We're finally here -- me, Jack and, perhaps, a Brown Recluse spider.
I'll get to the spider later.
After a crazy travel day that had me sure my sleeping bag wouldn't arrive in the same city as I did, we got into Gulfport around dinner time and headed for the Volunteer Village, home base for the next week. The village, on the grounds of Orange Grove Presbyterian Church in northwest Gulfport, is run by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the emergency response arm of the Presbyterian Church.
After a dinner of Sloppy Joes, the students headed into a brief orientation where the village manager told us all about electricity (sparse), the sleeping "pods" (heated, thank goodness) and early morning shower protocol.
But it was the mention of the Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders that really caught my attention. Apparently, they're at home here.
Seems I may or may not be sharing my pod with an unwanted guest -- which might explain why, even though I'm exhausted, I'm having a little trouble getting any shuteye. Tomorrow's the first day of construction, though, and it promises to be a long one, starting with breakfast at 7 a.m., so I'm going to have to try.
But I think I'll double check my shoes and my sleeping bag one more time. Just in case.