I need some assistance.

Dad? DAD?! DAAADDDD!!!??? Oh there you are. You're reading this, right? Okay. Don't stop reading this. This is important. I need your help.

Camping guys, what about you? Are you all here?

Anyone with survival skills? Experience with this stuff? I need all of you, too. Gather 'round... A little closer, don't be shy.

Ready? Okay. (That's the cheerleader in me, sorry guys.)

Maybe it's a little early to be thinking about packing. Or maybe it isn't. But I've never done this before. What is "this" you ask? Oh nothing too much, I just have to put ELEVEN MONTHS OF THINGS I NEED INTO A DUFFEL BAG AND A BACKPACK! WITH EXTRA SPACE.

I am going to need all of your camping advice I can get. I currently have a giant pink plaid rolling suitcase and a gray and purple backpack that is falling apart. Those don't exactly scream "We're ready for disaster relief!"

First, I need you to read a couple of posts about packing from other FEMA Corps members can get yourselves up to speed. 
Start Here.
Nick also says:
Travel/baggage

• Exclude excess
• Cargo space in the 15-passenger (a.k.a., “15p”, “govie”) vans is extremely limited, especially on teams with 10-12 members. Red bags and other NCCC equipment have priority in the trunk, and having 10+ red bags will fill the trunk quickly even though the last row of seating is usually removed. You will have very limited space under each seat for sleeping bags and boots. If you have a backpack, it will have to sit on your lap or be placed down by your feet
• Shoes, you don’t need to bring 7+ pairs. At most, you should bring a pair of casual shoes, PT shoes, and sandals. These, along with your steel-toe work boots that you will receive, are all that you really need. Protip: when traveling to/from a spike, wear your boots and pack your shoes to save space in the van. Also, pack your socks inside your shoes to save space in your red bag
• I would recommend purchasing a collapsible 6-shelf hanging closet organizer for storing clothes while on campus or spikes. This will save you so much trouble, and it will keep your room better organized and less messy
• It is sometimes better to be in a silent van than listen to the same songs playing on the radio every single day. Invest in an iPod with music that everyone likes
• Be good drivers, please, and if you are “A-Driving,” pay attention to and communicate with the driver. Hand signals, study them, learn them

Then read this:
Nick's Packing List

And then this, a post about backing by a GIRL. Because I am one, and I like her thoughts.
Carolanne's Packing List

But did you guys see all that stuff about gear? And survival supplies? Carabiners? Headlamps? Nick's intense backpack? A good sleeping bag? What kind of water bottle can I CLIP to myself? This is a whole new world for me (cue: Aladdin soundtrack) and I am definitely going to need some help preparing.

Of course this is stuff I have PLENTY of time to get in order, but that's why I want to start now. What are the things you will think I will need the MOST and the things I will need the LEAST? Let's save the clothing subject for a different day- I'm talking gear or tools and such. How do I pack "lightly" but also have everything I need to get me through the time that I'm there? I have to be able to carry what I bring! When I go on "spikes" I won't have to bring everything with me, and luckily as a TL I don't have to store it all away in bins, but I still can't bring everything I own! I have a feeling I'm going to have to practice this a few times before I go...

Living.

A few of you are curious about my future living situation(s). So am I.

In FEMA Corps and true NCCC fashion, we will move around a lot. We will stay wherever we can. My first two months will be on campus in Vicksburg, and I'll have a room and a roommate, a fellow TL like me. From what I have gathered from Nick's Blog and Andy's Blog We will stay on the same floor as the other TLs and the CMs will be in other buildings. We'll do rounds and check on them like RAs at my college do. It will be dorm-ish style living, with a kitchen that we cook in, likely as a team. When we leave and we go on our "spikes" - the assignments we have at other locations - we can stay anywhere. I know we train with FEMA and stay in some government campus thing there (yes, that is a technical term). When some of the FEMA Corps teams went to help with Sandy Relief, space was so limited that they stayed ON A FREAKING BOAT. Yeah, you read that right. They LIVED on a BOAT. Read more about that by Andy here. They stay in a lot of extended stay motels, so I won't be living the glamourous life but I'll be living and helping people who might have a hell of a lot less than I do, so I'm not going to be too upset about it.

Now about food. Our budget will allow us to shop as a team at our local Wal-Mart, mostly for Wal-Mart brand items. I hear they eat a lot of pasta and have the same types of meals. If you know me well, you know how I feel about food. I love to cook, but I don't eat meat or dairy and I am usually pretty picky about what I fuel my body with. However, there is this great natural instinct that animals are equipped with called SURVIVAL. I really hope I can still avoid meat, and I really don't want dairy (or the migraine that comes with it) but I have a feeling that other than those two requirements, for the next year of my life I might just put my requirements aside in the name of staying alive. Nutrition is important, healthy eating and clean eating are also important, but I might need to be more flexible. I am going to see how well I can maintain a vegetarian/dairy-free diet (something tells me I might need to eat eggs) with AmeriCorps, but now that I am also soy-free my protein sources are limited and I may need to make adjustments. Dairy and soy are closer to allergies while meat is a choice based on my beliefs. I will have to seriously consider my values, but I'll play it by ear. I won't be eating like a queen and I won't be dining at any 5-star restaurants with expensive bottles of Spanish wine anytime soon, but I'll be eating regular meals. Again, that's still a lot more than some people have access to, so I better shut up and eat it with a smile.

Questions Answered and Acronyms Decoded

Over the next couple posts, I am going to answer the questions I most often receive from my family and my friends. Many of these have been answered by other sources, where I have turned for my own questions. As always, if you have additional questions, send them my way- even if I can't answer them yet, I will over the next couple of months. I have about 10 weeks until I head to Vicksburg!

I'll start with the big question: What is AmeriCorps/NCCC/FEMA Corps

Wikipedia can help me explain this:

"AmeriCorps is a program of the U.S. federal government engaging adults in intensive community servicework with the goal of "helping others and meeting critical needs in the community."^[1] Members commit to full- or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofit community organizations and public agencies, to fulfill assignments in the fields of education, public safety, health care, and environmental protection. The program is often compared to the Peace Corps as its domestic counterpart.^[2][3]

AmeriCorps is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which also oversees the Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America.^[4] It was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993,^[5] incorporating VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).^[6] A third division, AmeriCorps State and National, provides grants to hundreds of local community organizations throughout the U.S.^[7]"

^{And this:}

^"The FEMA Corps who range in age from 18–24 years old, is a cadre dedicated to disaster response and recovery. It is a new partnership between AmeriCorps' Corporation for National and Community Service and FEMA.^[24]

^{The Corps, described as a "dedicated, trained, and reliable disaster workforce" works full-time for ten months on federal disaster response and recovery efforts. The first 231 members if the FEMA Corps class graduated on August 13, 2012.[25]"}

I only have a few ideas of what I will be doing, but I am honestly not too concerned. I am excited for the opportunity and I know that every day it wil be worth it- whether it is because of my team of CMs, fellow TLs or STLs, ULs, FEMA employees, or the citizens we help. I also know already that acronyms are ALWAYS used, so here's what I know:

NCCC: National Civilian Community Corps
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
UL: Unit Leader
TL: Team Leader
STL: Support Team Leader
CM: Corps Member

I'm sure others will be added as time goes on!

I also frequently get asked why I want to serve. Many people at college ask me if I have considered graduate degree programs for my masters or if I want to go to law school, or what I want to "do." I have spent nearly my entire life in school. I started preschool at age 3 (1 month before my 4th birthday) and went for two years, and I haven't taken a year off since. I'll be 23 in October. That's a hell of a lot of school. And yes, much of it I consider exactly that- Hell. I have not enjoyed much of my school years. Sitting in a classroom and answering to teachers who think they're the center of my universe and their material is the only thing that matters and that I should constantly strive for the best grades so I can get into the best schools that follow whatever institution I'm in is NOT my idea of enjoying life. I am so much more than a student, and I don't want to define myself as a student. I want something new, meaningful to myself and others, and productive for society. In order to expand my horizons, I need to leave the world of education. There is so much more to learn about life and the world, and I want to start with the country I live in. I haven't seen a whole lot of it, and I haven't experienced the things that communities who need FEMA assistance have had to face. I see so many opportunities to expand my mind and my perceptions of life, and help others. I will be helping FEMA, communities, individuals, and my Corps Members. Together, we will achieve wonderful things and bring positivity to each other. And as for grad school, who knows. Maybe, but I don't know if I want it yet. I feel like spending too much of my life in school is going to bring me down and I want experiences that I can't put a price on more than I want another $100,000 degree. If the path I want for myself after AmeriCorps requires more education, I'll probably go, but right now I don't envision it. I want to serve for more than one year with AmeriCorps, and I want to work doing something that will be meaningful to others.  The issues that I am passionate about are hunger, homelessness, and the environment. I don't know how much of those three I will be able to help through FEMA Corps, but hopefully when I am finished, I will find a career path that can end the first two and strengthen the latter. For now, I am going to spend my time focused on AmeriCorps/FEMA Corps and not what comes next. I am going to live in the "now" and be present in my life, and not focus on planning my next 5 years. The first thing I had to do when I came to college was set up my 4-year plan, and I never want to have to do that again. I have goals, but I'm going to get there at my own pace. 

Here I am!

I wasn't going to start this blog yet, but I want to be able to start pooling together resources for my future CorpsMembers and my friends and family, and give everyone a little info about my upcoming AmeriCorps service. So let's do this efficiently:

Name: Alexandra Murray (Allie)

Age: 22

Hometown: Tuftonboro, NH

Education: Emmanuel College, Boston, MA

Position: NCCC-FEMA Corps Team Leader

Location: Southern Campus (Vicksburg, MS)

Depature Date: July 17, 2013

Here I am!

Please please please send in your questions! I will probably be answering them in future posts but if there is anything you'd like to know, send me a note. The beginning of this is going to be slow and I don't have many answers yet, but I will do my best or save them until I can answer them for you. Remember, patience is a virtue.

I would also like to add a Disclaimer:

This is not an official AmeriCorps or FEMA blog; it is a personal blog written and edited by me, Alexandra Murray. I am solely responsible for all content published here. The views and opinions expressed on this blog represent my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AmeriCorps, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or any of their parent government agencies or associated sponsors, organizations, or partners.