[nagdu] attending The Seeing Eye

Fri Apr 13 03:06:12 UTC 2012

No, they give you instructions as to how to meet your driver; sometimes there are others and sometimes there aren't. 

Cindy

On Apr 12, 2012, at 9:50 PM, Reinhard Stebner wrote:

> When you got to the airport, did you need to wait for other class mates
> before you went to TSI? Did they provide laundry bags or a dry cleaning
> service (where you paid for the service)? How much food were you given and
> did all class mates receive the same dog food? Do they still provide dog
> boles for home? Finally, what did you think of the grooming tools?
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Robert Hooper
> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 3:27 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] attending The Seeing Eye
> 
> Hello Reinhard:
> 
> I envy you your trip to The Seeing Eye. It's hard to say what your
> experience will be like, as you will likely be working with different staff
> members than I did. So, the best I can do is give you my thoughts from my
> perspective.
> Training
> 
> The Seeing Eye should have sent you some electronic documents regarding a
> general outline of what training will be like, including a sample schedule.
> You will have it relatively easy for the first two days (your pre-dog days).
> You will be able to sleep later and the only things you will do
> training-wise are Juno walks and familiarizing with the Seeing eye's campus
> and training center. The food is very good, all homemade and professionally
> served. They don't frown upon those who request extra helpings, so be
> careful!
> After you receive your dog, you will be getting up at 5:30 every morning.
> They will pipe music into your room via an intercom located above your bed.
> You can adjust the volume of this intercom, but I suggest you don't, as
> announcements are also given via this medium. As soon as the music blasted
> its way into my consciousness, I rolled out of bed, said good morning to my
> pup, and yanked on some pants, socks, and shoes. I then waited at the door
> for the instructors to come around with the doggy breakfast. After giving me
> a food bowl, I closed the door and fed and watered the dog. After that, I
> traipsed down to park (relieving area). Afterward, I returned to my room,
> took the food bowl to the common lounge (as requested), and took a shower.
> Breakfast usually wasn't until 7:30, so after the shower I would go to sleep
> (or go to the lounge, depending on what struck my fancy). At breakfast, our
> instructors would brief us on the day's events (who's going where and when,
> and the things on which we would be working). After consuming The Seeing
> Eye's delicious coffee, I would return to the lounge or my room and wait for
> my shuttle to be called.
> An instructor (or apprentice) would drive us and our dogs into town, where
> we would wait to walk with our instructors and usually another person. The
> instruction was superb, and as I said in a prior post, comfortably
> repetitive. Toward the end of the morning, we would start leaving for base,
> where we occasionally attended a lecture, parked the dogs, and ate lunch. We
> then repeated the morning routine in the afternoon, and returned for evening
> park and doggy/human dinner. Most of the lectures took place in the evening,
> and were the length of some standard college lectures. They were
> semi-formal, interactive, and serious.
> You will be given a thumb drive with mp3 versions of the lectures on them,
> and you will be encouraged to listen to them before the lecture in question.
> I enjoyed the lectures, being the academic person that I am. Topics range
> from traffic to dog massage.
> 
> Dorm life
> 
> It's hard to analyze each aspect of existence at TSE, as they are so blended
> together. You will be hanging out in the same place that lectures are given.
> I made amazing friends at TSE, and remember several loud, laugh-filled
> evenings and afternoons in the common lounge. You will have a very
> comfortable life at TSE. You have a full-size bed, your own bath/shower, XM
> radio, soap, and miscellaneous other things in your room, including heat/AC.
> However, I would be wary of leaving any valuables around your room, as the
> bedroom doors do not have locks. However, you have two closets in your room,
> one of which has a lock.
> Weekends can be a bit boring, as you will only have one trip (although I
> seem to remember something saying that this is going to change). Since we
> are not allowed to take our dogs off campus, there is little to do save walk
> the leisure path, talk to friends, read, study lecture material, sleep, and
> recuperate from the week's activities. It does get a bit slow, so be
> prepared to be a bit restless on the weekends. If you have people who will
> visit you, that can make things more enjoyable.
> 
> Computing
> 
> TSE has a tech center (which has actual airline seats to practice). I had my
> own laptop, so I did not make use of the technology center. However, I did
> make use of their wireless network for both my phone and computer. The tech
> center is downstairs with the laundry, grooming room, and rec center.
> Staff
> In my experience, all the staff were positive, encouraging, and a joy to
> have around. I, being the humor-loving, controversy-driven, and
> conversation-having person that I am, loved conversing with everyone from
> the housekeeping staff to the instructors and servers. I'm sure I did not
> cover everything, but feel free to write me some follow-up questions to
> address any discrepancies or anything on which you wish me to elaborate.
> Sincerely,
> Robert Hooper
> Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu
> The Ohio State University
> 0653 Buckeye-Cuyahoga CT
> 653 Cuyahoga Court
> Columbus, Ohio 43210
> (740) 856-8195
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Reinhard Stebner
> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 2:47 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: [nagdu] attending The Seeing Eye
> 
> Good afternoon,
> 
> 
> 
> I will be attending The Seeing Eye on Monday 4/16/2012. Could you please let
> me know from a user's prospective, what to expect? I am referring to:
> 
> 1)      Training
> 
> 2)      Lectures.
> 
> 3)      Dorm life.
> 
> 4)      Computing.
> 
> 5)      Staff in terms of warm / friendly or not. 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you.
> 
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> 
> 
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