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.