class #263.

Meetings in England start with apologies, and so shall this entry. I wanted to update so much more than this, but I vastly overestimated the amount of time I would have where I am (1) not on a train and (2) not in class. At the end of the day, by the time both of those things are over and various children have been put to bed, Cathy and I usually have approximately 3.5 minutes to hang out before our eyelids start to droop and we too have to go to bed. But I have been thinking about you, my peeps, and wishing there were some way to live-blog the thoughts and emotions I can’t seem to find words for.

We’ve just returned from our overnight field trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, and as often as I’ve tried to put entries together in my head over the past few days, I’m nowhere closer to being able to explain what’s happening right now. I might not be able to until I get home and get a little distance, a little perspective. For now, I am overwhelmed. In a very, very good way. In the best way.

Class has been really intense, but I’m happy that it is. I know for a fact I’m getting my  money’s worth, and probably more. There is so much information being provided to us, not only in the way of practical how-to knowledge, but the experiences our instructors are able to share from 30 years in the business. They start a lot of sentences with “When you’re on your first tour,” giving us confidence that we will indeed find work. We are provided with resume assistance and a headshot photographer at rates that are perhaps 25% of what they’d be in the real world. We get positive, constructive, personalized feedback on our progress at regular intervals.

Every day, I sit in this class, Class #263, with 15 other people, ranging in age from 25 to 60. We are all friends. It sounds crazy, or unlikely, but it is absolutely true. We really are all friends, all of us, with each of us. There are no cliques, no group of three or four or five who are unto themselves and exclude the rest. We all know each other now, we all like each other, we all clap and shout encouragement and geniunely want each other to do well. It’s unlike any group dynamic I’ve ever experienced before.

This really hit home for me yesterday morning. In order to make sure I arrived at the hotel in time for our overnight trip departure, I had to take a train that got me there a good 45 minutes early. I sat in the lobby and waited for the others, and it occurred to me that no matter which of my classmates arrived first, I’d be happy and excited to see them. I truly enjoy the company of every person in the class. There is not, like, “that one guy who’s kind of weird.” Everyone is friendly and interesting and comfortable to be around. I imagine that’s why we’re all pursuing this particular profession.

And we’re all working so hard. I have a vague sense of how much I myself have had to push past fear to be in this class, and I can see other people pushing past fear right in front of me. We’re learning, from our teachers and from each other, and I think we’re all surprising ourselves with what we can do, given the right tools and an incredibly supportive environment.

I’m not the only one seeking a less ordinary life. So are these 15 people, and I am so glad to be in their particular company. One of the alumni who went on this trip with us told us that there was something special about our class, and I am choosing to believe this to be the truth.

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