Estes Park

Last Monday and Tuesday I attended the Colorado Statewide AmeriCorps Conference in Estes Park (right outside Rocky Mountain National Park). I did not have high expectations for the conference - these things generally feel like Kool-Aid drinking cult meetings.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that the conference was not that bad. The sessions themselves were very average, but could have been much worse when you consider that all the participants do very different work and have very different interests. We learned about the different programs associated with AmeriCorps, different leadership styles, identifying likes/dislikes about your workplace and resume writing (ok, that one was bad...and the trainer said some things I really disagree with). We also had the chance to build a trail for the YMCA, which was fun despite the drizzle.

The best part of the conference was reuniting with people I met in Albuquerque. When we all met for the first time, everyone was trying to acclimate to new cities, new jobs, new roommates, the AmeriCorps stipend, etc. I thought I was terrible because I did not stay in touch but, as it turns out, no one really did. This conference gave us the opportunity to meet again, now that we are settling in to our daily routines.

One of the hardest things about living in a new city and working in a very small office has been finding opportunities to meet new people. Having two days to play in the mountains with other AmeriCorps volunteers allowed me to find people with similar interests and living nearby. Now that I'm back, I'm excited to be have real friends (especially ones with similar financial situations).

PS, I also got to see elk!
PPS, And the Stanley Hotel!
PPPS, And reaffirm that I do not know how to roller skate.