Settling In!

I was so thankful this morning. Instead of my alarm clock buzzing off at 6:30 AM or 7:00 AM, I slept in till 8:30 AM. I thank having the opportunity of getting to Cornell a day earlier. Since we arrived during the late evening yesterday and registered then, our RCA's told us we could sleep in.

I woke up and started to unpack. I wanted to make sure my room was clean and tidy for my stay here. After I got right to blogging. Although I woke up early and was very productive, at some point I had to start getting ready to meet the rest of the cohort. Since Julie, Helen, and I are on the same floor it was easy to grab one another to go downstairs to meet the other on time. Before we could leave Helen, Julie, and I had to get our registration packets that included our room keys, ID cards (which is the best ID I've ever received beside my license), and a cinch bag with important papers. After getting our cinch bags, we wanted to reorganize ourselves since we had new important materials in our possession. We went upstairs to go into our individual dorms.

In my dorm I went over the certain things that we received to see what I needed for the day. In the cinch bag we got our schedule for the day as well as information about certain events that would happen during the three week duration of class. There was also a list of rules and condition that the Cornell summer college require us to understand. After going over the material, I began to get excited for all the activities I could take part of, but I understood that being enrolled into Hotel Management meant I would have to dedicate a great portion of my time to my progress and studies to my course. I was in a sense of excitement as well as in a state of mind of being prepared to work.

When we all met downstairs, we phoned Mr.Chan-Law to take us to Target for some last minute shopping. I already made a list for my stay at Cornell, so it was only the matter of how long it would take me to find the materials. Prior to the Target trip, we all decided to share some detergent. As I walked down the isle, I began to see all these things that I thought I might need. As I piled a mountain full of merchandise in my cart, I realized I had a budget. This was one of the many occasions when I was reminded that living the college life comes with a college budget. This occasion gave me a chance to exercise my skill of being efficient and  resourceful, as well as, realistic.  

After everyone was done shopping we went back to Cornell. When Mr.Chan-Law dropped us off we went to lunch. Lunch was a troubling experience, but we survived. As we were approaching the dining hall, we realized that the line for lunch extended all the way down to the floor below on the staircase. But having to wait wasn't as bad, I actually met a girl who came from India to be part of this program. Her name was Ammi and she was here to study Architecture. I couldn't believe she came all the way from Bangalore, but at the same time I was told that the Cornell program had many international students. It just shows to prove how Cornell, even as a summer program, is so prestigious and well known.

When we finally got to lunch dining area and ate a delicious lunch! After lunch Julie, Stephen, and I needed to go to the Cornell Bookstore to pick up out textbooks. As we made our way, we met Thao, Helen, and Kate(a new friends of ours). We stopped by to take a few picture then went on to get to the bookstore. When we got to the bookstore, we went through the protocol procedure to get the handbook for our course. When we found them, we tried to check it out. But we couldn't because the books weren't bought yet prior from getting there. We quickly called Mr.Chan-Law to see if he knew of anything and I checked through all my emails to see if we might have missed something about these handbooks. But it was resolved at the end, Mr.Chan-Law came and bought the books for us and we received them before the end of the day.

Ithaca's Amazing View

The Amazing and Tranquil Gorges

Students and Parents for the Welcoming Ceremony

After the bookstore we had to go to a welcoming ceremony at Baily Hall. As Julie, Stephen, and I started go to the hall, we realized how complicated and how big the school was. After many detours and stops to look at the map, we finally reached our destination. At the ceremony the dean spoke some inspiring words about what we should do during the summer program, which was to work hard, ask for help, and have fun. Throughout the session, we were reminded of precautions and rules that we have to abide by. For example, no one is permitted to swim in the Gorges and there is no uses of alcohol and drug at all in the session. During the ceremony, I realized how serious Cornell was. What I mean by this is that they want to ensure that students are save as well as give them the best learning environment possible. I was especially happy to hear the many resources that Cornell will give students. For example, during the Cornell summer program the college will provide us math and writing tutoring/aid to help students better their possibility of getting a good grade in their class. I appreciated this because I want to succeed in this class and I believe that the writing aid will help me. 

After the ceremony, the whole student body sectioned off to go tot their classes to meet their professors during a brief orientation. We were taken to a building near the Statler Hotel that held the Hotel Management course. When we walked into the lecture hall, we all made sure to sit in the front row seat. We wanted to make a good impression on the professors and make sure that they know that we are students who want nothing else but to succeed. During the brief orientation, Mark McCarthy and Reneta McCarthy, the professors, explained us the basis rules of the class and what is expected of us. They were not shy to express that the Hotel Management course is one of the most difficult courses to take because of the work load. I admired their honestly and understood that I will have to work really hard to understand whats going to be taught as well as get a good grade. What really resonated with me during the orientation was Mr.McCarthy's constant reminder that for this class students needed to "stay focused". From this I came to the understanding that I will have to be more then dedicated to this class. I have to be ready to take on more challenges and at time will have to sacrifice having fun with all the program's activities to get what I unbearably want and aspire to do. I aspire to succeed and retain as much knowledge as I can. 

After the orientation we had a little time until the dinner. Julie and I with a few new friend from our class went to the Cornell Bookstore to grab a few things again. We then met Mr.Chan-Law since he was hold our books until we got them. From there we went back to the dorms to get dinner. At dinner I sat next to three girls. One of them was Ammi and the other two were her friends. I was amazed to meet them, for the were all from different place and different time zones. We all bonded together with the TV shows we watched and the different things we were interested in. During my conversation with the girls, I was amazed how fast I was able to make friends, even make friend with students not in my dorm room floor or class. I was amazed how fast we became friends and I only hope to see them again to have dinner with them. 

After dinner there was an ICECREAM SOCIAL! Please excuse me for the all caps, but I was looking forward to this since the calendars with the events came out a week ago! What is better than icecream and making new friend? The answer is almost nothing(because meeting Obama would be pretty amazing as well). Before I got to the social, I met my cohort playing volleyball with a whole group of people. I joined in and had a great time! I met some many new people from playing volleyball even though I didn't even get to the icecream social yet. When it began to rain, I stopped playing and went inside to get icecream. There was a terribly long line but it was definitely worth it! Their icecream was all homemade and it was nice meeting people overall. 

During the icecream social, Thao and I decided to head back to the dorms to start blogging. We knew that the floor meeting, later on in the evening, would take a good portion of the night, so we decided to get a head start. 

When 9:30 PM struck I went to the floor meeting with my RA. Her name is Deiadre and she's a rising sophemore. She told us a little about herself and I learned that she was taking the Pre-Med route. I was extremely interested because not only am I interested in business but I am also want to pursue medicine. I was quiet excited because she could explain to me what Cornell has to offer, especially in medicine. In addition to the RA meeting I was more acquainted with my fellow neighbors and even hung out with them for a while after the meeting. 

Today was a glorious day. It was a great day to start off my experience at Cornell. I learned and realized so much today about college life in Cornell and what they offer. I can't wait to learn more!