Day 2: Initial thoughts

Hey ya’ll from Mississippi! I made it! The flight went very smoothly and I am all unpacked and settled into my new home. The campus is great. It is a beautiful old campus that used to be a women’s college but is now rented by the Americorps. The buildings are 100 year-old Colonial buildings with large white pillars and brick exterior. There is a ton of outdoor space to run around in, a pool, tennis courts, and a gymnasium with a weight room. I’m excited to be active! The weather here is SO hot. Yesterday and today it was over 100 degrees, with a heat index of about 112 and high humidity. I went for a run this morning at 6am and it was about 85 degrees already. It is impossible to be outside for more than 5 minutes.

The most exciting part of today was the issuing of our uniforms! We look so great and professional. HERE is an example:





I am so glad to be settled here. The trip here, although it went smoothly, was an emotional rollercoaster. I knew that it would be hard to say goodbye to the place that I’ve called home for the last 4 years, but the emotions kept coming in waves. One moment I felt so sad, the next I was anxious in scared, and then I would start to get excited about what this experience would be like. The day was definitely an emotionally and physically draining day. I was thankful to see family when I landed in Jackson. Jayne, Michael, Maria, Kristen and Emily came to the airport just to say, “hi” and take me out for some much needed frozen treats! It was really great to see them, even just for an hour.

The next four weeks will be filled with intense training called CTI (Corps Training Institute) along with getting to know the fellow Corps Members here (about 160.) I am really excited to meet new faces and get to know people from a wide variety of backgrounds. So far I have met some really wonderful people that want to change the world, even at the smallest scale. We have been told several times in the last 48 hours that NCCC Members are considered the upper echelon of Americorps volunteers. I am so honored to be surrounded by many like-minded individuals who are as eager and nervous as I am to start this adventure.

I will update later this week as our training gets more in depth. Side note: Pack Test at 6am on Saturday morning! More information on that will come on Thursday or Friday. Another side note to the Elser clan: I taught a few of my group members how to play Dutch Blitz tonight and I already have them hooked! ☺