Brown University: Day 1

It is flabbergasting that you can sleep in the Brown dorms without blankets. The humidity here is so nice that it is not cold even at night. In the mornings, it can be a slight annoyance, but I have met people from hotter climate areas who say the weather is a relief. The diversity in Brown's pre-college program is amazing.

Sadly, today was our last day with our wonderful chaperon, Ms. Larson! Hopefully we will see each other one day in the far distant future. I wish her the best in her time without us, and we all miss her company dearly.

Today, we checked-in to the program and moved into our dorms. I am in the Olney House, which is in the same quad as Erinn and Kathleen. Andrew and Erin reside in the Keeney quad. My dorm room is a single room, so I get lonely at times without Andrew's contagious laughter. Although the privacy is a benefit, if we lock ourselves out of the room we will be charged $25 per lock-out. The single dormers must be especially careful and responsible.

We received our Brown IDs today. I got a temporary ID which will means I have to receive my legitimate ID tomorrow. I see it as a good opportunity to get used to the campus. We purchased our textbooks as well, and some of us have started early reading. Class starts tomorrow!

We enjoyed a campus tour, met our floor-mates, and ate dinner. The campus was much more open than other schools, it was weaved into the actual city a lot more than other campuses. Brown is a place where many nearby residents come to relax.

After dinner, we went to the ice cream social. We were able to meet tons of new people (names flew from my mind as quickly as they came). A lot of people came from places like Costa Rica, Turkey, China, South Korea, Hawaii, etc. The list goes on. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get to know everyone, just because of the pure size of the Brown pre-college group. It was definitely a friendly experience.

On a personal note, a lot of people commented on my American accent when speaking Chinese, and told me that I spoke Spanish rather well (with an accent). I met my "long-lost brother" who shared a last name with my mother and met many California residents as well. It was all very fun, and everyone was in a good mood.

I hope that Kathleen, Erinn, Erin, and Andrew are enjoying their time here too. We don't have as much time to talk to each other anymore, but our group is still close!

Goodnight!