At the end of this week on Thursday and Friday we started what is called DIVOLC which stands for division officer leadership course. This whole class you will spend in the same class room, with the same officers, and in the same groups. I missed a good chunk of this too because of overseas screening stuff but mostly it is lectures, team building exercises, role playing, and discussion groups about a lot of leadership techniques and situations you may encounter as a DIVO (division officer). This class is useful so as hard as it is to stay awake please try! And try not to miss it because I was actually upset that I missed the majority of the course due overseas screening. This course is one of the most applicable things you will learn during ODS because you will be a DIVO one day.
I also took my pictures this week, on Friday. Most people took them much earlier than that but I had special ordered my dress white jacket and it took forever to come in so I had to wait to take mine. Its really funny when you go down there to take them because you only get dressed from the waist up. So you are walking around with PT shorts on and then your dress white getup on top, it looks quite silly. Pictures are pretty expensive so keep in mind if you want them they will run anywhere from $100-$300 depending on what you get.
The most exciting part of this week was that we were able to go to Boston on liberty and we were given alcohol privileges back! We were supposed to spend both Saturday and Sunday there but we weren't granted overnight liberty that weekend so we decided not to drive up both days. We spent Friday night and Saturday all day in Newport. We went out in Newport Friday night and had a blast! Be VERY careful this weekend because you are given alcohol privileges back and some people went a little too crazy and could have gotten themselves in a lot of trouble. There is a limit on the amount of alcohol you are allowed to drink, a limit of 3 drinks per day. I suggest you follow it if you can't control yourself because if you get in trouble you will ruin it for everyone so be careful!
On Saturday we went to breakfast, relaxed on the beach, went to yoga, and then went out again in Newport. We actually met some international students this weekend and spent some time with them. It was awesome to talk with them and hear about their countries! Then on Sunday we drove to Boston and saw the USS Constitution and went to the Red Sox game. It was a blast! I have a friend stationed on the Constitution so he gave us a super in depth tour and took us places that you don't normally get to see. So fun! Then at the Red Sox game they let us all go on the field and take a picture and the stadium gave us a standing ovation which was so cool but also very weird. Chief always talked about having a moment, like a moment where it hits you that you're an officer in the United States Navy, and that was one of those moments. Made me extremely proud! The game was a lot of fun but somewhat overwhelming because we had to wear our whites so people do not leave you alone. Everyone wanted to talk to us, take pictures, buy us drinks, and even sneak pictures of us too. Again, weird, but very humbling and amazing to see all the support. Boston is very patriotic city!