thankful

Well folks. This semester is almost over. Am I the only one who thinks it flew by? I can picture our first day like it was yesterday... everybody so nervous and excited. The nervousness wore off soon after but the excitement is still there. These guys LOVE school. They love being here.... love class... love the volunteers... love eating together... watching movies together... just hanging out... taking a walk... enjoying the day. What a simple but beautiful life. And I just keep soaking up each moment.

Now there has been slip-ups, learning opportunities shall we say, but all in all the guys have grown a ton. I went though a skills inventory today with Karen (my advisor and their life skills teacher) and we have seen an improvement in each guy. Now there are definite improvements we hope to be made in the spring... but I am proud of where we have come. They are learning some valuable information here and I hope they continue to have a great time while doing it.

Now we've gone a long way since day 1. We are learning independence. That means we do our own laundry now, we clean our own bathroom, we set our alarm when needed, we fix our own snacks and meals (if possible). Resist the temptation moms... we may need some help... but we can do it. I've seen it. If they try to lie and say they can't, you call me.

Thanks for sticking with me here. I know the posts are becoming less frequent and probably less interesting. I'm working on a new look for the 14b site. Maybe I'll have time for that over the break. Semester one is almost behind us... one more to go. Should be just as exciting. Have fun over Thanksgiving. Eat some turkey. Watch some football. Laugh constantly. Enjoy the sun. I'll be here when you come back.

Test Video

Fall has come

Man it was cold last week... but it has been BEAUTIFUL this week so far. I could live with this weather year round. The leaves are changing and the nights get cool... this is officially what I call "fleece weather" better known as fall.

So I have not given a real update on what is happening in the lives of Ben, Joel and Justin lately. Let's think. TOPS soccer finished up Tuesday. They passed out trophies to the athletes at the end of the game last night. They all really enjoyed helping out... definitely something to think about in the future. I'm sure there are leagues like TOPS all around.

The guys are currently working on a research project. They are researching their topics through the internet, books, etc. Most of the work is done during the day at school but a little is done in the apartment. Joel's research is dealing with the Bible. Justin is doing his research on Bob Barker. And Ben is doing some research on amusement parks. All interesting topics. I'm excited to see how they turn out.

This weekend should be a fun one. Clemson has a game on Saturday night against Florida State. First night game of the year. Weather.com says it should be sunny but, I guess I should expect rain since every home game this year has had rain. I'll get my poncho ready. I think we may spend some time outside on Saturday... throwing the frisbee, kicking the soccer ball, walking down to the botanical gardens. The guys have been doing so well remembering to do laundry, take out the trash, clean up the apartment, etc. It has been great. The first few weeks I reminded the guys to clean, do laundry, etc... but now when I come back to the apartment after a weekend off, all of those things are done!

It's good to see friend and family whenever you all stop by. We all are anticipating Thanksgiving. I don't know about the guys, but visions of turkey and dressing have slipped into my dreams.

Question: When can I start listening to Christmas music?

pictures

Here's a link to check out pictures. I'm going to start loading them here so I can get more for you guys to see! Enjoy!

PICTURES!

long time no see

Hello friends and family!

Above you can see the box for my brand new computer. I would have taken a picture of the computer itself but I am using it to type this blog. Right. I have had what seems like constant computer trouble these past few months. Last week marked the third time my macbook had crashed within the year. Crazy. Shocking. Unbelievable some may say. But it is true. But the great folks at Apple decided I was worthy of a new computer and an upgrade at that. So now I've the proud father of a MacBook Pro. (Cheers and tears if you must)

Ok. Now for the real stuff. Life in 14b is going great. Halloween is tomorrow but we celebrated early. We had a little party on Wednesday night. They guys and gals planned it all and it was a great success. The costumes were wonderful. Ben was Austin Powers. Justin was the scary man with the mask from the movie Scream. Joel was a chick-magnet (seriously... magnet worn around the neck with baby chickens attached. plus a red mohawk for a little added effect). I was a whoopie-cushion. The girls had some great costumes but I feel like we had the best.

This weekend is another fun one for Clemson folks. Tiger-rama is tonight. This is the homecoming party/event/thing that goes on in Littlejohn (basketball arena). The football team will do skits, the cheerleaders will dance, the crowds will cheer, and Miss Clemson will be crowned. Should be lots of fun. We are all heading that way tonight and then hanging out tomorrow. Ben is going to the game with his dad. I think I may go with one of my friends from home.

We carved pumpkins last week. It was a ton of fun as well. The guys went to Scarowinds last week too. Man there is a lot to catch up on... and I don't have time to tell all. I'll post some pictures soon... very soon. Hopefully tonight. Things have become a lot easier with a more reliable computer.

Thanks for hanging in there. Go tigers! More to come...

PS -Did anyone watch that Miami game? CJ for Heisman

back in action

So fall break is over... everyone had a WONDERFUL time with their families. Ben went to Scarowinds, Joel went to his high school's football game, Justin spent some time with his nephew, and I attended a wedding. We're all glad to be back in Tigertown. I definitely missed being around the guys while at home.

What's new... hmm. This week has been pretty easy on the guys as far as class goes. Only three days of class will do that. They have enjoyed having the reduced load. Tomorrow night is "Rock the John." It's the first night the Clemson basketball team can practice together. So they have a scrimmage for the students to watch. Should be fun. Football game on Saturday! We need a win. Seriously.

I'm staying in town this weekend. Andrew was supposed to come and fill-in but he had something come up. I'm excited though. This will be a fun weekend! Busy, busy.

The weather has been pretty awful this week so far. Rain and cold. I think it is supposed to clear up this weekend though but stay pretty cool. That should be nice.

It's hard to believe that we are already half way through October. Soon it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then Spring semester. Crazy! Everyone has been doing so well though. I have seen definite improvements in everyone. They are all waking up, getting ready, and getting to school on time. When they come home at night, they all go straight to homework. Priorities. It's great. They are hanging out more and interacting more every day. So cool to see the growth.

Thanks for sticking with us here... more to come!

what a weekend...

Hey family and friend! Man it was a good weekend. Started off well with a relaxing Friday night. The new season of Star Wars Clone Wars was on... I did not know this show existed... but Ben and Justin are big fans. So we all sat and watched it together. Then we hung around and went to bed. Not bad.

Saturday morning Ben got up early and had a special sculpture class. They went on a little field trip to some park and did some projects. Ben's buddy Donald picked him up and they seemed to have a great time. The Clemson game was another disappointment. We just can't seem to get into the end zone. There's always next game though. We'll still be rooting for them. I think the next game is in two weeks. Wake Forest at home. Look for me. I'll be wearing orange.

Saturday afternoon we took a trip over to the Botanical Gardens to walk around. It was nice. The weather has been so great lately. Definitely fall here. (Picture above is Amy with the guys in the gardens) Saturday night we took a little road trip to my parent's house for dinner. We had a great spread: burgers, hot dogs, chili, chips, dip, cookies, the works! We ate for a while and hung out for more. It was great for my parents to meet my roomies. We had a great time. My buddy Tyler stopped by too and hung out. Hopefully we'll get to do it again sometime.

Today was church for myself and Joel. We went to Newspring. Ben went to church too with Donald. Then lunch, homework, relaxation, and some Sunday football.

Tonight we cooked some pasta, chicken, alfredo sauce, peas... man it was good. Everybody pitched in a little. And there are sadly no left-overs. I was hoping to take some to school tomorrow. This week is a packed out week. Ben and Justin are going to the outdoor lab tomorrow to do some team-building with some of the others. Joel has bowling. Tomorrow night they are going to a concert on campus. I think it is the Clemson orchestra??? Should be fun. TOPS soccer on Tuesday. Then before you know it... they will be heading home.

This semester seems to be flying by. It has truly been a pleasure to live with Ben, Joel and Justin.

sunday wrap up

Well hello there! It's Sunday night and life is great here in 14b. Everyone is pretty tired from an amazing weekend. I came home to the guys hyper from the fun. Joel's sister Kate came to visit on Friday night, and they had a great time. They went out to eat and then went and got some doughnuts after. He was so excited when I asked him about it. Joel LOVES his sisters. Ben's father came to go to the football game on Saturday... and they had a great time (even though it rained a whole bunch). Justin hung around most of the weekend. He went onto campus some and caught up on some rest.

Camp was great for me. I helped out in the kitchen where we served 530 college students 4 meals. It was hectic and a lot of work, but it was great. It rained on us too. I feel Ben's pain. I had to catch a possum this weekend too!!! That was fun. He was stuck on the porch of one of the families at camp. We had a time getting that thing out.

Today was WONDERFUL though. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining. It was not too hot. A perfect day to be outside. The guys seem to be bonding much more lately. They are talking a lot more with each other. They are hanging out more often. I knew it would take a while for them to get comfortable and start to branch out of their own little bubble... they are doing so great though.

Some things we are excited about tonight:

1) visits from family

2) grocery shopping (we have a lot of fun doing this)

3) fall break

4) Star Wars clone wars - evidently there are new episodes coming on Friday night?!?

5) football games (this was from Joel)

6) Yoga (new favorite class)

7) TOPS soccer on Tuesday

Busy week! Maybe we'll find some time to call home...

Meet 14B

This is the first installment of "Meet 14B." Our first contestant is our good friend Ben.

What is your name?

Ben Sanders

Where are you from?

Charlotte, NC

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Yes; One brother and one sister. Alex and Alina

Who is your best friend?

Caitlyn (another ClemsonLIFE-er)

What do you like to do for fun?

Read books, play video games, go see movies, take walks

What is your favorite type of food?

Chinese and Mexican

What is your favorite type of music to listen to?

Techno music

What is your favorite TV show?

Friends

What is your favorite color?

Purple

Do you like sports?

Yes; I like football, basketball and soccer

What is your favorite book?

Harry Potter... all of them

What is your favorite thing about Clemson?

Meeting new friends and going to sporting events.

What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

How to do math better, keeping your room clean, and fire safety.

rain rain go away

It's been rainy the past few days. So we've been hanging around inside. Ben, Caitlyn and I went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" on Friday night. It was really good. Funny movie. We all loved it. Justin hung around the apartment and watched a few movies while we were gone. Joel hung out with his parents at the lake. Needless to say, Friday was a good start to the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Ben and Justin slept in while I got ready for the big game. My friend Sean got me an extra ticket to the game so I brought our resident sports expert Joel along for the game. We went to tailgate and had breakfast burritos and monkey bread. It was soooo good. Then we headed into the game. We sat towards the west end zone, on the 10 yard line, about 15 rows up. Great seats. It looked like it was going to rain but at the start of the game no sign of rain yet. The Tigers were up at half time... but the skies looked a little more grey. Rain was on its way. Around the 2nd minute into the third quarter we felt a few drops, which turned into a light mist, which turning into a steady rain. Then we had a lightning delay. We waited it out. 30 minutes later the game started back and then the rain came again. This time it rained a lot harder. 5 minutes later... another lighting delay. By this time we were soaking we and decided to call it quits. We held out as long as possible. Here's a picture when we got home.

We were just a little wet. This was our "we want to be dry and warm" faces.

Joel couldn't keep the face for long though...

The tigers won and all is good here in TigerTown. Saturday night we got together with the girls next door and had a pizza party (yum), watched some football and then turned in for bed.

Today, Ben got to go see his sister play soccer in Greenville. He was so excited to go but got a great rain experience as well. It just wasn't our luck this weekend. Now we are making some lasagna and veggies, cleaning up our rooms, and finishing up some homework. Should be a nice end to a great weekend.

Clemson Life

The ClemsonLIFE program is an amazing program that is brand new here. They had a trial run last Spring, and we are now in our first full year. We have 11 students: 3 guys, 8 girls. There are 4 LifeCoaches (Amy, Jason, McKenzie, and Tiffany). We are living in two different places. My group and Amy's group reside on campus in the Lightsey Bridge II apartments. The other two groups live off-campus (but not too far from campus) in the Tillman Place apartments. The LIFEcoaches simply help out in daily tasks, are around in case of emergencies, and help coordinate with volunteers.

The LIFE in ClemsonLIFE stands for Learning Is For Everyone. And it's true. The mission of the ClemsonLIFE Program is to provide a coordinated course of study that includes career exploration and preparation along with self-awareness, discovery, and personal improvement through a framework of courses, job internships, and community participation.

It is a great program geared towards individuals with Intellectual disabilities. From my first-hand experience, everyone involved in the program truly has a desire to see these students grow and gain some experience in hopes that they will one day be able to succeed as adults in everyday society. Most every student in the program has learned a TON so far.

You may be thinking that these students can just live at home and take some classes on independent living, life skills, etc. and learn just as much. I will tell you no. Not at all. The amount of time spent with others and the number of people met while living on campus is tremendous. This has the greatest impact and really makes the whole experience worth while. Every day my guys come home talking about the volunteers (buddies as they call them) they hung out with at lunch or dinner. They will mention what homework is due the next day, but most of the conversations deal with the people they meet.

It truly is a great program. As someone who is going into teaching, I can see how this program will succeed and have a lasting impact. I am loving hanging out with my guys. It truly is a blessing and I am looking forward to the rest of the semester and year.

well well well....

Sorry people. My computer has been in the shop and therefore it is not as easy for me to get to this blog. I have been running from my Ipod touch (amazing) but it won't let me update the blog from there. Something about this site won't pull up correctly on there. So sorry. Forgive me?

Things have been great in the past week or so. The guys are in the groove of classes, busy with homework and enjoying the weekends. This past weekend Trey (an alternate) stayed with the guys. They had a great time. It's raining right now and looks like it will rain for the next few days, but Ben and I have started to go out and walk around the apartment complex a little more. It really has been great to get out and just walk around. Ben is so outgoing and is always ready to go do something fun. We're planning to go across the street to the SC Botanical Gardens soon. Ben went last year and said it was wonderful. I'm excited.

The guys started up the TOPS soccer league last week. Tonight's may be rained out though. They are helping out with the younger kids. They seem to LOVE it. Ben is giving a presentation tonight along with the two girls from last year. I guess Joel and Justin will just have a night to catch up on homework and such.

I promised a write up on each guy and the program. That's what I'll do the next few days. So look forward to that.

Joel is so, so, so excited to see him family this weekend. I thought this was neat (and so did Joel)... but Joel and his parents are staying at a family friend's house on Lake Keowee. Evidently that family has a son that has Downs Syndrome just like Joel. I thought that was great. Ben's sister has a soccer tournament in Greenville this weekend. He is rather excited as well to see his sister play. I may try to round up the guys and go watch the Championship on Sunday. Yes... they will make it to the Championship. No pressure though.

Clemson had a heart-break last Thursday. All the guys were glued to the TV watching the game. We almost turned it off after the first quarter but we were faithful and watched it until the end. We lost to a good team. We looked pretty bad the first quarter... but the last three gave us some hope. Game against Boston College should be a good one. More to come.

Thanks for reading. Should be more consistent now that my lovely computer is back up.

Jason

week 3

It's the start of week 3. Ben's mom took this picture yesterday, and I thought it was a good one. Ben's mom came and took Ben for a little shopping trip. He got the movie Transformers (amazing) and we watched it last night. Good times. Justin's mom came and got us a cover for our futon... so now we have a Clemson orange futon. Very appropriate. Joel's parents live a little further away so they haven't stopped by yet... but... it's ok. Joel still "almost" misses them. We'll be excited when they do make the journey though. I think they are coming soon though...

This weekend was a crazy one. The parade was so much fun. This just got us pumped up for the game on Saturday. And it was a good one. We started off the day by a wonderful pancake breakfast. I think this may become a game day tradition. Then we hung around, did a little laundry, and headed over towards the stadium around 3:00. We went to the "Tiger Walk." Coach Dabo started this last year when he took over. From what I understand, he wanted the players to see how much support they had outside the stadium. So they ride on the buses and get off in the west end zone tailgate area. There was a ton of people there. It was packed 10 or 15 deep for a good 200 yards or so to the stadium. There were cheers and chants and the guys jumped right in... not always remembering the words... but we made some noise. Then we went to a tailgate with the letterman's club. It was sooo good. Barbecue sandwiches, chicken fingers and some good ole South Carolina sweet tea. We hung around there for a good while and then headed over to the stadium.

I was anxious to see the reactions from the guys about their first big college football experience. We sat about 15 rows up on the side of the west end zone. Great seats. Right in the action. The stadium was buzzing with excitement. I was explaining to the guys about Clemson's famous entrance to the stadium, and I just felt like I could not put it into words. Five minutes later... they were living it. And it did not disappoint. The players walked to rub the rock and our guys went nuts. They were all jumping up and down and screaming. The Clemson band started that familar tune of "Tiger Rag" and the players ran down the hill. We screamed some more. The lined up for the kickoff and ,CJ Spiller ran it all the way back... touchdown. The place went nuts. Our guys went nuts. It was a great moment. You can check it out here.

It started to rain in the second quarter... but we weren't tired yet. We were a pretty roudy bunch. Definitely a memory for us all. After the 3rd quarter and a 20-something point lead, we walked back in the rain... which was more fun than imagined. Long, but memorable day. Sunday we all caught up on some rest. Joel went to church at Crosspoint. I joined some of the girls at Clemson Pres. Ben and Justin got ready for their family to drop in.

We cooked some hamburger helper, corn, and veggies for dinner last night. They all pitched in and did great... I'll post some cooking pictures soon. It's been a great 3 weeks and we're looking forward to more of it. Thanks for stopping by to read...

GAME DAY!

Quick post. Got to go get ready for the game. Computer is still under the weather. It should be fixed early next week! Last night was the First Friday parade. It was amazing. Everyone had a great time. Definitely an anticipation builder. The guys are so excited about the game. I'll try to get a picture of us all in our orange gear.

Here are a few pictures from last night and of our pancake spread this morning...

More to come!

wishes

DISCLAIMER: My computer messed up the other day. The computer is still down so sorry if I am slow to respond to emails. I am using the computer as often as I can get to one. So this is Monday's post! Sorry for the delay... especially to Joel's Aunt Nancy!

Ok. Here we go. I'm transcribing for my good friend Joel...

"Happy Birthday Aunt Nancy! Have a great night on your birthday and I love you! Hope to see you soon!"

There we go. Shout outs from Joel. With love.

The guys got to school and back today on their own. This week I started heading to my practicum (observations at a middle school) early, so they were responsible for getting ready and being on time this morning. They did great. I will be leaving around 7 every morning and they are all up by then but just getting ready for the day. They leave around 8 to 8:30 every morning to head to classes.

Everyone seems to be getting into the groove of things. Although, we still mess up from time to time. Joel cleaned his phone really, really well this weekend, Justin learned how to pick a lock, Ben's computer seems to have a hatred of the internet, and I keep leaving my ID in the apartment when I go outside... therefore I feel like I am constantly knocking on our apartment door. My roommates at PC would have made me do something stupid to get back in (do a dance, sing a song, give them food). Thankfully my new roommates are much nicer. Each seems to be taking these speed-bumps in stride. No one has stressed out too much over the situations, but handled them appropriately. Definitely learning some things.

The guys are getting along very well too. They are very respectful of each other's things and space. They are starting to hang out a little more too! It has been great to see that progression. I think they are starting to feel comfortable around each other.

I have heard that our blog is stretching out a little more than anticipated. I'm going to try to do a post about the program later on this week, then do some bios of the guys and myself after that. Any other suggestions?

Ben, our resident weatherman, said today that fall is coming soon. He said it is going to be sunny and feeling great the rest of the week. Fall is my favorite season... I hope Ben is right!

Jason

weekend #1

Well... I'm back. Feels good to be home. The wedding was amazing. Good friends, good fun, good dancing, good food... you get the point. I got to wear a seersucker suit and a bow-tie. Good change from the usual tuxedo. Pictures coming soon. Anyways...

They guys seemed to have a great weekend. A ClemsonLife alternate Matt filled in for me while I was gone. The guys loved him. They started off on Friday night with dinner and a movie. Matt took them to grab some food, and they watched the movie Hitch. They hung around Saturday, cleaned the apartment (it looks great), then went to the volleyball game that night. Ben talked about singing the Clemson fight song... and I got excited. If you don't know, Tiger Rag is Clemson's fight song. It pumps me up every time I hear it.

This morning Joel went to church with Matt. They went to Newspring Church in Anderson, SC (www.newspring.cc). It's a great church. Joel LOVED the music. They have some videos up on their website if you want to get a peek at what Joel experienced. When they got back from church, everybody grabbed a quick lunch and then went grocery shopping. They all got breakfast food and some great snacks. Should last them the week.

Tonight the guys cooked dinner on their own. Ben heated up a burrito. Joel and Justin had their first Ramen noodle experience. They forgot to get something from the grocery store to eat for dinner so Amy (LifeCoach next door) donated two bags of Ramen noodles. I was appalled that neither Joel nor Justin had never had Ramen before today. Ramen noodles are an essential part of the college student life. I wonder how many packs of Ramen noodles is gone through in a week here at Clemson. That would be an amazing statistic to find out. Any guesses?

This week should be an easy one. The guys have the bus schedule figured out. They'll be braving the trip alone tomorrow morning. Back to bowling and life skills. Lunch and dinner on campus. I will probably only be updating every few days from here on out... there's not that much stuff to talk about. Let me know if you want to hear about anything specific and I'll be sure to investigate. Thanks for reading!

Words from Justin:

hi mother what's up with you? Everything is great here at Clemson University. How are things going with you back home in Atlanta, Georgia. The Classes are great, The roommates are awesome especially Jason my Life coach he's the best roommate that i ever have in the apartment complex, the teachers are great as well. I have been going to the gym every single day at the university. I am looking forward to see you on sunday at the apartment.

Thanks Justin. I'm glad I can be a good roommate. Ben's sculpture class went well today. The guys are picking up their schedules and the bus systems well. Tomorrow they are heading into school by themselves. Should go fine. Justin went over and hung out in the girls apartment tonight and played some Wii. Ben joined later. I will have to say that the girls are a little more talented at Wii Sports than the guys. I am ashamed and will fix this as soon as possible. No work, no class, no sleep until we become pros in every Wii Sport... OK. Maybe that's not the best idea. Or is it? I'm pretty sure the guys would be ok with it.

What else... hmmm... Joel has been working on his homework tonight getting ahead. They are doing some response writing and money management type stuff. I think the two prompts for the homework tonight were "What do you do if you miss the bus in the morning?" and "What do you do if you miss your bus stop?" Both are great things to think about and could be stressful if it does happen. Thankfully our guys stick together and have done well with the bus problems so far. No worries.

I will be gone all weekend. I have a wedding to go to in Columbia, SC. One of my best friends from back home is getting married. So I will be out from tomorrow until Sunday afternoon. They should have a great, fun-filled, packed out weekend. More to come on that on Sunday. One of the ClemsonLife volunteers is staying here this weekend. Ben knew the guy and said he was awesome. Have a great weekend. I'll get the guys to take some pictures this weekend and I'll try to have them up Sunday!

Jason and Justin

Wednesday: Day of firsts

Today has been a great day. The guys came back from classes excited. There is some fun stuff to tell you all about. It has definitely been a day of firsts...

First off (no pun intended), I got an email today from Sharon to ask Joel what happened in bowling today. I was a little unsure of what his comment would be. I asked him about bowling on Monday and he said he met a lot of girls. As exciting as that can be, I know that Joel and the guys are going to meet plenty of girls during their stay here at Clemson. No big deal. But his comment was not about girls, yet he had his FIRST spare in bowling today! Isn't that amazing! He was so excited. I think bowling is a favorite among our group... how could it not be?

Another first came this afternoon... the guys took the CAT bus home by themselves! This is a big step. The CAT bus routes are not too complicated but not the most straight-forward either. I got a call from Ben around 6:50. I was a little worried, but Ben just called to tell me that the bus was running a little late. Evidently, the bus driver had to sweep out the bus real quick so he asked the riders to step off for a few minutes while he took care of that. They handled the situation with ease... no worries there.

Ben is starting his sculpture class tomorrow and is really excited. And... we just had our first fire drill. Everyone did great. I guess I haven't said much about Justin yet. He's going to take care of the post tomorrow night. So more to come from him. He's doing great though. Currently working on his English homework that's due tomorrow.

Last of all, they have their first big sporting event planned. They are going to a volleyball game on Saturday with some volunteers. Then... drum roll please... next weekend is the start of football season! Only the best time of the year. I can't wait. If you have never been to a Clemson football game, it is definitely worth coming up for a visit. The energy in the stadium is incredible. The guys are going to LOVE it! I'm getting pumped up just thinking about it...

Well I can't think of much else that was new today... so i'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading!


Jason

Q & A with Joel

Welcome to question and answer time with Joel.

Coming to you live from 14b. (Queue the cheesy music)

Jason: Hi Joel. How are you today?
Joel: Good
Jason: How are you liking your classes?
Joel: They are fine.
Jason: What is your favorite part about Clemson so far?
Joel: Everything.
Jason: Everything?
Joel: Yes.
Jason: Have you met some cool people?
Joel: Ah yes. Mostly women.
Jason: Mostly women?!?
Joel: Ah yes. They are nice. Very nice.
Jason: Do you miss your family?
Joel: Almost.
Jason: Joel your parents are going to read this. Do you miss your family?
Joel: Almost.
Jason: Ok. Sorry family. I tried. What are you excited about?
Joel: About living here. On my own.
Jason: Is there anything you want to say to your parents?
Joel: I love them. And my sisters too.

I think he's trying to kiss up now. Oh well. As you can tell... we are having a great time. The guys are getting ready for bed (for the most part) and hopefully thinking about tomorrow's classes. It has been a learning experience for us all these past few days. With my schedule of doing my student teaching away from Clemson and traveling back and forth, I'm not as able to help with the guys during the day. But Sharon and Karen have done a great job getting volunteers and coordinating everything so they'll adjust with ease.

As of now, they have been to all of their classes (except for Ben and his pottery class). They seem to like them. I haven't heard much about what they are learning. Last night they had to fill a paper bag with five things that told something about themselves. Karen told me today that they had a lot in common which is great. Until today I was unsure of how the apartment would "fit" together, but it seems to be coming along just fine. They are all enjoying the freedom of their own room without parents nearby. Joel has been watching the Little League World Series every night. Justin has his awesome game shows and Star Wars has been on the last two nights. Good movies. Ben floats back and forth between his room and the living room where I am stationed currently. He's been working with his computer a lot lately. I think his internet has been fritzing on him so we're gonna put in a call to CCIT (the computer people on campus) and get it fixed.

I'm doing great. Busy, busy. Thanks for the nice emails and such. It's great to know the families are there if we need you guys. But as for now, I need to go finish up some stuff before my own class tomorrow. Anything you want to hear about here on the blog? Let me know!

First Day of Class

Sitting here with Ben...

"Started out at Tillman Place this morning. Life Skills class. Talked about what we are going to do now that we are here at Clemson.

Worked out at Fike after. Walked around the track.

Lunch at Harcombe was great. I had some Mongolian beef. It was good.

English after.

Then dinner at Harcombe. More good food. Then I rode the CAT bus back to the apartment."


Now we're all lounging around and tired. Real tired. It's been a packed out day. And everyone has homework. They keep us busy here. I guess today was the official "first day." I'm calling it a success.

It seems like the blog was well received. I know the first week is a big one so I'll try to update daily for a while. Thanks for all the support.

Go tigers!

Jason and Ben

Day 1

Well... I have a little down time, so I figured I would give this a shot.

Things seem to be coming together. Everyone is unpacked (except myself) and getting settled in. The mood is pretty calm tonight. I think everyone is anxious for the big day tomorrow. Amy and I cooked a welcome home dinner for our two apartments... and I think we did a fine job: baked chicken, cheesy potatos, corn and a salad. Yum.

We all hung out for a while, played some Wii, and had a little intro meeting. Don't worry... we reminded them all to call their mothers. We talked about their schedules and what tomorrow looks like. Bowling in the morning for Joel. Life skills for Justin. The opposite on Tuesday. Ben is the veteran so he has a little different schedule. But I found out he is taking a pottery class and I am jealous. I love messing with clay.

Thanks for all the great stuff in the apartment. It's going to be a great year. I'll leave you with a quote from our very own Joel today. Joel said "It feels like home." Indeed it does.

~Jason~