This was our first full week of work and I am exhausted. We get to our job site about 7:45 each morning and work until 4:30 or later. Then we have to either workout, do volunteer hours or both. Our day is never over. This week we worked with two groups of students on alternative spring break trips. One group was from North Carolina State and the other group was from a small Catholic school in Pennsylvania. All together we had about 60 extra people staying at our camp. While it was nice having their help at work it was difficult having to share one kitchen with all of them. Our first friday of work we moved all the lumber around to set up the framing for the house we were going to build this week. On monday we built and set up walls. Tuesday we set up the trusses on the roof of the house. Wednesdsay and Thursday we roofed and yesterday we put up siding. I'm not sure that I'm cut out for construction work but I'm getting my hands in all of it. If nothing I hope that I'm an expert at hammering by the end of our 6 weeks here. Between our team and the two groups of volunteers we put up all of the framing for two houses this week. We will leave the houses alone for the next to weeks for contractors to come in and do plumbing, electric work etc... Then we go back in and put in doors, windows, paint and put the finishing touches on the inside. I'm hoping we will get to do some inside work. I think that I will be better at that kind of thing. Basically we will have college spring break groups working with us most of the time we are here. The boys on my team are very pleased to have all of the co-eds running around. Robyn my team leader and I went to see the band Moe on Sunday they sounded really good. Then Thursday night a few of our Americorps friends drove over from Biloxi to see Michael Franti play. He was amazing lots of energy!! I'm getting along ok with everyone on my team. It's hard because we are always together. I have hardly any privacy and almost no time alone. I really wish I had my car with me. We are gonna go to New Orleans for St. Patricks Day. I'm hoping I'll get to see some of my friends from Denver while I'm there. I'm going to come home for a few days at the end of the month I am eager for a break.

Mobile, Alabama... We got here yesterday evening after a three day drive from Denver. We left about 9:00 Monday morning and drove all day to Memphis, TX. Then we got up early Tuesday morning and headed towards Louisiana. Out of the nine people on my team we only have five drivers and two vehicles so I had to drive four hours each day. The driving hasn't been that bad though. It's actually less boring to be behind the wheel. Plus the driver gets to control the music. Apparently, Mobile is routinely listed as one of the top 100 places to live in the U.S., so far it doesn't have my vote. When we got to our camp we thought we were supposed to be staying in bunk housing. We were assuming that meant cabins or maybe a bunkhouse. Basically our housing can best be described as expandable cardboard boxes. We are living in these little huts made of a sort of plastic/cardboard material. I hope they don't blow away. It makes the dorms in Denver look like the Hilton. Right now we've only got two people per structure but another team is coming on Sunday so we might have to do some switching around. My roommate's name is Alli. She is from a small town in Michigan. She just turned twenty. She has never been away from home before. We don't have a lot in common to put it mildly but I'm trying very hard to be nice to her. We were supposed to start work today. We had to be at our work site at 7am this morning. We met our crew leader and some of the other people we'll be working with. They all seem pretty cool and laid back. It was raining when we got there this morning so they sent us back to camp for the day. The weather has been pretty horrible all day. It's been raining most of the day and we've been having tornado warnings. Storms are kind of scary when your home is a cardboard box. Right now we are seeking shelter at the library. I'm starting to feel like I'm a little crazy for being here when I could be at home sleeping in my warm bed, eating good meals, hanging out with my friends, snuggling with my dog. Hopefully my attitude will improve when the weather gets better and we actually start working.