What have I been up to?
Monday - Since it was Labor Day, it was a staff holiday, meaning I didn't have work that morning! I did, however, still have class. We talked more about Impressionism (of course), but moved away from talk about salons and the academy and instead focused on some impressionists themselves and their inspiration. After class, Gabby and I walked right off of East Campus and went to Bruggher's Bagels, which is absolutely amazingly delicious! My favorite there is the Asiago Parmesan with Honey Walnut cream cheese. Thinking about it right now is making my tummy make sounds! I bought a few bagels for the week and have munching on them for breakfast. Their Cinnamon Sugar is also very delicious, and I have yet to try some more! After that, we had our first tennis practice of the year on East Campus, where I got to meet some of the new girls on the team. We hit around for a bit and then played doubles, which was a great way to get to know the new players better. When practice was over, I headed back to West Campus and relaxed for the rest of the evening, doing work and going to sleep early.
Tuesday - Incredibly busy day! I started off going to my American Politics class and reviewing some things about the constitution, public interest, etc. From there, I grabbed a vanilla latte from Twinnie's (which brews Starbucks coffee!) and headed to my Ethics class. We had a long, interesting discussion about the Book of Job again and what ethics are, if they're defined by adjectives like integrity, honesty, selflessness, etc., or if ethics were relative, and they could not be confined to a black-and-white definition. After that, I headed over to the Bryan Center and met up with my roommate and a friend and grabbed lunch at McDonald's, which has daily specials all day that are great for the college kid's diet (though not necessarily for his/her health). Then, I headed out and went to office hours for my Stats class just to double-check something. Turns out I did everything right--a great way to start off the first problem set for the class. Then, I went to my Stats class, and we talked about probability, something I learned in sophomore year of high school but had forgotten until the lecture, which jogged my memory. We went over a few examples, and the professor explained everything logically and stopped to answer questions, so everybody seemed to understand the concept pretty well. After that, I headed to my French seminar, where we discussed Shan Sa's novel, La Joueuse de Go (The Joy of Go--the Chinese checkers/chess-like board game), which is a very interesting read. We read the first 23 chapters of the book for Tuesday, and it was written in brief chapters with alternating perspectives--one from a girl living in Manchuria during the Japanese invasion, and the other a Japanese soldier. At first it was confusing because it was hard to differentiate the voice, but after a while, it became more distinct, and I was curious to find out how the two related, and how that connected with the title of the novel. After that, I ran back to my room to get changed for my first rowing practice. We all waited for the bus, which took us to Lake Michie, and we got an introduction of the boathouse and got a chance to take the boat out and sit in it, but not do any rowing because we hadn't been cleared with physicals yet. After that, I got back and had dinner with one of the girls at The Loop, where I tried the grilled fish sandwich, which was absolutely to-die-for. I'm definitely getting that again next time! I came back and did some more work and talked with Gabby and Caroline before finally getting to bed after a long, but exilhirating day!
A picture from the middle of the bus
I didn't get a chance to take pictures at the lake since I left all of my stuff on the bus, but hopefully next time!
Wednesday - I woke up pretty early in the morning since I had work at 8. I was pretty busy, working on the Sanford School website and getting in contact with people for interviews. The time passed by really quickly, and I was tempted to get something from the Sanford Deli after work, but instead, I went to the BC and saw my friend Stephanie, and we had lunch together. I had Panda Express for the first time in a while, but it was just as good (unhealthy?) as I remembered! Then I came back to my room for a little bit to relax and headed to Art History again, meeting up with Gabby at the bus stop. The professor talked more specifically about people who influenced the Impressionists, and we went over more slides and the use of color, light, perspective, etc. After that, I came back and met up with my FAClets for dinner, where I got to hear updates about their lives and how they were adjusting to school. Then I rushed over to my Duke Journal of Public Affairs meeting, where we discussed topics for our next issue. After that, I ran over (not literally, but almost), to my house course (a half-credit, pass/fail small class taught by Duke students and moderated by a professor/adviser, who shows up to a couple of the sessions), called Women & International Development. We spent some time getting to know each other before jumping into the topic of women, education, economic growth, etc., and it was a great introduction to what the class would be about, and I'm really excited for it. House courses are a great way to discuss topics that interest you without having the time commitment/workload of being a regular class. After that, I went to The Tower with Caroline, where I tried their Grilled Cheese + tomato and avocado. It was an interesting combination, but I liked it. I also had a side of mashed red potatoes instead of mac & cheese, and it was absolutely delicious. I think I'm going to try one of the salads next time, or the burger, and get a side of sweet corn...Yum. I can't wait! All this talk about food is making me hungry!! I got back and did work, had a mini dance party in my room with Gabby and Caroline, and went to bed.
The Tower has awesome beverages--including old-school, limited-edition Mountain Dew bottles, glass soda ginger ale, orange creme, & creme soda, and this delightful thing called MASH, which is kind of like an Izze--a carbonated beverage that's not as sweet as soda, so sort of like a carbonated vitamin water, I guess?
Thursday - Long day again! Started off with my American Politics class, where we talked about the social contract between American citizens and its government, in addition to the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, etc. My Ethics class didn't meet because the professor had to go to a conference, so I took advantage of the time and took a quick nap before heading out to dinner with my Chi Omega family. We ate at the Refectory--FYI: they have an amazing tomato soup. After talking about what we did over the summer and the wonderful experience of studying abroad (they studied in France over the summer and Australia last fall), I got really excited for next Fall--keeping my fingers crossed!--in Paris. Then I headed out to my Stats class, where he mentioned more formulas about probability and focused on a lot more examples, including ones about Bayes Theorem. After that, I went to my French seminar, where we discussed the next 23 chapters of the novel (they finally meet in chapter 45!!), including the style of the novel, the voices of the different characters, and what the story is about, as well as the setting and context. Then I headed to rowing practice, where we got to see the rowing room--filled with machines--and the Duke Women's Rowing's locker room, which we can use! We also got to see the varsity weight room and training room, as well as the academic center, where student-athletes can study, request tutors, etc. Then we learned the proper technique for rowing before heading out to get our physicals done. With that out of the way, I'm really excited for an exciting (real) practice on the water tomorrow!! I came back and had dinner with all the Pegram kids at Bali Hai, a Mongolian bbq place right off of Ninth St./East Campus. Then Caroline and I came back and did some work before a couple of our friends dropped by to chat and hang out. Now it's time for sleep. Long day ahead. Good night!
Also--sorry about the lack of pictures! I have several more to post from the quad games, which I realized I didn't post! The email from my phone wasn't working, though, so I couldn't send them through. I'll try and post them within the next two days, though!!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment