America's Birthday Party

In the early morning, I couldn’t tell that it was the Fourth of July. I expected a festival crowded around the river, just as Waterfire was set up, but I saw nothing.

After a long wait until my cohorts and I walked to the fireworks, I saw the patriotism of Providence. The festival featured a symphony playing movie soundtracks, food vendors and trinkets to buy. After exploring the area and listening to the symphony, we stared to look for a seat. It was only 7:30, with two hours to wait, and there were no places to sit. I estimate that more than half of Providence had come to India Point Park, where the fireworks were showing.

I can describe the fireworks like Don’s camera flash: it hurts to watch, but you must keep your eyes on the flash, less you blink and miss the show. The fireworks were beautifully choreographed. There were also some that I had never seen before, such as a firework that was only a flash and fireworks that looked like words. Although Fourth of July is associated with the colors red, white and blue, there was a significant amount that displayed red, green and yellow.

When the finale finished the show, I walked alongside the multitudes of people leaving; that is when I realized how much half of Providence was; then I was glad that I was walking instead of waiting in traffic like some cars.

Going to the Fourth of July celebration in Providence was a good beginning to the week when classes are ending. Now I must focus on any projects that is expected to be done by week's end.

All is Fair in Love and Cluster Wars

I woke up this morning feeling excited because it was America’s day, Independence day--also known as the 4th of July. But then my day began to carry on and I did not feel the same excitement I usually get during the 4th of July. But this was quite alright because every day at Brown is different than I have had any where else. 

After waking up fairly late my roommate and I headed to the cluster wars. A cluster war is basically Brown Summer College’s version of the Olympics except instead of representing your country, you represent your RA. We did various activities from water balloon toss to tug-o-war. These events were very fun, in the end my group accumulated the most victories, but the point system was based on sportsmanship points rather than actual victories. So the team who only won one game won the war, but I was satisfied because it was all just fun.

After the cluster wars I went to do further research with my group in the lounge. We are almost finished with the projects and we just have a few minor additions, and possible subtractions to make. I was thrilled with our progress and our all-around group cohesiveness. We will finish tomorrow definitely and present on Wednesday. I am positive that our presentation will go magnificently and not only will we have learned something from the process, but our classmates and professor as well will have learned something new.

After this we all headed down to India Point Park to watch the Fireworks. As soon as we arrived there were thousands of people, and by the time we got settled in the masses of people by the thousands began to herd in. By my estimate there were approximately 20,000 people, but with so many people my estimate could be completely off. But with all of the festivities, the beautiful fireworks, and the masses of people that special feeling of the 4th of July was ingratiated in my heart once again.

Tomorrow I am very excited to have Brown Session Two joining us in Providence. I cannot wait to see them and Mr. Ramsey. It is always good to see people from home in the same foreign land that you are in. I cannot wait to share all of my experiences and knowledge of Brown with them. I know that this group of young ladies will be very dedicated and excel at Brown.

Sunday at the Beach

Today, I spent another day at the beach with my friends. This time, we went to Scarborough Beach. The beach was cleaner, and there were more people. The weather wasn't as great as yesterday, with many clouds over the beach. Nonetheless, I sunburned sufficiently to cause slight skin irritation. After the beach, we returned home and it rained for the first time in a while.

Once back at Brown, I went to the Science Library to study for class. I caught up on the intense amount of reading that had piled up. A lot of difficult concepts are covered by the Biotechnology class. The class goal is for everyone to comprehend a science article. I hope we all are able to achieve this goal.

Sunday was basically another day for relaxation and additional studying. It was a fun day lacking the stress of classwork and labs. I'm excited for July 4th, when the group will watch fireworks together at India Point Park. Of course, I will need to put aside time to study course material to keep myself prepared for the class.

I think it's amazing that our class is extremely intimate. We all know the names of all our classmates, which makes conversation extremely easy among us. I can't wait for this final week, but it is a bittersweet feeling. I will miss the entire environment of Brown, from the University to the students to the Residential Advisors. I'm not ready to part with Providence!

To the Rescue

One of my favorite things about being here at Brown for the summer is my constant productivity. I woke up early today to work on my group project. I went to the Science Library with my friend, Gurrein (from India), and worked on my PowerPoint presentation until Andrew showed up. We did research on huge Mac computers for three hours until we completed a hefty third of our slideshow. We are going to work on it more tomorrow. Through our research, we have uncovered a lot about the California budget deficit and how it is affecting the diverse population. Andrew and I chose to change our solution plan from raising taxes to cutting spending. I had a similar topic for my service learning project in the spring which was about cutting elementary school music programs. Some of my statistics branched over to this topic and they are very helpful in the process of creating a presentation for my class.

Andrew has been a great partner to work with throughout the macroeconomics course. We are learning a lot and helping each other with anything and everything relating to economics. I talked to a summer medical student here and he was jealous that I was taking macroeconomics. We chatted about how the concepts and logic of economics can relate to anything. Macroeconomics are the structural necessities that we base our production and advancement on. I am very content with my course and all the material. I have been scanning through my book to take a sneak peek of future graphs and charts. We have one more week to uncover everything.

After cleaning my room and doing some laundry, I ran into my friend, Olga, who looked a bit stressed out. I asked what was wrong. She was trying to find a printer to print out her tickets to take the train to New York City in the morning. Unfortunately, all of the libraries were closed for the 4th of July and no one in the program brought their own printer. My first thought was to print them at Hotel Providence (which is a mile away from campus). I did more research on Yelp and then decided to call a convenience store in desperation. My friend, Eric, walked me to the store to pick up the tickets (always use the buddy system). In Providence, there is always someone to turn to who is willing to help you out. In Olga's case, I was totally fine with hunting down a printer. In my case, the store manager realized how important the tickets were and provided us with the equipment needed to print them at no cost.

I have less than one week left on the east coast. I web-cammed my parents today and it was the first time I've seen their faces in weeks. I gave them a tour of my hall and introduced them to all my floor mates. They told me that they would be fine with me going to the other side of the country for college.

I think they may just be saying that, but I love their encouragement. I would not mind living on another part of the country for a portion of my life. I have been in California for too long. Adventure is out there, even in Providence.

Sunday Morning, Rain is Falling

Sundays always feel calm and relaxed. I don’t see students rushing to class or crowding in the dining hall. In fact, I hardly see many students at all. Some can be found on the Main Green playing soccer or hanging out with friends. Some, like me, can be found in the library working on weekend homework. 


I started on my group project in the afternoon today. Our topic is the effect of globalization on China’s economic growth. I began researching on my laptop about why the United States should care about China’s economy and the forces behind the country’s booming economy. I discovered that China is the largest holder of U.S. treasury securities and that China’s economy took off after the 1978 open-door policy enacted by former Chairman Deng Xiaoping. I will bring the information I’ve collected to my group the next time we meet, and we will exchange ideas for our presentation due on Wednesday.

I ate dinner at the Ratty, the dining hall next to my dorm, with Erinn and my friend Dilene. This was my second time at the Ratty, and while my first experience was disappointing, this meal was not. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of food offered. I usually go to V-Dub because I originally thought its food was better than that of the Ratty. After tonight, I’ve changed my mind. While many people say students will get sick of dorm food, I have to say I like it more now than before. Maybe that’s because the food varies each day.

The Ratty

Erinn and I were tired of staying in our rooms so we decided to venture outside. We went on the bustling Thayer Street to eat crepes and pizza in a cone; both were delicious. We also headed over to downtown Providence. We went inside Providence Place Mall, but every store was closed except for the movie theater upstairs. Nights in Providence are warm and humid, even after the rain today. I had fun exploring the city with Erinn.

Providence Place Mall

Pizza in a cone

It saddens me to think that in exactly one week, I’ll have to say goodbye to this college I have learned to call home. Sure, I miss the Bay Area, but I’ll miss Brown even more when I return to California. I don’t even want to think that this is our last weekend as a Summer@Brown student. Time has flown by way too fast.

Almost Done

In a mere two weeks I know every inch of the school. I am so accustomed to the campus that, in one case, I found myself walking automatically to my dorm. Every short cut is found and utilized, and even though I am walking across campus several times a day, I am unfazed by the distance.

I have not been prepared for the weather, which mimics the Bay Area’s tendency for erratic weather. For instance, this morning it was sunny and slightly humid, but within a few hours the clouds came and by mid afternoon it was raining. I came outside to escape the humidity, I turned a few pages and I was already shielding my book from water droplets and retreating to the humid dorm. I am also baffled by the humidity while it rains; I am accustomed to cold weather while it rains, so seeing the rain I grab a jacket, which becomes extra baggage later on. The weather balances itself out in the end, and I enjoy it by sitting in the grass.

I have only four days of my class left and less than a week until I will leave Brown. Although I wish I could have had more time in class, I will enjoy my day off tomorrow and will seek out the festivals of Providence. I anticipate the fireworks the most, since the Waterfire performance was so elaborate.

Alone Time is Good Time

When most of my friends were off to the beach this morning I stayed in to not only catch up on some sleep but to work on my project with my group. I figured that if I work hard now, I can play hard later. It was good to be away from most of my friends for the early part of the day because I was able to get some alone time. Being alone allowed me to reflect on how fortunate I am to be at Brown University. I worked in the library for about 2 hours and we began working on our PowerPoint presentation. It was very protective and I am glad that I stayed behind to work on my project.

Today was seemingly uneventful for me. I played cards with a group of friends, watched a couple of movies and just enjoyed my time with the lovely people at Brown. I really realized that I will miss this place. There are so many interesting and intriguing things to partake in, such as; Go to see fire on water, listen to fireworks at 12 AM, walk on the famous Thayer street, eat pizza in a cone, take a yoga class, learn West African dance, take a college informational session, lounge on the main green, or best of all meet new people from all across the world.

So far I personally have met people from Sweden, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, South Korea, India, Israel, England, and so many other nations that I cannot recall. By meeting all of these people from all across the world I was able to learn from them and become immersed into their culture.

Tomorrow is the sacred American holiday, 4th of July. The fireworks have already begun and so has the celebration. I am excited to see the festivities that Providence has to offer. I am sure that I will be able to experience something that I have never had before. This is what I love about Brown as well, the ability to do something new every day. I am sure I will not be able to sleep early tonight because like I said the bombs bursting in the air have already begun.