The next step

It's November. We keep saying that to each other, as we sit outside with the beautiful weather, the clear blue sky, and the temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s. It's November. Really? None of the seasonal things that usually tell me that it's late fall have shown up. I don't mind though, really. I don't like winter, so I'd be happy if it never came. I think I am the only person in my group who spent yesterday crossing my fingers for a hot weather location.
Oh, i didn't say? We found out yesterday where we're going on our first spikes. I was hoping for a Gulf Coast spike, for lots of reasons. I'm eager to get down there, to do the work i've wanted to do ever since the hurricanes first happened. And i knew that most people would be there, it would be nice to have more time with my friends who aren't in my team. And selfishly, I wanted to be somewhere it would never get cold. But there will be time to go to the gulf. In fact, as my first project is in this region, there's a pretty good chance that I could spend the rest of my time in the Gulf.
So where am i going? Portland, Oregon. We'll be working with Habitat for Humanity there. We'll have a 4 bedroom house to share between our 13 person team. Which is actually a pretty nice deal as far as Americorps goes, since it'll only be our team living there. We'll have some space and some privacy. And while Portland isn't exactly warm, it's not going to snow. It's just going to rain. A lot. I'm going to have to work very hard against my seasonal depression. The work will help. (As work always does) We'll be working Tuesday thru Saturday 8:30 am to 4 pm. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
It'll also be a great place for me to do a lot of my ISPs, because of the city setting. (ISPs are Independent Service Projects, we're required to 80 hours of service on our own, in addition to the hours we work at our assigned project.) I'm also looking forward to being in what i hear is a pretty awesome, liberal, hip city. I've heard good things about public transportation, always a plus.
I've got a lot of friends going to the Gulf. In fact, 27 of the 37 teams will be in the gulf. I wish i could go too, i wanna be with my friends. What if we are on opposite ends of the country for the whole rest of the 10 month service? But a friend told me when i expressed this concern that i think too much. and worry too much. yeah yeah, i know.
A couple of my friends are doing local projects, right here in Sacramento. Which means they've got 7 more weeks to live here at McClellan Park. They're frustrated, but the projects they're doing sound awesome. I don't know how i'd feel about being here. Especially if all my friends were sent off other places. It's definitely going to be a challenging transition for all of us. So many of us have made friends who are all on different teams now, and after Thanksgiving, we'll all be sent off to different places around the country. Will we stay in touch? How many of the friends I've made during CTI will still be my friends next July? It's hard to say, but then, it's not why I'm here, is it.
I'm here to do service, to work hard and help others. To work through my perceptions and prejudices and have a greater understanding of the people of this country as a whole. It's all about the service, and the friendships can just be counted in the perks.

Well, It's November 3rd, but the sky is clear blue, and it's supposed to get up to the 70s again today. So i'm going to go get dressed and spend the rest of this lovely day reading outside!