Today we drove from Cincinnati to NYC. There are 14 people total on the trip, and we took 2 vans. I am the only male traveler. It was a 12 hour journey to NY, but we are here in one piece. We are staying at the Precious Blood Monastery in Brooklyn. It is a very cool building. There are sisters here but we cannot talk to them face to face. Gerardo, who coordinated all of this, seems like a very capable trip leader. He got us dinner (Mexican food, yum!) and helped us get to know each other through conversational ice breakers. He is clearly passionate about what he is doing, and that is motivating and encouraging. He talks to me as if I were one of the UC trip leaders, which I am not, but I am OK with that. I have been talking to him the most with questions I've had.
I get my own room in the monastery in the men's wing. My room is next to Gerardo's, and about 50 feet from the women's wing, where all the other trip members are staying. I knew I was going to be the only guy coming into the trip, and it should be OK for a week.
My goals for this week focus around enhancing my personal interaction skills. I will...
- Make more eye contact with others
- Ask more questions (and listen to the answers!)
- Improve the experience of others through meaningful interaction
- Keep up with Gerardo to make sure he knows we appreciate all of his efforts
- Practice my Spanish
We are having breakfast in the morning with a few of the families we are helping. Should be great!
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