Last week I was sent to Philadelphia for the VISTA Pre-service Orientation training. I was a bit ahead of the game since I had been with my organization for a month. I went with two other VISTAs from the national office of Jumpstart. We were going to meet 7 other Jumpstart VISTAs from across the network as well as a large chunk of the other VISTAs from the east coast.
I chose to take the train from Boston to Philly, not realizing that the trip was SIX HOURS! But I did get to travel through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Most exciting was that for the first time in my life I actually saw the New York skyline. We stopped in Grand Central Station and I can say that I was in NYC. I didn't leave the train though, but I GOT TO SEE THE SKYLINE!!!! A big highlight, for sure.
This was my first time in Philly and I LOVED IT! I did not get to see all the things I wanted to, like the Rocky steps or many of historic things, but what I did see was great. It was a slower pace than Boston, which makes me think that Philly would have made my transition to Boston a little easier. The other Jumpstart VISTAs were super nice and fun to hang out with, but I most enjoyed getting to know and hanging out with the VISTAs that I came from the national office with, Monika and Jessica. The trainings were pretty boring and did not have much to do with my position. Being a VISTA is all about fighting poverty and my job is two or three steps removed from the face of poverty. The facilitator in my group was very cute, so I tolerated the all day training sessions.
I really would like to make it back to Philadelphia some day.
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