Week 6. Only two more in SF... Sad face.

Phew, another crazy week or two in AmeriCorps. We started the week off with a trip to Marin Headlands and Muir Woods. We spent the morning driving up Highway 1 to the  Muir Beach overlook then down to Stinson Beach for lunch and to try to wait out the rain that was coming in. After lunch we headed up to Muir Woods, got a tour and took a walk through the redwood grove in a light rain before heading back home. We also got to go to Alcatraz to volunteer in the morning on Thursday and then see the island/prison in the afternoon. We worked on the west end of the island at one of the gardens that a few of the select prisoners were allowed to tend, then in the afternoon took the audiotour of the cellhouse and got a special tour of the prison hospital. It was really cool to see how the history of the island has been shaped by the people that used it. From the US Military using it to control the bay, to the prison being built on the island and its use as a tool to try and fight organized crime, to the occupation by a group of Native Americans protesting the government’s policy concerning reservations.

This weekend was full of extra projects to try and finish up our Independent Service Projects for the year before we ship out to the forest and aren’t able to do any for the next 6 weeks. On Sunday we worked all day, and I do mean all day, at the Castro County Fair. It’s a huge fundraising event for the AIDS Emergency Fund and drew 200 people this year to the San Francisco Armory at 14^th and Mission. We arrived at 6 AM to set up the game booths that we would run later in the day along with the dance floor and some of the family fun area. Starting around 10:30 AM we got set up with our various game booths: milk can toss, over/under, down the clown, darts, etc. For the next 8 hours we worked the games as an endless stream of people (predominantly gay men) came by and handed us tickets to play the games. I probably bent down to pick up the 4 bean bags at my game over 1000 times, but at the end of the day the music, games, atmosphere and experience as a whole made it all worth it. At the end we helped them take apart the dance floor before driving down to their storage facility near Candlestick and unloading it while blasting Lady GaGa tunes on the van’s stereo system. In the end, we finished at 8:30 or so then headed back home to get some rest for today.

Today started mercifully later: out the door at 8:30 AM. We went down to the Tenderloin to work at the St. Anthony Foundation’s Dining Room. We got an introduction to the organization, which is run by the Franciscan Order and has been serving meals in the neighborhood for over 50 years, and walked over to the dining room where they serve about 1500-2500 meals everyday during lunchtime. We began the service by bringing out trays of food to seniors and families who sat in designated spots, then began bussing tables, bringing out seconds and working back in the kitchen to tray food. On the menu today: red beans and rice with bread, fruit and some kind of breakfast pastry. Tasty! It was a great experience, and we were able to sit down with the guests and eat lunch with them before returning to work the last hour of the lunch service. Afterwards we went back to their offices and had a conversation with one of the volunteers there about the Tenderloin and why it is the way it is. From our conversation, it basically boils down to the wealth that exists in San Francisco forcing the poor into one neighborhood so that they aren’t where the affluent folks are. It’s surrounded by the Financial District, Nob Hill and the Civic Center on all sides, which have essentially forced all of the homeless, drug addicted, mentally ill and recently immigrated into an area in which the police do little to enforce the laws and many are forced to pay $800 to live in Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing. Working full-time on minimum wage leaves you $300/month after paying rent, which is not enough to pay for the essentials like food, utilities, transit and medical care.

In the afternoon we had the opportunity to work with the Boys and Girls Club on Treasure Island. It was a great afternoon hanging out with a group of low-income kids, most of whom are between the ages of 5 and 10. We basically helped them with homework for a bit, corralled them into the snack area, then played with them on the playground until we had to leave around 6. It was especially cool because we’re going to see some of these kids again when they come to Camp Mendocino July 7-15. Once we got back home, dinner had to be made and I led our team meeting as quickly as possible so that I could get upstairs and write this down. 25 hours of work this weekend after 5 days of regular work, and now another week is starting. Oh, and we’re working next Monday, so we get Sunday and Tuesday off. Basically, I don’t get a 2-day weekend for 3 more weeks. Ah, AmeriCorps. And yes, I’m doing it again next year. 

Muir Beach Overlook

Me with Bam and Justin in one of the burned out redwoods at Muir Woods

Two photos from the garden where we worked on Alcatraz.

Updates from the Presidio

It's been a while since I let y'all know what's going on in the AmeriBubble in which I live my life. We been doing tons of weeding, and the parts of the park in which we've been doing it are starting to look a lot better. Basically, we've been splitting our time between weeding at reforestation sites where young trees have been planted, weeding at native plant habitats where they are trying to reestablish native plant populations, and working at various community gardens terracing, mulching, placing planter boxes and moving soil. We've also worked to get the Rob Hill Campground, the first and only campground in the city of San Francisco, ready for opening and then worked the opening event. The days are flying by, and it seems that by the end of the week I can't even remember what we did at the beginning. I've also been able to get a great tan, courtesy of working for 8 hours in the sun everyday, and then spending most of my weekend time outside as well. Maybe great is too strong a word, given that I wear pants and short sleeves. The part that gets sun is dark. That's good enough for me.

In other more interesting and vastly more important news, I've been applying to be a team leader in NCCC next year. The Sacramento campus has 36 team leader positions available, but only 28 of the field team leader positions that I really wanted. They interviewed over 150 people (from estimates that I've received from staff/current TLs). I had my interview two weeks ago, and heard back this Monday that I was an alternate for a position, meaning that if someone who had been offered a spot turned it down then I would get in. So, this week I got to play the waiting game while trying to decide in my mind whether my interview went well enough. As it turns out, it was good enough because they offered me a position this Friday. I accepted, so I'll be a field team leader at the Sacramento campus starting in September of this year and going until August 2011. It's a little crazy to think that I have a plan that far into the future at this point, but it's also a huge relief to know that I have a little bit of security. I'm really looking forward to continuing to work and enjoying my corps member year, while preparing to be a TL next year. I also know a few folks from this class that will be returning next year, and I'm excited about working with them to make next year awesome for another class of CMs. 

There's a brief update of what's going on here in SF. We'll be working at Bay to Breakers next weekend, and I'm starting my duties as assistant team leader tomorrow (basically, recording what we do, leading team meetings and helping with paperwork). Here are some pictures from the last two weeks for your viewing pleasure:

Some of the ladies showing off their power tool abilities.

Taking time away from digging out gopher wire in the rain to meet the Executive Director of NCCC and the Regional Director for our campus. Oh, and Philip and Justin are in this pic too.

Anna and me hanging out after leading some volunteers at the reforestation site. We're sitting on a huge pile of felled Monterey Cypress trunks.

Hanging out at the volunteer appreciation barbeque, getting to know some of the weeds.

We worked in a salvage warehouse and found some light fixtures. I noticed that the whole in the bottom of this one fit around my head perfectly. You can see the result.

Weed bag toss, which was part of the competitions at the aforementioned barbeque.

Rocking the California Poppy costume at the Rob Hill Campground opening. It's all for the kiddos.

Rock climbing at Planet Granite during an ISP. Yes, those are hiking boots.

Planter boxes! We build a lot of these. These ones happen to be for Swords to Plowshares, a group on the Presidio that provides housing, counseling and training to formerly homeless veterans.

Tree removal with Dustin. They drop these nursery trees in the ground with their roots all in a ball and they never develop outward. This took two shovels and about 5 minutes to have out of the ground.