The Program has Begun!

The view from my room. 

The day had finally arrived, when we take all over suitcases and luggage, and go up to 116st street to go to Columbia University. It was a hot and humid day but we made it work. Our taxi took us up to Columbia where we got our keys and checked in. We had to do the typical shopping at the bookstore, in order to make sure that we had all our school supplies and that we were well prepared for the class.  We also got to explore all our rooms, and they were all nice! I mean, I don't really like the fact that I have to share four showers, six sinks, and three toilets with about twenty other girls, but that's a minor point.  My room is nice and I have a really nice view of the campus, so I think I lucked out.

Beautiful campus

The most bittersweet moment today was saying goodbye to Mrs. L.  She's been with us the entire time and we have all gotten so much closer as a cohort.  I will miss having adventures with everyone, everyday but I know I will have new adventures at Columbia! Emily, Elena, and I explored and met about ten people from all our the world.  We talked a lot about what classes they were taking, where they were from, and why they wanted this program.  Many of the international kids go to international schools which I think is really cool, because we don't know much about international schools. I got back to room and realized that the door does not close from the outside so I had to tell my RA and now maintenance will come fix it tomorrow.  Luckily, I had not unpacked and was able to move all my stuff to the RA's room without much of a hassle. The RA is really nice and her name is Amalia.  She actually goes to a community college in Queens but is interning here and she is the sweetest thing.  From her I learned that Columbia is extremely strict on rules so we will need to follow them word by word.  They kick people out of the program all the time if they don't follow the rules directly. 

Gorgeous buildings! 

After the RA, I was able to meet my group.  Each RA is responsible for about 6-7 people or sometimes even more.  My group is made up of girl from Texas, one from Hong Kong, one from California, another from Turkey, and one from Russia.  It is so cool meeting all these people, because honestly they are just like me.  I was so nervous because for some reason I had thought that everyone would be very high strung or people I would not want to talk, so I am glad that I have gotten closer to all of them.  We have gotten really close, in just a couple of hours, so I think we will be taking trips together with our RA fairly often.  They are all so sweet and just the best group anyone could ever have.  Everyone tells us that they are just like you, and you're no less than them, but coming here has really solidified that fact. I would never have thought that I would be getting along so well with everyone and making friends so quickly.  I am so thankful to the Ivy League Connection, the sponsors, and just everyone involved because I never would have even thought that I would be going to the East Coast, taking a class there, and meeting all these new people.  I already know this is going to be a life altering experience so I am so grateful!

The Meet and Greet!

We also had a sort of meet and greet thing, that turned into a dance, where I met many more international students and people that were from the states.  Everyone has such different backgrounds but we all come together in this program. I heard that this program actually has about 1100 to 1200 students in it, so it's bigger than I had thought.  I don't hear many people taking the Presidential Powers course so I think that it will be pretty small.  I am already very happy at Columbia so I am excited, but nervous, for class to start tomorrow.  It's a whole new adventure and I can't wait to learn and do so much! I want to learn about the background of all these students and how their schools work. Well, I think I should rest since I have to get up fairly early, at 6, to go to the orientation.