One Week Out!

So, it has been a while since I have written in this, but that is for good reason. In my last post I mentioned that the Americorps does a GRRRRRREAT job of keeping their corps members in the dark on everything, which I promise I am not exaggerating here. In the most recent month, I have since learned that I have a registration date on August 7th, at which I will probably fill out paperwork and get my uniform, but all i have been told officially is to arrive at headquarters at 8:00 am. I do know that I begin my year of service on August 12th at 8:00 am, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine!! To try to help build up our hype and excitement, we have been playing Detroit trivia through our Facebook page. I must mention that I am surprisingly terrible at this, but I have committed to not looking up any questions on the internet, so that is my excuse.

Now, on to more exciting news... I HAVE AN APARTMENT!! Jimmy Johnson, along with myself, have signed an apartment in Detroit, in the Lafayette Towers! We are on the 17th floor of the East tower, with a breath-taking view of Belle Isle, the Detroit river, Windsor, and Lake St. Claire. As Sarah Palin would say, "We can keep an eye on our neighbors to the North from our apartment!" Yeah, I just tossed that out there. Also from our super sweet apartment, you can see the Dequindre Cut. For all you that don't know what the Dequindre Cut is, it is a trail that connects the Eastern Market to the RiverFront. It is about 1.6 miles, and only for runners and bikers... well walkers too! It is great for runs, although despite the well lit path, I am still afraid to run at night when it is only lit by lamps.

Now, for all of you that live near the city, but rarely venture out because, well, Detroit has the reputation it does, I would highly encourage you to reconsider. The city, at least it appears to me, is safer than you may think it is at all hours of the day and night! A few things I have noticed in my few weeks there:

1. Dan Gilbert is THE MAN! The things this one guy has done for the City is crazy. If you have an hour for lunch, go to Campus Martius Park, just do it. In slight spoiler alert, you will find sheds with all the great restaurants & bars in Detroit selling mini menus of some of there best foods! Also, you will notice there are these white bikes locked up outside the Quicken Loans/Chase tower. Not entirely sure what they are yet, but I have heard they are free and you can borrow one for a few hours, bike around the city and check stuff out and return it to one of many of these bike racks throughout the city!

2. GM puts on free concerts on the riverfront every Friday night!!! There are only a few left, so I encourage you to get out there while you still can. After all, who turns down a free concert?!

3. Detroit is just a blast to walk around. There are so many great things happening here each day, as well as so many hidden gems in this city!