Anna Truong, Chemistry

After over 10 months of preparation, it was hard to believe that Spring Break was finally here. The day before our departure, my co-site leader Anna Purtscher and I purchased breakfast and lunch items for our first day in California and practiced driving a 12-passenger van. After a successful practice, we both felt relieved and less nervous about our upcoming trip. The next morning, our group met at 4 AM at the RMC to have another site leader drive us to the airport. Unfortunately, we had forgotten to borrow the van keys from the site leaders who actually rented the van. However, after a few phone calls, we were able to procure the keys and head to the airport in a timely manner. Unexpectedly, checking in for our flight as a group went smoothly, and we arrived at our gate with an hour to spare. The flight was about 5 hours total, with a stop in San Diego, and most of our group slept through it. When we landed in San Francisco, retrieving the rental van went smoothly, but one of our participant's, Amy's, bag was stuck in San Diego. However, we persisted and drove 20 minutes to purchase groceries for three days at Safeway. Then we drove to our first lodging at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Pacifica, CA. We were warmly greeted by Reverends Tom Waddell and Jonathan Markham, and Carol Allen. After settling in, we took a short hike at the nearby San Pedro County Park. It was a nice introduction to the natural surroundings of California, and we were able to stretch our legs and get a good workout after our long day of travel. For dinner, we prepared pasta, salad, and garlic bread. After dinner, we played a few group activities to get to know each other a little better. Before preparing for bed, we had our first group reflection to discuss the day's events and our anticipation for the rest of the week. I was incredibly impressed by our reflection that night because although it was our first one, everyone seemed to be open and honest with each other. People discussed topics relating to our social justice issue and challenged each other instead of just bouncing from one person to another. Overall, it was a tiring but productive day and a great start to the rest of our ASB.

From this day, I’ve gained a greater awareness for my need to have clearly defined structure. When something doesn’t go according to plan, like Amy’s lost bag or a spontaneous field trip, I feel unprepared and anxious, which I don’t enjoy at all. Thus, I hope to overcome this shortcoming because as a site leader, I have to be flexible and receptive to my participants. Additionally, I feel assured that Anna P. and I selected outstanding individuals to participate in our ASB because from our pre-trip meetings to our very first reflection, they have proved to be insightful and eager to learn. I’m excited to facilitate the rest of their ASB experience, and I hope to also grow as a leader and mentor.