I'm extremely late writing this. I know.

My brother told me: "What is this crap? Delete it."

I was going to delete it and start a new AmeriCorps blog on Xanga, but I just returned from Xanga in horror this very second. I'm literally panting in anger. Xanga is filled with nothing but "I'm a virgin" this and "sluts" that and freakin' ManCouch. So much bullshit. So much sexism. So much male patriarchy. I had to come back to Blogger. My head almost exploded. I am terrified for our future generation.

Now, back to AmeriCorps NCCC. This will be quick and painless. No one will probably understand this, but me. Whenever I talk to any AmeriCorps outsiders like my friends and family they just look at me like I'm dumb and say "Oh, that's nice sweetie." I know what they're thinking: "WTF is CTI??", "Is Iowa even a state? Who the fuck lives there?!", "You're wasting your time!"

Every time I talk to someone about AmeriCorps, I'm abruptly interrupted with an "Oh, that's cool..." then a continuation of what cool thing THAT person is doing with THEIR life.

This is the only place I can talk (write, actually) about it freely. So here goes.

I kissed my family goodbye.

I got on a plane.

I arrived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I got a tour.

Corn fields, corn fields, corn fields.

Now- BAM- I'm at the Iowa Braille School (aka IBS... Funny, no?) in Vinton, Iowa.


I fucking love my team- Maple 6! They're the coolest people ever. I'm the media representative. I write articles. I do things.

We just got back from a 6 week long project in Hamilton, Indiana. We worked with The Nature Conservancy to rid wetlands and other areas of invasive plants such as Cattails, Autumn Olive, and Asian Bush Honeysuckle... but mostly Cattails. I can't stress Cattails enough. They were everywhere. It was hard, but very rewarding.

It was the first time I had ever been to Indiana. I got called a nigger for the first time, and someone's shoes got stolen, and I got kissed by some old pervert at the bar. Exiciting, eh?

At least I got to hold a snake.

Herald Republican article

Vinton Today article


Our next project is in Dubuque, Iowa. We'll be holding tours for the public at a Museum/Aquarium... Oh, and we'll be making floor mats out of Cattails. Kawinkidink, much? How ironic -_-

I am looking forward to this :)

I'M (POSSIBLY MAYBE SORTA) READY!

I leave out tomorrow (actually, later on today, but whatever) for Vinton, Iowa to start my AmeriCorps journey.

I am all packed and ready!

... I think...

2 more Days

I just went on a huge shopping spree these last couple days shopping for AmeriCorps stuff.

Deodorant, under shirts, socks, toothpaste... I probably spent about $200 total.

Luckily, it was not of my own money (I don't even have $200). Thank you mommy and daddy :) And you know I'm just joking! I love you :) I don't know what I would do without my parents.

I can't believe I leave out in just a few days.

I don't think I'm as nervous as I should be.

Goodbye sleep. Hello waking up at 6am!

Happy birthday to me

I'm 21 years old today.

Turning 21 is like hitting a wall of maturity. It depresses me in some ways.

It feels weird to be "old". I feel so old compared to the other Corps members. Most I see are fresh out of high school. I can barely remember high school. It was like a dream (a little tip to anyone who hated high school: you won't remember it).

I celebrated by going to my favorite Thai restaurant with my family. It was bliss.
Calamari and duck makes for a darn good meal. As a present, I got a brand new cell phone: an Iphone 3G. This means a lot to me seeing as I haven't had a cell phone for almost a year. It is my new best friend. I couldn't possibly thank my parents enough. It has a camera on it, which is perfect for taking pictures when I'm in AmeriCorps.

As I get older and older, birthdays start to mean nothing to me. I don't need a big party. This was enough.

And it was perfect :)

Cheers to a new me!

Hello May 5th 2010

May 5th 2010 is the date I leave out to Vinton, Iowa to serve in AmeriCorps NCCC.

I will never forget this date. It is like my birthday... which isn't really far from the truth seeing as my birthday is on April 22. I will be 21. So, yes, I am very much anticipating my future

I decided to start this blog so I can have a place to write about my whole AmeriCorps experience. I saw many other Corps members doing the same thing, so I thought why not me?

My name is Courtney, but you may call me Olivia... or Cow. My initials spell COW. I love cows. I do not see it as an insult.

I went to college ( I usually just refer to it as "the college". I refuse to give it recognition.) for two years, but then I got tired of school and decided to take a break. That's when AmeriCorps came into the picture. I knew way before I stopped going to college that I wanted to apply to AmeriCorps so I applied pretty early. It took several months before I got accepted (about 8 months) and I got rejected from serving in Maryland for 2009, but that's okay because I got accepted to serve in Iowa for 2010. See where a little perseverance gets you?

I still have much packing to do.

I don't want this to just be seen as my AmeriCorps blog, but to be seen as my traveling blog, or my "gap year" blog. It isn't written in stone yet, but I've also been thinking about getting into TEFL teaching abroad and doing many other volunteer/traveling opportunities so I hope you subscribe and comment.

I'm young so why not?

"Carpe diem!"