it's hotter than the hinges of hell

it really is hot here. there are no doubts about that. currently it is 95... and its a pretty cloudy day.

here are some updates on my interestingly transitional life these days.

following my last post... i started orientation... which surprisingly wasnt as bad as i thought. not as many ice breakers and plenty of time to meet some really incredible and awesome people... including some rather interesting characters (including but not limited to my housemates)!

each day of orientation covered a different component of the JVC program. here is an overview
tuesday: we settled in
wednesday: social justice
thursday: simplicity
friday: community
saturday: spirituality
sunday: settling into my new home.

then we had local orientation which included
monday: seeing all the placements of my five other roommates
tuesday: going to the bank and doing adult things like opening a bank account

which brings me to wednesday and today which have been my first few days at my new placement... to say i love it here at Cristo Rey Jesuit is an understatement... The first day was a bit of "baptism by fire" and today has been great.... i am learning a lot.

while i realize im missing the nitty gritty details of my days.. ill leave for you a few ruminations i have found doing my transitional period

• if there is a switch in a room in a house you have just recently moved into... be cautious about flipping it. while it may look like a normal light switch, in actuality it may turn on the entire house alarm system
• an un-airconditioned / slightly moldy/ and unused for a year room might not be the worst thing... (read: with a little love and creativity i now have my own room).
• i dont know if i will ever get used to being called "ms. niemer"
• everyone sweats in texas

that's all she wrote!