I sat looking out the window and below I saw the city, the lakes and the ones I loved disappear to nothing.  There were no tears, they just didn't exist anymore.  The past was gone - I had a future to look to and yet I had no time to worry about the future.  The series of new experiences beginning with the airplane trip were enough to make the present a full time task.

Out the window I watched the clouds, the snow on the plains of South Dakota and the rivers of Colorado.  The pilot announced that we could see lake Tahoe, but all I saw were the clouds.  I rated that flight as the most comfortable ride I had experienced [ed. - must have been before leg room became an issue].  And from that I went to the worst ride of my life - helicopter.  Exciting, very noisy, non-stop shaking dipping down then bobbing up at what seemed to be just above the power lines.  At least if we crashed the fall wouldn't be far.  With all that it still seemed that we didn't move. but rather were blown along by a wind that pushed us to the San Jose Airport.

"San Jose Airport...thank you for flying with SFO...we hope you enjoyed your flight and will fly with us again".  Not likely, mate!

It was a beautiful 70°F so the first thing I did when we got to the Auditorium Travel Inn was to get rid of my suit and started out with typical Peace Corps procedure: forms, thirty of them.  Some in triplicate/no carbon.  Basically supplying the same information that I had already supplied twice before.  Finishing that I turned them in and was rewarded with my $10.50 living expense, and more forms.

Our room slept 5 and I soon met my other roommates*: Tom Van Loan, Alan Fast and Gene Bratt.  The five of us took off to see the city and get some lunch.  Adjusting ourselves to the new pay-scale, we headed for a Jack-In-The-Box.  Then we wandered over to the (San Jose State) college campus and took in the new Student Union.  It took a lot of time to absorb it with its modern facade and immenseness.  In side it was fully carpeted in a bright orange and yellow (citrus???) striped carpet.  That evening everyone (over 100 of us) ate at the school's dining hall with our trusty food tickets paying the bill.  Afterwards I wrote my dutiful postcards to Mom and Gail and hit the sack.  Interesting task considering the coolness and lack of blankets.

Thus ended the first day of my Peace Corps experience.

* excerpt from letter: "The great part of the whole deal is the wonderful people.  We are all of a kind and everyone is so darn friendly.  The friendship helps to alleviate any homesickness.  Alan is from Brooklyn, has a BS and wants to work on an Indian reservation.  Gene is from Grand Rapids, Mich and is going to teach English.  Lance is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and will be a math teacher.  Then there is Tom from Conn, who might not make it".