First day of training

Yesterday was so exhausting that I didn’t write. So I’ve decided that I might just write in the mornings instead of the evenings. Yesterday was full of a whole bunch of new things. At the center, we have to ride the van, or the bus, as it’s called, until we have learned the route to and from our apartments. So, I am still riding the bus. It leaves out at 7:30 in the morning, so that definitely makes for a very tired me sometimes. When I got to the center, I went to the office where we are to keep our dogs during classes. I didn’t yet know how this would be for my dog, as he is quite attached to me. So with a little fear in my heart, I left him in his crate, donned my sleep shades, and left with my cane. Since I have light perception, I am required to wear sleep shades during class, which reduce my vision to nothing. It’s very disorienting for me, but I think I’ll get used to it. 

     The first class of the day was seminar. This happens twice a week, and it is all about discussing topics related to blindness. Yesterday was about accepting special benefits specifically for blind people, which turned into a great discussion. After seminar, I went to shop class, where I used a click ruler to measure different lengths of wood. I went to lunch at noon with some new found friends, then came back for Braille class, where I read. Computer class at 2 was just talking about different technologies I used. And finally, to end the day, I went to travel class. This is definitely a new thing for me, as I’ve never used a straight cane before. I had to spend some of my time learning a new cane technique, but I was soon walking around the building and finding all my classes. I have been given clearance to cross Railroad Street, which means that I no longer have to wait on someone to walk with me to shop class (what a relief!) Today, we’re going to work on the apartment route, and also I’ve got my first home management class. Off to pack my bag I go!