Life in the Undergrowth
I went into my first week of work expecting to be held captive in the woods and forced to participate in trust falls and team-building exercises. "There will be no cell service and limited Internet access at camp," they said. Images of 19 year olds positioning themselves to catch me as I fall backwards filter through my thoughts for weeks.
Day one of my captivity:
Our first day was naturally rough. We were 5 returning and 8 new employees joined by our supervisor. We spent the better part of a day jammed into a tiny room with a projector listening to welcome speeches, collecting binders and pieces of paper full of information, sporting nametags and introducing ourselves to each set of staff members that appeared. We learned about the organization and their marketing strategies and policies, computer policies and the names and faces of one happy employee after another. I must be dreaming, I thought. They must be hiding their disgruntled employees in the basement.
After 6 hours of PowerPoint and paperwork, we headed to the woods to begin our stint in captivity. I braced myself for bunk beds, bad food, and early curfews. When we arrived, however, we were granted free time to get settled and mingle with our new coworkers. There was bluegrass and beer... and of course, bad food and bunk beds.
Day two of my captivity:
I woke easily, as I hadn't slept. My top-bunk friend tossed and turned all night above me on the vinyl mattress in her crunchy sleeping bag as I silently questioned the structural stability of the frame from below. After the decent breakfast and more mingling, we headed to the lodge (with fire place and wood floors!) and were each handed a blank map of Oregon, a quiz about Oregon and a blank piece of paper. We busily filled in the maps, and responded to questions about plant and animal species that exist in the state. I was feeling a bit inadequate, realizing I didn't know the answers to several of the questions. What is the state bird, anyway? And what salmonids do we have? Then we took some time to write a letter to ourselves about our goals for the year, to be opened at the end of our year of service. Finally, I was forced to put the floating words to paper.
Day 3-5 of my captivity:
The rest of the week was one big bundle of blur. We hiked and pulled weeds and nerded out on plants. We did yoga by the fire and swam by starlight. We tied splints and resuscitated our dummies in CPR class. We tromped through the woods, and talked of adventures in caves and alkaline lakes, of bike rides across the state, of music festivals and work. We talked and sat by the fire until the wee hours, and fell asleep to mandolin strings.
I thought the fun might be over when I headed home from training. But alas, I've already built fence, captured fairy shrimp, went 4xing through a mucky farm field, played with a hand-held GPS, learned 10 new plants, went to a meeting with ODOT, spotted two endangered plant species, and met more amazing people doing amazing work. I can't wait for more.
Day one of my captivity:
Our first day was naturally rough. We were 5 returning and 8 new employees joined by our supervisor. We spent the better part of a day jammed into a tiny room with a projector listening to welcome speeches, collecting binders and pieces of paper full of information, sporting nametags and introducing ourselves to each set of staff members that appeared. We learned about the organization and their marketing strategies and policies, computer policies and the names and faces of one happy employee after another. I must be dreaming, I thought. They must be hiding their disgruntled employees in the basement.
After 6 hours of PowerPoint and paperwork, we headed to the woods to begin our stint in captivity. I braced myself for bunk beds, bad food, and early curfews. When we arrived, however, we were granted free time to get settled and mingle with our new coworkers. There was bluegrass and beer... and of course, bad food and bunk beds.
Day two of my captivity:
I woke easily, as I hadn't slept. My top-bunk friend tossed and turned all night above me on the vinyl mattress in her crunchy sleeping bag as I silently questioned the structural stability of the frame from below. After the decent breakfast and more mingling, we headed to the lodge (with fire place and wood floors!) and were each handed a blank map of Oregon, a quiz about Oregon and a blank piece of paper. We busily filled in the maps, and responded to questions about plant and animal species that exist in the state. I was feeling a bit inadequate, realizing I didn't know the answers to several of the questions. What is the state bird, anyway? And what salmonids do we have? Then we took some time to write a letter to ourselves about our goals for the year, to be opened at the end of our year of service. Finally, I was forced to put the floating words to paper.
Day 3-5 of my captivity:
The rest of the week was one big bundle of blur. We hiked and pulled weeds and nerded out on plants. We did yoga by the fire and swam by starlight. We tied splints and resuscitated our dummies in CPR class. We tromped through the woods, and talked of adventures in caves and alkaline lakes, of bike rides across the state, of music festivals and work. We talked and sat by the fire until the wee hours, and fell asleep to mandolin strings.
I thought the fun might be over when I headed home from training. But alas, I've already built fence, captured fairy shrimp, went 4xing through a mucky farm field, played with a hand-held GPS, learned 10 new plants, went to a meeting with ODOT, spotted two endangered plant species, and met more amazing people doing amazing work. I can't wait for more.
posted by humble bee at 10:25 PM
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