CTY Goodbye

Wow. I can't believe I have been in Santa Cruz for 6 weeks. The time out here has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I took off from the east coast to go on a trip where I didn't know what to expect. This summer has been so much more than anything I ever thought it would be.

Last summer I wasn't happy with my work that I did at the hospital. Since it counted for my community service hours, it made me even more unhappy because I felt like I wasn't having some kind of an impact on other people. I knew I wanted something different this summer. I didn't know what to expect when I took this job. I had never really worked with kids before so I knew it was going to be somewhat challenging. So, I took it on a limb.

I came to California thinking that this job was gonna be easy. I have to be an RA for a group of well-behaved, intellectual, extremely smart young students. I was gonna get paid a good deal of money and I get to live in a beach town for 6 weeks...for free. What more could you ask for? Not much. Even though this sounded like a perfect way to spend my summer, I did have some hesitations. Was I going to be happy counting this as my community service. Is it really service to someone if you have so much fun and get paid a ton? This was a question that I struggled with at the beginning, but it was at the beginning that I realized that I was in for much more than I had originally bargained for.

This summer has been a life changing experience. I have learned new things about myself that I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. I feel like I've come to appreciate so much more since I have been out here. I am going to go home tomorrow changed. Not changed in a bad way, but changed in a way to where I am going to enjoy all of my time at Emory.

I can't even begin to talk about the people I have met out here. Everyone from students to my fellow co-workers have been amazing. You don't realize how well you get to know people until you live with the same one's for six weeks, and some only 3 weeks. We really are like a family. I don't know how it's gonna be at 6:30 in the morning when I get on the shuttle to go to the airport. It's gonna be hard to leave these people, a couple in particular.

This summer has been a big learning experience for me. I am bringing back to Virginia with me more knowledge about me, the world, kids, life in general, that I never expected to learn. I can't really imagine what I would have done better this summer had I not chosen to come to California.

I just want to thank all of the people that I've worked with this summer for this experience. It has been amazing. I'm excited about keeping in touch with them and I can't wait to get back to Southwest Virginia and tell about my summer.

I'm gonna leave you with my favorite picture from the summer. Even though it was taken between 4 and 5 weeks ago, I never put it on here because I wanted to save it for the end. Its most of the RA staff, on a hike, and we found this squiggly thing. I think it's awesome. It's a picture I'd like to keep forever.

You know, I kind of like this blogging thing. Maybe it's something I'll keep going after I get back home. I will be in Charlotte, North Carolina at 9:35 tomorrow night and Haysi around 12 on Sunday. I'm excited. Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Day Off/Awesomeness

Good morning everyone! Hope everything is good in Virginia and wherever else you are. The past two days have been great.

I left Santa Cruz around 7:15 on Sunday night. By the time I waited on the bus to San Jose then caught a train to my hotel is was 10:00. You would think since I haven't watched TV in 6 weeks that I would watch it all night. Well, it's really weird, but I just have no interest in watching TV anymore. I've done without it for 6 weeks so whats the use of watching it if I don't absolutely have to. So, I was in bed by 10:30. I got up yesterday morning and caught the 10:10 train to San Francisco. Once I got to the city I was utterly confused because their public transportation is confusing. I ended up catching two different streetcars to the Fisherman's Wharf. I knew one thing that I for sure wanted to do was ride a boat around the Bay. So, I paid $23 and got an hour long cruise. It was a lot of fun. It took me under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz and gave me awesome views of the city. I was kind of disappointed that the fog was still around because I couldn't see the top of the bridge. It was also the coldest boat ride I have ever taken in my life.

I had lunch at In-N-Out. Since it is a California thing I figured I should take advantage of it while I can. It was very tasty. After lunch and the cruise I caught another street car back to the Museum of Modern Art. On the way there I was fortunate enough to see the San Francisco Police do their finest work. Four officers was tackling a man right where my street car was stopped. They had out their sticks to hit him and everything. His significant other, who was in a panic, was running around yelling, "don't taze him, don't taze him, he's got metal in his mouth." Even though it was a serious situation, it was quite comical.

I became sort of sick the day before I left, so I was feeling a little under the weather by the time I got to the Museum of Modern Art. I only spent about an hour in the Museum but it was really good. I really enjoyed the photography section. I caught the 5:56 train out of San Francisco and was back at the college at exactly 9:00.

We have a common room on my hall with couches and stuff for everyone to hang out in. I had my kids promise me before I left that they would clean the common room before I came back. Well, we walked back in the dorm...the common room was clean...but they were all rushing me to my room. I figured they were trying to pull a prank on me. So, I went to my room and there was a sign on the door that read, "Go to the right stall in the bathroom." So, I went to the stall and there was a sign that said, "Go to the common room." So, I went to the common room and on the table there was a paper that said, "Check both microwaves." So, I went to the first microwave and opened it up. I found a card that all my guys had bought me and signed just saying how much they missed me on my day off. There was also a sign that said, "don't forget to check the other microwave." So, I go to the other microwave and inside I find a giant stuffed Banana Slug, which is the mascot for the University here.

So, my day off was great. I needed it. Now I'm off to Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey on a field trip. I guess I'll have even more pics to post after this.

Day Off!

Hey everyone. Tomorrow is my day off so I am getting ready to leave in about 30 minutes. Be expecting pictures tomorrow night or Tuesday morning. Only 6 days 'til I'm back on the east coast!

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Plans for My Day Off

I'm excited now. I had been bummed because I didn't have plans for my day off but now I do. I really wanted to leave here on Sunday night and go somewhere and spend the night. A fellow RA gave me the idea to go spend the night in San Jose then ride the train to San Francisco early on Monday morning.

Thanks to priceline.com letting me name my own price, I got a room in the Wyndham in San Jose on Sunday night for $60.00. Normally the rooms are $169 per night. So, I'm gonna ride the bus from Santa Cruz to San Jose late on Sunday evening, spend the night in San Jose, then ride the train to San Francisco early on Monday morning. Keep in mind, I'm doing this all by myself. There are a few things I didn't get to do while I was in San Francisco that I want to do. I would like to go to the Museum of Modern Art. I heard it was really nice and it's something that I really want to do. I like going to museums and I didn't get to go to any while I was there. So, I'm excited about that trip. I will be coming back to Santa Cruz late on Monday evening.

The past couple days have been good. This session is flying by. It is hard to believe that in just 10 days I will be back in Virginia. It's gonna be hard to leave everyone here at Santa Cruz, but I am ready to head back to Haysi and Emory.

Hope everything is good for everyone! Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

A Santa Cruz Adventure

Good morning everyone. Just thought I would put up a few pictures from my trip to the beach yesterday evening. I wish everyone could be out here to visit these places with me. They are pretty awesome. Have a good day everyone. Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Me holding a starfish.

Waves crashing into the cliffs.

Pacific sunset.

Lighthouse State Beach

Sea lion

Lance diving into the waves

Home Sweet Home...for the summer

So...on my way back from lunch a few minutes ago, I realized that I hadn't taken a picture of my dorm where I am living this summer. It looks pretty cool so I figured that I would put a picture up.

The past few days have gone really well. The dance was a ton of fun. I think they are one of my favorite parts of CTY. We had a really good playlist for Friday night and I think that all the kids really enjoyed what we did. Weekends are where us RAs really earn our money. It is our responsiblity to keep all the kids occupied for 48 hours...which can be a huge challenge. So, we had the dance Friday. Yesterday we had "Halloween in July." Basically it was just a bunch of random games with halloween names like "witchy wiffleball" and "headless ghoulie soccer." It was fun though. Last night was Casino Night. It was a lot of fun too. I was in charge of the marriage booth for the first hour. We had to come up with good vows for all the kids to say when they "married" each other. It's hard coming up with an hour's worth of different vows, especially when most of the kids were getting married multiple times.

I'm looking forward to today. Basically we're going down to a big field and we are going to "chill." It is going to be nice to take some down time. My day off is coming up on the 4th and I'm getting excited about it. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. I thought about getting an early flight out of San Jose to Los Angeles and staying in LA for the day but I've waited too late and it is going to be too expensive. I'll figure something out. The way I see it, since I'm in California I might as well spend a little bit of money and enjoy myself because it's not all the time that I'm in a place like this.

Hope everything is good in Virginia. I'll be home in 14 days! Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Time Flies By

Hey everyone. Everything has been good around here the past couple days. Just busy. This past week has flown by.

Today I needed some down time so I decided to go into town around 11. It is so nice being able to walk 2 minutes out of my dorm and catch a bus that goes right to the middle of town. I went down to town, went to Gap, the bookstore, the surf shop, and ate lunch. It was nice to get away from campus. I wish I would have figured out how to use the bus system earlier so I would have done this more last session.

Activities have been fun this week. Yesterday we had a game of Capture the Flag with over 100 people. It was a lot of fun. It just dawned on me that I really haven't watched any tv in over 4 weeks. I feel like I have been cut off from the world. I never hear anything about what is going on in the news. I kind of like it.

I have a feeling I'm going to be bored once I go back to Emory in a couple weeks. There is not near the amount of stuff to do around Emory that there is to do there. I can't just "catch a bus into town." I have to drive everywhere which I've come to the conclusion is not very fun. I like riding buses. They're cheap and easy.

My day off is Monday, August 4th. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. I may end up riding a bus to San Jose and doing something over in that direction. I'll figure something out. I'm almost ready for a day off. I need it.

Well, I hope everything is good in Virginia and wherever else you all are reading from. I miss everyone! See you in a little over two weeks! Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Another Day

Hey everyone. Hope everything is good where ever you are. The weather has been really cold here the past couple days. I have been freezing to death. This morning I'm sure it was only around 50 degres. That's the thing about this place. You'd think that since I'm in California it would be warm, but that is not the case. Of the nights and mornings it is cold then during the day it is pretty warm.

Everything seems to be going pretty good this session. I have a really good group of students. I have been kind of down the past couple days though. I think it's a combination of things. One, a couple of our good RA friends had to leave because they were only staying for one session. That was upsetting. I'm also really missing the guys from my last hall. I think since it was my first time in California and they were my first group of students, I am going to miss them. They were an awesome group of guys. At time they were a challenge, but they made it through. I'm kind of missing Virginia too. Even though I love this place, I'm missing being in southwest Virginia.

I was talking with some other people and it would be totally different living here as a student. I think the reason most of us like the place so well is because of the people we are working with. We came from all over the country and we get along really well. It would be a totally different experience if it wasn't for those people.

Thanks to everyone who sent me a birthday card! I really appreciate it. I know the thanks are late but I still needed to thank you. I'm on the dance committee for this weekend so I need to go do some planning for the boogie night. Everyone have a good day.

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

New Day, New Kids

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been a few days since I have updated my blog. It seems as if I've not stopped to rest for the past 72 hours. We left on Friday afternoon for San Francisco. It was about a 2 hour drive up from Santa Cruz. We took Highway 1 which runs all the way up the coast. It was one of the most beautiful drives that I have ever taken. We basically drove on a cliff beside the ocean the whole way up.

Once we got there we checked into our hotel. 12 people in one room! It was quite the night. We stayed in a hotel called The Palace. It was super nice. Right in the middle of the city too. Friday night we went to the waterfront and then walked around the city some. After getting a little bit of sleep we got up early and headed out on the city. We ate at Mel's Diner for breakfast and I got gravy and biscuits which I was stoked about. We then walked through Chinatown, saw different places to shop, then went to the Fisherman's Wharf. After that, the day was practically over. We left and went to the Golden Gate bridge, went to Twin Peaks (the highest point in the city), and then we headed back to Santa Cruz.

It is so weird that Santa Cruz feels like home now. Even though I loved the city, I was so happy to be at Santa Cruz. It was one of those moments where you feel like you have been on vacation and you're so happy to be pulling back in your driveway, except I was pulling back into Santa Cruz.

This morning was sad. Some of the great RAs only here for one session left. I will miss them a lot. After they left kids started coming. I have a really good group of guys this time around. As of right now. Hopefully this session will be as great as the last.

It's time for me to go. I have things to do and people to see. Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Group shot.

Chinatown

Maxwell House guys

Golden Gate Bridge

Twin Peaks

I'm Free!

All the kiddies are gone!!! It feels nice to have a 48 hour break. I just wanted to update real quick since I hadn't in a few days. I'm leaving to go to San Francisco in a few minutes. Expect pics in a couple days. Have a good weekend everyone!



Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.