Hello, again

Sorry for the wait, everyone! Did I really leave home nearly two weeks ago? There will hopefully be more catchup posts over the next few days, and then eventually something like a schedule. Bear with me, please and thank you!

It feels like we've been traveling for years. Thanks to Irene, most people were later-than-expected getting to their sites. After multiple rescheduling attempts, the 3 of us Korea-types were ready to set off very early Wednesday morning (read: we left Stony Point at 2am). It took a *bit* longer than expected to get here, but that's another story. For now, I'll tell you a bit about what I was up to before the travel adventure began.

I arrived at Orientation on Monday afternoon, ready to learn what exactly I had signed up for. It was great to see familiar faces again, and I was quickly reminded of what had made me so sure of my choice during Placement in March. The YAVs are an amazing group, and I truly enjoyed worshiping and learning and (especially) unwinding with them last week. One of my favorite parts was having former YAVs (aka YAVA[lum]s) for guidance and stories and simply the assurance that we're not the first to go through this rollercoaster of feelings and events. Between the YAVA and the national YAVs, many of whom were not at Placement, it was a pleasure to meet even more like-minded and like-hearted people.

They kept us busy last week. We began each day with music (so much music) and devotions, then went straight into topics like Critical Cultural Competency, globalization, and more that defy explanation in blog form. After more lectures/discussions/activities in the afternoon, we had a break before dinner and processing with our small groups.

My small group! (Thanks for the photo, Mary!)

These lovely people are, from left: Rachel, Monisha (our awesome YAVA leader!) Austin, David, and Mary. The small group sessions were some of the most useful and relaxing times during the whole week. We had the chance to go over what we had taken in (which was kind of a lot) and the opportunity to vent our frustration/confusion/exhaustion in a safe space. Not everything we talked about was heavy or particularly significant, but the time together was really important.

Our formally scheduled activities ended on Sunday night, but by then Irene had rolled in and we did some YAV bonding by battening down the hatches and preparing for the worst. Though nearly everyone's plans changed because of the storm, one good thing that came out of it was that we had more time to process the week's events and simply to spend time with each other before parting ways for a year. Our group was among the last to leave Stony Point, but I'm glad for those extra days.

Time did pass strangely at Stony Point. Days would last forever sometimes with everything we packed in, but the week (and a bit) flew by. I'll post next about how we got here--you'll see how it was an extension of the strange passing of time. For now, thanks for your patience! Talk to you again soon :)