painting, painting, and more painting

hello everyone! I haven't written since the very beginning of this project, and now it's the end! We only have 3 more days of work, 1 day of cleaning and packing, and then we're off to Flagstaff, or as people around here call it, "Flag". We're definitely going to be leaving with mixed emotions though---this is the most welcome we've ever felt coming into a community. People here have been so gracious and so thankful for our work. There are always thankful people anywhere we go, but I think because we are the first team that Yuma has had, they were extra thankful. So, as you can probably guess..all our work hours have been spent painting the downtown canopies. As of Friday I think we've officially finished somewhere around 12 buildlings?? I'm thinking that when we leave we may have completed around 15 or so. Walking down Main St., you can definitely notice the difference we've made! We're still not used to the heat...or getting up so early! We kept thinking that eventually we'd get into a decent sleep schedule and then it wouldn't be such a big deal, but we were wrong..we just can't get ourselves to go to bed..so we ALWAYS end up tired the next day. Oh well, only 3 more days of it! On the plus side, we've had so many free meals and cook outs and tours from different organizations in the city. This past week, my teammate Katy and I were also interviewed on a local talk show radio station in Yuma..they gave us the chance to talk not only what we were doing here in Yuma, but also what projects we've done and we got to describe Americorps NCCC in a little more detail. People around here have definitely not heard of it, so I'm glad we're spreading the word! :) Other than work, we've been spending time at the river, we got to kayak one evening! We also got some free archery lessons...we have free passes to the Aquatic Center which is a good place to go hang out and cool off. Oh, and the people of age on my team got to check out one of the casinos nearby, the Cocopah Casino, owned by the Cocopah tribe...it's small, but a lot of fun! It's a good thing we don't have much time here or much money, we'd probably be at that place more often! Hahahaha On Friday we head to Flag. Even though I'm sad to leave Yuma, I am getting a little tired of painting everyday, and I'm excited to check out Flagstaff! Everyone here tells us how much we're going to love it there! It's going to get cold camping at night though, it's been getting down into the 30's! Yikes! Good things the tents are small and we have to snuggle together! Like any project, I'm eager to find out more details and really understand what we'll be actually doing. You just never know what to expect when you first get in! I'm thankful that our sponsors will be providing us with passes to the YMCA though...there we will be able to work out, shower, use wifi, and we're even planning to charge our phones! Even though we're camping, I don't think we'll be super primitive camping...so that's good :) We'll see how it goes!! 48 days until I graduate from Americorps NCCC. Holy. Crap. I cannot believe that it's almost over, and the thought of leaving some of these friends that I'm used to seeing everyday literally makes my stomach hurt. We all gathered and befriended each other, only to be thrown back all over the country after 10 short months. It is so weird! Sure, there be a couple of friends that I'll keep in contact with, maybe visit a few people...but there's just so many other people that I've gotten to know and truly care about..and I'll probably never see them again. So so so sad. On another note, I am really getting eager to go home too, weird huh? I've never felt such extreme polar opposite feelings about something. But, especially since it's summertime now, I find myself getting homesick more often. There's just nothing like summertime at home! I'm ok though, I just keep focusing on what I'm doing now, because there's not much time left. Anyways....I hope everything is well for everyone at home. I'll be home soon!!! :) :) Abby xoxo