Cruising with Ms. Cruzat at Tina's

I am so happy to say that the meet and greet dinner with our new chaperone, Mrs. Cruzat, was one of the most fun ILC events.

For the evening, we all met up at Tina's Place in Pinole. Once the restaurant opened, we settled down and began the struggle of deciding on what to order. After taking the longest time, I decided to order the Pasta Primavera with some Potatoe Cheddar soup. Until the meals arrived, we all enjoyed sourdough bread. Starting with me, we introduced each other and told a little bit about what we do. Mrs. Cruzat also asked each of us what we plan to do in the future. I was so impressed with how Krystal has a set goal in mind to become a surgeon. Most of us had a general idea and wanted to major in some sort of science or math. I am very indecisive, but  for now I plan to major in a science and minor in English.

Soon the dinner arrived and we all began to enjoy our meals. Everyone's dishes looked so delicious! While we ate, the conversation continued. Mrs. Cruzat told us about her roller-coaster journey from the Philippines to the Bay Area. Being a Principal at a high school in the Philippines, Mrs. Cruzat was selected to be a teacher in my school district. But her experience teaching at a middle school made her quite stressed. She then started teaching at Hercules High School. With her experience, she realized that she worked better with older children. I learned that its always good to try new things, one never knows what they might end up liking. 

The very delicious Pasta Primavera

Potatoe Cheddar soup: yum, yum, yum!

Feasting at Tina's Place

After enjoying the dinner, we all headed out to a park near the restaurant. Mrs. Cruzat had planned an activity for us in which we all got a chance to share a few laughs and bond with each other. For the activity, Mrs. Cruzat made us stand in a circle and hold each other's hands. She first told us to "say what she says and do as she says." Then she gave us instructions to jump left, right, in, or out. That round wasn't so bad, even though I often confuse my left and right. Then she told us to "say what she says and do the opposite of what she says." Here is when the confusion began. We often messed up. Sometimes we said the opposite of what she said and did what she told us to do. But, after a while, we got the hang of if. Then, Mrs. Cruzat instructed us to "do what she says, but say the opposite of what she says." This was the most confusing. We all messed up frequently. We did a few rounds of the activity before we couldn't stop laughing. The activity was so fun, it made my day!

That ended the meet and greet. We all departed home after yummy food and lots of laughs. I truly love my cohort, everyone is so nice and cooperative. I am so happy Mrs. Cruzat is our chaperone. I am confident that she will make the whole experience much more fun. I am so thrilled! 14 days to go!

A calm group picture before we couldn't stop ourselves from laughing in the group activity.