10.16

Today was the first day of PT! We got up at 5 am and did all kinds of squats and push-ups and crunches under the stars. Then, we spent two hours learning about extremely basic tools, like shovels, hammers and rakes. Each group had to give had to give a mini presentation on the tools, which were primarily based on sarcasm and very entertaining to watch. One group referred to a shovel as a "spade" the entire time, which I thought was hilarious in the moment. Now, I'm realizing it was more something you had to be there for. Gotta make the most out of those little things am I right?

After lunch, we all piled in the van and drove into what seemed like the middle of nowhere even though it was less than five minutes away. It looked like we got transplanted into a Breaking Bad scene in the desert, and all we had was a few huge storage sheds and some tents filled with old Ameri-Clothes. We sat outside the van in the burning sun for hours, waiting to receive our winter/snow gear. To pass the time, we danced to middle school music until we realized we were kicking sand in everybody's face (oops). Finally, once we were all on the brink of heat stroke, they handed out fluorescent orange overalls, a disheveled yellow jacket, a Carhartt parka, and a pair of rain boots for us to try on. We looked like characters from the lego movie and it was amazing and terrible at the same time. 

Now, it's 9:00pm and I just got back from dinner and a team meeting. I was in such a great mood on my way there, and it seemed like every person I passed could feel it. I got so many kind greetings, something as simple as that can really go a long way. Keeley and Rohan made tacos, which I scarfed down without hesitation. I'm still uncomfortably full. I think my stomach has shrunk in the past 5 days from the food situation. We each are allotted about 4$ per day for food, and haven't quite figured out how to manage groceries yet, so most of the time we are all hungry (or at least I am). This is a work in progress that I'm sure will get easier as we go along.

I'm sitting in my room alone. It's rare to get a moment alone in here and I'm trying to savor it. Tomorrow, we do van training. The girls in my group unanimously volunteered me to be one of the designated van drivers, Lord help me. I think they chose me because I'm one of the older people, and I got the impression they wanted a woman to represent them behind the wheel. I tried to politely decline this nomination, and explain that I'm really not the best driver in the world, but they were unfaltering and I didn't want to let them down. So, very soon I'll be driving a ginormous 16 passenger van around the West Coast. This will be quite the change from driving little Cindy around but that's okay because only constant is change! This is my chance to start over and be the most incredible van driver this world has ever seen! My teammates seem to have the utmost faith in me, so I just need to have a little faith in myself and hopefully that will be enough

 First Monday complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~V

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