Orientation - First Days

Here I am in New Windsor, Maryland! It is Day 3, but it feels like it's been weeks. My adventure started right away with delayed flights. There was fog in Chicago, so planes were stopping in South Bend to refuel, which blocked our take-off. By the time I got to Chicago, I'd missed my flight to Baltimore. The lady at the counter told me I'd be flying standby for the rest of the day. (I've never flown standby before.) The first flight let on 4 standbys out of 20. It was hectic and confusing. Some confirmed ticket holders lost their seats to standby-ers who were at the gate first. Then the lot of us moved to another waiting area for another standby, and I made it on that flight! I couldn't believe it. I got here late, with another BVSer, Mollie, who had also flown to Chicago. We recognized each other, but we hadn't made the connection before we arrived in Baltimore. It was a long day of traveling, but I wasn't actually in the air most of the time. Oh, in South Bend, I lost some papers with BVS cell phone numbers on them, so I don't know how they figured out what flight I was on.

Here, I was assigned a roommate. I had thought we would pick them, but I'm glad they were assigned to avoid a popularity contest and force people to mix. Also, I love my roommate!!! It's a great match, but I never would have made the connection on my own. Her name is Ine (EE-nuh), she's the oldest member of our group (62), and she's from Holland. She's Mennonite; her partner is a Mennonite pastor. On the first night we sat on our beds and talked and talked. Last night we shared photos. In our group we have 5 from Germany, 1 from Holland, 1 who is blind, 2 who are older, not all white... it's a nice mix.

On the second day, we got our food groups (also assigned) and made a food run. There's a schedule of meals, rotating groups to cook. We get 50 cents per person for breakfast, 75 cents for lunch, $1 for dinner. It's been a stretch, I'll admit, and I've been hungry a few times. There's definitely not enough to buy meat (which works well for us vegetarians). The idea is that we live simply and responsibly, and work together. Many people in the world live for under $1 a day.

Our goal this week has been to pick our top 3 choices for placement. There are files on every project, which give pictures, BVS-er feedback & description of the place. This makes a big difference in how I view projects that I previously had 1 paragraph about. I no longer want any of the 4 projects I was initially after! I was quite disappointed and down, but now I think I've found a few I'd be interested in. The process is supposed to be self-led, which is frustrating. When I talk to Dan McFadden (the director), he always mentions things I didn't know about the project, or factors that he hadn't told me before. I wish he would have more time with each of us, before we're supposed to decide. I am currently looking at interim projects in the States, since Latin America is so up in the air. At some point, I'm supposed to have a phone interview with the new LA coordinator. It's nervewracking because I don't know what sites will accept an interim volunteer. If it's a project I really want, I may be willing to commit to a full year, with the idea that I'll go to Latin America next year. My top choice at this point is a food bank in DC that pairs farms with places that give food to people of low-income. I could be working on a farm, visiting food banks, teaching classes on how to do fresh, local foods with a limited budget, developing curriculum for classes - or any combination thereof. I'm not sure what they'd need at the moment, but I like any of those possibilities (except maybe developing curriculum). If I teach classes, I will learn how to speak intelligently and informedly about something I care about. Living is in a BVS house in DC (not common for most positions). Not sure how I feel about that, but so far this is my best option I think.

It's a whirlwind. I've been really tired, but I woke up yesterday with finally enough energy for the day. Email me! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this blog thing, it feels a lot less personal. It's hard to not get much feedback.