Training week. A week none of the 11 Otesha crew members could have sufficiently prepared themselves for. Myself included, and I was part of the planning team! The first day began..  not really in the day time, but in the late hours of the afternoon. 11 anxious yet excited volunteers from VIC, NSW and overseas met together as a group for the first time. When hugs, kisses and clarification of names had finished, it was straight down to business. There was a dinner to host, family and friends to meet and food to be eaten!! As dinner slowly came to an end and guests dispersed there was still an obvious buzz, filled with stories, knowledge, team work and laughter. It was clear to see, that in the short time the 11 Oteshians had been together, a strong, resilient and loving bond had begun to form within the group. Following the dinner it was time for bed. We set up our sleeping mats and sleeping bags together in a big room (although the two boys got a small room to share), personal space, a luxury I am sure we will all have to learn to live without. During the next 4 days, at what seemed like the crack of dawn, we awoke in a daze to undertake the group activities planned for the week. We played games: name games, getting to know you games, theatre games, silly games, quiet games, loud games and pretty much every game you can think of! We undertook bike maintenance courses, ate, practised (for the first time) our morning of choices theatre performance, devised rotating roles for the group, learned about collaborative decision making, discussed conflict resolution, practised our performance again, ate, agreed upon (after a lengthy discussion) the food mandate, role played first aid, rode our bikes,ate, practised the play again (which can I just add, is really coming together quite nicely), experienced various minor injuries, organised food, worked as a team, laughed, cried, groaned, ate, yawned, discussed ways of maintaining  our health and nutrition, experienced the effects of dehydration and sore muscles, met past Otesha crew members, dealt with outside job and family commitments, raced around to finalise our bikes and gear, undertook a workshop that allowed us to feel comfortable in expressing our deepest feeling to our new Otesha family (a powerful experience I will not forget for a long time to come), laughed a little more, ate a little more,  and I've probably forgotten half of it! Yes, all this in 4 days! Needless to say we were exhausted and ready for a day off! Although it was one of the most intense weeks of my life, I am glowing with positivity and anticipation for the tour to actually begin. The day that we embark on our journey and ride out of Melbourne with 10 new family members will be a day of joy and excitement. Until then, we have a few more days of training to get through. But with a support network like the one that makes up the 2011 Capital City Tour crew, we will always come out on top. On a departing note, I would like to thank anyone and everyone who has donated time, effort, food/goods or support (you know who you are). You have helped to make our first week a success! You are greatly loved and appreciated! See you next time, Emily.