java jo's, part 2

so clearly, i don't feel that bad mooching off of java jo's internet, although the coffee smell is going to make me pretty sick i think and rahter soon. i am thinking that i could go broke soon just by coming here and buying the smallest thing so i can use the internet, so i think that we should find a new place, but for right now its ok. i can always go to the library and use their computers for 15 minutes for free, but i would have to do a lot of prep work beforehand (such as writing blog entries and then just uploading them). so that's how much we don't have internet in our house. and we have to wait till the 18th or so till we get it, which is good because none of us even get our first pay checks until the 20th, hopefully.

pay checks. what i mean by that is that it will be a living allowance of about 640 dollars (after taxes) a month. which means in the 10 months i am here i will be making a grand total of $8,000 (pre-taxes, $6,400 after taxes and in twelve months i would make 9,100 pre-taxes), which is well below the 2007 poverty line for one person as set by the US government at $10,210. so, i am sure that you can guess that it makes me eligible for food stamps, free medical services at the hospital, and a variety of other things i hope to be able to access here in massachussets. corps members usually apply for all these things about a month into their service year (or four pay stubs in and we get paid every week) so for the first month, we are all on our own in the very expensive city of Boston. however, that is the whole point of AmeriCorps, the experiences that you have whether you are dealing with your projects or trying to figure out how to get by. i am lucky that i am living in a house with six other people because that cuts down on rent significantly. in addition, i am living with all corps members in a really heavy City Year area, and Jamaica Plain is also one of the places where City Year corps members are active in the schools, so basically i will be surrounded by City Year for the next 10 months. my house is what alums call a corps house, because all of us our corps members and we are on the orange line of the T.

basically what i am doing here with the free internet is trying to score a free mattress, boxspring and a bed frame or at least a mattress since i have none of that and sleeping on the wood floor was pretty uncomfortable last night, although it was bearable. also the fact that i am not as young as i think i am, or my bones are falling apart. so i am spending a lot of time looking on craigslist for things.

another thing that is cool about new england is servenewengland.org and thus because we are volunteers, we are eligible for really cheap grocery packages. i just ordered my first one. especially since we don't have a grocery store nearby, this is good. ok i just found a grocery store, but i dont think its very reasonably priced. like many things in boston. martin (one of my housemates) just went looking for a free mattress on the corner, but he has returned because its not there. i think the idea is to get by spending as little money as possible for the next couple weeks since we aren't getting paid. i might get another job, we'll see. java jo's is hiring...

new house & classy roommates

so my roommates and i finally got to move-in and sign our lease yesterday. i am pretty excited to be with them, we all seem to be on the same vibe and that really makes me happy. granted the whole high-school thing is a little rough, but i think it will even itself out eventually and i am prepared to stick it out with them. we divided our two floors into a guys floor and a girls floor and we have respective bathrooms as well. i will definitely try to put up some pictures very very soon because our place is so amazing and we got a super great deal on it.

yesterday was a meet & greet cookout for cityyear alum and incoming corps (that would be me) and it was actually a set-up for some forced mingling, but it turned out ok, we met some really great people and i found out that tons of corps members live in jamaica plain, which is another great reason to live in our most awesome neighborhood. we all rode back together on the orange line on the T (part of the mbta) which is where everyone lives, including charlie rose (who is a big guy in cy).

so things are going well and when we have internet in our place or when i dont feel so guilty about mooching it off java jo's (our neighborhood café)... gotta run we're going to target on the bus.

i have arrived!

so its pleasantly hot here, not too bad for the northeast. however, i have to run & meet a girl from city year soon because she called and i think that is awfully nice. my goal for today is to get used to being in a city. from the few hours i've been out i've noticed how much i am not very good at cities. i can navigate them, but people stopping to ask you for money (like the people that want you to save the children) and homeless people are not really things that you see much in the suburbs. i think i brought too much stuff even though i tried really hard to not do so. as evidenced by my solo struggle with my massive suitcase this morning on the T. i kept thinking, didn't you learn from when you went to spain and had to deal with the metro there??! so a more thorough update is to come, probably later when i get back here and call it a day since due to pre-trip anxiety that induced slight insomnia, i didn't sleep much.

progress!

so far, some of my small piles have made it into the one suitcase i am taking. also, i decided my blender and a small frying pan are essential to my survival in urban Boston. along with food processor and non-perishables just in case i cant get to the grocery store right away. and also some toilet paper, which was my mom's idea. ok, maybe the blender isn't essential, but i have a feeling that since the only person that lives nearby is a boy, he won't be bringing those things. but perhaps that is a bad assumption.

it is also hard to pack because i will be back in two weeks or less for that rotary interview and then i can bring more stuff/whatever i forget back to Boston with me. and my mom is coming for opening day on the 28th of september with the promise of bringing me more books. although i have to say, i haven't really sacrificed that many books. i am only taking books in spanish, one capoeira book, two dictionaries, and a couple notebooks that i believe are necessary. also i am taking my berimbau, which is probably a really bad idea, but i can't imagine going to capoeira without it. hopefully it can get checked or pass as a carry on. it's very very delicate.

the more i think about city year, the less i feel like it was the best decision, but i guess that happens. probably on wednesday i will feel very different about it at registration, but i think that energy will come from being around all the right people that are excited about it as well.

beginning to pack

i just recently returned from Nicaragua and i washed all my clothes, thinking that it would be a great start to packing all of my important belongings so that i can transport them to Boston next Tuesday, but my great start was ruptured by well, my own procrastination. my clothes are clean for the first time in 2 weeks, which is fabulous, but i have no idea on how to start picking and choosing things to take to Boston.

when i moved into the College, it was easier because i just figured i could pack our family van to capacity and anything i forgot i figured i could just pick up on a trip home. clearly, the boston-virginia drive is one i won't be doing anytime soon given that i don't have a car and i am flying to boston on jetblue, which severely limits my packing style. should i take clothes? should i take kitchen appliances? my favorite chair? all?

for example, are clothes really necessary when you have a uniform that you have to wear everyday. however, the uniform must be wrinkle-free and so, my kind brother, a city year alum NH 06, bought me an iron at a yard sale over the summer. he handed it to me and said "pam, you will need this." and i'm thinking what? i usually avoid ironing at all costs. in college i think i ironed my clothes all of 10 times, and now i have a really extreme looking iron that i will most likely use several times a week. but in general, the biggest problem towards actually packing for Boston is that i create my own distractions.

and i also keep thinking of everyone that i know that has to pack to move really far away or across the country and i'm like, well packing for boston should take approximately 3 hours, tops. when clearly i think this thought process will get me nowhere fast.