Upon arriving in the Midwest, it became obvious to me that there are many things we have in this great country that are not universally experienced. Some of these things are delightful. Others are terrifying. I'm going to start this series off with something that's terrifying: cicadas.
When I first stepped off the bus at our retreat center in Indiana the first thing that I noticed (other than the styffling heat and hellish humidity, but that's another post entirely) was a constant and defining droning. To the uninformed listener, one might have mistaken this noise for a train, a generator, or perhaps an ancient and dying computer not unlike the one I left at home.
Alas, this racket is simply the natural cry of the cicada, an insect that lives in the trees and does nothing but scream bloody murder all summer long. Apparently this is normal here. But to me, it freaks me out. Not to mention these suckers are about two inches long. Bugs just don't get that big on the West Coast, and when they do it's abnormal and should freak you out. Here's a picture and Wikipedia link for good measure. I can't wait for these suckers to die.
It's been a few weeks since I've posted on this blog and I know all my avid readers must be thoroughly disappointed with me (aka, my mother.) However, I assure you this isn't out of laziness but rather because I have extremely busy. My very limited access to technology is also not a helping factor; I'm writing this from the Milwaukee central library. Beautiful building but not the fastest computers. Also won't let me upload pictures, which is a bummer.
So, last I posted I was just about to board a plane for Indianapolis, where I was meeting my JVC coordinators and fellow volunteers for an orientation. It's a good thing I happened to bump into this group of 50 or so people standing in baggage claim, because I had no idea where I was heading, how I was getting there, or how long I would be there.
After a flurry of introductions, few of which I remembered the first time, we boarded a bus for a quaint little retreat center in rural Indiana. So rural in fact that we had no cell reception, although it didn't matter as they collected our phones at the beginning of the retreat. After a few weeks of general informing, group bonding, and overall orientating, we were off to our respective locations, mine being in Milwaukee of course. But more to come on that later...
So my JVC experience begins! I'm boarding a plane for Indianapolis in about nine hours (we have our orientation at a retreat center there.) I will be out of contact for the next week or so, but appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I'll update as soon as I'm settled!
One of my responsibilities as a Jesuit Volunteer is to raise money in order to support my placement. There are a lot of costs associated with being a JV, including insurance, housing, transportation, and monthly stipends, and the organization relies heavily on generous donors in order to send us to serve. I've included a link to my personal fundraising page below and I would be very thankful for all donations in any amounts:
http://jesuitvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/smts/individual.do?participationRef=3926.0.362577444
Regardless of whether you make or donation or not, please continue to follow my blog and stay up to date on my adventures on the Fresh Coast! (I hear they call it that...)
