“So, if food is free from the community garden, why do we have to swipe our badges to have it deducted from our community account?”
“The community account is an allocation-based system, not a money account. So, if you have two adults and one child in the household, then you are eligible to receive a certain amount of vegetables, fruits, dairy, and grains, as well as a portion of meat from community ranchers and game hunters. When you signed up for the SWACon badges yesterday, you indicated your food preference, like if your household eats more vegetables than meat, etc. Your allocation amounts will be adjusted accordingly. You may also request to exceed your allotment. Some people, me for example, have our own gardens so we don’t use our full allotment from the community garden and can donate the excess to be reallocated. You can also request to volunteer in the community garden to increase your allotment. Or, you can choose to pay for anything extra, just like I talked about when moving from the free apartment to a pro-rated house. Next question, mic three.”
“Why can’t we just request to live in another area of Bosque rather than first having to come to ABQ and then request to move.”
“As stated, there is first a waiting period to even qualify for a house, which is the length of your required mentorship time. You can submit your request before your mentorship ends and take the resource stewardship classes required to be a home dweller. Final approval, however, will not be granted until the mentorship is complete.
“To move out of the ABQ area, you must meet certain community requirements including length of time lived in ABQ and be sponsored by a Bosque community. There are other criteria as well, including learning the common tribal language of the area you wish to move to, all outlined on the Psycept website under the relocation section. If you want to move to another area of the Bosque region because you wish for more seclusion, realize there is land available in the ABQ area. If you want to be a rancher or farmer, there is separate criteria to meet for that and I encourage you to explore our website for that information. The length of time clause is still in effect no matter the reason, though. Question at mic four.”
We continue for a few more minutes, then it’s time for the last section. Professor Biobaku is here to speak of SWACon, again for me to rest my voice and have a little break. I still handle the questions at the end, though. I only have one orientation session left, then the day is over. Oh wait, I have a review with the MacGillivrays and Professor Biobaku afterwards, then a hand-off call with Wendy. Let those be quick.
The final orientation group arrives. I thought because I was their last stop, they might be listless for the three hours. But they seem to be as attentive as the first two groups, good. I cover the material of the first section and they tentatively ask just a couple of questions as if some aren’t used to speaking up. As this is the Spanish language panel, there is no relief from the Q&A volunteers. Jay is the only fluent Spanish speaker that could relieve me, and this Spanish group just came from Q&A and her voice is probably worn out. Tiko, Libby, Vic and Professor Biobaku are proficient enough to answer individual questions, but not to present formally.
Finally, we get through the final section and questions. As the hours progressed, they became a little more comfortable with asking questions. The last groups of the day in all three areas, orientation, Q&A panel, and the tour, are given paper surveys and time to fill out them out at the end of their session. Boxes with slit lids are scattered at the exit doors to collect the surveys. As much as it sucks to go through handwritten responses, people are more likely to respond on paper.
Professor Biobaku, the MacGillivrays, and I get together to discuss the day in a small break room set aside for volunteers. It’s the first time I’ve seen the room, it seems nice.
“First of all, I want to thank all of you for helping me today. Hopefully, the food was decent, and the attendees were pleasant, or at least not too offensive. Let’s talk FAQ first, focusing on this last Q&A section as they had orientation and the tour beforehand. Did you notice if any questions they asked should have been addressed in earlier sessions?”
“Between your orientation and our going over the website and forms, I think they understood most of the material. I just noticed a lot of questions regarding consultations, the system, working with PCSS, and a few police questions.”
“I agree with Jay. This most recent class also asked about learning more of other Psycepts. Some had never met a PreCog or one of the Variegated. Should we create a Psycept wide social mixer?”
“Thank you, Professor Biobaku. I think we’re okay for now. Starting next week, their categories will hold gatherings to introduce them to their members. They’ll also hold ‘Getting to Know Your Fellow Psycept’ cultural classes to talk about the different kinds of Psycepts we have here. I think they are arranging to have guest speakers. And we have the big event in five weeks. Maybe we can reassess after the shindig?”
“Plus, Gray, they’ll be receiving ‘How to be a Consultant’ training from their various categories. PAPPA will start the training this
