Log:
I woke myself up today with a short jog in the redwoods, the jog was short, but the stay was long. I feel like I could do an internship on redwood exploration and would be completely content. (That’s saying a lot because I’m psyched about working with CCAT.) I saw the foot-massaging kid and was able to get past him without any further harassment. Having not heard from the CCAT bunch by noon I agreed to go to the Headwaters of the Elk River for a sunny afternoon hike. Of course, as luck would have it, I did hear from Jeff on the way to the hike. We agreed to meet tomorrow at 9 to get started.
Carlita and I talked about childhood dreams and happiness this afternoon. She believes there are two types of people-those who can be content with what they have, and those who need constant stimulation and only “chase” being content. If this divide exists, I’d probably be closer to the side who can be content in their current circumstances.
Something else I’m contemplating recently is the level of social interaction I’m looking for during this internship. I know that I’ve been here four days and spent a great deal of time in solitude at the forest. I really value this opportunity for such reflection and introspection in my life. Honestly, at Berea, I can’t say that I have made such alone time a priority. However, on the other hand is the possibility of endlessly interesting friendships. I think I will look back to find that I’ve had a balance of the two, solitude and interaction.
It’s interesting to me to find that members of this house don’t cook together or for each other routinely. This makes me realize what an important tool for facilitating community sharing food is at the SENS house.

Questions:
-Should I take this time and grow in solitude while I have this level of anonymity, or direct more effort to reaching out to all of these new faces?
-What types of relationships will I develop with my housemates?
-What type of first impression do my housemates have of me?

Quote of the day:
“Being new in a place makes you feel like you have to be ‘on’ all of the time, it’s hard to feel comfortable enough to be your honest self” –Carlita