Note: I could not get on the Wireless last night so this post is for Sunday the 22nd. I get my dog around 4:30 EST and I will probablly do the post about monday later this evening (After 12:00 EST). I will try to get some pictures to post also.
Today was long but ultimately very exciting and interesting. I had to leave Huntington today at 7:17 so I have been up from 5:30 until now (1:00 EST). I flew to Charlotte and from there to Phoenix AZ. The airport attendants were very friendly and accommodating, in Phoenix the man even lead me to a restaurant. The flight from NC to AZ was very long and the time change didn't help matters. I flew on a large jet from Charlotte to phoenix and from Phoenix to Portland. I was just behind the bulkhead between first class and coach so I had plenty of leg room. I was met in Portland by a GDB volunteer who drives students to the campus in Boring Or. (Yes that is the name of the town, I have no idea why someone thought that would be a good idea). Boring is a good 30 miles or so from Portland so we had a decently long drive to the GDB campus. As soon as we arrived we were quickly shown to our rooms to deposit our baggage and then we were swept down to dinner. I had always heard that the cooks at the Oregon campus were excellent and I was pleasantly surprised to find this true. No cafeteria here it is more like a sit down restaurant where servers bring your drinks and food. The food was superb, we had a roasted chicken with some sort of stuffing, Delicious. There were also roasted potatoes. After dinner we went down to the instruction room for basic orientation to the guide equipment. The resident advisor who taught us and who will be around throughout the week is also blind and has a dog from GDB. She taught us about the leash, harness and collars and their uses as well as other miscellaneous basic info. We were given our leash and a food pouch that we can keep treats in to reward the dog while guiding to reinforce good guide behaviors. In the past the dog was never given treats but over the years they discovered that food rewards for good guidework is a much better reinforcer than just verbal praise. While at this session we were also introduced to our other classmates. There are only 6 of us total so we will receive more individual work with the instructors.
After this session I and another student who arrived at the same time went on a tour of the campus building. There were several rooms worth mentioning in detail. The grooming room has a grooming table which is a slight distance from the ground and you have your guide stand on it while grooming. This puts the guide at about chest level for most guides and allows the groomer to brush the dog without having to hunch over to brush etc. Another is the library which has a great number of talking books on cassette and in braille. I really liked this room, Everything is labeled and I have been a bit braille deprived lately since I do so much with audio and getting braille is such a hassle. To actually be able to read something instead of just listening to it is a great feeling. The entire building is labeled in braille it is just amazing. I even have my name in braille on a little tag on my dorm room.
The dorm room is amazing here. It is like living in a presidential suite in a hotel. I have two giant rooms, with a flat screen TV looking over my bed in my bedroom. I have my own bathroom and sink as well as refrigerator. I also have a recliner!! I really love my recliners so that just blew my mind. I also was given my dog's food, a food cup to feed it, a grooming kit and a fluffy fleece rug for the dog to lay on when on tiedown. I am very excited but totally worn out from the long day.
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