the 10 other people I was trapped with got cranky and demanded I provide them with an entertainment schedule. But then I took a nap instead. It was lovely.
The next day we shoveled out Habitat for Humanity in -2 degree weather. It was actually really fun though and we stopped in a parking lot to help an old lady shovel her driveway. 5 of us (dressed entirely in our black uniforms) ran up from the side of her house and started shoveling. We looked like the mafia and I think the woman was terrified. But she didn't ask questions.

CULTURE

Last Saturday we attended the most amazing event EVER. It was the Hot Shops Open Studios, aka 3-levels of artists studios that opened to the public for viewing. There was live glass-blowing, bronze pouring, and metal work. The event also featured live music and food. It was one of the best things I've been to all year! My CMs loved it and I think it convinced some of my team that art is cool. ....just maybe... then we had to make a trip to the gym as a counter balance.

We also went yesterday to the Midwest Famous, 'top 5 zoos in America,' OMAHA ZOO! We had to go on a snowy day, which was a bit weird and the safari rides were closed. But we got to see fishes of all kinds, orangatangs, pumas, giraffes, madagascaran hissing cockroaches similar to those I once owned as pets, gorillas, and best of all, BABY gorillas! I say, great job, Omaha!

ROUND 2
Score update- Team Oak Six:1, Medicare Prescription Part D plan confusion: 0

Sadly, my time in Omaha is coming to an end. We leave tomorrow to go back to campus for transition! I have a two week break at home and then I will be returning to campus for more transition and for Wildland Fire training. Then I will be embarking to my next tropical and exotic state:
SOUTH DAKOTA!
My team and I will be living in Eagle Butte, SD on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation. We will be working for Habitat for Humanity again and putting up walls as well as helping with a project called "Renovating the Rez," which renovates homes of disabled, elderly, and veterans, to make safer living environments. I'm quite excited!
P.S. The low in South Dakota yesterday was -25 degrees. Frostbite awaits.

See you soon!

Nebraska: Ask about our state motto contest

Just as I titled this post with Nebraska's state motto, one of our senior citizens passed me, asked me how I liked Omaha, and regardless of my upbeat answer replied: "Nebraska isn't quite the end of the world ...but you can see it."

OMAHA:

My team and I are living this month in Bellevue which is a suburb of Omaha while we work in the city with Volunteers Assisting Seniors and Habitat for Humanity. VAS is fantastic. We were trained on Medicare Part D drug plans and Advantage plans and now we help cute old people to save thousands of dollars by switching to plans that more adequately cover their prescriptions. VAS feeds us a lot. A lot. Which is helpful because each member of the fireteam eats roughly the diet of a medium bear before hibernation. I actually had to ration our milk.
We just started at HFH but so far we have prepared final touches on 2 homes for their dedications and worked on siding another house. My team is doing well, 11 people in one house with one kitchen is interesting but also fun. My team has been described as having "a lot of strong personalities." Our team definitely has energy.
We've worked out a deal with the local YMCA to exchange volunteer hours for a free membership which is wonderful but makes our schedule a bit insane:

5:15am-wake up, get ready

5:50-team meeting, leave for Y

6:30-YMCA workout, shower, eat breakfast in van

8:30am-4:30pm-volunteer

4:30-back to YMCA for volunteering

6-head home to start making dinner

8pm- various meetings/paperwork



However, today is a bit slow at VAS so as you'll notice, I am multi-tasking at work.

Last weekend we explored downtown Omaha which is very hippy and has a great music scene. AKA I like it. I splurged and bought myself a Nebraska tee-shirt.

For Thanksgiving we are volunteering at a dinner at the YMCA tomorrow night and on Thursday about half of us are staying in town to have dinner at our Sponsor's house. I'm very excited!

PEER PRESSURE STRIKES AGAIN:

So I mentioned to my team that I had shaved my head. And then it spread like wildfire. 3 people on my team are fundrasing for a non-profit and getting sponsors to raise $ to shave their heads. Also, after we talked about it 8 members shaved their heads in the Corps right before we left for Spike. It's pandemonium. They were trying to convince me to do it again, but I think i've had my fill. I'm comfortable in the peer pressure role.

GOOD NEWS FOR NEW YORKERS:
I found worse drivers than New York drivers! They live in Nebraska.

GOOD NEWS FOR JEWS:
We can sense each other. I have accidentally met almost every Jew in Omaha, one of which updated me on recent Brandeis politics, and one who has an Israeli husband from the town where Julia works and a nephew at her school.

Is it heaven? No, it's Iowa!

FIRST THINGS FIRST:
Here is a photo of my team on our first day! This photo is to scale. Yes, I am that short in comparison.

MINI:

My team had a mini project this past week which was amazing. We commuted to Cedar Rapids for 3 days and worked with an organization called "Weed and Seed." The organization works on disaster recovery for the massive flood that occurred in Cedar Rapids in June of 2008. The flood reached 12 feet in some places and was labeled as one of the five worst floods in U.S. history. After the flood 70% of downtown Cedar Rapids buildings were completely abandonned. Recovery efforts are moving very slowly, but still active. We worked on mucking and gutting a home that was destroyed by the waters. It was a great first mini project for us because we got to get down and dirty! When we entered the house it was fully carpeted and wallpapered. When we left it was a skeleton. I learned that crow barring a wall is extremely satisfying. Overall, we removed 9 tons of debris from the house! Our sitesponsor said that he had never seen such a complete job done in 3 days so it was really nice to hear that. I think that the team worked very well together. The house will be used for residents with mental and physical disabilities.

Here is a photo of us with our van and then in front of the house we worked on:

NEXT

I found out our first official project! I AM SO EXCITED. We will be going to Omaha, Nebraska on November 14th for 5 weeks to work with TWO organizations: Volunteers Assisting Seniors (VAS) and Habitat for Humanity (HFH). We will spend part of our weeks working with VAS helping Senior Citizens to navigate the convoluted Medicare system (I LOVE MEDICARE) and the other half of the week constructing homes in the Omaha area with HFH. Now that my team has seen a house destroyed, we get to go in reverse and do some building. I'm really pumped!

This week we are going to watch the movie Field of Dreams as a team because it was filmed not far from here. Then we are hopefully taking a field trip to play baseball on the original field. There is a brochure for the movie site and the first sentence is "Is it heaven? No, it's Iowa." I think that about sums it up.

Well, that and 5:30 am physical training. Don't worry, my group now knows that "basketball isn't my thing." They will soon learn more.

Miss you!

CTI!

NEWS

Hello! Much has happened since I wrote last. First of all, last Wednesday, 140 Corps Members arrived! They are from allllll over the states and one guy even rode his bike 350 miles to get here and camped out along the way! I had a temporary group until yesterday and we did trainings together and cooked together. They were fantastic and I was sad to give them away when I received my real Team for the year. I took everyone for their physicals on Saturday at the hospital which involved a drug and pregnancy test. My group was substance/baby free so I gave them all "Physical Champ!" badges to wear.



BIG NEWS

Each week there is an article in the paper about us and a picture so I've been on the front page a couple times (although I just look like a bundle of curls because you can't really see my face). I wish I could post it but there aren't any pictures on their website...

This next month is considered Corps Member Training which is called CTI. I forget why my acronym doesn't match up, but we're definitely training. So far, CTI has been insanely busy. I work alllllll day long and prepare for the next day right before bed. It's crazy but it's fun.



BIGGEST NEWS

There will be a total of 14 teams and 2 of those will be Wildland Fire Teams. This means that 2 teams will go through Wildland Fire training in the winter and be prepared to respond to any fire disasters in the United States if they occur. Being ready will involve physical training 5 times a week as opposed to 3 for the other teams. Also, they will be on atleast one environmental controlled burning project where fires are set in a controlled way. In order to make the "Fire Team" you must take the pack test, which involves walking 3 miles with a 45 lb. pack on your back in 45 minutes. Last Tuesday, I was talked into doing this. I passed.



In sum: I will be leading the FIRE TEAM!!! WOOO WOOO WOOOOO!!!!

Yoni, Julia's boyfriend, has been giving me great advice on how to run my 'troops' and keep them in line.

The Corps Members took their pack test on Sunday to see who made the team in preparation for Team Reveal which was last night! Team reveal is when the members find out who is on their permanent team and who is their Team Leader. My scavenger hunt turned out great. It had rhyming clues that alluded to fire throughout as well as puzzles that they had to solve to move on. The final clue brought my team to a bonfire with s'mores, warrior face paint, and "We didn't start the fire" on speakers. And a dance party. I think everyone is pretty pumped for the fire team!

In other news, my team consists of the tallest members in the corps. They are huge.

That's all for now!

"We need a mom to anethesia, stat"

Iowa Mission of Mercy:

We had our first mini Spike project! For four days Team Green/GangGreen went to Newton, IA near Des Moines to serve at an Iowa Mission of Mercy (IMOM). The IMOM is a two-day free dental clinic for any child or adult that needs dental services. MOMs occur in 10 states across the U.S. The clinic was held at the Iowa speedway, and while I didn't get to race on the track, I drove golf carts around at breakneck speeds. The project was great and we did everything from escorting patients, to conducting exit surveys, to childcare, translating, and supply runs. I loved working in "Restorative" (fillings) because I got to talk to the patients and try to keep them happy as they waited in 8 hour lines. Also, my teammate and I organized a huge line of patients in doing the wave. Patients were able to receive hygiene, fillings, root canals, impressions, and partials- all for free! A few of our members even got to have work done. At some points it was difficult because we were all very tired. We woke up at 4:30 to leave to start work at 5:15 and often didn't stop working until 8 or 9pm, aka 15 hour work days. However, it was worth it to escort patients into the doors in the morning and then encounter them again that afternoon and see how happy they were to receive care. There was even a story of a woman who was talking about selling her wedding ring to pay for dental care. Then she heard about IMOM and was able to get everything done for free. Overall, 1558 patients were seen and $843,000 of free dental care was provided!! Even more amazing was that an entire dental clinic with 90 stations fit into a SINGLE tractor trailer.

I swear that last photo wasn't posed....
ok I lied.

In other news, I am still enjoying my uniform. Except that I got some sort of dental gunk on my sweatshirt and I think it bleached it. Now I am prepping for another week of training. I'm really tired because even when we got back yesterday, I did homework (completing project reports and getting ready for our debrief this morning) until very late. I'm really glad I got to see the interworkings of a project though so that I can be a better Team Leader when the Corps Members get here. Tomorrow is diversity training!! I hope they ask for my World of Difference expertise.

OH. Last week I made falafel for everyone!! We had hummus, pita, Israeli salad, tahini, tzadziki sauce, falafel balls, and chicken. I don't think anyone really knew what to do with it. But it was delicious! I also taught them to say Shana Tova. We're working on it.