Down In the Delta

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when this journey began -- when I got accepted into the AmeriCorp program, when the truck came to take all my stuff, when I started training/orientation, my first day on the job, or when my stuff finally arrived.  Unfortunately, because my move unfolded in that convoluted order, I don't know exactly when I arrived.  Needless to say, my move started off a little shakey.  I left Minneapolis knowing only that at 8:00 a.m., August 11, I was supposed to start working.  Some might say I stepped out on faith -- others might call it something else;)  Anyway, I started work on Monday morning, signed a lease with Johnny (my 19-yr-old landlord)Monday afternoon (Johnny Walker that is; yeah -- I thought that too), slept on the floor in the empty apartment with the 'rents Monday night, got my furniture on Tuesday, and got a car on Wednesday.  Whew.  Since then life in the Delta has been, well, slow.  Even though I am technically on-call 24/7, I work Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, like the average Joe.  

Cleveland is a wonderful town.  The university here, Delta State University, has about 5000 students.  It is not the largesse of the U of M -- which is in and of itself special.  I work for the Institute for Community-Based research with is housed out of, and partnered with, the Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED).  The CCED, in turn, is an extension of Delta State.  What that means to you (the reader): not much.  What it means to me: I have three too many bosses.  But that matters little because I enjoy the work (at least so far -- in these first 2 weeks).  My focus over the next year will concern researching, evaluating, and presenting causes and solutions to food insecurity in the Delta.  Cleveland sits in the second poorest Congressional District in the country, so this issue is pressing not just for researchers and local activist, but especially for those most severely affected.  

Reading and researching literature and methodology over the past 2 weeks has kept me rather busy.  However, I have had some time for socializing.  There is definitely something to be said about southern hospitality.  Folks have been very open, warm, and genuinely friendly toward me -- beyond just simple manners.  I have been to multiple homes for either lunch or dinner and still have multiple invitations to homes, events, and churches to fulfil.  So far, if there is anything I want to take back up the river at the conclusion of this year is that sense of hospitality.  

Well stay posted.  There is more to come.  And check back regularly -- at least monthly -- and share with your friends and family.  I'll need all the advice and encouragement a can get. Take care & stay posted.