It's Official!

The dates are confirmed, we depart for Rhode Island June 22nd at 6:00 AM. My mother and I drove to Pinole Middle School and arrived the the ILC orientation with 10 minutes to spare. As I walked up to the group there for the orientation I began to feel very excited. As I waited for Don to bring back a custodian to open up the gym for us I thought about how quickly this milestone came. We were just at the dinner and now we're at this date that previously seemed so far away. Little did I know, it was right around the corner.

When we finally got into the gym I took a seat in the third row of the bleachers and talked about the trip a bit with my mom. Soon the orientation started and all the ILC chaperones gave quick introductions to the parents. This allowed for a greater sense of comfort to be gained by all of the parents. All the chaperones said some really wonderful things that really showed their passion for the success of students. My chaperone, Ms. Cruzat, had a very nice speech that made me think about how it's not just the students who will grow from this experience but the chaperones as well.

Lynda and I getting our IDs and medical cards scanned

After the quick introduction to the orientation we broke off into groups by school. Ms. Cruzat led the group and provided us with a draft of our itinerary and answered any questions the ILCers or parents had. Lots of the many questions my mom had been wondering were answered today. After our group sessions we came back together for more traveling information from Don. After the orientation I was able to get my medical card and ID card scanned, making everything seem so official.

Ms. Cruzat and I

In the end, it was a very valuable information session that I'm sure my mother really appreciated. Tomorrow is the last milestone before the flight, the meet and greet with my cohort and Ms. Cruzat. I'm very excited to get to speak with Ms. Cruzat some more and even took a quick picture with her after the orientation.