Hit the Ground Running

Hi all,

The title pretty much sums up my experience for the past week (!), as it will be tomorrow. I had my last official briefing meeting for the Americorps, and have a good idea of what I'll have to do to track hours. Sigh. Which I suppose I should do tonight. Today I had a good taste of a typical Monday.

Breakfast was oatmeal (which it is 3 times a week, something I'll have to gag my way past...it's hard to be a texture person!) and I had some personal care time with the villager who will be my primary focus. Upon reflection, the male co-workers have a HUGE advantage, as do those women with villagers in their golden years. Although, I suppose everyone has their quirks. The house mother had to go out today, so she sent her youngest over to the neighbors and I supervised the morning work crew, helping out as needed and getting lunch done. Which, was quite tasty.

I sauteed garlic, onions, delicata squash, carrots and finally swiss chard (treated like the kale, stripped from the stem) and then added tomato paste, red cooking wine, beef bullion, assorted green flakes (guessing oregano and basil...) and a splash of soy sauce alternative (salt free) was also added. I also tried my hand at couscous made with mushroom bullion, which got a hearty approval. I also managed to whip up some more honey mustard dressing. Lunch was a success.

I went for my final meeting after rest time to the admin building, only to be sent to the orientation meeting (although most people started it in Sept, so I'm slightly out of place) instead of the co-op. So, hopefully tomorrow is the day for that! There were quite a few Germans and everyone was excited about the prospect of building a small one-room building for co-workers to hang out at on off days or in the evenings. Apparently previous arrangements have fallen through or not worked out in the past. For various reasons and failings on both sides, from what I was able to gather. I was excited to meet other co-workers, but no one really made an effort afterwards to say hi, so it might be a little tougher than I imagined. At least I'm kept busy at home!

Tomorrow is another day,

Hope all is well,
Steph