It was pretty challenging to jump right into college life after two-and-a-half months in Latin America. There was no time to decompress, and it was hard not to talk about Nicaragua every second of the day. Actually, sometimes I still find it difficult. But anyway...I'm a little over one month into my new, unchanging lifestyle, and it's pretty good. I know that "good" is the most non-descript word in the English language, but that's really how I feel. Not much color or spice to add to it yet-- I'm just content.
Life is easy, despite the occasional academic stressors. It's actually very relaxing to be in my own country. My suite-mates are lovely people--all very different from each other and very different from me, but we have some great times and get along fantastically. There's a ton of reading that I generally don't want to do, but I do it anyway--I've been pretty good about getting my work done! My classes are usually really interesting, and I survived my first exam today (read as: exam, quiz, and paper due all in the same 4 hours), concluding my first college Hell Week ever--and, honestly, it wasn't bad. Not to say I got excellent grades or anything--I really have no idea--but it wasn't too overwhelming, and I think that's because I got pretty intense about time management this summer.
I am also so, so, SO happy to be singing in a choir again! We have a retreat this weekend and I am ridiculously excited to finally get to know people in the group. I feel like I haven't really found my "scene" yet, and I have a lot of faith that these people might be it. I mean, I'm getting into a lot of things and they're fun...but I'm just not totally comfortable anywhere yet. I tried the LGBT group which was pretty interesting, but I'm not sure. I also just started working as a volunteer Spanish interpreter at the hospital, which is CRAZY. I am learning words like tingling and spleen and....bunion. It's so freaking scary right now because I do need to get more confident with medical Spanish, but I'm sure once I get the hang of things, I'll love it--I'm looking forward to a really awesome experience there. I'm also a "Sustainability Advocate," meaning I get to preach about recycling and reusable to-go dining hall containers and turning off the lights and stuff without sounding super annoying! It's the best! And I joined Circle K, a service group on grounds, which has been pretty awesome for making friends.
On a random note, my "home suite home" is ridiculously far away from everything, and I think that is definitely altering my experience here a bit. Most first-years can roll out of bed and get to class in ten minutes, but I am one of the lucky few who have to trudge half an hour to central grounds. It's a little less social, but it's kind of nice to have a suite instead of living in a real "dorm." It makes me feel a bit more sophisticated, like having a house with roommates instead of living on a crazy hall.
Things are nice. I'm happy here. This isn't my home yet, but I'm pretty optimistic!
