My living situation couldn't be more perfect right now. I am a quick 10 minute drive from work, 15 minute bus ride downtown, walking distance from a park, laundry mat, and grocery store, and am only paying $280 a month in rent.
I'm living with two girls, Katelyn and Liz. They are both about my age and are really awesome. The place is quiet during the week and because we are on opposite schedules I get the place to myself a lot of the time which is nice because it's so small. And, it is better than living alone because I get to hang out with them on the weekends so I don't get too lonely when I have time off!
Probably one of the best things about it is that they both work in the food industry. Liz brings home bread all the time from the bakery she works at and fresh produce twice a week from the Farmer's market that she gets for trading leftover bread. Katelyn works at a natural foods store and brings home all kinds of goodies that she waits for to go on sale. And I am able to buy the rest of the stuff we need with food stamps. Also, Aunt Carrie gave me her sourdough recipe and sourdough starter so I'm eating fresh pita bread with all my salads! You will all be happy to know that I am very nutrient rich!
Love, Danielle
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Race for the Cure
As stated in a previous post, I will be running the Race for the Cure in Austin on November 7! I have been working really hard to get into shape and am running 28 minutes straight. I have a fundraising goal of $125 and hope to exceed it in the next month. If you would like to help me reach my goal and add meaning to what I'm doing, you can give at: http://austin.info-komen.org/site/TR/Events?px=7714622&pg=personal&fr_id=1985&s_src=boundlessfundraising&s_subsrc=11512666&refresh=1.com. If you would like to give but would prefer to write a check, you can make it payable to Komen Austin Race for the Cure and send it to me at 106 A W. 38th St, Austin, TX, 78705.
Thanks a lot!
Danielle
Thanks a lot!
Danielle
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Love my job!
I absolutely love my job! Today was my third day tutoring one on one with the little nuggets and they are so wonderful and truly make me excited to wake up at 6:30 am. I see 10 kids a day for about 25 minutes each. I'm starting to think in Spanish and I've already improved so much in just three days. I am very excited to learn more as the year goes on!
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| This is the entire ACE cohort. In my specific program there are only 30 people, and 3 people that I see everyday at school. Love our red shirts! |
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Moving day
Today was the big day that I made the move from the Southwest Broadcast Video Ranch into Hyde Park in Central Austin. Living on the ranch was amazing, but the commute to work was not. I was driving about 45 minutes to work, and when you have to be at 7:30, it makes for very early mornings! The commute was really tiring so I waited for my first paycheck and found a small place in a really great location. I am living with a 23 year old girl named Katelynn and a 22 year old guy who I have not met yet. I found the place on Craigslist and am hoping for the best!
Today after moving some of my stuff, I just strolled around the neighborhood and it's a really great place, and most importantly, it is only a 10 minute drive to work and hopefully a quick bus ride!
The last few weeks we have been working in our schools, helping teachers out in their classrooms and prepping for our tutoring sessions. I'm working at Andrews Elementary School in NE Austin, (Go Gators!). We were supposed to start tutoring a couple of weeks ago, but because of some administrative errors, we aren't allowed to start pulling kids out for 1 on 1 tutoring sessions until this Tuesday. It was good to pop into the classrooms and get to know the kids and get them familiar with me before we start working one on one. I'm also practicing my Spanish, I'm a little rusty, and I know that by the end of the year I'm going to be so much more comfortable speaking it!
Not much else has been going on, I spent a lot of time by the pool, garage sale-ing, and sleeping! And, I can't forget, watching the Ducks stay undefeated! I've also been doing really good about keeping on my running schedule, so I'll be ready for my 5k in November. Hope everyone is well.
Danielle
Today after moving some of my stuff, I just strolled around the neighborhood and it's a really great place, and most importantly, it is only a 10 minute drive to work and hopefully a quick bus ride!
The last few weeks we have been working in our schools, helping teachers out in their classrooms and prepping for our tutoring sessions. I'm working at Andrews Elementary School in NE Austin, (Go Gators!). We were supposed to start tutoring a couple of weeks ago, but because of some administrative errors, we aren't allowed to start pulling kids out for 1 on 1 tutoring sessions until this Tuesday. It was good to pop into the classrooms and get to know the kids and get them familiar with me before we start working one on one. I'm also practicing my Spanish, I'm a little rusty, and I know that by the end of the year I'm going to be so much more comfortable speaking it!
Not much else has been going on, I spent a lot of time by the pool, garage sale-ing, and sleeping! And, I can't forget, watching the Ducks stay undefeated! I've also been doing really good about keeping on my running schedule, so I'll be ready for my 5k in November. Hope everyone is well.
Danielle
Friday, September 3, 2010
First week...DONE!
This week has been all ACE ACE ACE. Between PST (pre service training) and my long commute it is really all I have had time to do. It is reminding me so much of the beginning of last year, frantically trying to meet an entirely new group of people, with everyone being anxious about the year ahead. Sadly, I've noticed that I am lacking a lot of the enthusiasm that many of the first time AmeriCorps members have right now, having gone through such a similar process last year. However, I am extremely excited and anxious to get assigned a school and dive head first into my work.
On Tuesday evening we had a "meet and greet" at one of the staff member's houses. I went with Stephen which made the experience a little easier, but overall it was a very overwhelming few hours, meeting 40 new people without much guidance.
Besides that, the last three days have been absolutely wonderful! I am feeling very happy with my decision to do this program and move to this city. All of the staff members and team leaders are EXTREMELY warm and friendly. I guess they have to be, working with young kids! We spent this week going over policies and paperwork, but also doing a lot of fun stuff to help the 30 of us get to know each other.
This week has also been a huge learning experience navigating the city. At the beginning of the week, it seemed like every time I left the house I was getting lost. I am happy to say that I have not been lost once since Tuesday! I have been driving and taking buses, depending on our meeting places, and I'm really getting the hang of it! The only problem is the LONG commute. I usually leave the house around 6 am and don't start until 8, so the commute is adding about 3-4 hours to my day. As much as I love living with Dave and Caree, I am unsure as to how long I can do this without being completely burnt out! I think I am going to start looking for a place to live in the city after I get my first pay check in a couple of weeks. It is nice though that all the public transit is equipped with wifi, which I am connected to as I type!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great labor day! I am definitely going to use the time wisely to RELAX!
Danielle
On Tuesday evening we had a "meet and greet" at one of the staff member's houses. I went with Stephen which made the experience a little easier, but overall it was a very overwhelming few hours, meeting 40 new people without much guidance.
Besides that, the last three days have been absolutely wonderful! I am feeling very happy with my decision to do this program and move to this city. All of the staff members and team leaders are EXTREMELY warm and friendly. I guess they have to be, working with young kids! We spent this week going over policies and paperwork, but also doing a lot of fun stuff to help the 30 of us get to know each other.
This week has also been a huge learning experience navigating the city. At the beginning of the week, it seemed like every time I left the house I was getting lost. I am happy to say that I have not been lost once since Tuesday! I have been driving and taking buses, depending on our meeting places, and I'm really getting the hang of it! The only problem is the LONG commute. I usually leave the house around 6 am and don't start until 8, so the commute is adding about 3-4 hours to my day. As much as I love living with Dave and Caree, I am unsure as to how long I can do this without being completely burnt out! I think I am going to start looking for a place to live in the city after I get my first pay check in a couple of weeks. It is nice though that all the public transit is equipped with wifi, which I am connected to as I type!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great labor day! I am definitely going to use the time wisely to RELAX!
Danielle
Monday, August 30, 2010
New Town, New Job, New Life!
As I sit in the Lava Java Coffee house on the UT campus, I think about how much my life has changed over the past year. I haven't been in one place for more than 2 months since I was in Eugene over a year ago. This life has been very rewarding because I have had so much different experiences, met tons of interesting people, and seen many places. However, I am very excited to be in Austin and be able to settle down for a few months. I know that I am going to have a great time exploring Austin but it is also very intimidating since it is an unfamiliar place, and unlike last year, I am exploring independent of the 10 people that I shared so many great experiences with last year. Thankfully, I have Stephen and Aunt Caree and Uncle Dave to help my transition!
The road trip here was very long, but looking back it was a breeze, (for me at least.) We left last Tuesday and ended up in Burley, ID after 9 hours of driving. On Wednesday we drove a whopping 14.5 hours to Santa Rosa, NM, and then arrived to Austin after about 10 hours on Thursday. I couldn't have done it without Dad, who drove all but 2 hours. He is a trooper! Thanks Dad!
Dad stuck around and hung out at the Southwest Broadcast Video Ranch until Sunday evening. It was nice to relax with Dad for the weekend and get settled.
I start training on Wednesday, so today I decided to take the bus in from Leander, where Dave and Caree live, and find where I'm going on Wednesday, (it's on the UT campus.) The bus ride is about 45 minutes, which went by pretty fast because there is wifi on the bus. It was nice because it gave me time to wake up (the bus leaves at 6:30) before I had to navigate my way around campus. As expected, I got lost but found my way and this will make it so much easier and less stressful on Wednesday when I have to do it for real.
I can't wait to start work and meet all my teammates and learn more about what I'll be doing for the next 10 months. Tomorrow we have a "meet and greet" at one of the faculty member's house, where I'll get to meet everyone. It's always a little nerve wrecking to meet a lot of new people at once, but it will be easier for me because I'll already know Stephen.
Hope everyone is well and I will update more after my first week of training!
Danielle
The road trip here was very long, but looking back it was a breeze, (for me at least.) We left last Tuesday and ended up in Burley, ID after 9 hours of driving. On Wednesday we drove a whopping 14.5 hours to Santa Rosa, NM, and then arrived to Austin after about 10 hours on Thursday. I couldn't have done it without Dad, who drove all but 2 hours. He is a trooper! Thanks Dad!
Dad stuck around and hung out at the Southwest Broadcast Video Ranch until Sunday evening. It was nice to relax with Dad for the weekend and get settled.
I start training on Wednesday, so today I decided to take the bus in from Leander, where Dave and Caree live, and find where I'm going on Wednesday, (it's on the UT campus.) The bus ride is about 45 minutes, which went by pretty fast because there is wifi on the bus. It was nice because it gave me time to wake up (the bus leaves at 6:30) before I had to navigate my way around campus. As expected, I got lost but found my way and this will make it so much easier and less stressful on Wednesday when I have to do it for real.
I can't wait to start work and meet all my teammates and learn more about what I'll be doing for the next 10 months. Tomorrow we have a "meet and greet" at one of the faculty member's house, where I'll get to meet everyone. It's always a little nerve wrecking to meet a lot of new people at once, but it will be easier for me because I'll already know Stephen.
Hope everyone is well and I will update more after my first week of training!
Danielle
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Komen Race for the Cure
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