The Beginning

  I'm here!  So much has happened in the last two days, I can hardly believe it.  I have so much to share.  I guess I'll just begin at the beginning. =)

     My last "see you later"s with my family had very few tears and lots of smiles.  That felt really good!  My flight to Denver was smooth and safe.  Unfortunately, once I got on the plane my camera was out of battery power, so I couldn't take a picture out the window.  But here's me right before I left Grand Rapids.  It's blurry, but you can see my plane in the background. 

    As soon as I got to the Denver airport, people with AmeriCorps signs were waiting for me.  From that moment on, I have met so many extremely friendly, welcoming, interesting people!  We rode a bus to the place we are staying: Colorado Heights University.  It is a beautiful campus with a unique history and function.  At one point it was a Japanese business school, at another it was a convent for Catholic nuns.  Now it hosts graduate school classes, a small high school, international students and AmeriCorps NCCC!  The campus is in a breathtaking location.  I can look to the east and watch the sunrise over the city of Denver, and I can look to the west and watch the sunset over the mountains.  This picture is of me in the best spot I've found so far to take in the view.

This is the view from our cafeteria.

     I keep catching myself looking at the mountains and thinking "Oh yeah, what was I supposed to be doing?  Where was I going before I got distracted by these?"  The pictures don't do them justice.  I'll try to get a sunset picture to share with you soon. =)

     I'm living in Walsh Hall Room 245 with an awesome girl named America.  She's in the fire unit too, and they had these cute signs on our door for us when we arrived.  I'll try to take more pictures of my room soon!  I am practically all settled.  It felt so good to unpack.  I know I'll be moving a lot this year, but for now this is "home" and I want to make it feel like one.  (By the way, even though I live in Room 245, my address is still Room 136! That's our mail room.  My address has changed a little in a different way, though  I updated the address post with the correct version.  It's just Class 19A instead of 19, and add Fire Unit.)

     This is my dorky "first day of school" picture for my mom.  Because she demands them and because I love her.

     They've been keeping us pretty busy so far with paperwork, training and welcome activites!  These first few days are called "in-processing".  I got to take a campus tour and go exploring with new friends.  I had my first official meeting with the Fire Unit and got to spend time with my first temporary team: Fire 1, led by Lalita.  Tomorrow I'll be on a new temporary team: Fire 7, led by Arthur.  It's weird to shuffle around so much, but it's really helping me get to know people.  One of the most exciting parts of the day, drumroll please!.......... I was issued my uniform!

     This is me giving my best Rosie the Riveter impression.  This is a pretty standard version of what I'll be wearing most days!  Gray, black and khaki are the main colors.  I think some would consider the uniforms dorky, but I am really excited about them.  It felt like Christmas getting so much new stuff!  And for me, the uniforms helped me feel really connected to other people on campus.  We have so many differences to celebrate, and now we have something that makes us all the same in a small way, too. Before too long, the excitement will probably wear off and I will long to wear my own clothes.  But I will enjoy the excitement while it lasts!

     I will probably seldom wear this outfit, but it made me laugh so hard I needed a picture in it.  Props to my roomate America for being so gracious and helping me document my experience and laughing with me.  My favorite part is that it came with complimentary paint splatters!

     This morning was exciting with all the meetings and uniform issue, but the evening was the best part of my day today.  I ate mashed potatoes with vegetarian gravy and vegetarian stuffing while I watched the sunset over the mountains out the window.  I sat with some great people who formed an impromptu band while we ate.  It started with one girl plucking on her guitar, then someone pulled a violin from under their chair and another girl ran in with her djembe and some vocalists piped up.  It was amazing and it made me feel so peaceful.  People walking by stopped to listen and crowded around.  Music has such a special way of connecting people.  It reminded me of how music helped me meet Chris! 
     I'm going to go back to Walsh 245 and rest for now, another busy day will be here tomorrow!  Love to all of you.  I'll try to post again soon.