A Day Around Campus

Our first morning on campus was spent with a leisurely walk to breakfast with the ILC group plus a couple people we met yesterday. So far I have loved the selection the Robert Purcell Dining Hall has to offer. Again, the Cornell has been very considerate toward dietary restrictions and they have list the main ingredients (dairy, wheat, etc.) of each dish. Next, our group split up into our restive classes to simulate and time the walk down from the dining hall to our classroom.

Ithaca Gorges

Seventeen minutes later we arrived at the lecture hall where tomorrow's class will take place. Afterwards we began to explore the campus into greater depth, touring the southern part of the campus especially. We tried to climb the Cornell chime tower (where they played tunes earlier such as Beatles selections), which was unfortunately only available to faculty members at most hours. We took a walk through the newer-looking science building, sandwiched between two older brick structures. After returning to the community center for lunch, we walked down again to Bailey Hall for a college "crash-course" that focused specifically on time management and work ethic while attending college.

In order to wake us up...

Along with organizing your life as a university student, the course focused a lot on the importance of rest to able to properly function. One thing I found funny is that the presenter advised us to get 9 hours of sleep, but with the mandatory 11 o'clock check-in time and the 9 o'clock start to our weekday classes, 9 hours of sleep is almost impossible. As I began to get sleepy, my favorite part of her presentation must have been her point on how to wake you up during the day by being active, not by consuming caffeine. She proved her point by distributing beach balls around the room to be volleyed by the crowd, which really did work.

The Clock Tower, same as on blog cover photo

In the afternoon, we met again with Mr. Chan-Law and Ms. Kronenberg to discuss our classes and check to see if we are all prepared and properly equipped with our literature and materials. We did our first load of laundry and spent some time playing outdoors while we waited for our loads to finish. Afterward we all attended the activities fair, where various events such as a hike to Buttermilk Falls, a Fourth of July barbecue, and many others on campus became available to us. We decided to be outgoing and sign up for many activities, including the hike, barbecue, and a ballroom dancing class, taught by my R.A. Asher.

While in Philadelphia, I was reading the Brown blog, where many of the students' writing revolved around the unbearable heat and humidity that they were experiencing in Providence. Today, the temperature in Ithaca was beautiful once again, with a temperature no hotter than 70 degrees with a consistent breeze throughout the day.  It was even raining in the later afternoon! We are all blogging from the Mary Donlon Hall lounge, where the temperature would be suitable for a jacket and long pants.  Today was even predicted to be the warmest day of the week! Maybe we will need to unpack the jeans out of our suitcases!

Overall, the day before our classes started was relatively relaxed. We all familiarized ourselves with the campus and prepared for what the week has on store for us.  I cannot wait to share my first day in Freedom and Justice with you all tomorrow night!