Jameson House, Room 005

Last night, Erinn, Kathleen, Ms. Larson and I went to check out the Gay Pride Parade that was blocking all the surrounding streets of our hotel. The music was deafening but thrilling as people danced down the street blowing whistles and waving to the surrounding crowds.

We ate breakfast at Tazza Café again. I got a serving of corn beef hash with a cheese and chive biscuit. I helped Ms. Larson out with her huge stack of blueberry pancakes as well. I strongly recommend this café if any readers find themselves in Providence. The food is good and the waitresses are friendly.

We checked into Brown University after breakfast. I received a name tag (which is very helpful in the friend-making process), a school map, a lanyard, an ID card, a two room keys, and a laminated card with emergency phone numbers. I was set!

Ms. Larson left us with a tearful farewell and we were off to our dorms. Andrew and I are both living in the Keeney Quad which is close to the main green where we checked in. Andrew helped me find my house, Jameson, before heading off to his house, Bronson.

I had trouble opening the main door with my luggage and my bags, but I managed to stumble through the entrance to Jameson. I had no idea where my room was, so I hid my luggage in a corner and ran around the dorm to find J005. Finally, I used my brain and went to the bottom floor and found my room just a few steps from the stairwell. I ran back up the stairs to retrieve my stuff. A few families gave me weird looks as my luggage clunked down the stairs. I smiled at them even though my arm muscles strained and sweat beaded on my face. Act normal…

My roommate’s name is Olivia Spector from Manhattan, New York. While she moved in, I talked to her and her mother explaining where I was from and what class I was taking. As we unpacked, a lot of people from our floor came into our room to socialize. Dana Trentalange and Chloe Doto were the first two to join us and we talked a ton to get to know each other. Nobody on our floor has the same class. Some examples of the classes they are taking are American History (1940-1970), Entrepreneurship, Literature of the Fantastic, and Themes from Existentialism.

Everyone in a three-week program met up for an orientation where camp directors went over rules, expectations, and safety procedures. From there, our RA (Residential Advisor) took us on a short campus tour. I still need to explore the campus more to get a feel where everything is. Similar to Telegraph Street by UC Berkeley, Thayer Street runs by Brown University and it is filled with places to eat and shop.

Before dinner, my floor mates and I passed time by throwing around a Frisbee on one of the many patches of lawn. Some guys stopped by to hang with us. Ultimate Frisbee is a popular sport in colleges, but I have yet to play a game.

Dinner was located in one of the three dining halls, Verney-Wooley Dining Hall. I had a light dinner of brown rice, carrot sticks, lettuce, and croutons. I just realized how strange that sounds.

After dinner, all of the people at Summer@Brown (1-weekers, 3-weekers, and 7-weekers) met at Patriots Court for an Ice Cream Social (which occurs every Sunday). An RA hosted a Twister game which I dropped out of when he said, “Right ear on green!”

I did not have any ice cream but I did socialize. I met international students from Turkey to Costa Rica. Apparently there were students from every single state in the U.S. except North Dakota. Andrew was very popular with the girls. Frank and I met a pair of theatrical Connecticans that taught us funny handshakes.

Our floor meeting was at 9pm sharp. Our RA, Mikalei Gordon, collected our cell phone numbers and recapped rules and regulations. My floor mates and I named our floor group after Mikalei’s room number: 007. We played “Two Truths and a Lie” and then we pulled out our laptops to add everyone on FaceBook. Social networking is a beautiful thing.

The dorm bathrooms are quaint and the stall doors don’t close all the way. There are no paper towels so my floor mate Lena Kesden dried her face under the hand dryer.

The Introduction to Macroeconomics starts tomorrow. Andrew, Kathleen and I have our books and we are ready to learn. We’re waking up and meeting up early tomorrow to hit the dining hall before the crowd and to find our classroom.

Today was a great first day. See you tomorrow!