26 Roommates

Communal living. Busy kitchen, Leftovers, Cots, Lots of Trash, and very little shame. This is the true story of 26 Corps Members, picked to live in abandoned school, work together, and have their lives blogged, and find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real. AmeriCorps NCCC: Summer of Service: Washington D.C.

[6:30am - Monday Morning - Cafeteria/Kitchen table]

"Anyone seen my cup?"

[Everyone laughs. Someone else nervously walks away from the table to go to their room]

Chances are, the cup in question is in any of the locations in our humble abode. Communal living has reared out some of our worst habits, and considering there are 26 of us, if everyone brings just one cup to their room, we're out of kitchenware.

The best part is that it doesn't phase anyone. Especially at this point in the program, we've learned and gotten use to adjusting to any situation. Several, if not most, of the group have resorted to drinking out of bowls. Fortunately, we have an ice machine, which effectively makes life pretty sweet. It also contributes to a great game of cafeteria wiffle ball, which you can use your imagination for. A whole lot goes on, and it's just a small part of our eventful day. Morning traffic commences, also known as the flow of SOS crew members in the kitchen as we scramble for breakfast and prepare for the workday departure. We make our way out in pairs to our respective vehicles and projects, and the work day begins.

There is a new story every day, and when we all arrive back to our housing at the end of the day we relay to fellow crew members. This typically happens in the kitchen, as the evening dinner scramble begins, which in many of our cases, can entail either a real meal or an after-work snack binge. Unfortunately, because of this, several cases of food piracy have been reported, despite the fact that each unit has their own section of the industrial-sized fridge. We've begun to crack down through signage and labeling.

The cafeteria has become our common space, not only for eating, but also off-and-on wi-fi, spontaneous wrestling matches, meetings, and card/board games and various sports. There is also a large room known as the theater/movie room, where we set up the projector, and then there's the piano room with, you guessed it, a piano in addition to a couch that faces the front street. Every so often a few of us will go in and play some tunes and relax, that is until one of the units needs the room for a meeting.

As you can see, we've made a home for ourselves. The three teams that make up the SOS Fleet have essentially become one giant unit. Three weeks left here, and the roomies and I all head back to the Point to prepare for break. Now, if you'll excuse me, a game of wiffle ball just started and they need a catcher.

¡Tejónes 6!

Where did we end up? Mexican food, of course. But seriously, where else would Badger 6 go? Perhaps someday we'll expand our horizons. Until then, it seems that when we all get together, the craving is one in the same for quesadillas, burritos, and team bonding.

Please take a moment to enjoy the glory that is the birthday sandwich that our TL has undoubtedly been thinking about all day.

Trust me, it was far more epic in person. Anyway, catching up as a team was nice. Even though we're all living together with the rest of the SOS fleet, we don't see each other all together as a team. So we got the most out of our time together by filling up on endless tortilla chips and taking photos.

And of course, a birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without a surprise flan from the restaurant. Drew was crowned with a sombrero as the wait staff gathered around, several us got into a series of laughing fits, and the inside jokes made their way out into the open, as our Badger 6 mini-reunion commenced. Cheers to September, when we reunite for our final round together.

SOS Community Meeting

They happen on Friday of each week. During the project we work with our participants each week Monday through Thursday, and on Friday all of the crew leaders and participants come together at Jefferson School Auditorium for a day that is planned by us, the crew leaders. Each Friday is planned by a different unit. Yesterday happened to be Blue Unit's day, which we centered around the topic of professionalism and work ethic.

It turned out to be a pretty successful day, filled with workshops and presentations on interview tips, writing applications, and resume-building. Each member of the Blue Unit paired up to lead a workshop. I presented on resumes with a fellow blue unit member, Tana.

One of the highlights of the day, at least for us, was the fashion show, in which we showcased the good and bad examples of professional attire. Props to our models for really getting into it...


The day concluded at 4pm, after Badger 6 got together on stage to wish our Team Leader a happy badger birthday, in which we presented Drew with a birthday sandwich. That's right, a sandwich, not a cake, and it was one of the mightiest sandwiches we ever did see. Plans for a Badger 6 outing were in place, and we changed out of our uniform and into the clothes we had brought to work with us. More on that on the next entry...

The Ol' Ball Game

Go Nats! NCCC was given 26 tickets to the Nationals/Cardinals game Thursday by our sponsor, Serve DC. After work, we joined the rest of the fleet at Nationals Park, which happens to be a few blocks away from our work site. It was scattered thunder storms all evening, but to be honest, it added to the fun. You could tell the NCCC members from the rest of the crowd when it started raining and we remained there as everyone headed for cover. We've worked in the mud in torrential downpours... This was a picnic for us. Take a gander over to the right for all of the pictures from the game.

See below the traditional Nationals run!

Field Trip to the Zoo

The fourth grade went on a trip the other day, and one of our participants and I went along as chaperones. I remember what it felt like to go on a field trip way back when...

I now know what it feels like to be one of the older folk. In short, it's a responsibility and a half, but like everything else, it's a great time for the kids to get outside and learn more about the animals face-to-face.


If you ever get a chance to visit DC, visit the zoo here. There is a ton to see and the animals are just as entertaining to watch as fourth graders.

Teacher for a Day

Last Wednesday I taught Kindergarten. When the tutor was out for the day, our site director approached Lily and me before work and asked if one of us wouldn't mind teaching the kids for the day. "Sure, no problem" I said. "What do you need me to teach them?"

At that point, she informed me there was no lesson plan to be taught. Fortunately, I had been observing all of the classes the past couple of weeks and was up-to-date with what the kids were learning.

One of the kids got sick at the lunch table, and so began my day of teaching. The odds of that happening in a class of 6 in the first few minutes I figured were minimal, but it happened, and the first thing I did was laugh. Of course, I cleaned after the little guy looked as me with a confused face.

The rest of the day was filled with the usual: Math, reading, numbers, letters, and the introduction of shapes, of which I taught the triangle and the square. I instituted a game where everyone got to be the teacher for a few moments, showing each other triangles and squares on the chalkboard, and they loved it. The hard part was transitioning to the next lesson of the day because everyone wanted another turn to teach.

Next came clubs, where the kindergarten and first grade classes combined and headed over to the poetry/performance instructors. Currently they're learning a remixed version of "You Are my Sunshine":




The day finished off with independent reading, something I've found Kindergarteners love to do... for two minutes. Bouncing attention spans left me wanting to recite the phrase, "Reading is fundamental", something that had been etched in my brain from my elementary days. But I realized it probably wouldn't make any sense to them, because it never really did for me until today, now that I'm reflecting.

School ended at 6pm and the parents came to pick up the little rascals. "Bye Mr. Jay!" was the collective (I decided against MacFadgen; I can't do that to them), and then my exhaustion kicked in. Another day completed; another day of learning; both student and teacher.

An Epic Tale of Transition

In pure Amerifashion, we’ve inhabited new housing. Or perhaps "schooling" is the correct term in this case. Yes, we've moved, from Brookland Elementary to the Henry and Annie Hurt Home for the Blind in Georgetown, which was once a school and is now closed for renovations (and now badger inhabitance). Here is our story...

After making ourselves at school at Brookland, a leak had sprung in the pipes. What started as your average leaky faucet drips quickly escalated as water seeped into the ceiling tiles in the main living area (cafeteria). Pieces of the ceiling tiles began to fall and water made its way through to the floor, where we had to fight the aggressive tidal waves that blocked our path to the man-made bridge that connected us from the stairs to the kitchen. Several of us made our way to the nearby floating cafeteria table and used that as a boat to sail turbulently through the wind and rain until we reached dry land, the parking lot. The rest of the fleet made its why back in to rescue our food supplies that would come with us on the voyage ahead.


We managed to save it all, perishable and non, and we loaded it onto our boat along with other items salvaged from the flood. Some of the native inhabitants opted to stay behind and wait for rescue and make sure nobody else was left behind. Before parting ways, we took a group photo to remember our times together with them...


Soon after, we sailed off. We loaded the rest of our belongings and made our way to a new land, a land where no troubled waters would find us, a place where we would start anew, and we'd be prepared if and when the next challenge approached us. Rar Rar Rar!


Rar Rar Rar!

The 4th

This was my first year celebrating the fourth of July anywhere other than Boston. And it seems I've been missing out all these years. Independence day was incredible this year, and went off with a bang (literally) as we concluded our day by the Reflection Pool near the Lincoln Memorial. The fireworks were incredible, and the added effect of the lights on the reflection pool made it one of the best shows I've ever seen. Turns out there really isn't a bad seat when it comes to 4th of July Fireworks in DC.

Back to School

A year ago I walked across the stage, accepted my Bachelor's, and in my head said my farewells to school. Little did I know that I'd be going back to school in a year's time, more immersed than ever. I live and sleep at school. When I get up to drive to work every morning, I'm heading to school. When I leave school at the end of the day, I am going back to school. And starting next week, Lili and I will be driving a school bus each day to and from work (school). For those of you in disbelief (and my mother panicking as she reads this), that last one isn't true. But to be honest, nothing would surprise me. This project has really given me a new appreciation for elementary education that continues to grow each day, and it is because it is constantly around me.

The elementary school students started this week. A program consisting of math, reading, service-learning, clubs, recess, snacks, and independent reading fills a routine schedule and satisfies the overall attention span in a way I, for some reason, never experienced when I was younger. Our site director has designed an effective program, and that was proven this week as the kids jumped into their first week.

Here's how it works: All students K - 6th grade have class in a very large room known as the learning center. Grades K through 4 have their own sections of the room, and two connecting rooms house the combined 5th/6th grade, one classroom for boys and the other for girls. Each classroom has 2 tutors who are all college students at nearby universities, and our 10 crew members essentially serve as tutor assistants for their own classrooms (approximately two CMs per class room in addition to the tutors).

It has only been a week, so to see our crew in their element already knowing each of their students' names, helping them one-on-one, is pretty exciting, and I look forward to seeing the impact they will have on these kids by the end of the summer.