I apologize for not posting an update last night but yesterday was pretty exhausting and I knew we would have a rather long day today so I just figured it would be easier to recap.
Yesterday was the day that the cyclists arrived. All of the crew members had different duties assigned to them and since I couldn't drive, I was dropped off at the airport at around 10 in the morning for the first cyclist and there were two vans that were making rotations all day to and from the airport. I was the first contact the cyclists got when they arrived and as PR Coordinator, I think that was befitting of me. I tried to be as enthusiastic as I could. I was there for a solid five hours or so and it was great getting to meet them all one on one before we were all thrown together for dinner. Once I returned from the airport, all the guys got together and changed into our team tux. That means that we all put on our Mountain Khaki shorts and our JOH shirts. We then piled into the vans and made our way to the University of Washington. Once there we started walking towards the Alpha Delta house. That's the chapter designation at UW and they were sponsoring our dinner. We also had our first Pi Alpha ritual. Even though I can't elaborate on what actually went on, it caused me to think a lot about the true reasons I chose to participate in the JOH. I am doing this to leave a legacy at Marshall. I'm doing this to give the brothers that come after me someone to look up to, someone to ask questions to, someone to have there to help them achieve their goals. I feel that if I really want to be able to educate the new members, as that is my job as Warden, that I need to be as well versed in matters of the fraternity as I can. There is no better way than to be able to describe what it is like to be a Pi Alpha.
Once we got back from the dinner we got to go exploring around Seattle and we went to the Space Needle for this folklike festival that was really cool. There were all different types of cuisine from different cultures being served, all sorts of styles of music, and one of the most diverse crowds I've ever seen. After that we all headed to sleep due to the long day we all knew was ahead of us.
Today was spent covering the policies and procedures with the cyclists. We got to make it a bit more fun though because we were able to talk about it in small groups and then we got to act out situations and discuss what we did wrong and right in each situation. It was nice because we got to put a visual experience with the situations and that helps to better understand whats appropriate in some instances. After that we got a visit from a Pi Alpha that rode the TransAmerica route in the early 2000s and he brought us Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch that were some of the most delicious sandwiches I've ever had. We then went back to skits before going to REI once more with the cyslists. The flagship REI store is in Seattle and is absolutely phenomenal. The cyclists were able to pick up some last minute things they needed and after that we headed to Pike Place for dinner.
Dinner was being sponsored once again by the Dickey family. We were originally given some money and able to decided where we wanted to go. Then we decided to all eat together and we went to this wonderful place called Ivars. It is a seafood restaurant on the water in Seattle and Sloan,whose parents sponsored the dinner, celebrated his birthday there and his his parents bought all of the cyclists cake in celebration. It was truly one of the best meals I've ever had and it was so nice of his family to sponsor it. Many kudos to the Dickey family!
After the dinner we all gathered for a picture with his parents and then we headed back to the hotel. We stopped along the way to get some pictures of the sunset and then had a meeting on the deck outside of our rooms about the following day. Tomorrow is the skill assessment day for the cyclists which means they'll be going over some basic skills and helpful hints for cyclists on the road. They'll be practicing making turns, signaling, using their pace lines, and all sorts of things. We have to be ready to roll out at 6:30 which means I have to be up at almost 5:30 in order to get ready. It's already midnight here so I'm not really going to get a lot of sleep tonight.
We only have a few more days until the kick off on Thursday and it's truly amazing how close we're all becoming even though we've only been here a few days together. Even though we don't really have a choice since we're spending the next 75 days together, its coming naturally. I don't feel like I have to work in order to create conversation with these guys and that's something that you come to truly value in a relationship with your friends. I may not know all of these guys very well yet, but I can already tell that the guys on this trip are the creme de la creme when it comes to Pi Kapps. I am so blessed to have this experience.
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