Orientation Weekend

Announcing the 2010 Teach with Africa Fellows!

Now that the team was in place, Orientation Weekend was set for the weekend of May 15 - 16.  The days preceeding that were filled with emails flying here and there.  Details as to when to meet and where, parking logistics, and a final call for Team Biographies.

Mid-week, the piece that I have been waiting for was sent out to all of the Fellows.  The roster for the 2010 team, including photos of all of us, so we could finally put a face with the list of names we had been seeing on the email lists. 

I asked Jim which photo I should use - the one of me under my profile here, or the one of me that he seems to like best and always recommends to use. 

This photo was taken last year during our family vacation to Disneyland.  We, as a family, like to try on hats.  So while all of the other Fellows had photos of them looking professional
and educated and young (yes, young!), here I am.  But - when we finally met, people remembered who I was, which I guess makes the photo worthy.

Due to the Dominican Graduation on Friday evening, and our party celebrating that event, I was not able to attend the Saturday session.  I was SURE that everyone was making best friends, and connecting with each other, and that I would be the lone unconnected sole when I arrived on Sunday.  Let the Pity Party begin!!!!!

To compensate myself for that, I had a whale of a time at the graduation party, going to bed LATE, and waking up TIRED.

Arrrgh!!! What a way to meet the people I would be spending the next couple of months living and working with!!

I arrived at the Dominican Campus Sunday morning, tired, worn out from the party and the emotional fact of having just graduated.  The orientation was being held in the Creekside Room and some folks had already arrived when I got there.  I think they must have been just as tired as I was because we were all a little slow with the introductions, but once we got started, the talking began.  I met Steve Le, and Dana (with whom I would be sharing a room and who is one of the other 3 MBA's), and Jennifer (whose sister Jessica went to elementary school with my daughter Jennifer), and Amy.  Margie and Larry (the founders of TWA) introduced themselves over lunch and we decided that my non-profit management experience could be usefull to them, especially Larry who is managing the finances and bookkeeping.

The day was filled with the usual sort of Orientation discussions:  what to bring (warm clothes), what not to bring (drugs or pot), the daily schedule, what sort of projects everyone will be doing.

I do have to say that the orientation was geared heavily towards the education staff.  I would have liked to have had a break-out group with just the MBA's so that we could connect and start to figure out what project we all will be working on - to see where the group strengths are.  But I assume that will come over time.

What turned into a long day ended with the 16 of us all going out to pizza in Mill Valley.  People seemed tired, many had traveled by plane to attend the weekend orientation and a couple were leaving Sunday night so they could be at work on Monday morning. 

As we all got into our respective cars, you could hear "See you at the airport" and "See you in Cape Town."

30 days from then we would be in Cape Town.

(Note:  I won't publish it here, but anyone wanting to read the Fellows Biographies can email me for a copy)