Preparing for a Summer at Brown

I had a bit of a lie-in today; all of the movement from constant traveling has done a number on my energy levels. Plus, it's difficult for me to sleep in new places and on a rather hard mattress.

Today I allowed myself to skip breakfast for the sake of resting.  Although I could've slept for many more hours, I woke up at around 12 PM and made my way down to the dining hall close to my dorm. Interestingly, this particular hall has been christened with the title The Ratty. Its original name is The Sharpe Refectory, but after a rat infestation several years ago the dining hall was never viewed the same.

I enjoy the fact that I'm able to serve myself. Not only do I get to pick what's on my plate, but I am also in control of how much is on there. I was able to finish everything in ten minutes, which rarely ever happens, and then head over to Salomon Hall for student orientation.

I met up with Krystal and Aimee and relaxed under the trees for a while. We were actually quite early, so we used up more free time to wind down.

The view from our spot under the trees.

When the previous parent and student orientation had ended, it seemed as though the stream of people exiting Salomon Hall was never going to end. There had to have been at least 150 people who attended. Similarly, once it was time to file into the auditorium, we found that seats were quite valuable.

Two residency directors led the orientation. They provided us with information on policies, activities, and resources for times of emergency. After the presentation, we were told to follow our Residential Advisories outside for some icebreakers. Every floor of every dorm is provided with two RAs who oversee things such as check-in for curfew.

My RA is Skenda, a Brown student from Miami. She had us introduce ourselves and play games such

Icebreakers with my floor group!

as Ninja. I actually learned that another girl on my floor is from the San Francisco/Bay Area and is also enrolled in Women and Leadership! Another girl named Camille is also a future classmate of mine. It was fun to make connections with all of the girls. They seem so fun!

The entire floor regrouped after a while and we went on a small tour. I overheard many girls talking about what programs they were in. Most of them were in Women and Leadership, and when I talked to a girl called Lexa, I was informed that the class was an extremely popular one. It made sense to me, given that Brown has a strong social justice presence.

After the tour we were brought to The Ratty for dinner. My meal consisted of grilled chicken, vegan baked beans (they were delicious, trust me), spinach, and an apple. It had a home-cooked quality to it that made me a tinge homesick. My mood immediately recuperated once I caught sight of the ice cream table, however.

I was still quite tired and decided to rest in my room for a while. I wound up taking a nap and missed the club and activities fair. Although I am rather disappointed, I know there will be many more events ahead of me, and I can always sign up at a later date.

My floor had a meeting in the lounge of Olney House at 9:00 PM. There, we engaged in another icebreaker, but this one was of a much deeper level. I paired up with a girl named Silvana who is from Columbia and will be in class with me tomorrow morning. In the activity we were told to answer three questions each: who are you, who do you want to be, and who do you pretend to be? It was interesting to learn about each other this deeply right off the bat: I saw some traits of my own in her, and I realized how much more self-reflection I could do.

All in all, today was nice. I had fun talking to new people, and I'm looking forward to the first day of class.