The Hoedown

Last night there was a hoedown going down in the state of Tennessee and we were invited. To sum very briefly, a hoedown is the art of square dancing. Wow, that really was a quick summary. When we showed up we were encountered by two other schools who were itching for a good AmeriCorps hoedown. There was also a local band playing there called Boogertown and boy did they play us a good Tennessee tune or two. Teamed up with the two other colleges we learned how to square dance while having fun, psh who would of thought. Earth (One)ders learned quite a lot including the Promenade, the grape vine, the Bulls Pen, the Peek-a-boo (which was very romantic), and swing-a-partner. Don't worry, refreshments were there, as we chugged our thirst away with such beverages as mouth watering coke, always indulging water, and even Dr. Lightening. As we all sat around drinking and laughing over good times that we had created square dancing, the director rounded up his troops and we were back at it again. Once again we were swinging males and twirling females left and right. As the night ended, which oddly enough it did, Boogertown played us one last jam as all 30 of us sat and let the music soothe our happy little ears.

~ Greg

Day Two on Spike

We got to Tennessee two days ago. We started working on the trail yesterday. The weather was great. It was sunny and warm. The forest is very pretty and there is a sparking stream that crosses the trail. We started off the day by learning about the tools. They all have cool names. There’s the McCloud, the mattock, the rouge hoe, the Pulaski, and the fire rake. We also learned about duff. It’s the leaves and organic matter that covers the forest floor. “Duff is not the stuff.” A lot of what we did yesterday was clearing off the duff and digging down to the next layer of soil. We definitely spent a good time moving rocks as well. Big rocks. Really big rocks. It felt good to get dirty and sweaty.

Today it’s raining and we’re trapped inside. We cleaned and sharpened tools and watched a video about hiking and trail building. It was good but I’m eager to get outside again.

This is a haiku I wrote:

The mattock is sharp
The duff is thick and leafy
Today I build trails.

~ Sam

Spike Travel

We left campus on Monday morning around 10am. The first day we drove through Colorado all the way to Salina, Kansas. On Tuesday we drove to St. Louis, Missouri and the travel was really easy until we were about 20 miles away from our hotel. St. Louis had received 10 inches of snow which is very unusual for the area. We sat in traffic for 3.5 hours. Fortunately, with so many of us in the van, we found ways to entertain ourselves. We played cards, twenty questions, hot seat, and several other games to help us get to know each other a little better.

Wednesday was our last day of travel. We went through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky and then arrived safely to our new home in Caryville, Tennessee. Upon arrival, we met our sponsor Tony who works with the Cumberland Trail Conference. We settled into our house which consists of three rooms, two bathrooms, a living area and a kitchen. It is working out really well and I am looking forward to getting out and exploring the state park where our house is located.

~ Amanda

Video: Spike Travel

Video: Getting Ready

Corps Training Institute

It was really hard to say goodbye to my family and friends at home, but by the first night on campus in Denver I knew that these people I was meeting were going to make a great family for me for the next 10 months.

Parts of CTI (Corps Training Institute) were a little grueling for all of us. I thought that I had finally escaped college and classes, just to find myself in a hot and crowded room once again. However, we learned a number of very important things, such as how to drive a 15-passenger van, how to perform CPR, how to set up shelters after a disaster, and tool safety. Most importantly, we learned a lot about each other.

I have never before been exposed to such a diverse group of people and I have never enjoyed any group of people more. To be honest, the most learning for me during CTI actually took place in my dorm room getting to know my roommate, a wonderful girl who happens to be more opposite of me than anybody I have ever encountered. The girls in my hall encompassed every walk of life and we now found ourselves all living under the same roof. In a situation like that it seems like conflicts and clashes are unavoidable; but, our differences just made us all the more intrigued in each other. I found myself drawn to everybody around me by our differences, wanting to know everything about them, wanting to know all about their lives at home, wanting to get a glimpse into worlds that I have never seen and that these people right in front of me had lived. I felt as though I was able to travel around the United States just in those first few days by hearing about everybody’s hometown and all their stories.

The month in Denver during CTI was more fun for me than I could have ever imagined, meeting people that I am looking forward to knowing the rest of my life, exploring downtown Denver and Boulder, and basically just learning life skills while I had the time of my life. I walked away from CTI heading off on our first SPIKE having already gotten more out of AmeriCorps than I ever hoped for.

~Katie