Not Welcome

I thought it would never come, but the weekend is finally here. JT came home early from preacademy today. He told me that he and the other recruits have been informed that they are "not welcome." What he means is that when they are dismissed they are to vacate the premises immediately, as though in disgrace. They are not to look at any of their instructors in the eye. And if they are walking somewhere and one of the instructors or other tactical staff walk by, the recruits are to stop and ask for leave before continuing on their way.

We spent the afternoon making flash cards to help him memorize things like the members of his department's city council, facts about his city, the definition of a crime, the vehicle codes, penal codes and "ten codes" which officers use to communicate. Furthermore, he still has some drills to learn for the various jobs he could be assigned from week to week. JT had an interesting analogy for it yesterday. Drawing on his knowledge that I used to enjoy acting in high school, he said: "It's like you're in a play that opens in two weeks. You have to learn all the parts because you don't know which part you'll be playing, and they're not going to tell you until 20 minutes before curtain."

He's been preparing me for what to expect on Family Day, this coming Tuesday. I'm going to be invited to the facility where he's doing preacademy, and they'll be providing cookies and refreshments, and some little pens and other giveaway items. JT and the other recruits are not to take anything--they are not welcome. The instructors of the academy will be nice--but JT says "Don't let it fool you!" They'll show us videos of previous academy classes, tell us jokes, and remind us to be supportive and patient while the recruits go through this program. During all that, the recruits will be asked to step into an adjacent room where they will be yelled at for any number of things. When JT comes back, I'm not to ask him where he's been or if he was getting yelled at because the mic system will pick up even the lowest whispers. I'll have to be on my best behavior. This is gonna be interesting.