The Heartland. For realsies.

Granville, North Dakota, population 280. Local businesses of note include the Post Office, 2 churches, 2 bars (maybe one for each set of church-goers?), an antiques shop, school, and an old folks home. Don't forget the abandoned train station and dilapidated meat & dry goods store. Yes, this indeed, is my home for the next 2 months.



The upside? Firstly, if any of belongings are stolen from our housing location, it'll be a breeze to track down the culprits. Also, Minot, the town we're actually working in, offers quite a few things to do, including an upcoming Scandinavian festival (the biggest in North America), Bingorama (which I assume is some sort of 24-hour Bingo-lovers paradise) and various chain stores and restaurants. There are also a few other NCCC teams in town, which means debauchery is yet to be had. Lastly, the church basement we are staying in is clean, has wi-fi and air mattresses, and Lucille, a lovely older woman and church member, wants nothing more than to cook my team hot breakfasts and provide us with quilts.

The downside is that this is legit the middle of nowhere. It's about 30 or 40 minutes from Minot depending on which area you're headed to. No convenience stores, which is down right inconvenient. And our day off is Sunday, which doesn't jive well with the church schedule, since their only operating day is Sunday. This morning we were kicked out for 3 hours during worship services, and I ended up squatting at McDonald's doing paperwork and eating hash browns.

What it all comes down to is that I am just beat. Worn out. Burnt out. Straight up exhausted. And I know I shouldn't whine because I'm having this amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will probably look back on as my glory days. But this program can be hard, as can the additional job of being in charge of 8 humans. And then there are the crazy transition periods we have between projects where you're juggling a ridiculous training schedule with end-of-project reports, and a slew of presentations. I can't really complain though. I did, after all, get to stop at Mall of America on the way to North Dakota. Fellow team leader DJ and I went on some rides, which was all I expected and so much more. Then our teams spent the night at a hotel in Fargo, where he and I enjoyed root beer floats and I convinced dissatisfied A&W employee Adam B. to join NCCC.


The best part about this round is that I get to help people in real, immediate need. More info to come on the deets, but my team is basically working on homes that have been damaged by recent floods here—removing debris, sanitizing, and weatherizing them. This will probably be our most physically demanding, emotionally taxing, and worthwhile experience yet. Maple 4 welcomes the challenge!