A Relaxing Day

Today was a very relaxing day. There was very little planned so the whole day was calm and I had a great time relaxing and preparing for class. Today I walked to the place where I thought I would take my class tomorrow, went on a “scavenger hunt”, and explored the campus more.

I woke up at 7:00 AM and I threw on my clothes and immediately went to eat breakfast. I was starving so I piled my plate high with this egg dish that looked like a frittata, pancakes, sausage and water that was supposed to be infused with peach, but it just tasted like plain water. I wolfed that down.

I texted Javaria and asked if she wanted to walk to the hall where we will be taking classes. She said yes, but she needed to eat breakfast so I had coffee and waited for her. Javaria came over and we talked a little about our plans to walk the campus. Then Javaria invited one of her friends, Julia.  Julia was really nice. She was a little shy, but still pretty outgoing. We talked about our classes, Julia was taking a veterinary class and we also talked about our dorms and our experience at Cornell with the people, our dorms, the campus, etc. We finished eating and headed out.

We started talking. We had to stop once in a while to consult the map and find our hall, but when we did we found that it was really easy walk. As we walked together Javaria and I would occasionally stop to take pictures. The walk was really nice, I like how the campus looks like it just arose from the forest. Before we made it to the building that we thought was the place where we would be taking our class (there will be more on this later on). We found the campus store I was really excited because I wanted to buy gifts for my friends and family back home, but of course the one day that we found it was the only day that the store was closed.  

After the short walk we found Uris Hall. The hall was a very large block. It was made from metal and was very rusty, you can see rust stains down the building’s pillar and on the concrete around the building. I was relieved because previously I was very nervous that I couldn’t find the class and I had mini nightmares of being lost and late on my first day, but I am happy because I found where it is and I know how to get there or so I thought. That relief will fade soon by night time. When we found it we had no clue what to do because we had two or three hours of free time so we wondered around campus. We just walked straight ahead. That time of talking was just filled with small talk about our homes, we told little anecdotes from our lives it was very pleasant. I love walking with friends, talking and looking at the wonderful scenery, it was very calming.  

Uris Hall

We had lunch together and continued our small talk. I had pizza, this interesting tofu dish that looked fried and had some sort of tomato sauce on it, tortellini, Cajun rice and zucchini. I put too much on my plate and was very full. I was disappointed because I was planning to have ice cream, but I couldn’t. 

Afterwards I went to my dorm. I took a shower, started drafting my blog and looked over emails that Cornell sent me. Before I knew it, it was 2:10 and I had to go on a mandatory “scavenger hunt” (you’ll soon wee why I put quotations). I went to my floor’s lounge which became crowed as the entire floor came there to meet up for the “scavenger hunt” We walked as a group to the court yard outside of Balch hall. There were many other groups as well. After a couple of minutes of waiting everyone was split up into many groups that split up.

Now it is time to explain the quotations. The “scavenger hunt” was basically a fun way to tour the campus. The tour guides gave up the façade of a scavenger hunt because we had so many people in our group that the scavenger hunt wasn’t going to work. So we just walked around the campus, I was a little peeved because nearly all the places on the tour I already walked by with Javaria and Julia, but I met some nice people. I met Ona (don’t know if that is spelled right) she is from Spain and I was excited because I needed to practice my Spanish, but after a little while I gave up because I kept forgetting words and the conversation became us discussing the things we like and don’t like about Spanish and English. A girl joined into our conversation. I didn’t catch her name, but she was nice and funny, like me she was also studying Spanish and struggling with it. It was nice to know someone else was suffering through the same thing with me.

The tour ended right next to McGraw tower. We had the option of going further to the health center, but I declined and walked around the campus more. I had no clue where I went, I wasn’t lost, but I had no direction or destination. The campus just keeps on having beautiful view after beautiful view and many hidden benches and gardens I was taken aback by how large the campus was and how many places there were to sit and study or read a book. I passed through a wonderful garden that was bursting with colorful flowers and had a tumbling creek that was lined with colorful assorted stones. After the garden I found myself in a large plaza or quad that had many intersecting paths and large castle-like buildings looming over. There was a statue of Andrew Dickson White the co-founder and first president of Cornell. The statue was of him in robes sitting in a chair with a very serious and tired look. He looked very old and withered; it must be really tiring and difficult being a university president. I thanked him for helping create such a wonderful place that I was enjoying so much then I left the statue ad continued with my walk.

One of the gardens 

I walked across a suspension bridge which was scary and beautiful because it crossed a rushing gorge, but I could feel it move and shift with every step. I really wanted to get the views that I saw on camera, but the netting blocked the view in the camera. I thought this bridge was amazing because it rose out of nowhere. It shot out from the forest and crossed this deep and dangerous looking gorge. I thought it was absolutely wonderful that something like this was on a university campus and people cross this to walk to work or class.

I concluded my walk and went to the activities fair. There weren’t many clubs or activities so that made it easy. I signed up for Arts and Crafts, Movie Club and even though I do not like sports I decided to sign up for two, Ultimate Frisbee and Volley Ball. I signed up for Arts and Crafts and the Movie Club because they sounded like nice ways to unwind. I liked the idea of watching a movie or making a cute piece of art after challenging day of class. I joined sports because I always said I didn’t like sports, but I never really played them so I decided to go outside my comfort zone and try sport.

I went to dinner. I was tired and hungry so I threw food on my plate and wolfed it down. I had collard greens, beef bourguignon and a burger. I was finished very early and went to my dorm and then had a very long and much needed nap.

Remember when I said we thought that Uris Hall was where we thought our classes were? Well it turns out that while I was blogging a paper was slipped under my door. It was my schedule which said that my class was in the Myron Taylor Hall. So my nightmares of showing up late were reignited because I have no clue where that is. Even with that I am still excited to take my classes. I am really eager to learn and I am counting the seconds to when my class starts.