It's been much too long since an update from my adventures, and I do apologize! I write to you from my living room in a gorgeous house in Topeka, Kansas that I currently call home. I will be here until July 19th and I think I'm finally settling in.
The team is here this summer working for an organization called The Villages, Inc. They are a large group-home style community dedicated to housing and helping juvenile offenders while also promoting outdoor exploration and nature education. We are here to complete a variety of tasks including property maintenance, trail construction, various building projects, invasive species removal, and running the summer youth programming (I'm one of 4 people doing that!).
So far Topeka has been lovely and we're slowly discovering what there is to do and see in the capitol city. The hardest part about the project so far is the weather. We're in the mid-west now, which means a lot more heat and humidity than Arizona or Colorado. Still, when it's temperate it's absolutely gorgeous, and I've been running a lot (sort of training for a 1/2 marathon) and doing the Insanity workout plan, which is tough!
In the near future? We're going to the zoo today, have off tomorrow for memorial day, and are heading to Kansas City for a concert next weekend. I'll also be attending a ropes course/team building facilitators training that weekend too, just before we start up with the youth programming.
With only 9 weeks left before I return home to NJ, I can't believe how quickly my time has gone, but I'm also starting to itch for a reunion with my family and friends. The big news? I've accepted an offer to return to Denver at the beginning of September for another 11 months with NCCC as a Team Leader! I'm SO excited about this opportunity, though it is bittersweet to be away for so long. Erick and I are planning a week-long road trip from NJ to Denver in my car and I'm very excited about that. Then it'll be applying to schools and working as a TL until I figure out my next move. I think I've got just enough planned to be satisfied.
That's all from me for now. We've got great accommodations here, including internet, so hopefully I'll be more regular up here again.
Carpe Diem!
-Christine
