A Quick Catch-up

Lots to report and I've been slacking off on the posts this week. Here are some updates of note.

1. I'm learning how to survive on $4.50 a day's worth of groceries. Yes, it's possible. Right now I'm on a cooking team of 9 people. We weekly pool this allotted dinero, create a menu for dinners we plan to make over the next 7 days, and go food shopping as a team. When I first heard this, I was skeptical that I'd be able to pull this off since I was spending about $15 to $20 a day in Boston on lunch and dinner alone. But it actually works! I'm learning how to budget better, plan meals in advance, and cook for a diverse mix of food preferences and allergies. I made ratatoille last week!

2. We recently took a personality test called the Myers Briggs Type Indicator during training, and it turns out I'm an ENFJ: Extroverted Intuitive Feeling Judging. After the whole team got profiled, we talked about how we can learn from our strengths and weaknesses to make us better communicators and more effective leaders. It was pretty cool.

3. A bunch of us watched the State of the Union address a couple days ago. This basically consisted of us making fun of the hilarious shots C Span chose to use of audience members looking awkward.

4. Additionally, last weekend we made another appearance at the Ron-Da-Voo during which time I was involved in a Thriller dance-off with a local that may soon appear on Facebook.

5. Our campus is connected by a series of tunnels that we use to get from our dorm to the training classrooms and gym, meaning there is basically no reason to leave the building. This afternoon I literally walked outside for the first time in 4 days.

6. Tomorrow I have physical training at 5:45AM. Do you know me? If so, you are likely aware of the fact that working out is not really my thing. And waking up at 5:30 is my personal hell. So I'm working on embracing a philosophy called "choosing my attitude."

So far so good.

Epic Sledding, Iowa Style

In the lounge, ready and raring to go sledding by the Vinton rec center.






Little did we know we were only on the bunny hill. Sledding throwdown part 2, next week?

Kate's Big 2.6.

Happy Day of Being Sprung Violently from Your Mother's Womb to my best buddy and cohort in debauchery since 2003, Kate. You are a lady of many hats: a fabulous wife, gluten-free chef extraordinaire, budding photographer, videography maven, small business badass, blogging enthusiast, and generally awesome individual. You are a great friend and I miss you dearly, as we spend the first January 19^th apart since we met. Thanks for putting up with me, and for providing years of hilarity. Love you, KDogg. Since I’m not there to give you a cake for your bday, here are pictures of you enjoying celebratory desserts in years past. Miss your face!

MLK Day

In the world of volunteering, MLK day is a big deal. It's looked at as a "day on, not a day off." Our group in Vinton was set to spend the day in Cedar Rapids at an event honoring King to be followed by constructing a garage for a neighborhood rebuilding organization called Block By Block. We were all ready to go with our uniforms on, coolers filled, hammers in hand, literally pulling our vans out of the parking lot when we were told that we'd have to stay on campus because of icy road conditions. Bummer. We still had a productive day, did some group reflection on what national service is all about, made a delicious dinner for ourselves of ratatouille, and watched Jersey Shore. All in all it was a great day.

In other news, I was convinced to join in on a game of ultimate frisbee yesterday for the first time ever. My friend Tyler (aka T. Saint) back in Boston will be surprised to read this as he has been trying to get me to play ultimate with him since our days back at BU. Usually my fear of failing miserably at sports, mixed with being generally out of shape, causes me to decline. But I decided to give it a chance, and let me tell you – it’s hard! Requires a lot of stamina and was way more exhausting than I thought, but a ton of fun.

Unrelated, but curious afterthought: In the spirit of trying new things such as ultimate frisbee, my new friend Mike Langen who I have nicknamed Mike Cougar Langencamp (after the famed musician) introduced me to an interesting dessert today that requires filling a coffee mug with snow and then covering that snow with brown sugar. Yes, brown sugar. And it was delicious. And the snow was from outside the front door of our dorm. Food for thought.

Ron-Da-Voo

Ron-Da-Voo: Local bar where team leaders went for drinks this evening.

Notes to self:
1. When Rick the bartender asks if you want your Long Island Iced Tea from a mix or scratch, say scratch. Even though the mix is only $3.75 a glass, it's nothing to write home about.
2. When a local drunk girl confronts you because she thinks that you have both hit on her boyfriend and insulted her college, run for the hills.
3. As a follow-up to #2, apparently Iowa State and University of Iowa are rivals and if I'm asked who I root for I should say Hawkeyes or suffer the consequences.

Good to know.

Separation Anxiety to the Max

Day 3: Missing family and friends. With a crew like this who wouldn't?

Made it to Vinton

Despite the giant snowstorm that just hit the east coast and delayed some flights (including my layover in Chicago) I made it to Iowa. Great success! The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of policy training, acclimating to the temperature (4 degrees at the moment), and meeting new people.

It's also odd to revert back to the college-dorm lifestyle. Today, I was confused about where a mysterious lingering headache came from. Then went back to my room, sat down on my bottom bunk and hit my head on the metal bar connecting my bed to the one above... for the fifth time. Headache mystery solved. haha When members arrive, the other team leaders and I will be moving into different rooms, so maybe I'll choose the top bunk next time. On "spikes" - the projects outside of Iowa that require teams to live off-campus, I might end up in completely different housing situations from a campsite to an apartment or bunk house. Here's a photo of the room I'm currently sharing with 2 other women, Susanna and Natalie. Right now It's kind of a mess because we're still unpacking, but it won't be for long. We learned in team leader training today about the strict cleanliness rules on campus and weekly room checks to make sure your beds are made, trash removed etc. Hardcore, even for a semi-neat freak like me.


The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School where we share dorms and classrooms for NCCC member training:

The exterior of my current dorm building, Palmer:


Best part about my room? It's directly above a foosball table. This photo features a hilarious guy named Phil from Oklahoma (who wrote, illustrated and published a children's book about superheros) getting schooled at foosball by a chef named Antonio:


And for anyone who is looking for my new address, thar she blows:
Darcy Forlenza - Class 17
Americorps NCCC
1004 G Avenue
Vinton, IA 52349

It's Up to You, New York, NY

Where'd I go on my last hoorah before Iowa? To the Empire state of course! Picked up BFF Lara Salahi (AKA Salami) in the Big Apple and drove to see our friend Ted (Teddy2NY) in Rochester, where he works as a local news reporter. Our friend Brian "Very Photogenic" Jessie met up with us and we had an awesome few days. Ted took us on a grand tour of the city, we visited the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography, took a gourmet macaroni and cheese class, and enjoyed Ted's at-home karaoke machine. It was a great weekend, and a reminder that no matter how far away your good friends are, they're stuck with you for life. Made me feel a bit better before venturing off on my own. Thanks to Lara for the photos!

Last Night, First Night

Do you know that on New Years Eve, Boston has an annual dragon parade? Every year there is a First Night procession, and this year's theme was "outer space." But I saw no astronauts, and the last 2 times I have witnessed this awesome display there were numerous dragons involved. Being that my friends Kate & Nick had just treated us to a delicious margarita 10 mins prior to watching this parade, I was in understandably high spirits. haha In fact, Lisa, the Sambucos, and I were having such a great time dancing around and cheering that little kids were staring at us with confused looks. We concluded the night eating delicious ricotta balls, cupcakes and cheese dip prepared by Kate, drinking champagne, & rocking out to Dick Clark's NYE celebration starring NKOTBSB. That's right: New Kids on the Block and Back Street Boys together at last. T'was my last night in Boston, for the time being - and it did not disappoint. The next morning when Lisa and I returned to our apartment I finished moving all of the furniture and boxes out of my room and said a temporary goodbye to Boston. This last part was pretty depressing. We balled our eyes out, then in my car on the way to NJ I cried some more. But in the words of Governer Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger circa 1984,"I'll Be Back."