Thursday, February 7, 2013

Halfway Done!

The Wanderings of a Musing Soul has returned. After a 7 month hiatus, I've decided to resurrect this blog to detail the rest of my time here in South Florida with AmeriCorps. For those just joining, AmeriCorps is a service based organization that is found all throughout the United States (very similar to the Peace Corps). I have been down here in Florida since August and have reached the halfway point of my service period! How time flies! For a recap of what I've been doing up to this point, http://livingunderthepalms.wordpress.com/ will catch you up to speed!

Now that February is upon us, things are really starting to click here in West Palm. I'm loving the site that I'm serving at. My supervisor is one of the most relaxed, chilled-out people that I've ever met. The other instructor that I work with closely has been offering my career advice and is looking to start a charter school in the area in a couple of years. If this dream becomes a reality, I would have a job lined up down the road which would be nice. The administrative assistant is like a second mom to me down here, while the CEO takes great strides to make sure that Kourtney (the other AmeriCorps members here at The Lord's Place) and I are comfortable and enjoying our time here at the organization.

February also marks the time that members start thinking about what they will be doing next year when August comes and our time of service here in Palm Beach County has come to an end. For me, I've decided to pursue a position with the Peace Corps. I have complete the application process, passed my interview, and have been nominated for an education position with a tentative departure date of August. At the moment, I'm working on getting fingerprinted (for the 18,000th time in the last 5 years) and submitting my background check. Once all of those are in and it's verified that I'm not a criminal, I will be placed with a Placement Specialist who will match my skills and experience with a site that has an upcoming opening. The Peace Corps is something that I've wanted to do for a long time and close to finally fulfilling that dream is amazing! Who know, if Jim (the other instructor here at TLP) is able to get that charter school up and running, I might have a job all lined up following my 2 years of service!

Outside of work and plans for the future, life is great. I've made some amazing friendships here and continue to bond and grow with the 40 members in the group. On Friday, for our team meeting is going to be held at a marine park and hopefully we'll get to see some sea turtles! So pumped for that! Then after the meeting, a group of us are heading down to Delray Beach to attend Garlic Fest. Apparently everything there centers around Garlic, including garlic ice cream. Should be interesting and fun! A full report to follow afterwards! There's also the possibility of heading up to Universal Studios Saturday for a large Mardi Gras festival that they are having there. Hopefully that all pans out and I can get to Universal for the first time! A friend of mine's brother-in-law has a hookup and can get us a discount on the tickets, which is definitely a plus due to living on the AmeriBudget!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and insights to life in South Florida!

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