So as I have mentioned in previous blogs....I am at Hoosier Girls State this week as a Government Counselor.  :)  Of course it has been the hottest week EVER, and our dorms at Indiana State do not have air conditioning...haha.  It is so pleasant. But ever since the girls arrived on Sunday, we have been busy 24/7 and having TONS of fun!  If you don't know what HGS is, it is a week long program put on by the American Legion Auxillary that teaches seniors in high school about our state government.  It is basically like the most fun government camp you could ever imagine!  Yeah I know, government camp doesn't sound like any fun whatsoever....but it really is tons of fun!!!  :)  It is the best way to learn about our political process-by doing it all yourself.  Our citizens are divided into cities of about 28 girls, and then there are 4 cities in every county, and we also have two fictional political parties.  The week is divided into three sections- forming the political party structure, running for elective office, and then doing what you were elected to do.  This morning were our primary elections, and tomorrow is the general election...  :)  So today is my favorite day.....we found out who all the parties candidates are, tonight is the two party rally, and then we have whistle stops, which is basically like a town hall debate.  So imagine the town hall debates between Obama and McCain, and then replace everyone with senior girls in a dorm.  haha.  It is pretty legit.  The campaigning has been going rather strong since Monday, and this is my favorite....people love to write with sidewalk chalk to campaign...but the only problem is that you can't spell anything wrong.  Well someone did....but they tried to cover it up....hahahahahahaha.  Check it out...

Needless to say, she did not get her party's nomination for Governor.  The rest of the week has been really exciting as well...here is a run-down of each day's activities so far...

Friday-Saturday: The counselors came in and we had meetings, set everything up, and made sure that all of ISU was ready for 646 senior girls to take over....there was even almost a tornado!!!

Sunday:  The girls arrived and they started to learn all about government...Sunday is usually the worst day, since they aren't used to being hot, and they just got thrown into a city with 27 girls they didn't know....and we have LOTS of meetings....so usually, girls are terrified that day.  I really like to think about what each girl was like as she got off the elevator on our floor, and then compare that to what she is like now.  The difference is like night and day.  The first day is pretty boring/overwhelming, and almost everyone regrets coming at the end of it.

Monday:  By Monday, the girls are getting more comfortable...meeting more people....and starting to have fun!  Monday is the day when the political parties are being formed, so it is always the first round of speeches for the city, county, and state levels.....and they consist a lot of the girls saying, "At my high school, I am in all these clubs and I am president of each of them" which gets really old really fast.  Monday night is "Girls State Night" where the Governor, Girls Nation Delegates, and Outstanding Girl from the previous year come back to give speeches.  They also had the Lt. Governor from Hoosier Boys State (which was last week), which made the girls go WILD!  You would have thought that we had kept them locked up without seeing a member of the opposite sex for like 2 years.  Some girls even had the guts to ask him for his number after the program.  It was crazy...lol

Tuesday:  Tuesday was the day when they started running for their elected offices...and all of the governor candidates gave speeches to their respective parties.  So all the girls filed for their offices....and then that night we had Veteran's Appreciation Night.  It was a VERY long day.  haha.  This was the day that I learned that you do not go without plenty of sleep at girls state....I got rather irritable.  haha.  So since then I have been trying to get PLENTY of rest....but it isn't really happening.  haha....at least I try!  :)

Well that is the week so far in a nutshell...soon I will have up a video and more info on my experience with HGS!!! :)