Carolina Orientation

Coco, Demi and I had a successful orientation in Columbia, SC at the U of SC.  Day One was a marathon.  Day Two was shorter but we were still spent at the end of it.  After all that, we all feel better about the decision for Coco to attend Gamecock Nation.
     Coco was anxious right off the bat.  The instructions about starting off were unclear.  In fairness, Coco didn't put a lot of effort into preparing for it.  I did put most of it on him.  He needs to be able to fend for himself 17 hours from home (by car).  He thought we could drive right up to the check-in.  He started getting antsy when I told him we were walking.  The starting point was a line that would make Disney World proud, snaking around a courtyard in the Carolina heat at 8 AM.  Everyone was looking for shade.  Once check-in started, the line moved pretty well.  Coco seemed to calm down in line, when he saw two hundred or more other kids in the same line, with the same amount of luggage and in the same situation.
     The rest of the day was a series of informational sessions, with a long walk in between.  Some of the time we were with Coco.  Other times, they broke the kids up into groups of 20 (which they stayed with for other small group breakouts) or by their college.  They did shuttle us places a couple of times.  But there was a long march to the college of arts & sciences during the height of the heat, that really gave you a taste of Carolina.  The last lecture went until 6 pm.  Coco had initially indicated that he would eat dinner with us.  But he ultimately chose to eat with his small group.  We were happy by that.  Mostly because he was socializing with new classmate.  Secondarily, we didn't want to eat on campus.
     Over the course of the two days, we were given a lot of information.  We were told how to pay tuition, how students select courses and how they would live and eat on campus.  We were given information on campus security, on attending sporting events and on the city of Columbia.  There were some really entertaining speakers actually.  In the end, we all felt we knew what to expect come move-in day.  I think Coco will be happy there.  We think he will thrive there.
     Spurs up!