Alex: My Thoughts Pre- Morocco

At around 17:40, I will be in an airplane taking off to Morocco. I thought I would document my thoughts going into Morocco to compare them with my thoughts after this 2 week trip.

1. I can't help but think that this is the day I've been waiting for. Two years of Arabic study, falling in love with the Arab culture and immersing myself in learning more about Arab sexuality has led me to today. To finally see if everything I have been dreaming of is true. 

2. I still don't know if I am bringing appropriate clothes. All summer, I didn't buy clothes that I couldn't wear in Egypt. But after all of that I still don't know if I have enough/ if what I have is right. It's going to be a 'test and see the results' kind of thing I guess. Everyone in my program is kind of at a lost, so it feels good we are all on the same page.

3. I couldn't really imagine a better group to go on this adventure with. I know that we all have each other's back. It's gonna be a pretty intimate 2 weeks for us that includes 10 hour bus rides and hotel rooms, but I believe it's going to bring us closer together. Going from Amsterdam to Morocco is a whole other ball game. We'll need each other more than ever because 2 weeks is more than enough time to experience some serious culture shock. And while some people feel like this trip is going to bring some of us over the edge, I love this group. I cannot wait for the two weeks of sleepovers.

4. I do not actually know Arabic like people think I do. 4 semesters, 4 times a week, 4 hours a night of homework and I can really just say hello and tell you about my family. I hope people aren't expecting much from me, but I have my Arabic flashcards just in case.

5. Fun Fact: We're literally traveling all around Morocco. Some of the cities we'll be exploring include Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech and a small village in Agadir.

5. And in this moment, I swear we are infinite. 

Alex & Mandy : Rose, Thorn & Bud

As you may or may not know, Alex & Mandy had the magical experience of getting to be together for 4 glorious days in wonderful Amsterdam. As much as seeing each other was a dream, this weekend has definitely has had it ups and downs. Because of these life altering experiences, we have collectively decided to share our Rose, Thorn and Bud of studying abroad thus far.

Rose (Alex): As you have seen from my past blog posts, I love Amsterdam. I do believe it is a magical place and the awe of it all has not worn off yet. I am really bonding with my host family and have come to love my homestay situation as well. Lastly, my peers in this program have really made a place for themselves in my heart. It feels like some of these people have been my best friends for a lifetime. So while everything was externally perfect I knew that something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Mandy & I have been roommates since Day 1 of knowing each other. We have never been apart for longer than 3 weeks since we have met. So week 5 of being apart, I knew that I was not homesick, but Mandysick. When Mandy sent me the impromptu message about visiting this past weekend, my heart skipped a beat. I was so ready to share the city & the people that I love with my roommate. It was not an easy experience for Mandy, but I am so so grateful she was here. It was exactly what I needed to finish this semester stronger than ever.

On Saturday, I had to go on a solo excursion to Haarlem (for homework) and Mandy accompanied me. I. LOVE. HAARLEM. I. LOVE. THE. NETHERLANDS. We had an exhausting day of shopping at the Grote Market,  antiquing and trying to find the museums on our self-guided walking tour (only for them to be closed when we finally got there). But Haarlem (which Mandy found out IS what NYC’s Harlem is named after) is a more modest version of Amsterdam. It’s old & beautiful & full of wonderful sites.  How lucky was I to have such a great excursion buddy?

Rose (Mandy): So for several months, everyone has been talking about how great it will be abroad, because then you can just take a spontaneous trip to a different country for the weekend. And so I did! I knew if I didn’t see Alex that weekend, it would be another month, and I just wasn’t ready to handle that thought... then realized I didn’t have to!

It was so amazing to be with Alex in Amsterdam. We kept saying, “This must be a dream”. We started our reunion as every reunion should be started - with a running embrace in a train station followed by Karaoke. And I can’t describe how full my heart was. I am so grateful that I got to meet the other students in Alex’s program. We had a great time and it made me happy to know that Alex is with such smart and fun people! I had the pleasure of meeting her host family as well and they were very welcoming. I am extremely thankful they let me stay with Alex. It was also amazing to see how different mine and Alex’s programs are!! We are both immersed, but in such different ways.

I LOVED Haarlam and Alex and I had the perfect day together there. We also visited the Anne Frank house the next day. Then while Alex was in class on Monday, I took a free walking tour of Amsterdam and learned so much about the city! So many fun facts!

Thorn- (Alex) I lost my Iphone. I didn’t realize how much I truly used my Iphone while abroad until I lost it. By losing my Iphone I lost my GPS map of Amsterdam, my easy communication back home and my Spotify. And oh how boring those long morning metro rides are without my Spotify. I’m still trying to figure out a way to fix this situation. Stay tuned. Update: I’ve been chatting with representatives on the Sprint website for the last 50 minutes. Still no progress. Final update: I was going to spend a lot of money buying a new phone, but I have decided I just can’t commit to that right now. I will decide post- Morocco if I really need the new phone right now. Spotify and I will just have to take a break.

Thorn- (Mandy) I had to learn a very tough lesson about booking spontaneous trips...in all of my excitement for the trip, I clicked the wrong dates for my flights without realizing until it was too late (the days of). So I made some pricey mistakes while planning everything, which led to a miserable day in the airport and a combination of missed flights, delayed flights, missed class, and a very lonely/embarrassed Mandy. Lesson learned, right?

Also, remember how Alex got sick with a cold a few weeks ago in Amsterdam? Yes, well she warned me to bring NyQuil and DayQuil to London, however I did not think I would need it for this weekend. So as my meds were safely in my London flat, I was in Amsterdam with one of the worst colds I’ve had in awhile. Good thing there is so much tea in the Netherlands

Bud- (Alex) TOMORROW WE LEAVE FOR MOROCCO FOR TWO WEEKS. I REPEAT, IN 36 HOURS I WILL BE IN RABAT. We have a packed schedule of traveling and lectures in Morocco that I will be sure to keep everybody updated on. I’m gonna start studying my Arabic flashcards and see if the 4 semesters of Arabic classes did me any good. GUYS. IM GOING TO MOROCCO. PLEASE PLEASE DONT WAKE ME UP FROM THIS DREAM PLEASE.

Bud: (Mandy) I had my first class (that I wasn’t stuck in an airport for) today! It was the Evolution of Modern Business. It seems tough, but interesting. Next week I’ll have my first full week of classes, and I am looking forward to having a routine. I also got to see my first London theater tonight - a show called Pride. This weekend I’m doing lots of touristy things, but tomorrow I am going to attempt to tackle the, now, mountain of laundry I have. And Monday night is the Fresher’s Ball to welcome all the freshmen at King’s (and study abroad students). It’s Great Gatsby themed, so I am headed to Camden Market tomorrow to find some fun accessories!

Side Note: (Alex) We do not have a dryer in my homestay (most homes in the Netherlands do not). Today, I have officially accepted the fact that not only will my underwear be hung up on display, but my host mom will also insist on helping me hang it all up.

Final thought: (Mandy) The weekend was a whirlwind: full of roses, thorns, and buds. But more than anything, I got to see Alex in her favorite city in the world, and that was worth any obstacles.

Marissa: Sweaters and PSLs and Senators, oh my!

Ah, it's that time of year again... when the weather starts to get a chill, Starbucks is serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes (THANK GOD), a weird virus as well as mono and strep is getting passed around friends, roommates, lovers and embarrassing one-night-stands.

Students are busy over-committing themselves to classes, student orgs, internships, jobs and parties, professors are already scaring them with talks of "mid-terms" and GWorld money is depleting at a surprisingly rapid pace.

Also- SIDE NOTE- our Fall shows are returning: New Girl, Hart of Dixie, HIMYM. Have you two figured out how to watch US TV online over there? 

This last week I have had some type of flu, so I've cleared (more like cleared somethings) out of my schedule. This has been a blessing in disguise. I've been sleeping, I've actually been doing (most) of my readings, I've been enjoying my soy PSLs on the beautiful roof of my building on E st while wearing cozy sweaters. Peaceful moments like these have made me think: maybe I don't want to "do great things" in life. Maybe I want to live a life of leisure. Sleep, read literature, take baths, drink tea while catching up with friends, take long walks around the city, go to events because I have the free time. Go be a yoga teacher in a small beach or mountain town.

But alas, I am brought back to reality when I see something that fires me up, pulls me to activism, parties and overcommitment. Yet, I will still never forget the beautiful moments of peacefulness that free time and getting enough sleep brings. Hopefully in my future I will always stake-out time for myself.

In other news,

• ALL of Generic's four shows for the semester are CAST! 
• I am going to be a judge for Shakespeare Smackdown this weekend. 
• I am FINALLY going to make it to the National Book Festival this weekend
• GW Animal Advocates is on a roll -- our first body meeting is next week and we already have several events lined up! (Notice all of the annoying facebook event invites ;)) I am teaming up with some orgs on campus like the Food Justice Alliance, Roots N Shoots and maybe others
• I am so excited for next weekend because I have the Walk the Moon concert, the Walk for Animals, Student Theatre Kickball and DC VegFest
• I am going to the Marine Corps Ball on November 2 with my parents and still debating who will be my date...

and now let me tell you about my internship with Senator Blumenthal:
So, as one of the seven interns, my primary responsibility is to sort emails. We read constituent emails, and snail mail, and have to figure out what it's about, then label it with a specific, pre-approved label and figure out with Legislative Assistant (LA/LC) it will go to. This is actually a little more interesting than it may sound. I try to take over all the emails with subjects that I find interesting, like animal welfare, environmentalism and women's issues. Other than that, we get to work the front desk/phones and do any other tasks that may be asked of us. We are encouraged to contact an LA/LC who specializes in a particular issue area we are interested in. There is a guy who is in charge of animal issues! So I've been talking to him about starting a project. He says he's new, which is perfect, because I have a lot of knowledge about animal legislation and can help him. SO stoked ;) And next week, I am getting trained to give tours of the capitol building. So send over your friends and family so I can tour them!!!

Oh! And I was a gorilla, during out prop closet cleanout and scared the shit out of FPP board ;) <3

watch video here: http://instagram.com/p/eQIsG0SWOy/ hehe 

Mandy: Has it really only been 3 days?

I am in London! What a crazy ride it’s been so far!

My flights were smooth, but I didn’t get much sleep, which has made the past few days exhausting. I landed and was greeted by the King’s College “Meet and Greet” team where they paired me with another American student who was catching a cab to my residence hall. It was an excellent deal to split a cab, so that worked out well.

My residence hall (Great Dover Street) is in the style of Flats, so I have my own room and tiny bathroom in a hallway with 5 other people. We all share a kitchen and living area. My flatmates are really great! One is an American girl on study abroad (from St. Augustine, what a small world!) and the others are all British guys. It doesn’t feel much different than normal dorms; my flatmates are pretty chill, extremely nice, and I like that we have our own space too.

I am very blessed to have a friend from GW living in the flat above me. He and his flatmates welcomed me with open arms, and it’s been great to get to know them! (Shoutout to Silvario for also setting up my British phone for me!)

There was a welcome reception for the residence hall on the first night. It is primarily freshmen that live here and more specifically, they are science and health majors. The British school system is so different! These freshmen aren’t just doing pre-med, they are diving right into med-school here, since they chose their focus in high school. Most students are fascinated by the fact that I have to take gen-ed classes and that my major (Human Services) is such a mix of fields. It’s a bit intimidating that most students know exactly what they want to do, because the school requires them to choose.

The next day I braved the buses and the Underground all by myself and didn’t get lost! I went to a welcome picnic that the Christian Union held. It was encouraging to talk to Christians from all over the world! The Christian Union has lots of upcoming events, so I’m planning on getting involved!

There are tons of freshmen welcome events that study abroad students are also invited to. Last night was a dance night at London’s Ministry of Sound club. I had such a good time with my new friends! I felt like it was much different than American clubs, where so much of the culture is about “hooking up”, whereas last night, it was just about dancing to your favorite songs with your new friends.

Today was study abroad orientation, registration, enrollment and tomorrow (fingers crossed) I will have my class schedule.

It’s been a little difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I’m in London and not just another big city. It wasn’t until I saw this, that it truly sank in. 

I’m exhausted, excited, and overwhelmingly thankful for my experiences so far. I’ll keep you posted on everything!

Alex: Has it really only been 2 weeks?

Hallo from a Starbucks in Amsterdam!

Yes. I came to a Starbucks to blog in true Carrie Bradshaw fashion. And it's my mother's birthday and her one wish for me was to keep blogging (happy birthday & love you mom!). I have decided to do this blog post as an Amsterdam poem (dedicated to my mother of course).

I amsterdam

All of the rain. All of time.

Metropolitan girl figuring out her way. 

Sun is severely cherished.

Tall people surrounding me. 

Either be on a bike or be out of the way.

Red light district field trip (but seriously. It was a class sponsored field trip and we had a tour)

Dutch people do not take my attempt at Dutch very seriously.

And everyday I learn something new. 

Magical. Amsterdam does not feel like real life. It has only been two weeks and I know it's going to be so hard to return to the states. I love Amsterdam. 

So that poem is not all you're getting even though it was a masterpiece in it's own. I'm sitting here in Starbucks listening to music that makes you want to look at the clouds and have feelings. I've been thinking a lot about how this semester I was supposed to be in Egypt and how crushed I was when that didn't work out. I thought 'It's really true. Everything does happen for a reason. I love Amsterdam and I know it's about to change my life in a positive way.' ** Boy George just came on, but I'm gonna keep going with this mood for a couple more sentences* School is a different set up, but our lectures have been pretty thrilling. It's interesting to be in classes where every lecture is so captivating. Last week we our topics were Feminism in the Netherlands, Black Feminism and Prostitution. This week it's LGBT rights in the Netherlands (I can talk about Queer things for days and it's exhilarating to be around people who feel the same way.) I saw the most beautiful rainbow today and attempted to take a pic, shown above, and I definitely feel like it was a sign that this is gonna be the good life. 

Host Family Update: I HAVE BONDED WITH MY HOST BROTHER (17). I truly consider us friends now. He plays the guitar and he asked me if I sang so we can jam together. I told him I did just so we can be friends. I feel good about that little white lie. He'll figure out soon enough it was a lie and I'm sure he'll appreciate me trying. Did you know that the Netherlands is the world's tallest country? My host brother asked me how it felt being small. You don't really realize how small you are until you're in a bar in the Netherlands. My host sister (15) was at her boyfriend's this weekend so she missed out on the bonding, but I'm still trying.  I am really starting to feel comfortable with my host family and it's starting to feel like home.

I also found a trail right by my neighborhood! It's a really great escape from the crazy, busy life of Amsterdam Center, where I spend most of my time. It was wonderful to debrief and talk a walk along the waters. 

I honestly cannot believe that I have only been in The Netherlands for two weeks. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. I feel comfortable getting to where I'm going and I even gave directions to tourists multiple times! I'm interested in seeing what Amsterdam and fate has in store with me.



Keep dry & keep reading,

Alex

Mandy: London Calling

Today is the day! My flight leaves Jacksonville at 7:45 tonight and then I leave Atlanta for Heathrow at 11pm. While at home I have had some great time with friends, loved being with my parents, and studied up on London by watching What A Girl Wants, Winning London (with Mary Kate & Ashley), My Fair Lady, and concluding with Harry Potter.

I have been saying goodbyes for a month now. It started with me saying goodbye to Alex last month, then it was to everyone in DC three weeks ago, now it is goodbye to everyone in Jacksonville. I’m very ready to start saying hello.

I have dreamt about studying abroad in college since 6^th grade. So here I am, living a dream come true. I think my nerves are being settled by God’s goodness and the sureness I have that I am meant to do this. My nerves have also been calmed by all of my loved ones that I have said goodbye to – and knowing that I have their love and support.

As my dad always says – here’s to the next grand adventure!

 

Alex: Has a Home

First of all here are the photos from the castle that I promised you:

I decided to crop the chickens. It's called Karma. 

Yes, That's a moat.

Yes, I will be married here. 

Second, the title of the blog was not misleading. I have indeed moved into my home stay. I am not gonna lie, this is going to be more of a adjustment than I originally expected. There is very little space in my new apartamente and what feels like a lot of people. But, before I talk about my insecurities let me introduce you to my situation. I live with a single mom and her three kids. The eldest son is 23 and a student at UvA and he is either in Amsterdam center or in his room so I don't think I'll be awkwardly encountering him much. The middle son is 17 and he is your typical 17 year old (kinda grungy with a kick of rebellion, or what would be rebellion if he didn't have the chillest mom in Amsterdam- which is saying a lot). He also helped me get to where I needed to get this morning so I'm really grateful for that. He's also smarter than me so I have to talk in a mature manner so I can keep up with him sometimes. **I just paused writing this blog post to have dinner with the fam and I have decided that I'm really going to like this kid** Last but not least I have a 15 year old host sister. She is actually quite a sweetheart and says she loves having visitors stay with them. That's a relief to me because I still feel like a guest in someone else's home. I do feel like there are going to be some 15 year old girl moods in my future though. My host mom is very very friendly and loves to talk to me about Netherlands politics. I know absolutely nothing about Netherlands politics so I do not have much to contribute to the conversation. I am grateful to learn more though! Probably the most awkward thing about this situation is the fact that the family only talks in English when they're speaking directly towards me so I don't know what they're saying 98% of the time. Lucky for me, there's always some American television playing in the background so I just tune into that like I don't care that I don't understand their conversations (but I totally do). Bad news is that I live so far from everyone else. I am the last stop on the Metro. For all my DC people: think about actually making it to Largo/ New Carrolton and finding me.
OH because I'm in the Netherlands to study international perspectives on sexuality and gender, I must share this. On the weekends, the two teenagers' significant others stay with us. Because of this, we all must go to our own rooms at 22:30 so the teenagers can have some privacy. I took this as 'hide in your room for the rest of the night or you may see some teenagers getting it on'. At around 23:00 I really had to pee. Did I risk it? No, no I did not. Although this leaves me in an awkward position, this is one of the many reasons I adore the Netherlands. Their sexual education system really is superior to the States and the teenagers have a good grasp on their own sexuality without it being Miley Cyrus overbearing.

Basically what all of Amsterdam Center looks like, so it's obvi an easy place to navigate. (NOT)

Fun facts about Amsterdam thus far:

1. IT'S NOT A JOKE THERE REALLY ARE BIKES EVERYWHERE. Bikes have more rights on the road than cars. SIT bought us our own bikes to use around the city! I had to basically get a children's one because the Dutch are so tall so mine is a cute red and names 'The beagle.
2. We went to a non-profit Queer club last night (De Trut). It was in a refurbished 80s squat & was ran entirely by volunteers. The DJ played some sick 80s & 90s tunes. I felt like I was in a 90s teen movie. It was absolutely perfect.
3. A Coffee Shop is not a place to actually get a coffee and maybe a breakfast pastry. Honestly, it's a little bizarre to pass a coffee shop and see/smell people smoking weed so casually. Sometimes it feels like Amsterdam is not real life. 
4. Amsterdam does not believe in DayQuil. I woke up with a cold yesterday and it's IMPOSSIBLE to find my home cold remedies (2 Dayquil, three ibuprofen and a Orange Nantucket Nectar every 3 hours) The only medicine they sell is an overdose of Vitamin C and some nose spray. I have to say, it's a little miserable.  I need to be medicated and stat. 
5. The Dutch are extremely attractive. And tall. And attractive.  

It's extremely hard to believe I am only a week and some change into my program. I have made some strong bonds with the other students, have started getting use to the public transport and am absolutely enchanted my the magical place that is Amsterdam.

Florida Check In

I leave in less than a week! Friday night I will be on a plane to London!

For now my head is spinning with thoughts of London logistics, seeing people at home, hearing from and missing friends in DC, and trying to wrap my head around the thought that this is real. I feel like a have a million things to do, but then I’m also stepping back and realizing that so much of it is out of my control. I’m a planner. I’m not the “winging it” type, but I think this semester will be a large lesson in that.

So until Friday, here’s to 4 days left (wow, only 4 days??) of countless to-do lists, sleepless nights, seeing loved ones in Jacksonville, and hopefully sitting on the beach somewhere within all that. Even though it feels like time is running out in this chapter and speeding towards the next, I keep this as my faith, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’” (Psalm 31:14). 

 

Alex: Is Officially Abroad

Hallo! (See that Dutch I used there)

Where should I start? This week I have been in the Netherlands. And I know we kept saying that I was going to be here, but I'm not actually here. Bad news- (but is it really bad?) we are not in Amsterdam yet. Our orientation takes place in this little village by the coast. I'm pretty sure they put us here so we don't get in trouble our first week. The hostel is a 13th century castle. I'm not lying.  There's a real full moat around it. I should've taken a picture and put it on this blog post. I'm really bad at pictures... I'm gonna get better. I promise. And I will update you on the look of this castle because I just reminded myself to take a picture in the morning. We move to Amsterdam TOMORROW, we haven't really seen the city yet so I am really excited. We stay in another StayOkay Hostel until Saturday where we will then proceed to move into our home stays (which I will talk more about later).

There's a few points I want to hit on my first week abroad. I don't want to bore you with a detailed step by step of what we have been doing every day so I'll hit that culture shock thing on the head.

1. FORGET what all of those haters say about studying abroad in an European country. 

This sh*t is still hard. People know that you are not from around here and they allllll stare at you on the streets. Sidewalk conversations with strangers are really not a thing here. Also this part of the Netherlands is extremely blonde so basically the whole group sticks out. We had our first Dutch class this morning. I felt oddly comfortable in a language class because I've been in one every semester at GW. I'm not saying that means this language is going to be easy. Good news (or bad depending on how much Dutch you want to learn) my professor said that if any Dutch person hears your accent they're going to want to start speaking English with you. The hard part is integrating into the community and realizing you'll never eavesdrop on a juicy conversation at a coffee shop the whole time you're in this country. Every conversation around me is in a language I couldn't begin to understand. I feel we had our first real community immersion today when we went to the local neighborhood carnival. Everyone around you is speaking Dutch, the music is in Dutch and we couldn't play any of the fair games because all of the rules were in Dutch. It was kind of disheartening, but hey, that's what I signed up for, right? And I better be getting use to it. All of the street signs, stores, everything is Dutch. Why I wasn't expecting that I'm not sure. But living, eating and bicycling in Amsterdam sure is going to be an adventure. So stay tuned for that. 

2. Just because it's hard, doesn't mean it's not worth it.

The rumors are true folks- The Netherlands is a bea-u-tiful country. Everything is so simple here, because the Dutch are not big on showing off. So houses are quant, but still have a lot of character. We're learning a lot about the culture, but haven't gotten really to test how true everything is. We'll see tomorrow in Amsterdam! THERE ARE ALSO CHICKENS RUNNING AROUND EVERYWHERE. It's really proved to me that I have Ornithophobia. They get this - close to you. We had class outside and I tried to avoid it, but then it tried to fly and I ended up screaming and crying in front of the group. So. That was fun. Our event coordinator (who is Dutch) probably thinks I'm a freaking lunatic. Luckily, the group was very compassionate and comforted me through this really hard time. Besides the chickens that don't respect personal space, I think I love love The Netherlands. 

3. Real World: SIT Netherlands

There are 18 other students on my program. All from different majors, sexualities, ethnic groups, cities and universities. It's literally like we all applied to the Real World and made it on a study abroad special. The program is set up where the 19 of us are going to be spending basically every week day (and lezbihonest probably all weekend as well) with each other. I'm really thrilled that this is the group I'm going to be spending that time with. It's different to be in a room full of students who have the same passion and drive for Gender and Sexuality studies as you. It makes extremely interesting conversations and I feel like I have already learned so much from my peers. 

We're only 2 days in and it feels like we've lived in our castle for weeks. Things are gonna get so much more intense when we live in the city, stay with our home stays and start having closer relationships with each other. I'm still very excited for this journey. I had a personal conversation with my Academic Director today of how I went from studying in Egypt to being with SIT in the Netherlands. At the end of the conversation she simply said, 'I think you're exactly where you need to be.' I would simply have to say that I absolutely agree. 

** I don't really know what to blog about. So, if you have any questions about my life in Amsterdam just comment or send me a FB message!

*** This has been an exhausting day and this post has not been 100% proofread. 

Marissa: Junior Year - Is this what it's like to be a big man on campus?

I am so overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness seeing the creation of this blog by my loves.

I have officially completed my first week of junior year classes! I am taking:

1. intro to archaeology (as a requirement for my anthropology major. Totally an easy class, super excited and now I just want to go on a dig somewhere!)
2.  international econ (eww. enough said)
3.  cultural ecology (an anth class that has so far been a disappointment. The professor is a billion years old, doesn't use a powerpoint or anything during lectures, and assigns a ton of readings that are really more ecology than culture, but we don't even have class discussion. Also, I can't hear him talk unless Im sitting directly in front of him.)
4. Honors: Violence and the Violated (So interesting! Also a WID, so that'll be interesting. Im reading Justice by Michael Sandel, that famous Harvard profess who's ethics class is the most popular class at the university.)

Additionally, I am waitlisted for French 4, which might be a blessing in disguise because I start my 15 hour a week internship with Senator Blumenthal on Wednesday!

Also, I've sold my soul to Generic Theatre Company. So far we've had the Welcome Back Showcase, Org Fair, a board meeting, the Fall Body Meeting, Freshman Showcase auditions and callbacks and Anne Frank auditions.  *whew* Though I must admit it's been so fun :) Being co-Executive Producer is pretty nice, and our board is made up of fantastic people. Also, our season celebrating women is kick-ass.

This first week has been a whirlwind of moving in, getting to know my 4 new roommates, catching up and reuniting with old friends, party-hopping, befriending little freshies, and realizing I am an upperclassman now! I couldn't be happier for Alex that she has officially arrived in Amsterdam, I hope everything is going well! And Mandy, give Mama and Papa Smith hugs for me <3

Song I'm currently obsessed with? hahaha