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letters, cards, news from home- all good.
As already mentioned, send all of the above in plain envelopes- other than her address and your return address, keep all messages INSIDE the envelope. Detailers can be a nosy bunch, and no use giving them any unnecessary ammunition.
Care packages-
might want to coordinate that with her parents. They have limited room in their lockers, and it doesn't take much to have "too much." Bake some cookies, brownies- the home made ones usually get past the detailers, although she may be asked (and expected) to "share" with the rest of her squad/company. No matter- it is the "thought" that counts, and the thought will be well appreciated. Stay away from anything that can "melt" in the heat, and put batches of cookies in zip-lock bags to stay fresh. Pack with a little bubble wrap in a flat-rate box from the post office and you will be good to go.
Hang in.
While peskemom makes some valid points, your friendship can transcend all of it. Our Mid is also a firstie, with a whole host of close friends at home- about 20 of them. Each and everytime he comes "home," those that can get together- and just about all of them do. Will it always stay this way? No- infact, the majority of them graduated from their own HS's this past year and one is headed to Texas, another to China. But once plebe summer is over and the academic year starts, IM's and facebook are amazing mechanisms to keep friends together, even as the years pass, and they all know that Texas and CHina are but a quick IM away! It is amazing!
Having said that, just remember, once there is computer access, the whole IM and texting thing can get quickly out of hand- just remember to be respectfully of her limited time. Text messages 24/7 get annoying pretty quickly when there are many things they have to attend to- as will you. But what can work is to allow her to contact you when she has time, and work your schedule around that as your's no doubt will be more flexible.
The only other thing you may want to consider is visiting- AFTER plebe summer - perhaps on a weekend when you are the only one going so that you won't have to "share" with parents, bf's, etc. Believe it or not, Labor Day is a perfect weekend to do that as they usually get an extra day off, and "town" liberty on the Sunday in addition to the Saturday- which is a huge bonus! Granted, not competer freedom-but you should be able to see her from 12 to 12 on saturday, and if things stay the same as the past few years, 12 to 12 on Sunday as well- and then noon to 6pm on the yard on Monday- but all in all, plenty of time to visit and have some fun together exploring Annapolis, and there is always the Mall! But remember- visiting is an activity for AFTER plebe summer. What I would suggest is touching base with her parents to see if they have any plans for visiting that weekend, and work around that. While some parents will welcome friends along, some won't- and more importantly, some friends who go to visit will want to have their friend all to themselves without the "rents" around. So give that some thought as you plan. As for "surprise" visits, keep in mind the one usually getting the "surprise" is YOU- especially if you go only to find she has duty or other obligations- so when you can contact her after plebe summer, plan a visit out with her- you will have a better time doing that.
as an aside-
the detailers have gotten a clear message to once again lighten up on the plebes. Many traditional "lessons" of plebe summer are no longer allowed- the plebe summer experienced by the current detailer class of 2010 will NOT be the same experienced by the class of 2013- the message that "100% retention" is the goal has been communicated loud and clear.
Your friend will be fine. Despite all you read and hear, she has not entered the lion's den never to be seen again- hardly. Will she work hard? Sure. Will she learn lots? Absolutely. Will she like it? Some days yes, some days no. Will she get through it? With a little motivation, absolutely. Unless SHE does not want to. Again, this is NOT the plebe summers of old, and they want the plebes to be successful over the next 6 weeks.
What YOU can do to pass YOUR time is to get a copy of "Brief Points" and read through that- plenty of NAVY lingo to aquaint yourself with! It is intended for parents, but makes good reading for anyone with a Mid at USNA!
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