Round 2!!!!

Hey everyone!!

It's been awhile since the last post....but it was SO nice to be home with friends and family over christmas break! In fact, it almost made me sick to have to come back. I love the program and everything we're doing...it's just that the actual LEAVING part was soooo difficult. But a lot of my friends said they felt the same way..so I didn't feel too bad. And obviously, I survived :) We spent transition weeks wrapping up things from round 1 project in Joplin, and preparing things for our round 2 project in Farmington. I got the job of being 1 of 2 assistant team leaders and also 1 of 2 peer helpers, so I had some trainings for those positions as well as some added responsibilities. While it definintely ended up being some long days, (while many of my friends were back in their dorms hanging out) it made the week go by much faster which I am thankful for..because transition weeks can be pretty boring.

So we spent all day today (Saturday) traveling to Farmington, New Mexico! It was about a 7ish hour drive..and almost the entire thing was spent driving through the mountains which were absolutely breathtaking!! I couldn't believe the views that we got to see. We made it here around 7:45 and we were immediately excited! The facility that this Boys & Girls Club is in definitely surpassed my expectations for it. They are run on grants and donatoins, so I know that funding is always an issue. This building is much better than the one I got to work at in Denver. Anyways, the staff member began giving us a tour that included one big room with pool tables, air hockey, foosball, and ping pong..she also pointed out the big screen TV with cable, wii, play station 3, and a big nice kitchen that we get all to ourselves. There is also a big gym and free wifi. Compared to Joplin, we're living in luxury! We get the multi purpose room to ourselves and we're sleeping on cots that we checked out before we left campus. All in all, this isn't a bad gig! :)

We got a little bit of information about what we'll be doing. Our workdays will generally be from 9-6..in the mornings we will either be working at a food bank, at an elderly assistance program, or some other organizaion..and the afternoons will be spent at The Club. We were told that we would be matched up with 3 kids and we would be there mentor. We would also get the chance to work in a variety of different programs throughout the club. I am SO SO SO excited about this entire project. I love working with kids anyways, so this is a great opportunity for me. I think even the people on my team who aren't so thrilled to be working with kids are starting to get a little excited as well!

Well, work training starts on monday..so I'm sure I'll have more to say after that. So far everything is great and I am just sooo excited to be here. This particular Boys and Girls Club gets 200-300 kids every day, so we are definitely needed! Hope all is well with everyone at home :)

Love
Abby