Dearest Reader,

Day 1 went great. We shuffled into our infamous white van and made our way to the metro station. The trip was going great before it even started. Liam broke his phone screen while we were waiting for the metro, and we all had more stuff to carry than we could handle! But on a more serious note, the pre-trip meetings kickstarted our relationships, as we already had a basic understanding of each other's personalities. This allowed our van and metro rides to run smoothly. When we arrived to the church, we split off into two teams: one team went grocery shopping, and one team went to a local library to plan the lesson for Thurgood Marshall High School. We all met up again afterward as the drowsiness set in. After some group-oriented, team-building whatever-you-wanna-call-'ems (and some much appreciated free time/rest), Sam and Richa prepared a lovely carbo-loaded dinner. As they brought out the food, 70+ people flooded the area where we planned to eat. We improvised! Thirteen college students crammed into the church choir room for an intimate gathering full of laughs and spaghetti sauce splatters.

Next came our reflection time. None of us knew what to expect. Some of us (i.e., the Global Communities kids, woot WOOT) had already known each other a little better than most, but we still weren't prepared to get as personal as we did. The effects were profound. People opened up about their more personal experiences and thoughts, and we all experienced a much deeper connection. It was the first step towards becoming more of a family.

Then we went to bed. The stage floor was extremely uncomfortable. I'm talking rock hard. Jordan brought a mattress. We were all envious. However, our collective company made for a very enjoyable close to our first official day. The reflection period was instrumental in our newfound closeness. We expect great things to come!

-Liam and Jordan