tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81965265725675492212024-03-12T18:16:42.781-07:00’13 ILC at YaleDon Gosneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17110247579694408858noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-64448912664143376952013-09-11T11:22:00.004-07:002013-09-11T11:22:50.604-07:00Winding Down with a Few Photos<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many thanks to Erin Shutte from Yale for forwarding these photos of our Yalies as they completed their work at Yale.</div>
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Don Gosneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17110247579694408858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-7468465296251620702013-09-03T21:46:00.001-07:002013-09-11T11:19:41.408-07:00New Haven Life<div style="text-align: justify;">
This summer I was able to experience the world through new eyes and mostly through the eyes of four young men ready to take on the world. As we set out on our journey to discover the East Coast none of us knew what to expect. I can honestly say the trip brought meaning to life not only for the students but for myself. Exploring colleges, visiting states and cities that I had only read about in books, meeting tons of people and eating some of the best food of my life was a experience I will never forget.</div>
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When I first applied to be a chaperone for the Ivy League Connection I did not truly know what that meant. After all the dinners, school board meetings, city council meetings as well as other meetings with Don I began to see that this was truly a experience. When we arrived on the East Coast I began to fully understand what these young men were getting to experience and wished that when I was getting ready to venture into college something like the Ivy League Connection existed.</div>
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Thank you Charles Ramsey, Madeline Kronenberg and Don Gosney for giving the opportunity to spend my summer with these four young men seeing the world through their eyes. This experience has made me realize that the students of WCCUSD have so much in them and we as educators need to find and discover what it is. When I returned from the East Coast I realized that the students in our district have so much to offer. Everyday I tell at least 10 students that they need to look into become a part of the 2014 Ivy League.</div>
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Thank you to Josh, Damian, Eric and Liam for being the best cohort. I truly enjoyed being your chaperone and experiencing the East Coast and the Yale program with each of you. You are all intelligent young men who are respectful, knowledgeable and trustworthy beyond your years. Your parents should be proud of the men that they are raising. Not only have you made me proud you made WCCUSD proud. Good luck in your senior year, the college application and SAT process as you go through the next year. I know wherever you choose to go you are thanks to ILC making an informed and thought out decision.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011704150917425699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-27933480077938349842013-08-26T20:13:00.003-07:002013-09-11T11:24:09.814-07:00Yale Reflective Blog<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I think back over the three weeks I spent on the East
Coast, it is hard to believe that it was so short a time. With all the
experiences I had, things I learned, and
friends I made, it felt like much longer. I remember the night before I
left clearly. I was so excited that I could barely sleep. I wondered how this
year would compare to the last, and exactly just how hard the course at Yale
would actually be. I was excited the last night too, but with a twinge of
sadness for all the friends I left behind, many of whom I will probably never
see again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The class I took at Yale was obviously the reason for the
trip to the East Coast and the highlight of the three weeks, but the college
visits are very important and cannot be underplayed. During the two trips I
took with the ILC I was exposed to nine East Coast colleges, seven of which
were Ivy League. I learned which schools I liked, and equally importantly,
which ones I did not. This will make my college application process much
easier. Colleges aside, the travelling has made me more cultured. I got to see
the places where our country began, which was especially cool after studying
U.S. history this past year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The two main projects we had at Yale were the Marshal Brief and a simulation. For the Marshal Brief we were put in groups of three and assigned a world problem to solve. My group had Global Financial Recovery, which turned out to be a difficult topic (as I am sure they all were), since none of us had much experience with economics. We did a lot of research however, and I think we came up with a pretty good strategy by the end. We chose to represent the World Bank, and go about improving the global economic situation by helping large developing countries further establish themselves. On the second the last day of the program every group presented their Marshal Brief to the "murder board" (a group of our instructors) where they essentially tear apart our plan. They only took major issue with one part of my group's plan, so I feel like we must have done a pretty good job.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Studies in Grand Strategy… what does that mean? That was the
question I asked myself up until the orientation at Yale. Grand Strategy was defined by one of our
lecturers as a comprehensive plan of action based on the calculated
relationship between means and large ends. In other words, exactly what it sounds like, a large-scale strategy. In two weeks we had twenty lectures, six seminars, a three thousand-word Martial Brief, a one-thousand word essay, and a two-day simulation, all designed to help us understand Grand Strategy in both a historical and contemporary sense. There was almost too much information to take in all at once, and I definitely would not have remembered everything if I had not taken notes. Being in class basically from nine to nine every day is unsurprisingly very draining.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The simulation was my favorite part of the academic experience. It was a weekend long event where the entire program was split into groups to serve as advisors for various world powers during a summit on chemical weapons. I was put in the group for Iran, which was a very fun experience. We played our part well I think, and ended the simulation with our economic sanctions lifted and nuclear weapons. The instructors, who played the role of central command which we had to report to before making any decisions, constantly threw difficult situations at us, and derailed our carefully made plans. That weekend was probably the most fun I had in the whole program, but it was also a lot of work. We were constantly running around negotiating with other countries, trying to get in touch with simcommand, and telling the press our "sad stories" to try and make the "Western hypocrites" look bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My time at Yale was not all work; there was time for play, and I capitalized on it. The residential college we stayed at, Jonathan Edwards, (and all Yale residential colleges for that matter) had a game room (among other commodities) in the basement. I spent most of my sparse free time in the game room playing pool or ping-pong. I learned a new game, called Around the World, which is a variation of ping-pong which allows a much larger group to play. My roommates and I quickly became close, and started a tradition of having extensive late night talks every night in our common room. By the end of the course we would have around eight to ten people in our room all hanging out and discussing everything from high school drama to politics. This relates to one of my favorite parts of the Yale experience, the people. I met people from all over the country and world, with too many background and opinions to even remember. Fortunately, all the ones I interacted with were open to discussion, and while they had their opinions, they were not above discussing all different sides of the issue. I gained a lot of exposure to other viewpoints and ways of life, that would have been very difficult to get otherwise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a fantastic time on the East Coast. I got to eat at fancy restaurants, see top-tier colleges, and take a course at one of the best universities in the world. The opportunity offered to me by the ILC was not one that I took for granted, and I have a huge appreciation and respect for what they are trying to accomplish. I will spread the word about the ILC at my school, and encourage everyoneto try and be a part of this life-changing program. Yale was a beautiful school, full of surprisingly diverse and open-minded people. It has definitely made its way to be one of the top schools on my list. This was a good experience to have in my last summer before going to college for real. It showed me that I am ready, and am on the same tier as many potential Yale applicants. A huge thank you to the Ivy League Connection. Now it is time to start college applications...</span></div>
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Eric Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919179697812466318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-10641898817734751152013-08-25T13:45:00.001-07:002013-09-11T11:25:22.153-07:00A Reflection On My Journey<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A few days ago, I received an e-mail from the Yale Young Global Scholars program. This e-mail contained the group the photo that was taken. About 155 students and quite a few staff members were in this photo. I decided view this photo on my iPhone. I zoomed in and as I scanned all the faces, I realized that I had talked to and made connections with most of these people. This is when it all sank in. I felt a pang in my heart and I realized that it was all over. It dawned on me that I might never see these wonderful men, women, and scholars ever again. I spent about two weeks with these people. It may not seem like a lot, but being with them for more than 12 hours a day really makes the environment familial. I laughed, learned, ate, walked, and talked with the people in the YYGS program. I lived in the same place as them for nearly two weeks. We were a bunch of strangers that volunteered to go to a place for an amount of time and during this process we made friends, created cliques, and built a family. I may not have met everyone there, but I definitely can tell that if one of them didn't attend, then the atmosphere would have been different. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was only a few months ago that I interviewed for this program. When I heard my name I was absolutely shocked. I expected the one or both of the other Hercules students to get in. I wasn't particularly overachieving when it came to my grades, my rank wasn't where I wanted it to be, and I stumbled a bit during the interview. The two other Hercules kids who applied probably had far better grades and ranks than I. I don't know what put me through. Maybe it was my ability to speak. But I now know, because of the ILC and from the YYGS program, that grades, school rankings, and standardized test scores don't necessarily define a person. We are all multidimensional and excel at different things. A better scholar doesn't necessarily mean a better person or vice versa. I came to realize that I am just as smart as the highly intelligent students that I have met throughout the year. After this program, I feel like I can get through anything. I faced a 12 hour school day, hours of extra work from essays, reading, and the Marshall Brief, and I survived the murder board.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who don't know, the Marshall Brief is a policy paper that a group of four work on. We had about a week to do it, though some would argue two weeks. The requirement was that it had to be no more than 4,000 words. We were all given our topics. My topic was human rights and my group chose human trafficking in Russia. My policy leader commemorate her policy group (there were two groups of four) because we could have chosen countries that were more concerned about human rights, but instead my group chose Russia and the other group chose China. After we turned in the Marshall Brief, we had to make a PowerPoint presentation and present our policy to the Murder Board. This is where I felt my group did particularly well. One of our slides ended up disappearing. That particular slide was vital, but we didn't let its disappearance phase us. My group had great teamwork. During our presentation we came up with a secret system where we would decide who answers which policy-ripping question. I also felt that the China group did very well too. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Team Bembo and Team Helvetica! Our policy leader (far left) named us after fonts. After our presentation we went to Shake Shack. I still like In-N-Out better.</span></td></tr>
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I have to say that the simulation was a highlight of the program. We all were assigned roles. They ranged from leaders of nations to global news reporters. I was assigned the Brazilian delegate of the United Nations. Just as the real United Nations, we didn't get very much done. In the end, the Brazilian government, the people I reported to regularly for two days, were executed for asking if the president if they could assassinate her. Thankfully I was safe, but the UN disbanded. Eric was a bit luckier. He was assigned Iran and they ended up getting nuclear weapons. It seemed that everyone, except Brazil was lying about having chemical and biological weapons, which was what the summit is about. We all had to work as the simulation command was sending orders and news left and right. The simulation has taught me about working in a very high speed and intense environment. </div>
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Our very last day had a lecture or two (YYGS isn't too fond of breaks.) But after the lectures we had our graduation ceremony. This is when everyone took a whole bunch of pictures and ate a nice dinner. We then had Fun Night after passing room inspections. Fun Night was filled with karaoke, dancing, and games. I was running everywhere! I was singing at the karaoke while doing an awkward jumping dance and I went downstairs to play ping pong, which I'm horrible at. The next day, we had to say goodbye. I was leaving knowing a lot more than what I knew when I came in. I learned more about colleges, people, and the world.</div>
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I was leaving my family away from home. These people comforted me when I needed it. They laughed with me. They did almost everything with me. And we all had to leave. I felt sad, but I left them with a smile on my face.</div>
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Overall, the worrying, the humiliation, the work, the anxiety, the waiting, the work, the new friends, the colleges, the long nights, and the work was well worth it. I send my gratitude to the ILC, the YYGS program, the kids in the YYGS, my family, my friends, my cohort, my chaperone, and to everyone for supporting me and giving me a great experience that I will carry into my future.</div>
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Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-5651503403767674682013-08-23T11:23:00.001-07:002013-10-29T14:33:22.470-07:00Reflective Blog: One Amazing Journey.
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When this
whole trip began on the thirtieth of July, I knew it was going to be amazing.
But I didn’t know how amazing it would be. It was only nineteen days that I was
away, and yet I would do and see more in those nineteen days than I’ve ever
done seen before. My trip to China in the spring of 2012 is the only thing that
comes close to this experience. I learned so much about the world we live in
through the classes, seminars, and the people from over forty five different
countries that I got to talk to. If I had to do it all again, I would without
any hesitation. I wonder how different my time would have been had I not gone.
Even if my time could have been spent relaxing or working on my common application
for college, I am happy that I spent it at Yale University. I would just like
to take a brief moment to thank Don Gosney, Madeline Kronenberg, Charles
Ramsey, the sponsors of the Ivy League Connection, my parents, and finally the
Yale Young Global Scholars Program itself for having me. It has been, in a
word, a blast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I
reflect on the program as a whole, I cannot find one bad part. The time before
the program was good, as was the relaxation afterwards. The program itself was
phenomenal. I continue to say that I learned so much to my friends and family,
but that is exactly what happened. The classes were on the Trojan War, global
warming, constitutional law, and the Civil Rights movement, to name just a few.
I will go into more detail later in this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In
thirteen days I took forty hours of classes. In the average semester at my high
school, in which I also take college classes, the hours in each class are about
fifty two. We were only twelve hours away from a full semester, and a full
semester is about four months. But it was worth every second. Such great
speakers as John Negroponte, Harold Koh, John Gaddis, Ian Shapiro, and Paul
Kennedy would serenade our ears with fantastic lectures that must be heard to
be believed. Each one was not a lecture so much as we think of it, with a
professor droning on and on in one long and hypnotic sentence. It was instead a
great presentation on topics and issues that really hit home with their
relevance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then
there were the seminars. Each one seemed to be better than the last and covered
topics like nuclear security dilemmas, the ethics and legality of drone
strikes, and the nature of revolution. Each seminar instructor asked us
questions that really vexed us and made us think of how one thing might affect
another. The instructors were well versed in whatever the seminar was about
even if it wasn’t their subject. Not to mention that they often found holes in
our logic when we were arguing our point and were subsequently shut down. We
had to make sure we plugged the holes, but this would prepare us very well for
our Marshall Brief presentations, which I will go into detail in just a minute.
The reading for the seminars was mostly interesting but could, at times, be
extremely dry because it was written in an eighteenth century writing style
with a lot of flowery language or because there were just too many figures as
statistics. But overall, I loved each one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, let
me explain what a Marshall Brief is. The Marshall Brief is basically a four to
five thousand word report that addresses a problem and then outlines a plan of
action for this problem. For each Marshall Brief, the person writing it must be
very precise and use as many facts and statistics to back up their claims as
much as they can in the word count allotted. Then, the person or people who
wrote this Marshall Brief must present this problem and plan to a board of
directors who has some sway and can support the solution. For example, a person
who created a Marshall Brief on the human rights abuses in factories in China
may attempt to sway the UN board on human rights to follow their plan of
action. But the board, often referred to as “the murder board” pokes holes and
finds problems with any and all solutions you propose, questions where you got
your sources, and asks questions that you may not have thought of when writing
your Marshall Brief. They were daunting but we hurdled everything we had at
them to make sure our plans were put into action. We were each put into groups
with a specific broad title, like “The Rise of Military and Economic Powers,”
or “Global Financial Recovery.” Most groups didn’t know where to start, but
thankfully our policy group leaders, the same people who taught some of the
seminars, were in charge of helping. Our leader, Jordan Cohen, is a very smart
and nice man who was more than happy to help and offered great advice. All in
all, the Marshall Brief was hard but it brought it the hardest research and
leadership skills in all of us and will not only help us in the academic world,
but when we are participating in our community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One final
aspect of this world class program was the simulation. The simulation happened
over the tenth and the eleventh and was, in my opinion, the most fun and
interactive part of the entire program this summer. After a lecture that we had
earlier in the day, we were briefed on what the simulation actually is. It is
as follows: The scenario is that there is going to be an international summit
by the UN, EU, US, Iran, Russia, China, and Brazil. There are also a number of
NGO’s, or non-government organizations, like Human Rights Watch and Doctors
Without Borders. There are also companies, like Apple and GlaxoSmithKline.
Then, everyone was assigned to one of the groups and our goal for the summit
was announced: Limit the proliferation of biological and chemical weapons. Each
government, NGO, or company then had its own goal that it had to achieve.
Apple, for example, had to finalize a deal with Lockheed-Martin and then make
millions selling biological and chemical weapons through any means while the US
wanted to stop the spread of these weapons and then but make sure that its own
goals are met as well, like having more political power in the international
arena. But throughout the simulation, wrenches were thrown in to see how people
would respond. For example, at one point a Russian nuclear submarine was
captured and detained by Iran and both groups had to figure out what to do.
Another example is that a plague broke out in Brazil and quickly spread, and
then every nation had to determine what to do about it. It was fun and
stressful, because I was assigned to Human Rights Watch, which had little to no
respect and political clout so achieving our end goal was very difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This
covers all of the major subjects that we went over while in the program. The
trip itself, visiting the colleges, and seeing everything new and fresh for the
first time is priceless. New York University, Brown, and Harvard were all
universities that looked amazing and I want to apply to all three.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would
also just like to say thank you for reading my blogs and letting me share my
experience with you. I have had the time of my life, and if I had to do it
again, I would. The people, the places, the food, the classes, the reading, and
the campus are just a small sliver of what my trip was all about. To anyone who
wants to join the ILC, I highly suggest that you do. It has changed me in a way
that makes me more confident, humble, and smarter. I now know more about
politics and how the world works then I did before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just as Malvolio in Shakespeare’s play <i>Twelfth Night</i> says, “Some
are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon
them.” Through the Ivy League Connection, I had the honor to meet people who were
born great, who achieved greatness, and who had greatness thrust upon them. I
feel like I had greatness thrust upon me and am so thankful that I did because
now I know my full potential. Thank you again, and goodbye.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-89959549300302424232013-08-22T22:53:00.001-07:002013-09-11T11:40:01.231-07:00Reflections on Life (and Yale)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve never been one to aim for convention, so
I thought I’d start by heading straight to the arigatos (“thank you” in
Japanese) to everyone who made my incredible ILC experience possible this
summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to Don Gosney,
administrator and tireless leader of putting together the Ivy League Connection
each and every year. Your ongoing
efforts (and many emails) to make sure we’re prepared shows off your great care
and insistence in creating a stronger college-focused atmosphere in the WCCUSD.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you, Ms. Madeline
Kronenburg and Mr. Charles Ramsey, for all of your work to put together the
budgets to make this trip happen. This
experience could have never happened without you.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you, donors of the Ivy
League Connection, for deciding to invest in the leaders of tomorrow in a
school district that many have written off.
Your belief in our potential is amazing and powerful.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you, Eric Wilson (E Weezy), Damian Wong (apparently my "twin" because we were both Asian and had similar Bay accents), and Liam Guevara (emphasis on the Gue-vaaaa-raaaa). You were an incredibly smart, funny, and charming cohort to spend three weeks with. Thanks for being great roommates while touring the East Coast and food mates. I had so much fun eating everywhere with y'all. Damian, thanks for backing me up on our <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwn-Ex8vRd0" target="_blank">Thinkin' Bout You</a> </i>cover. Liam, thanks for your awesome conversation and humorous insights. Eric, thanks for being the map guy - it's been a great twelve years and counting knowing you. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you, Ms. Tracey
Singh-Poole, for being an incredibly warm, caring, friendly, understanding, and
gracious chaperone. It’s been so much fun touring the East Coast with you and
our cohort.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you, Ted Wittenstein, Emily
Gustafson, Erin Schutte, Charlotte Pavia, Matthew Lyddon, Amanda Garrett, Aaron
Weinstein, Cullinan Williams, Erica De Bruin, and the rest of the talented
staff at Yale Young Global Scholars.
Your intellect and knowledge are unmatched, as well as your unique and
sometimes unbelievable senses of humor (if only there was another week!).</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you, Mr. Chris Silva, for
your assistance in helping me to grasp education reform and write one of the
best pieces I’ve ever written. Thank
you, Mr. Michael Park and Mr. Patrick Jimenez, for your insight and
encouragement toward my trip. Yale has only made me realize even more how lucky
I am to have all of you and the rest of the terrific faculty at El Cerrito High
School.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you to my friends and
family whose names would fill up this entire post. Your kindness and support on
all my adventures never cease to amaze me.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks, God.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And now, onto what you've all been waiting for. Let the reflections begin!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v0_woPKI8L8/Uhb0N8Jp10I/AAAAAAAAARc/wtaYH9MCUR4/s1600/20130807_152536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v0_woPKI8L8/Uhb0N8Jp10I/AAAAAAAAARc/wtaYH9MCUR4/s320/20130807_152536.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nineteen days of travel. Our cohort received
acceptance letters three hours before we were to appear before the school board
to acknowledge our ILC candidacy for the first time. We were not expected to perform well, the
Yale staff having “passed over hundreds of more qualified applicants.” The expectations were high. We were to be at
our best and show Yale, heck, the world, what the WCCUSD “could really do.”
There was this hectic balance between the stress of trying to live up to those anticipations
and the calm peace that radiated from the support of friends and family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What did we show for it? If it’s accolades
that the reader believes shows competency, then the reader could believe that
we had failed, with none of us receiving one of fifteen Director’s Awards
handed out at graduation. But how do you
define success? And, since our trip was
acknowledged by the West Contra Costa Unified <i>School District</i>, what did we <i>learn</i>?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We were welcomed to Yale and promptly issued
our keys and such. As the lady (we’ll
call her Cher) who helped me saw that I was from the Ivy League Connection, she
remarked, “It’s important that I write down your personal information. I’ll need to be able to call you when you’re
late for class or lose something.” The sweet smile plastered on her face told
me everything I needed to know: “Welcome to Yale.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I walked inside Jonathan Edwards College for
the first time, my eyes taking in my new home for the next two weeks. A lawn
made up the middle of the courtyard, with a lazy rope swing tied to branches
that swayed slowly in a slight breeze, as if to darkly chuckle on the rainy day
it was. I swiped my prox card to find myself inside an incredibly stuffy common
room that felt like a wave of humidity.
I groveled through the ten feet of air sweat to unlock my single room
and unleash a new wave of warm oxygen tears.
I hate humidity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__GFSRzT_F4/Uhby2CkyDHI/AAAAAAAAARE/FJ7frVQ9yIA/s1600/20130816_030808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-__GFSRzT_F4/Uhby2CkyDHI/AAAAAAAAARE/FJ7frVQ9yIA/s320/20130816_030808.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COLLINSSSSSSS. From Kenya.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The first day felt just as uncomfortable and
unwieldy as my room. The first lectures
felt sluggish, and I wondered if I would get anything important out of the
program. The first two days or so were
concepts that I had learned already from some of my teachers at El Cerrito
High. The first week was filled with
introductions: there was my roommate Isaiah from south Florida, Collins from
Kenya, the guy who lived in Dubai but was from India but before that…the lines
began to blur. The funniest introduction was on day one, when I met someone named Julia from the South Bay. After I'd told her some things about ILC, she paused for a moment and then said, "I think you guys ate dinner with my dad." That took me a couple extra seconds to respond. Several students there,
once they found out I was from the Richmond area, asked me if I was “from the
hood (for the record, no)." As a member
of the middle class who was met with reactions from the class extremes on this
trip, from the poor rapper in New York who had told me to go f—k myself because
my middle class self wouldn’t buy his mixtape, to the wealthy musician who
talked condescendingly to me, how was I supposed to respond? Should we respect
those who have not respected us? This
trip helped me see, in better focus, the large POV divide. Class conflict bears
no punches. It was interesting to see the contrast between hearing poorer demographics
of my school demean “rich kids” and see some stuffiness that those wealthy kids
inflict on their idea of “the poor.” I
want to make it very clear that I’ve only met a couple of those people at my
school and a handful at Yale, but the contrast was so strong and so intriguing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Golden Rule, people. And not the one that says, “If you have the
gold, you have the rule.” Google it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I soon learned that everything there was to
learn about grand strategy was taking place at every (very few) free time and
meal. The geopolitics of human
relationships was happening, and I was failing.
Miserably. I had a <i>very </i>difficult time balancing work and
play on week one, feeling like I had something to prove to the others. The director introduced himself to me twice,
which definitely helped my self-esteem (it’s difficult to type sarcasm). Every time someone answered a lecturer’s question
with some intelligent answer or asked a really intriguing question, I felt just
a little more insecure. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I got about the same amount of sleep as I
would’ve on a typical school night.
However, the course load (about 11 hours of class everyday) was so
intense that it wasn’t enough. Caffeine,
as usual, had no effect on me, so it was my red eyes and wavering mind that had
to try and smile and be funny when meeting people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course that didn’t happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xvRKThCo4/UhbzRGeMUEI/AAAAAAAAARM/igM9xeLgxvg/s1600/20130816_031650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xvRKThCo4/UhbzRGeMUEI/AAAAAAAAARM/igM9xeLgxvg/s320/20130816_031650.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, yeah."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Awkward Josh was a common theme throughout week
one. I joke to myself that no one ever
met the real Josh – they only talked to half-asleep Josh or
three-quarters-awake-me. Lots of
incredibly funny (now) moments happened throughout Awkward Week. Ongoing hijinks happened with a Korean named
Dennis and a Texan named Catherine. They
were both really friendly people who always said “Hey Josh!” when they saw
me. Now, normal me would’ve said “hey”
back or something clever and hilarious (most of the time). Half-awake me managed comments like, “Okay” and
“Sure.” Dennis threw me a “hey” one time
as we exchanged glances through the dining room doors. I responded back with, “Oh, yeah.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cricket. Cricket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I must admit that I was extremely jealous
when I met people who were extremely talented in multiple facets – but then
they still managed to hang out with their friends all the time or had lots of
free time on their hands. As someone
who’s somewhat of a perfectionist, this feat is very difficult, if not
occasionally impossible, to pull off. My
mind was in shambles, both from the rigor of the course and the lack of much
social stimulation, and I was tired. I
was broken. After all the positive
advice and feedback I’d picked up over the summer, I couldn't even make my way
to a second or third conversation with most people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I met a guy late on the last day before I
left who bemoaned the fact that Yale was over.
“I met so many people, but never really got to <i>know</i> anyone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWGsmbUwaW4/Uhbznw0KPsI/AAAAAAAAARU/rAu6YSTQ7mU/s1600/20130815_175936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWGsmbUwaW4/Uhbznw0KPsI/AAAAAAAAARU/rAu6YSTQ7mU/s320/20130815_175936.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: Chancellor of the Exchequor, Foreign<br />
Minister, Ambassador to the UN, Defense Minister</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It wasn’t until the second weekend of the
program, day eight, until the simulation began.
As the UK Chancellor of the Exchequor, I found myself working with
Global Scholars’ roles, forced to balance business and casual. Like a polo and slacks, it eventually started
to feel more comfortable. The simulation
provided a central topic of discussion for everyone to contribute to, and it
was one of the best Yale moments.
Together, we attempted to come up with an agreement at a biological and
chemical warfare summit and completely failed, but had an immense amount of fun
while we did it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The night before, I had thought about everyone at Yale and wondered if I would miss them. I realized that at some other camps I had gone to, I hadn't really gotten to know anyone that well, but had managed to still miss them - as if they were like the school that got demolished nearby my house. I didn't like the change in scenery - and my feelings of sadness were almost artificial, as if <i>people </i>were just things. That fear that that could happen at Yale helped drive me forward toward building stronger relationships in week two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The talent show provided me one of the first
opportunities to see everyone having <i>fun.</i> To be honest, this was one of the first
summer experiences where the relationship between the staff and the students
was so – serious. Everyone was so
academic and intellectual that things always seemed a bit prickly. I’d seen little bright spots during meals and
such, but that was all. To see the staff
and the students show off their talent and humor made everyone seem so much
human and less superhumanly smart, which was a large relief to me. My roommate and I would practice our
imitations of the staff after seeing a skit that had student parodies of the
staff and getting inspired. We got pretty
good, if I do so say so myself. Be sure
to ask me to do them for you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3G5703UqmQ/Uhb0dlH6bvI/AAAAAAAAARk/uG6nmcNnkas/s1600/20130815_201319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3G5703UqmQ/Uhb0dlH6bvI/AAAAAAAAARk/uG6nmcNnkas/s320/20130815_201319.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh and Matt Lyndon, <i>Leadership Ethics </i>seminar leader.<br />
Wales accent not available in this picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Throughout the summer, I’ve come to realize
that my fatal flaw is my lack of confidence in myself. I’ve disguised it with fake charisma and by
isolating myself from the world and burying myself in projects and distractions. I discovered this fact at Camp Royal and had
trouble applying it at Boys’ State before coming to grips with it once again at
Summit and at Relay for Life. And there
I was, studying Grand Strategy at Yale with some of the “smartest students from
all over the world.” I was cracking like
a green pistachio and didn’t know how to come out of the shell. It was my family and friends who came
through. Their cards, emails, and
Facebook messages were encouragements that slowly helped me knock down that
shell. And as the program went on, I
grew more confident. I spoke up more
often in seminars as I was more comfortable with the intimate setting, but I
soon grew to ask a couple questions in lectures and such. I presented a 21 page policy proposal with
three other amazing people to members of the staff dubbed “the Murder Board” on
getting the World Bank involved in SEZs being built in Myanmar. Was I confident? I was, until <i>she </i>walked in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“She” was one of the heads of staff, who
we’ll call “Ellie." She was thought of as
“Giggling Ellie” at the beginning of the program due to her voracious laugh and
likable personality. As the program went
on, she had to play the role of disciplinarian for most of the Scholars, and
the likability took major hits. She was
merciless at the Marshall Brief policy presentations, and it was my turn! It was a rapid-fire attack toward the end,
and we tried our best to combat the knives in our policy. Thirty minutes later, when the last question
had been asked, my heart stopped pounding.
I had tried all of the approaches to find calm that I had learned this
summer, but none of them had worked. I
had to just…<i>do. </i>And I did it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At the next policy presentation after us,
Ellie played the FBI director. When
someone mentioned something about the “U.S. not doing anything to combat
domestic terrorism,” she replied, “I’m offended,” and left the room! As she left, she turned to the back, where I
was sitting, and winked at us. Now, I’m not 100% sure about this, but this
narrative fits into the story I’m trying to tell perfectly. Ellie is not a natural disciplinarian. For
all of her reprimands, there <i>were</i>
jokes in the mix as well. I had the
opportunity to have lunch with her and talk about career paths. She laughed at one point and said, “I went
down the path I went on because it was the hardest thing I had ever done and I
had to learn how to do something well.
It was really just a perverse reason.”
That comment made me reflect on myself.
Are we meant to be the people we’re “supposed to be?” Or are we supposed to fit in the roles that
people need us to be? Grasping people’s humanity, all kinds of people, was a
thread that played out throughout my summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Don stopped by my house the other day to pick
up items I had borrowed from him. He
jokingly asked if I could top the testimonial given by a parent whose entire
family’s life and lifestyle had changed because of the ILC. Well, Don, no, I can’t. I can’t honestly say that the Ivy League
Connection was solely responsible for changing my life. But the story, the narrative of the summer
that weaved its way into my life changed it.
Yale took a big role in working to resolve the loose threads that
hanged: from the “pause, breathe, smiles” at Camp Royal to the “corruption” I
saw at Boys’ State to the social environments and speaking improvements made at
Summit to the deep discussions I had at Relay for Life. I truly believe in the interconnectivity of
life, and that was never made clearer than this summer. Every conversation and action played its part
in the narrative of my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m not sure if I proved the naysayers wrong.
That’s not an issue anymore. I didn't
have confidence in myself and I took that drive and placed it into trying to
please others. I’m proud of myself for
the accomplishments I made for myself at Yale as a scholar and as a person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-unRHeDa5D7M/Uhb0wKFFpkI/AAAAAAAAARs/iPNZpSYJ1zA/s1600/20130816_031623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-unRHeDa5D7M/Uhb0wKFFpkI/AAAAAAAAARs/iPNZpSYJ1zA/s320/20130816_031623.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who got to still meet people on the last day at 3 AM?<br />
These guys.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m back home. My once-eleven-hour-day has gone to a
three-block, on average six hour day filled with electives. The struggle I have now is to keep up that
work ethic and build on the lessons and humor of the summer. Throughout the second week, I was able to
better balance myself and meet people.
Of course, I met a ton of people on the last night, and it was only a
couple hours before we would all have to leave and return to our forty-five
home countries. It takes work to build
relationships, but when that “work” includes karaoke, pool, and couch chillin’,
how bad can it be? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On returning, there’s so much work I want to
do to create change in my community. The
challenge is making sure I don’t kill myself (which I successfully avoided at
Yale). I want to ask the question, “How
can we determine what the brightest or the smartest means?” and question the
assumption that environment is the only factor that will determine
success. I want to find the means of
looking at racial and class conflict and bring them to an end. I’m back in an environment where many
students are dropping classes because they think they’ll be “too hard.” That mindset of settling for less or the easy
route needs to be addressed to turn our district into an even stronger
college-going culture.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After returning to my high school, I’ve
realized how stark the contrast is in intensity between my education now and
last week. Yale pushed and challenged
me, and the intellectual rigor was extremely intense. My current schedule, as a
whole, is not challenging me, thanks to scheduling boundaries, and I have to do
activities on my own time that force me to push myself. While public schools in California may be
better funded than in the past couple years, the economic disparities in terms
of geography are staggering and a factor that isn’t talked about nearly enough. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These ideals mean nothing without being put
into practice. I’m working on a short
film with a powerful message, learning more about video production, taking on
Co-Vice President of our Interact club (community service), trying to bring the
Acts of Random Kindness club to Northern California, and creating a White
Student Union at our school to build controversy and make people forcibly
question racial identity. I’m going to
be controversial. I want to be a kind, understanding Global Scholar who can
empathize with everyone I see and work with others to build lasting
change. There’s a plethora of other
things I’m involved in, and I’m going to have to say “no” to a lot more. There’s this balance between getting enough
done and leaving time for relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I have so many thoughts. I couldn’t find the right place in the
narrative I wanted to tell for administrative politics, fascinating partisan
debates, and intellectual discussion. Is
the narrative of your life the one that happens, or the one you decide?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I wonder if I have trouble communicating
because there’s so much I have to say that I’m not sure when the time’s right
and I falter. The irony is that I’m
planning to major in communication. What can I say - I'm human – or I'm just
insane. <o:p></o:p>I think we all yearn for some kind of
connection. We hide behind our screens
and our fears and ourselves.
Relationships where people actually <i>care
</i>is something to look past our guards and distractions at and move forward
towards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Soon, my senior friends will be leaving for
college and going off to build new relationships. And I’ll find myself in a new place,
wondering what comes next. I learned so
much more from the people at Yale than I would’ve ever learned from just taking
the lectures and seminars. I learned
that I won’t just wonder – I’ll get up and </span><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">do.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i>
Thanks so much for following me on my Yale adventures this summer! Send me feedback and get updates on future Josh writings by commenting below and emailing <a href="mailto:jandakocompany@yahoo.com">jandakocompany@yahoo.com</a>. And for a more intimate look at my Yale experience, follow me on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh"><span style="color: #0000e0; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@joshthebosh</span></a> to see a more visual Ivy League Connection. It's been a lot of fun being a part of the ILC and Yale class of 2013. Thanks for reading my thoughts and insights through it all. To stay in the loop on future Josh updates, pop out an email or check out my LinkedIn profile at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshko" target="_blank">www.linkedin.com/in/joshko</a>. And if you're really apt, I'm sure you can find me on one of them social networks. Bye for now, y'all.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vikbNarzV5M/Uhb2-vb6FbI/AAAAAAAAAR4/gqL490qtTJM/s1600/20130815_145055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vikbNarzV5M/Uhb2-vb6FbI/AAAAAAAAAR4/gqL490qtTJM/s640/20130815_145055.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-44948193958201191112013-08-18T01:00:00.000-07:002013-08-25T14:46:02.409-07:00Good Night, and Good Yuck<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>To the reader: due to our policy of limiting blogging about the Yale program, we've censored Josh's blog post today to make sure that no secrets of global, continental, national, statal (we invented this word), countial (this word was invented as well), and municipal importance were revealed ala Snowden and Assange. Enjoy.</i></div>
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<i>Sincerely, the Controlling Ivy Administration (CIA)</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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And so it ends.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C9PmN-XlcIk/UhFkg3i3v6I/AAAAAAAAAQc/nNvPU-ESU9s/s1600/20130815_175936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C9PmN-XlcIk/UhFkg3i3v6I/AAAAAAAAAQc/nNvPU-ESU9s/s320/20130815_175936.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The United Kingdom crew in our Yale weekend simulation.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a fourteen day global experience of a lifetime at Yale, our Ivy League Connection cohort reached the finish line, finishing together. My favorite part was when <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">that one person did an undescribable chicken act at the talent show</span> and I loved Matt Lyndon's comments on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">leadership ethics and baldheadedness</span>. I had stayed up till 4 AM on Thursday night/Friday morning saying my goodbyes, so it was a little bittersweet to wake up in my lightly stuffy dorm room for the last time. The sadly humorous reality of meeting so many people <i>on the last day </i>put in lots of reflective blog-ready thoughts on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">blah and more blah and even more blah</span> for the early morning sun. I quickly took a shower and headed out, hoping to grab breakfast while my roommate Isaiah got ready. I bumped into Damian on the way, who was on his way to Starbucks. We gathered up a posse of Global Scholars for the last time, along with Isaiah, and strutted through the iron gates of Jonathan Edwards College, wondering how many card swipes we had left. One mocha, meeting, conversation, slow-moving mini mob, and run-in with Tracey later; we walked back inside, getting our stuff together.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8638rNhYwm8/UhFkkgGvkzI/AAAAAAAAAQk/6-sOGWjZMhI/s1600/20130816_022750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8638rNhYwm8/UhFkkgGvkzI/AAAAAAAAAQk/6-sOGWjZMhI/s320/20130816_022750.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even in the middle of the night, we're still meeting people<br />
from all over the world.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We held off on checking out till the very end and headed down to Downtown Yale to pick up our Yale souvenirs. As we made our purchases, the man asked us, "Did you guys have fun?" As teenagers who were crazy enough to write numerous essays, participate in many different lectures and seminars, present a policy proposal and get attacked, meet people from 45 different countries, and get <i>just </i>enough sleep to get by, we of course answered, "Yeah!" Those insane WCCUSD kids.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next half hour mirrored the ends of all the other amazing things I was able to do this summer: it was once again time to say goodbye. With suitcases in hand and our other arm wrapped around our new friends in Grand Strategy and on staff (and looking for the rest of our cohort), we walked out for the last time.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One Amtrak ride later (and chicken parmesan at the Temple Cafe), we were back in the beautiful city of Providence, RI and back in the luxurious rooms of Hotel Providence! I use the word "luxurious" to describe the mindset I had going in. Damian and I walked down the long hallway of floor 3 and stopped at the Robert Frost suite. I could not believe my incredible luck to get a suite twice, so of course, it was then that I realized that our room was the one next door. We opened up to find a regular double room with a blood-stained towel and a view of charred bricks. So much for luxurious, right? But after two weeks in a stuffy room with my mini fan blowing and the windows open, the air conditioning felt like a little slice of heaven. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We decided to close out our last night on the East Coast with a bang. I Yelped Providence out (as the resident foodie of the group) to decide as a cohort on The Capitol Grille. After a realization that a) attire was supposed to be dressy and b) a communication error had led to Tracey not knowing we were ready, we headed out. The restaurant was only two blocks away, so it was only one block away when we realized that we were, in fact, lost. Again. We all GPSed and mapped it out and still managed to have no idea where the restaurant was. Thankfully, I called them - twice - and they guided us onto a street and into a plaza that we had missed. Go figure.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We started off with lobster and crab cakes and shrimp cocktail. The cocktail was incredibly overpriced, but the cakes were succulent and held together well. My entree was two filet medallions with lobster tail cooked in a delicious butter sauce. And if that wasn't enough, our server was kind enough to provide us with chocolate-raspberry cake and créme brulee on the house to celebrate the end of our Yale program. I love servers on the East Coast.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Deliberations for movie watching had occurred since the beginning of the trip and had continued. We all finally agreed on seeing the not-at-all-long-awaited <i>Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters</i>, based on the far superior book by Rick Riordan. After seeing the first one, which strayed from the book and took itself way too seriously, I had only been coerced into agreeing due to the presence of Nathan Fillion, who plays the mostly funny and always charming mystery writer Richard Castle on ABC's hit show <i>Castle</i>. By the end, we all agreed that we had just finished - another terrible movie. The screenplay was terrible and had no depth; the acting was somewhat laughable, and the characterizations were never fully explored. The visual effects looked like their team had been paid in chewing gum and the vast majority of the jokes fell as flat as the chewing gum that the visual effects team had spit out and stepped on the sidewalk. The only brightsides were Nathan Fillion as Hermes and an acknowledgement of the effort to try to teach Greek mythology to audiences in a fun way. Unfortunately, as one reviewer said, and I paraphrase, they took all the bad elements of a hypothetical Harry Potter film and put them in this sham of an imitation of a popular novel that managed a balance between humor and mythology.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our enjoyable evening, we walked back through the slightly more busy streets of Providence. Damian and I would stay up recording important videos that night and sleep till 10:45 AM.</span></div>
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I found a place called Local 121 a block away from our hotel, so we headed there for our last meal on the East Coast. It reminded me of an Elevation-66 (El Cerrito) experience, and had amazing service as well. My sparerib sandwich with sauteed mushrooms, kale, and Applewood smoked bacon was incredibly rich in flavor and texture, although it was a little salty. Our server was incredibly charming and friendly, so it reinforced that positive East Coast server culture!</div>
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I'm sure you're wondering: so what exactly happened at Yale? Why didn't Josh go into more detail on goodbyes, or the program, for that matter? I wonder myself. Check back in a couple days for recaps and reflections on everything that happened while studying Grand Strategy. It would be nice to say that the late nights and intense gobs of homework handouts would finally be ending, but then one realizes that the school year and college application process starts Tuesday. It never ends.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hasty apparel picture taken at the airport quickly before Damian had to leave. Emphasis on hasty.</td></tr>
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Send me feedback by commenting below and emailing <a href="mailto:jandakocompany@yahoo.com">jandakocompany@yahoo.com</a>. And for a more intimate look at my Yale experience, follow me on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh"><span style="color: #0000e0; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@joshthebosh</span></a> to see a more visual Ivy League Connection.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-7387950124475186922013-08-18T00:47:00.004-07:002013-08-18T00:57:13.101-07:00My Last Two Days on the East Coast<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The last
two days have been very different from anything I’ve experienced thus far on
the trip. You’ll have to excuse the length of this blog, primarily its short
length. All in all, the sixteenth and today, the seventeenth, have been
relatively boring.
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The one
noteworthy thing that did happen these past few days was that I bid farewell to
all the friends I had made while with the Yale Young Global Scholars Program.
Ryan, Alex, Metincan, Tyler, Kevin, Ayano, Silin, Yi, and Abby are just of the
few people I can call friend that I made during this program. I will miss them
all greatly but will keep in touch so we don’t drift apart. They were a
pleasure to work and study with, not to mention that I loved picking their
brains on what they thought about world problems or national issues. Everyone
is a bit different, and I loved learning how their minds work. I will miss the
directors, the instructors, and the seminar leaders. I don’t know who I won’t
miss but I will never forget what everyone taught me. I thank them all very
much.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After saying our goodbyes to our friends, my
cohort and I left to go shopping for souvenirs and lunch. The food was good and
I hope that my friends and family back home enjoy all of the souvenirs I got
for them. We then hitched a train ride back to Providence, Rhode Island and
found one of our friends from the program, Eloka, waiting to catch a train to
Newark and then a plane to London. It was nice to see him again and say see you
later one final time. I hope he is doing well right not. We then checked into
our hotel, and then went out for dinner and a movie. The food was very nice and
the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Percy Jackson and the Sea of
Monsters</i> was okay. But that is basically the sixteenth in a nut shell. Now
although I usually post picture of the food we eat, this time I won’t. I feel
like logging every single thing we eat is a bit repetitive.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then there
was today. Today has about the same substance, but is a bit more relaxed. I got
up at eight o’clock this morning, got ready, and relaxed until twelve fifteen
this afternoon when we had to go downstairs for checkout. Everyone slept in,
which is what we all needed after two weeks of working hard. We then went out
for our final meal on the East coast called Local 121. The food was fantastic.
I had a zucchini gazpacho soup which was a bit bitter for my taste, but the
pasta I had was very good. Eric didn’t have the room to finish the other half
of his sandwich, so I finished it for him and man did I mess up in my entre
choice. His sandwich had beef, kale, sautéed mushrooms, and caramelized onions
that went so well together. The onions complemented the beef to create a
sandwich that melted in your mouth.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After we
lunch we caught a cab to the airport and flew to Chicago.We waited on the tarmac for a while and then flew to SFO. After we landed, my parents and sister greeted me and I was elated to see them. I was officially home. We had some pupusas, a Latin American food, to celebrate and got to experience my homes weather again. I missed it, but couldn't wait to see my grandmother. I am so glad to be home yet sad I won't be at the program. But all good things must come to an end.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But before
I let you go, I know you want to know what happened during the class. Well, as
much as I would have liked to have blogged it as it happened, we were swamped
with classes, seminars, and simulations from nine thirty o’clock in the morning
to nine o’clock at night. Then from nine at night to midnight, we had to work
on our group Marshall Briefs, additional essays, or seminar readings. There was
just no time. But in my reflective blog, I will do my best to do, from memory,
to give you a day by day account of what transpired. Goodnight.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-4675326999999373562013-08-17T23:58:00.003-07:002013-08-17T23:58:46.417-07:00It's Finally OverThe best two weeks of my 17 year old life are over. I can't believe it. We had class on our last day, but after that it was "Fun Night." Everyone passed their room checks and we got to do whatever we pleased. There was a lot of singing, dancing, and gaming. I went to the karaoke station and sang along with my fellow Young Global Scholars. It was a blast. I switched off between the karaoke and the game room. These were our last hours together, we were supposed to be going a bit wild.<br />
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A few hours before that, we had a graduation ceremony. I heard that last year, the program had many different types of awards. This year they had one. The Director's Award, and it was given to quite a few students, but unfortunately my cohort and I were not one of them. I'm sure we feel extremely accomplished. After all, we toughed through late nights, long lectures, Marshall briefs, and the legendary murder board. During the ceremony I knew that if I could get through these two weeks, then I could get through anything. We took a large group photo of all the scholars and I took a whole bunch with my friends. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--lR4jVSNa60/UhBthgFiGAI/AAAAAAAAALU/EpUoNt5nT6A/s640/blogger-image--534065680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--lR4jVSNa60/UhBthgFiGAI/AAAAAAAAALU/EpUoNt5nT6A/s640/blogger-image--534065680.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My roommates and I.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Marshall brief group and I. Our policy leader is on the left.</td></tr>
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After our fun night, my roommates and I stayed up and talked for a while, then we went to bed. I woke up at around 8:00 AM. I wandered around, spoke a few words, and said my goodbyes. There was a lot of hugging and waving. I spent 12 hours every day with these people for two weeks. I may not have met all of them, but we all created a unique group environment that would have felt drastically different if one of us went missing. We were like family. It's going to be hard to adjust to my normal life.</div>
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Josh and I, along with a few friends, headed out to Starbucks one last time. We ran into Tracey and she told us when to meet and all the logistics. After returning, we all put our stuff into Josh's room. He was the only one who had a single room on the first floor. The four of us headed out with Tracey to go souvenir shopping. I chose a white hoodie, that the ILC would pay for, and I bought my cousin a gray one. Then the four of us headed back to Johnathan Edwards college, where we spent our two weeks, to check out. We said our very last goodbyes and headed out. I never shed a tear while saying my farewells, but I will miss them all tremendously.</div>
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The four of us looked around trying to find a restaurant, but they were all closed except for a grill near the Omni Hotel. So we ate a meal there. I ordered the calamari and the chicken pasta. I didn't expect my meal to be so big. Over lunch, we talked about our experience at Yale. We spoke about our personal experiences, adventures, feelings, likes, dislikes, and opinions of the program. They were generally positive with the occasional negative comment, but no summer program is perfect.</div>
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After lunch, we took our train back to Providence, Rhode Island. I fell asleep on the ride and when I woke up, we were near the station. We took our bags, walked out, and went to our hotel. I roomed with Josh. We found a very nice restaurant by the mall. The food was delicious! Josh, Eric, and I ordered the lobster and filet, Liam ordered the Kona steak, and Tracey ordered mashed potatoes. For appetizers we had the crab cakes and the shrimp. Everything was wonderful! The steak was very soft and the lobster was delicious. The sauce that it was served with was very rich. The crab cakes were good, but not exceptional enough to remember, as was the shrimp. Liam told the waiters that we had just finished a program at Yale and the one of the waiters had a dessert for us. It was a chocolate cake and a creme brulee. After dinner, the five of us went to watch a movie. We decided on the new Percy Jackson movie. I never read the books, so I thought it was okay, but Josh, Liam, and Eric were not satisfied. I have feeling that they watched the movie so that they can critique it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crab cakes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shrimp.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best steak I've had during my time at the East Coast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our desert that the waiter presented to our surprise.</td></tr>
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We walked back to our hotel and headed to our rooms. Josh and I stayed up until 2:00 AM making a video for his friends. This was the day that I can finally sleep in! I was able to sleep until 11:00 AM and then we all met at 12:30 PM to leave for the airport. After two long weeks I get to go back to my hectic family and crazy school life. My time on the East Coast has been great.</div>
Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-36456259969712312132013-08-17T23:55:00.000-07:002013-08-17T23:55:06.662-07:00A Brief Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">My
emotions as I left the Yale campus for the last time were mixed. On one hand I
was excited to go home and see all my family and friends, but on the other I
was leaving the group of “Young Scholars” who I had become so close with over
the last two weeks. I will go in to more detail in my reflective blog, but how
sad I felt was definitely a shock.</span></div>
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After
leaving Yale we dropped our bags off at Tracey’s hotel and went out to lunch
right across the street. The place we ate at was tasty, but the portions were
HUGE. They had single and half options, although I think they realistically
should have been named single and double. I had some of the calamari appetizer
and half of my enormous “single portion” of chicken parmesan. We then collected
our bags and took a taxi to the train station. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While
waiting for the train my exhaustion hit me and I fell asleep at the station,
when we actually boarded the train however I felt completely awake and could
not sleep (not for lack of trying however). I will count myself as fortunate
that I could not though; I spent the ride to Providence watching the beautiful
East Coast countryside go by. It was truly a spectacular sight.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We
arrived in Providence and took a taxi to the hotel. After dropping our bags off
and checking out the “awesome” view from our rooms, we went out to dinner. We
ate our final dinner with the ILC at a restaurant called the Capital Grille. It
was amazing, definitely one of the best meals I have had in my life. We had
crab and lobster cakes and a shrimp dish as our appetizer, which I followed up
with steak and lobster tail for desert. It was masterfully done. The steak was
tender and juicy and the lobster was infused with a buttery taste. Finally our
waiter brought us a crème buille and chocolate cake dish for dessert, free of
charge I hope (since we did not order it). It was an amazing meal, which we
followed with an unexceptional movie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We went
to the local cinema to see Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters. The people who
made the movie really messed dup. I read all the books of the series and felt
similarly about the first one. Many things were wrong, down to even the feel of
it. The books are comedic, with a series undertone that develops a little more
as the series goes on and the world comes in to danger. The movies take
themselves too seriously, that is without even mentioning the discrepancies in
plot. I find that most movies based off books end up this way, so I try to
watch them as if they are completely separate from the books. Even so I was not
that impressed. One good thing I could say however was that the animation and
effects were very cool. I am amazed how realistic CGI has become.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We
returned to the hotel after the movie where I expected to get some work done on
this blog. Plans change however. I walked in the door, made a bee line to bed,
and immediately fell asleep in all of my clothes. I woke up about twelve hours
later at eleven thirty in the morning, feeling refreshed, just in time to get
ready to leave for lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant called Local 121, known
for serving only local foods. I had half of a prime rib sandwich and gave the
other half to Liam, not because it was not good, but because I was not hungry
for some reason.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We
finished lunch, grabbed our things, and took a shuttle to the airport. We all
thought we would be early and waiting for a while, but there were many complications
in security. First off the family in front of us each had a huge (definitely
way oversized for carry on) bag which each had some sort of prohibited liquid
in them. That took a while to sort out. Then when we went through Damian had forgotten
to empty his Yale water bottle and Tracy had an unopened coffee beverage in her
bag. She also had to be patted down. That delayed us another five minutes. We
ended up being only half on our early, which was perfect. Just enough time to
get snacks and drink for the plane.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were
among the first to board the plane and I managed to get a seat in the very
front, which, as a tall person, makes a huge difference. I room to fully extent
my legs and was quite content for the entire plane ride. I did not sleep at all
but instead spent the entire time working on my post-departure ILC responsibilities.
That included this blog, my reflective blog, and my post-mortem questionnaire.
All in all it was a lot of work, that I still had not completed after a seven
hour flight. I think this was mostly because it was a little too early to write
a reflective blog. To truly reflect I need time to process the last few weeks,
and actually reflect, not just recall.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My mom
picked me up from the airport and let me drive home, which was exciting as I
had never driven from SFO before. I got home and after spending some time with
my family updated and posted this blog then went to sleep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Disclaimer: This blog is only about the day
and half after Yale that we spent on the East Coast. All details about Yale will
be covered in my final, reflective blog. Coming soon…</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Eric Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919179697812466318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-30966126517385964472013-08-02T19:43:00.000-07:002013-08-25T14:53:34.155-07:00Empire State of Mind<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the full experience of this blog post, please have this video playing on a separate window:</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BceRaRpUnLg" target="_blank">Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin</a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KFsikZKoU3c/UfxiINi6HII/AAAAAAAAAN0/dP8N7kllz1Y/s1600/20130802_01GCSRelease.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KFsikZKoU3c/UfxiINi6HII/AAAAAAAAAN0/dP8N7kllz1Y/s400/20130802_01GCSRelease.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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My shower was extra hot this morning - the "Stahbucks" tasted better and the taxi ride felt smoother. Why? We were headed to none other than New York (New Yahkkkkk)! <i>Mamma Mia </i>was definitely the word.</div>
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The Amtrak took us to none other than Grand Central Station! As a frequent viewer of films involving one of the centerpieces of New York, including such quality movies as <i>Madagascar </i>and <i>Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, </i>this landmark was a most welcome welcome to me as one of the city's biggest icons. We meandered our way out of the train and into a clog of humidity and humanity, with sweat and phone conversations dropping everywhere in sight. There would be no <i>Singin' in the Rain </i>today. We rode the wave until we walked into Grand Central's main terminal. It was a gorgeous sight to see, with every architectural detail, artistic flourish, and mathematical design exposed for all the world. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5H17XPJ8CaY/UfxiXozoHRI/AAAAAAAAAN8/gtnTMcIx79g/s1600/20130802_03GCS2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="587" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5H17XPJ8CaY/UfxiXozoHRI/AAAAAAAAAN8/gtnTMcIx79g/s640/20130802_03GCS2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After navigating the labyrinth of the NY subway from Grand Central, we made our way onto the NYU campus (which is basically Greenwich Village) and walked into the information center only to find out that we'd been misinformed about the tour times and we'd missed it by a hour. Taking this in stride, we decided to sign up as our own guides and take the Ivy League Connection Express Tour. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYU Global Center for<br />
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The campus wasn't particularly a campus. It reminded me a lot of Academy of Art University in San Francisco, with its college buildings ingrained into the city. While set in a nice area, NYU felt disconnected, an university enveloped by the city instead of the other way around. I found that I was looking more for a more homey-like atmosphere, with a central area for students to gather and something more tight-knit. NYU just wasn't my particular cup of tea; you could say that it was a little strong in terms of independence. However, it was enjoyable to walk around and watch Liam and Eric get whupped, honorably, of course, at chess by <i>"Wicked </i>smaht" people at Washington Square Park.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-roDdH7DJl2c/Ufxi56ZATiI/AAAAAAAAAOY/ZGBbnnsxHZw/s1600/20130802_10Liamchess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-roDdH7DJl2c/Ufxi56ZATiI/AAAAAAAAAOY/ZGBbnnsxHZw/s400/20130802_10Liamchess.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oy8XA-5OJuQ/UfxqsFfSmwI/AAAAAAAAAOk/eyRfeR_MhR0/s1600/20130802_18JohnsPizzeria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oy8XA-5OJuQ/UfxqsFfSmwI/AAAAAAAAAOk/eyRfeR_MhR0/s320/20130802_18JohnsPizzeria.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After failing to pick out a lunch spot, we headed to Times Square, where we settled on getting some New Yahk thin crust pizza at John's Pizzeria (I prefer that over <i>Chicago</i>-style). I personally went for the traditional, wanting to compare it to New York-style pizza back home. I don't know if I missed something, but I found John's Pizza to be on par with Bay Area pizza! Either the Bay's just that good, or John's just didn't measure up to the rest of New Yahk. I guess I'll have to go back and find out!</div>
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To make our way to our next destination, we walked through the theater district. For a Josh who's been exposed to Broadway ever since he was a toddler, the marquees and bright flashing lights took on a big significance. These shows <i>of thee I sing</i> definitely took over the imaginary soundtrack in my head (along with Frank Sinatra, Frank Ocean, and Jay-Z) for the rest of the day.</div>
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Eventually, we reached Rockefeller Plaza, a sight I'd seen on TV many times and...a place that looked a lot smaller in real life. However, it was very cool to see the buildings originally developed by Mr. "<i>Rock of Ages</i>" himself, John D. Rockefeller.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home to <i>Saturday Night Live</i>, <i>Late Night with<br />Jimmy Fallon, </i>etc.</td></tr>
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We got to stop in a couple souvenir shops in and around Rock Center. Although I didn't see the window from which the <i>Today </i>show hosts do their thing or the address for 30 Rockefeller Plaza ("<i>30 Rock</i>"), I did pick up a t-shirt from my favorite show (which you should know if you read my airport adventure post a couple days ago) <i>Parks & Rec </i>at the NBC Experience Store. The LEGO and Nintendo stores helped me engage in some afternoon child-like fun, checking out all the new heavily branded bricks and the new, but unfortunately not very popular, Wii U (Wii who?).</div>
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It was soon time for dinner, however, so we headed over to Ellen's Stardust Diner, an extraordinary place suggested by Damian. The diner hires wanna-be singers and actors looking for their big break in New York City, and many have gone on to star on Broadway and around the world. Throughout our dinner, we were treated to renditions of different Broadway hits, such as selections from <i>Beauty and the Beast </i>and <i>The Little Mermaid, </i>to name a few. I suppose I should mention what I ate, which was beef stew, but for this meal, the songs were the highlight.</div>
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I really enjoyed the city of New York, mostly because it felt so lifelike. Its character, personality, and complexity felt almost human-like in its qualities, and I felt almost the same way (hallowed) as I do at Disneyland. If New York equals in feels the Happiest Place on Earth, that's certainly saying something.</div>
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With the clock hitting 5:15, we needed to find our way back to Grand Central to make our train at 6:15, so we headed back towards Times Square. The crowds and cars had picked up, while tourists still ruled the streets; cameras flashing everywhere, bodies frozen in fake smiles to post on their Facebook pages. Tracey had warned me earlier in the day that I wasn't walking as fast as some of the others. Normally, I'm quite a fast walker, but the city had so transfixed me that I had slowed down. Naturally, I picked up the pace, but </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo creds to Liam.</td></tr>
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still allowed my eyes to take in the bright enormous neon signs that lined Times Square, headlines scrolling across the ABC building, loud visual advertisements bursting with pop and color. People standing stationary in the crowd jostled me, asking for donations to their cause, or money for their souvenir. I walked past, but the number of solicitations continued to grow. An African-American man had stopped Eric, so I stepped in to listen as well. "Hi, hi, nice to meet you. Are you tired of that Drake and Jay-Z s--t? I got somethin' different, it's a new style, and I'm just starting out, so if you could support..." He started rapping to nail in the sell. Eric and I listened in, and honestly, he wasn't that great, but we listened. Eventually, Tracey walked back toward us and told us we had to leave, or otherwise, we would miss our train. Immediately, his whole attitude changed. "Aw, man, it's cause I'm black? Isn't it? Isn't it?" "Let's go," said Tracey, and as we thanked him and walked away, he snatched his mixtape back from Eric and started issuing multiple racial slurs at our cohort. His voice faded as the crowd engulfed him in their sea of consumerism and marketability.</div>
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As girls held up signs offering "free hugs," Liam muttered to us, "there's nothing in life that's free." Are we all driven by the sea, moving forward by the waves of selfishness and self-motivation? We try to sell ourselves and to sell others out, faking our way through the cold channels of relationships and accomplishments. We stand two-faced and focus on our own ships, resorting to ignorance and race cards to get our way. Is there anything that comes free? Today's part of the journey showed us a big city environment where the bright, beautiful, and bombastic find a way to coexist (or clash) with the bubbling, boiling, and toiling. These juxtapositions that have made up multiple parts of the trip are forcing me to think more deeply on how to see these realities. We walk into the doors of Yale tomorrow, forced to confront these realities as we tackle grand strategies in those hallowed halls. I don't know how much I will change or grow. I don't know where my ship is compared to all of the other ones floating into this elite Ivy League program. But I am willing to rebuild my ship with the assistance of others and learn from them. I'm prepared to confront this confusing, scary, gorgeous world we have and make it at least a little better than when I found it. And I'm ready to find out where the final destination of our ships are heading.</div>
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<i>Tomorrow, tomorrow...</i></div>
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Send me feedback by commenting below and emailing jandakocompany@yahoo.com.
And for a more intimate look at my Yale experience, follow me on
Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh"><span style="color: #0000e0; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">@joshthebosh</span></a> to
see a more visual Ivy League Connection. This concludes the college tour
portion of the blog; check back in soon for reflections on the Grand Strategies
program at Yale! Congratulations to you if you noticed the musical references
mostly at the beginning, but throughout the post.</div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="710" scrolling="no" src="//instagram.com/p/chZ47ZxB_Y/embed/" width="612"></iframe><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FOOD FOR THOUGHT MOMENT OF
THE DAY:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I believe in the supreme
worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that every
right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession,
a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that
government is the servant of the people and not their master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe in the dignity of labor,
whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes
every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential
to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound
financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that truth and justice are
fundamental to an enduring social order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as
good as his bond, that character—not wealth or power or position—is of supreme
worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that the
rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the
purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the
greatness of the human soul set free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and
that the individual's highest fulfillment, greatest happiness and widest
usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that love is the greatest
thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will
triumph over might.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- John D. Rockefeller,
inscribed at Rockefeller Center</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-54225526728191120782013-08-02T19:26:00.003-07:002013-08-10T14:32:41.947-07:00The City That Never Sleeps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Josh and I woke up at 6:30 AM and I woke up 15 minutes later. We got ready and headed down to the Omni hotel lobby on a warm cloudy morning. Today was our big trip. We were going to New York City! We met at the lobby at around 7:15 AM. Starbucks was our fast breakfast and morning coffee because we had to catch an early 8:15 AM train. We took a taxi to the train station and got there at around 8:00 AM. We boarded our train to go to the Big Apple. I felt a bit unwell because I had kicked off my covers during the cold night sleep in the room. When I got on the train I decided to try and sleep it off. When I woke up we were a few stops away from the Grand Central station. When I stepped out of the train I began to think that the rule that heat always rises was a big lie. I could barely breathe because it was so hot and humid down there. The air was absolutely gag worthy. We stepped into the main part of Grand Central and I was amazed at the architecture. There was a mural of constellations on the roof, there were giant chandelier-like lights hanging from the ceiling, and the place was filled with people. I've read about and watched a documentary about the Robber Barons and I recall the Grand Central station being part of it. Looking up at the ceiling, I immediately took out my phone and took pictures because it was so beautiful.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ad4E6kXxGvI/UfxfMY3qy7I/AAAAAAAAAI8/69ou0Neol28/s640/blogger-image--1016173928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ad4E6kXxGvI/UfxfMY3qy7I/AAAAAAAAAI8/69ou0Neol28/s640/blogger-image--1016173928.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bZvS51nyHMk/UfxfKZ4YEuI/AAAAAAAAAIk/QpuoMYcHcck/s640/blogger-image--1441825429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bZvS51nyHMk/UfxfKZ4YEuI/AAAAAAAAAIk/QpuoMYcHcck/s640/blogger-image--1441825429.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We walked around Central Station for a little while, then we headed to the subway for NYU. The underground subway made me question the laws of physics for a second time. The air was no better than when we got off of the train. Our train arrived and we got to the area by New York University. We stepped up into the sunlight and tried to find our way to the university. Needless to say, we got lost again. We asked for directions. Apparently, New Yorkers aren't as mean as they're painted out to be, at least not in the daylight. I'm sure the darkness within New York is contingent to brightness or darkness of the day. The later it gets, the meaner New Yorkers get. NYU was built in a strange way. It didn't even feel like a college campus. It was multiple buildings across and down the streets from one another. It's like the Art Academy in San Francisco. Though most of the building were fairly close, but they were built a distance from one another so there was absolutely no college feeling to it. Though I have heard the NYU likes to send their students abroad, and I also picked up a pamphlet about health studies. Their first page had the words, "help children with communication disorders learn to interact," I was especially drawn to this because at school I loved working with autistic elementary school students during the Careers in Teaching class and many of these kids had problems communicating.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Religious center of NYU.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--ERfrp6UGlE/UfxfLhIa3rI/AAAAAAAAAI0/tXPDRpdwU9Y/s640/blogger-image-2066138127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--ERfrp6UGlE/UfxfLhIa3rI/AAAAAAAAAI0/tXPDRpdwU9Y/s640/blogger-image-2066138127.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">An alley at NYU that has a view of the Empire State Building.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">A statue of Cervantes at New York University.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Due to the fact that the tour information was deceiving, we gave ourselves a self-tour. Apparently people had to be there an hour before the actual tour in order to join. The people told us that it starts at a certain time, but what they should have told us was to get there way before the tour starts. Our self-tour took the five of us to Washington Square Park, the green area of NYU. It has a lot of trees and flowers and even a dog park. At the park Eric and Liam played chess matches with some of the people at the park. Both of them lost. I only stood and watched because I wasn't sure how to play chess, but I'm sure it's similar to Chinese chess, not Chinese checkers, but Chinese chess. After watching the two of them play, I think I know how each of the pieces move and attack.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">An arc that was designed to resemble L'arc de Triomphe at Washington Square Park.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our self-tour we all decided to go to Times Square! On our way we got lost a few times, nothing new, but when we got there I felt like a child. I looked up and was grasped by all the lights and billboards in the small area. I imagined that Times Square was bigger and more shopping based, but I felt that it was more commercial and business based. Times Square only stretched a few blocks and it wasn't as cool as I'd hoped, but I was pretty pleased.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Times Square!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our little visit to Times Square, we wanted to try New York's famous pizzas. Josh, our usual food guide, took us to John's pizzeria. We all sat down and ordered. For our appetizer we had calamari. I ordered the bruschetta pizza, Josh ordered the traditional pizza, Liam had the margherita pizza, Eric decided to have a chicken and broccoli calzone, and Ms. Tracey wanted the ravioli. All in all the food was great. Eric's calzone tasted very good, salty with a lovely mixture of cheese, chicken, and broccoli. Liam's pizza was very good. The basil on top of his pizza made everything delicious. The basil really brought out the flavor of the stone oven baked pizza. My pizza was no disappointment either, there were tomatoes and plenty of other fresh herbs on my pizza. Unfortunately, the place was so busy that the service ended up being slow.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Josh's pizza and my pizza were made into one on the top and Liam's pizza is at the bottom.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our meal we decided to head to Rockefeller Square. As usual, we got lost a few times, but our trusty GPS user, Eric, safely brought us to wherever we needed to go. We got there, and I was amazed at how nice it was. There were flags lining an outdoor cafe with a beautiful golden statue in front of a waterfall. While walking there were two shops that caught my eye. The Nintendo shop and the Lego shop. We decided to go to Josh's store first, the NBC store. Which was a lot of fun, I got to sit in The Voice chair and pretend I was judge on the panel. Then we went to the Lego shop where they had awesome Lego artwork, like the dragon or a Lego replica of the Rockefeller square. Then we went to the Nintendo Shop and played video game demos for a little while.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">A dragon created from Legos.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Rockefeller Square</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The statue at Rockefeller square.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earlier I told the group about a diner that my friend, Anmol, went to during her stay in Columbia. She told me that it was awesome and that we should try it out. She suggested Ellen's Stardust Diner. We walked to the diner, again getting a bit lost, and ate there. The place was so unique. I've never been to a diner like this before. The food wasn't all that great. I had the Philly cheese steak. What really entertained us was the music. The waiters are all people aspiring to be Broadway stars and they sing live for the entire restaurant. One song that particular stood out to me was "Part of Your World," from The Little Mermaid. It brought me back to my theater and musical days. After dinner we had to catch the train back to the Omni. This is when I noticed that a lot more people were coming out as opposed to early in the day. This is also when people started getting a bit more aggressive. People would come up to you, force something into your hand, and try to make you pay. More culture shock, because that doesn't normally happen in the Bay Area. For the umpteenth time on the East Coast, we got lost again. Though, this time I wouldn't really consider it as being lost, more like we didn't know that we were going the right way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When we finally found the station, we boarded the train and headed back home. I was exhausted and slept for a while and woke up a few stops before New Haven. During he train ride we helped a man find his destination on a map, though we were no where near experts on the area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomorrow we are to enter Yale. I'm really excited. Yale. . . The Yale. The one that I always hear about and used to hear about on "The Gilmore Girls." My time there will be really strenuous, but will be very educational and very worth it.</span></div>
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Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-14195732631270558422013-08-02T19:21:00.001-07:002013-08-10T16:02:05.078-07:00New York Really is the Big Apple
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today
we had a pretty interesting morning. I forgot to write about how beautiful the
hotel that we are staying in is. The lobby is so ornately decorated with vases
and oil paintings that you can tell someone invested a lot of time and money
into this place. There are even chess boards and last night Damian started a
game but had to cut it short so we could eat dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway,
we were out at the lobby at seven twenty five, picked up breakfast, and had a
few minutes to kill before the cabs arrived. Damian and I started a new game of
chess and Damian was winning by the time the cabs arrived. The cabs got there
and we drove to South Station, caught the train to New York, and went on a two
hour train ride. The scenery was very pretty. As we exited New Haven, it was
primarily dense forest and very little graffiti. But as we approached New York,
the graffiti got worse and the trees thinned out. I guess you should expect
that as you approach a huge city though, eh? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To
keep myself occupied, I looked over some of the required reading for our
seminars. I also talked to two Navy officers who were sitting next to me. They
were nice guys, and even tried to get me to join. But while talking to them I
found out that they are officers aboard a nuclear submarine, I kid you not. I
seem to have a knack for sitting next to people who are serving in the Navy on
submarines. We talked mostly about their job, and how half of their career
they’ve been desk jockeys and for the over half have actually served. They had
some humorous stories about when they went to Scotland and Georgia. They piqued
my interest and am glad I talked to them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When
we arrived, we pulled into none other than Grand Central Station. It took us
two long hours, but we finally arrived. The anticipation built up in me like an
oil well being struck for the first time. I ran out of the train, camera in
hand, ready to record my first images of the world famous Grand Central
Station. As I ran up the stairs I was filled with even more suspense. Then, all
around me a grand concourse emerged. I was in sheer awe. The glass windows were
just as they have been shown in the movies, and I saw a few posters for the
celebration of the centennial birthday of Grand Central. Soon, I started taking
photos of everything. We missed rush hour, thankfully, but it was still filled
to the brim with people. They were running and walking in every which direction
towards one of the over one hundred railroad tracks that run through Grand
Central. I love it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grand Concourse</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then
I looked at the ceiling. Painted on it are nine of the twelve zodiac signs, I
think, including Pisces, Aires, and Taurus. They are painted in gold on a blue
backdrop and look stunning. My friends and I then proceeded to go to the second
level, take a few pictures, and then proceed to walk out to the street. All
along the way it is lined with shops, and this place called Vanderbilt hall. If
you have the chance I cannot suggest enough going to Grand Central Station. I
must warn you though that it will look smaller than in the movies because it is
filled with people.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6yq8HJ2-jSI/UgbAkeeskiI/AAAAAAAAESs/pwJ8QUGy1EU/s1600/LG.2.3A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6yq8HJ2-jSI/UgbAkeeskiI/AAAAAAAAESs/pwJ8QUGy1EU/s640/LG.2.3A.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then proceeded to the subway station and caught a ride to the New York
University campus area. Or at least what we thought was the NYU campus. It
turns out that NYU is not, in fact, like a regular university. NYU’s buildings
are integrated into the city, so they look like any other building. There are
banners hanging proudly from the side of the buildings and they have signs next
to their doors to differentiate them, but besides that there is no way to
figure what buildings they are. There is an informal campus green, but it looks
like it would be difficult to organize events in the city in there.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6E0Z-KqUSs8/UgbAlNDgxHI/AAAAAAAAES8/x4XmQik3KAc/s1600/LG.2.4A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6E0Z-KqUSs8/UgbAlNDgxHI/AAAAAAAAES8/x4XmQik3KAc/s640/LG.2.4A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NYU Law Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then walked around for a while looking for the admissions building, found it,
and asked if they could direct us towards the tour meeting area. They then
proceeded to tell us that the tour does begin at eleven, like we expected, but
there was an information session that we had to attend first at ten o’clock.
Well, we missed it. They then told us that we could attend an information
session and tour at one. I wanted to go, but was out voted and we decided to
take the self-tour. It was okay, and Tracey read aloud to us some of the
details of each of the buildings we passed, but I would have preferred to have
taken the official tour at one. C’est la vie, I suppose. The one better part of
the self-tour was that during the walk through the unofficial campus green, I
got to play chess against a man who has been playing for eight years, if my
memory serves me correctly. It was a challenge, no doubt, but alas, my efforts
were fruitless. He won in a little over fifteen minutes. I gave him a good
fight though, and was able to at least take his queen before he took my king.
He also coached me a bit on where to move and how to use pieces to the best of
my advantage. His name is Mack, and he is a kind man. He told me that you
should only read chess books to give you new ideas, but playing the game is the
only way to get good at it. In honor of him, I think I’ll start playing more
often.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5Inne6EJ6E/UgbAlsFnL0I/AAAAAAAAETA/YqZ3LzWTQWs/s1600/LG.2.5A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5Inne6EJ6E/UgbAlsFnL0I/AAAAAAAAETA/YqZ3LzWTQWs/s640/LG.2.5A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Washington Arch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then found this place called John’s, which received four stars on Yelp, and now
I know why. I got a margherita pizza while Damian and Josh got a half and half:
one side classic cheese and the other side pineapple. I got to try both of
theirs, and they were quite good. Eric had a monster calzone filled with
chicken and broccoli that was simply exquisite. The ricotta cheese, mozzarella
and broccoli blended so well that I can still taste it now. I think that my
pizza, however, was the best entrée of the day. It was a regular cheese pizza
but it was topped with basil, and that made all the difference. The basil gave
it a nice unique taste that must be eaten to be believed. I hope we have a
pizza like that back home so that I can have it whenever I long for the East
Coast. We were so stuffed that by the end, I didn’t want to eat ever again.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XcmGHCK_fvs/UgbAmIKcSuI/AAAAAAAAETM/4vVx86ChiDQ/s1600/LG.2.6A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XcmGHCK_fvs/UgbAmIKcSuI/AAAAAAAAETM/4vVx86ChiDQ/s640/LG.2.6A.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Afterwards
we headed on over to Times Square to see what it is really like. It took us a
little bit longer than we expected, mainly because we got on the wrong train
the first time, but we eventually got on the right one and I was so excited
again. Once again, camera in hand, I ascended the steps towards Times Square.
Oh my goodness. It was all that we see on TV on more. It was grandiose, shops
lining the street, and a particular busyness that everyone had places to be,
people to see, and things to do. So many people in suits, it made the
atmosphere feel so official. I loved it, and must go back someday.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGxwt_3nvxw/UgbAmIybREI/AAAAAAAAETQ/pTnDe09CVDw/s1600/LG.2.7A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGxwt_3nvxw/UgbAmIybREI/AAAAAAAAETQ/pTnDe09CVDw/s640/LG.2.7A.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Times Square</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then proceeded to Rockefeller Plaza. It was beautiful. There were fountains,
statues, and flags flying representing many different countries. We decided to
stop for a minute in front of a Chase building. Eric and I decided to
investigate inside and it was just like any other tall office building. Except
for the basement that houses the Canadian consulate, which I only looked a
little bit at.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ilb549ZSAsQ/UgbAnI4HBSI/AAAAAAAAETg/2godgdCMhKQ/s1600/LG.2.8A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ilb549ZSAsQ/UgbAnI4HBSI/AAAAAAAAETg/2godgdCMhKQ/s640/LG.2.8A.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockefeller Center</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then proceeded to see some of the great LEGO creations that people have made in
a LEGO store. We saw a LEGO Atlas holding up the Earth, and a LEGO recreation
of Rockefeller plaza.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-54qmT4B8iEU/UgbAnPMK2DI/AAAAAAAAETc/SKt939k-Tvg/s1600/LG.2.9A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-54qmT4B8iEU/UgbAnPMK2DI/AAAAAAAAETc/SKt939k-Tvg/s640/LG.2.9A.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LEGO Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then proceeded to check out the NBC shop, which had some comical attire that
paid homage to such well-known shows as Seinfeld, Friends, and <i>Parks and
Recreation</i>. I like each of those shows and loved the quotes that they put
on the shirt.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgSxHsVCQwQ/UgbF_mILBdI/AAAAAAAAET8/pmKEjQqT8HU/s1600/LG.2.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgSxHsVCQwQ/UgbF_mILBdI/AAAAAAAAET8/pmKEjQqT8HU/s640/LG.2.10.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From
there, our final stop was the Nintendo store. Inside was a little bit of
Nintendo history and a number of games for their Wii video game system and
their new Wii U video game system. Inside one of the glass cases on the upper
floor were a number of devices Nintendo made to use with their products to play
shooting games and role playing games.</span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNjuisjNZlk/UgbAjWiw_jI/AAAAAAAAESc/TAgGOFO-NZ4/s1600/LG.2.11AA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNjuisjNZlk/UgbAjWiw_jI/AAAAAAAAESc/TAgGOFO-NZ4/s640/LG.2.11AA.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Nintendo Power Glove</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then
my comrades and I played different games on the new Wii U systems on the second
floor, including racing, action-adventure, and LEGO video games. One LEGO video
game, LEGO City, is where you take the role of a police officer, find bad guys,
and put them in jail. It is kind of similar to Grand Theft Auto, without the
vulgar language and graphic violence. You can still take cars from citizens and
drive them around, and you can fist fight with the bad guys. Damian played a
Rayman game that looked like a lot of fun. Josh played a Wario game where you
participate in a series of mini games and try to get the highest score.
Finally, I decided to try out the Sonic racing game, which is loads of fun as
you race through land, see, and air to win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
stayed there for a while, then headed on over to Ellen’s Starlight Dinner,
where Damian had been waiting to go ever since we arrived in New York. As he
describes it, it is where all the Broadway musical rejects go to get money and
hope one day to star in a Broadway show. The food was good, but the singing was
phenomenal. Each person had a range of singing talents, and put a lot of
emotion into each song they sang. They even sang Disney songs, like one from <i>The
Little Mermaid.</i> I liked it a lot and it is definitely a novelty. I also
learned that twelve past employees have actually gone on to work on Broadway in
such shows as <i>Mama Mia </i>and <i>Cinderella.</i></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ti61S5XKIqg/UgbB57COA1I/AAAAAAAAETw/E0cUcy5Tx5E/s1600/LG.2.12A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ti61S5XKIqg/UgbB57COA1I/AAAAAAAAETw/E0cUcy5Tx5E/s640/LG.2.12A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellen’s Stardust Café</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After
the Stardust Dinner, we rushed over to Grand Central Station, said our goodbyes
to New York, and boarded the train. Two hours later, we arrive in New Haven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today was a nice, relaxed day. We saw the sites,
ate good food, and had a grand old time. Tomorrow, we will begin our first day
of Yale classes. I just hope that I’m going to be good enough to compete with
some of the world’s smartest individuals in a class about grand strategies.
Good night.</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-16577326618977623772013-08-02T18:48:00.002-07:002013-08-11T11:08:52.296-07:00The Day I Almost Changed My Opinion About Big Cities... Almost<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
spent our last day before class in New York City. NYC is an almost two hour
train ride from New Haven, so, in order to be able to spend a good amount of
time there, we took an 8:15 train. I did not sleep well last night, probably
because of jet lag (I feel like the more rested I get the more I am getting
affected by it), and I did not feel well when I first woke up. After a quick
stop at Starbucks we headed right to the train station. I spent approximately
the first half of the ride reviewing the reading, but somewhere along the way I
fell asleep and power napped until we arrived. I am glad that I did, because I
felt much better afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCJJ_qeIMxs/UgbM7oFeixI/AAAAAAAAEUc/VxhBiX8ztxQ/s1600/EW.02.1AA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCJJ_qeIMxs/UgbM7oFeixI/AAAAAAAAEUc/VxhBiX8ztxQ/s640/EW.02.1AA.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Central Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
then took the subway as close to NYU as we could get. As someone from the
suburbs, where we only have buses and single track trains as transportation, I
find the subway system in New York to be very confusing. I think we all did
actually. Despite that we managed to make it all around the city with few
problems. Our original plan was to take the college tour at 11 AM, but we were
not able to since the tour was part of an information session and tour package
that started at 10 AM. NYU offers a pamphlet that shows the path the tour takes
and describes what you are seeing along the path, so we did a self-guided tour.
The campus was interesting in that it was impossible to tell where it ended and
the city began. It was fully integrated. For someone who likes big cities it
seemed to be an excellent school. Unfortunately I am not one of those people,
so while it was fun to see the campus and compare it to other schools, I knew
before visiting that I would not want to go there. Something unexpected did
happen however. Along the tour path there was a park with tables set up for
chess. A man saw I was interested and invited me to play with him. I gladly
accepted. We played a long close game, but in the end I misplayed, and the
second I did we both knew that I had lost. The man was very friendly and polite
and even gave me some chess tips after the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the time we finished the tour we were
all quite hungry and headed over to Times Square to find a place to get lunch.
We decided on pizza and found a restaurant called John's Pizzeria. We walked
through Times Square on the way, which is very nice to see, but VERY crowded. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the restaurant the food was excellent, but the service was very slow. I had
a calzone with chicken and broccoli, which I really enjoyed and do not get
to have often. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After lunch we explored Rockefeller Square. It was nice but
there was not much to talk about for me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After that we had dinner at a place
that Damian’s friend told him about called Ellen’s Stardust Diner. It is a
restaurant where people who want to perform on Broadway work as waiters and
give live performances while serving you food. The food itself was fine (I
had chicken, French fries, and onion rings), but the environment and service
was fantastic. Our waiter was friendly and the singing was actually very good.
It was not a good place to go if you want to socialize while eating however.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York Pizza and Calzone</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In general I had a very good time in New
York; for the first part of the day I was even reconsidering my opinion on
large cities, but throughout the day I was reminded of why I felt that way. The
first problem is the smell. The scent of human waste, sweat, and cigarettes is
everywhere. The second is the crowds. People are constantly jostling you as you
walk down the street, and keeping track of your group is next to impossible
unless you stand right next to each other. The last problem is one that I am
thinking ahead about, which is the price of living relative to the size of the
housing. I had the exact same experience as last year when I visited New York
with the Cornell cohort. A man walked up to me and handed me his CD telling me
how he was a young artist trying to make it to the top. Tracey told him we had
a train to catch and as soon as he learned I was not going to give him any
money he called us racist, snatched the CD away, and started swearing. I
have never had an experience like that anywhere except populated cities, and it
is one I would very much like to avoid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today
was the last day before we start our program at Yale. That means that this is
my last blog until the program ends. Tomorrow we check in at Yale in the late
morning or early afternoon, get supplies, and at four we have orientation and
should lose all free time and contact with the outside world (I am
exaggerating). I am very excited for the program, although still not quite sure
what to expect. Wish us luck! You will hear about our time at Yale in two
weeks.</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Eric Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919179697812466318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-56519640300705737472013-08-01T20:51:00.001-07:002013-08-11T11:40:17.067-07:00New To New Haven<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Today was quite interesting. Eric and I woke up at 7:40 AM. Don sent us an email saying that our "security camera" was neither a light nor a camera, but a heat sensor. We headed down to the lobby at 8:30 AM. We then met with Ms. Tiffani Neal, the chaperone for Brown. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The plan for the day was to visit the Brown campus and tour it. She drove us to Brown University, where we had our breakfast. We then had the tour. This tour was student run like the "Hahvahd" tour, but was a lot more information and college based. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our tour guide was an energetic woman named Jordan who is majoring in sociology and pre-med, which struck me as a bit odd. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She took us around the campus and talked about the academia, courses, teachers, and history of Brown University. The campus is absolutely beautiful. The buildings looked very nice, there was a lot of grass, some trees, and a lot of space. This time, we actually got to go inside two lecture halls, not one, but two! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our tour we had an information session with a student and an admissions officer. The admissions officer spoke of Brown and its academia and what sets it apart from other schools. One thing that really stood out to me was their "Open Curriculum." What that means is that they allow students build their own skeleton and give their students freedom of choice in what classes they want to take. To ensure that students don't stray from a major, which they declare at the end of sophomore year, they have counselors guide the students. But at Brown, you often see students try out very many different classes and oftentimes they will major in two completely different things, like Jordan does, and this is all because of their "Open Curriculum," which encourages students to try new things; this has peaked my interest. Students can even create their own major! Other things that interested me were their clubs, especially their acapella clubs and their study abroad program, which includes 160 different programs.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A statue made of metal, but made to look like it's made of tin foil, in one of Brown University's many green areas.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our tour, we met up with the Brown group who are taking the Women and Leadership course. Two of the girls came and took us to their cafeteria, where we met the rest of the group. The food was okay, I thought their hamburger patties were really dry, but their chicken was juicy and seasoned very well. Eric and I sat with two of the girls and talked about the horrible heat wave last week, what their course was about, and how people in their area had no idea what a male feminist is or what a misogynist is. I was really shocked. The girls also said that there was a protest against the LGBT community in Providence also. Up to today I have now had several instances of culture shock. In the Bay Area, as most can imagine, there are many who support the feminist movement and the LGBT community, though there will always be those who are against one or the other or both.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kim Koo library at Brown University and its collection of political books.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kim Koo himself, as a bust.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our little meet and greet we took a group photo outside the Brown cafeteria. After the photo, Ms. Tiffani drove the five us back to our hotel and then showed us a shorter way to the mall. We passed through the Providence Omni Hotel on our way. The mall was really big and there were more people than I expected. I thought that an empty city would have an empty mall, but it was quite the contrary. When we got to the top of the mall, the four of us, Eric, Liam, Ms. Tracey, and myself, had some ice cream. I guess Josh didn't want any. I got a vanilla cone and it was delicious. The vanilla was sweet and the cream was rich. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After some walking the group returned to our hotel where we gathered our bags and took a taxi to the train station. We were about an hour and a half early for our train so we sat down and waited. At around the 4:00 PM, we went to board the train. The train stopped twice, the first time I thought we were at New Haven. I looked out the window and thought, "My God! New Haven is hideous!" What I saw was a city with a few large building with broken windows in front of a marsh. I thought we were about to get off, but the doors never opened. Apparently the train was only waiting for another train to pass us. The train ride was about 2 hours and we got to the Omni in New Haven at about 6:00 PM. After seeing part of the city I said to myself, "Well, this is better than the first New Haven that I saw." This time, Josh and I decided to room together.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brown II group with the Yale group</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The room that Josh and I are staying in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful lobby of the Omni Hotel in New Haven.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After we unloaded our luggage the five of us went down to the lobby to decide what we would have for dinner. Tonight we decided on French cuisine. We went to a restaurant called the Union League Cafe. Inside looked really expensive and the people inside made me feel under-dressed On the front it said the dress code was casual, but everyone who ate inside was dressed in suits and dresses, while I was in a hooded T-shirt and shorts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We walked in and Eric and I decided to practice our French a bit. He and I ordered our meals in French. I ordered the appetizers, we decided on the octopus and froie gras. Eric ordered the mushrooms and gnocchi, I had the lamb with croquettes, Liam had the lamb, Tracey had the striped bass, and Josh had the steak. The meal was delicious. Everyone loved the octopus, it was very soft and had a nice sauce with it. I liked the froie gras a lot too, it wasn't as pretty as the octopus, but it tasted very nice. The lamb was very well seasoned and it was tender. The presentation was gorgeous as well. I have never had a lamb that was this good. For dessert, I had a white cheese mousse with a berry filling. Josh and Eric had the hot and cold espresso mousse and Liam had the Decadence. I tasted my dessert and couldn't believe it! I have never had a dessert like this at all! It was a bit salty and and very sweet, the berry filling was the right amount of sweet and sour, and the dessert itself was very fluffy and light. After dinner we walked back to our hotel. I don't know if people have noticed, but we tend to get lost very often. Today was no different. On our way back to the hotel we walked a bit too far and passed our turn. Thankfully, right before we got to the bad side of town, Tracey said that she was unfamiliar with this place and said that our turn should have been two blocks ago. We turned around and headed back to our hotel.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The froie gras.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The octopus</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lamb called, Carre D'Agneau Roti, along with the corn croquettes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dessert,the Schuss Cerise-Pistache.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomorrow we will visit NYU and tour New York City. I have always wanted to see New York City. I can't wait!</span></div>
Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-90589180215634574792013-08-01T20:18:00.003-07:002013-08-25T14:54:08.047-07:00What Can Brown Do For You?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After yesterday’s
fun-filled, but not admissions-based, Harvard tour; I had no real expectations
for Brown. However, I did expect the Brown community to be less snobby than the good
folks over at Hahvahd Yahd. The Brown II chaperone, Ms. Tiffany Neal, met up
with us at the hotel to kindly drive us to the campus. We grabbed breakfast at
The Blue Room, a small Brown dining establishment in the same building as the
information center, and headed to the tour, Odwalla smoothie and flaky
chocolate croissant in hand.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F4ZMXm1MpZg/Ufsf_kDuLlI/AAAAAAAAALw/ILE_-H5LlvE/s1600/20130801_01Jordan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F4ZMXm1MpZg/Ufsf_kDuLlI/AAAAAAAAALw/ILE_-H5LlvE/s640/20130801_01Jordan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan kickoffs our tour!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Our particular tour was
led by a peppy, enthusiastic rising junior at Brown University named Jordan; a
sociology major with a pre-med track, involved in activities such as theater
and soccer. We set out to walk through Brown and learn about the school. The
Brown campus is a gorgeous one in the summer. The grass is green and the
greenery is amazingly lush. I felt like the Ivy League Connection had
dropped me in a vat of college viewbooks and brochures. The architecture
and sculptures were picturesque, and the brick buildings look like they had
been made with more care and design in mind than at the illustrious
Harvard. There’s a variety of fun activities and clubs to join, and the
dormitories bond together. As Jordan put it, there’s “a great familial
feeling.” One of the most interesting buildings was the new Creative Arts
Center. Made completely out of glass, the varying departments of art can
look up and down through the transparent walls for inspiration.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aq7tgPzp7HQ/UfsgFfhajFI/AAAAAAAAAL4/286Bbcar_Lk/s1600/20130801_02Browngreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aq7tgPzp7HQ/UfsgFfhajFI/AAAAAAAAAL4/286Bbcar_Lk/s320/20130801_02Browngreen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main Brown green.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our
hour-long tour had concluded, we went inside for our information session. The admissions officer began describing the
defining feature of Brown: the open curriculum.
Unlike the majority of colleges who have specific classes defined for
specific majors, Brown offers the chance to decide what classes you take and
fit them in into the “concentration” you choose. I found it interesting that Brown uses the
same fancy-shmancy lingo as Harvard, yet because of their officers’ warm,
inviting personalities, I didn’t care. Take note, people in power who need to
use their large vocabularies and PR skills to succeed. Over 80% of seniors have studied abroad by
the time they graduate, and Brown has 160 different programs to choose
from. With the open curriculum, the
student can also create his or her own major based on the classes he chooses
and what he/she wants to focus on. This
was definitely appealing to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We got out about
a hour later and headed back to the car to try and find the Brown II crew for a
cohort collision (a term I just coined).
After an exhaustive search (that lasted twenty minutes), we found Julia
and Michelle, who helped us find our way to the dining hall. It was sadly funny
to pay in cash for lunch and watch an annoyed crowd stand in line behind us,
most likely because a bunch of people were holding up the line with their
money, when they could’ve just swiped. I
walked into a busy, crowded space, with multiple lines and people holding trays
of food jaunting in multiple directions.
I ended up getting grilled chicken breast, with chicken Caesar salad,
rice, and a banana (why not) to supplement.
I sat at the ILC table and got to catch up with the Brownies (not quite
sure if that term exists yet, but it does now), who had gone to Yale on their
college tour and were about to finish up Women and Leadership by the end of the
week. It was great to see some more
familiar faces (go Gauchos) and say “hey” to new ones as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DbfTr0Fly0w/UfsgOZDBH9I/AAAAAAAAAME/CD2fKTTRxzw/s1600/20130801_03EricBrown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DbfTr0Fly0w/UfsgOZDBH9I/AAAAAAAAAME/CD2fKTTRxzw/s320/20130801_03EricBrown.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric snapping shots for zee blog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Overall, I
thought Brown was a beautiful campus with an exuberant spirit. It feels like a
small school (a very homey feel) but remains a large university to root for in
terms of athletics and such. The school is diverse with a vast array of
opinions, and seems like a very open marketplace of ideas. The dorm food wasn’t too bad, except for the
dry rice, and I feel like I could both be academically challenged and
supported, while still managing to be able to participate in extracurriculars
and still have a social life. I will
definitely be considering Brown this fall! It’s safe to say that I definitely
love Brown people and their welcoming community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After a group
photo (see below) and goodbyes, the Yalies and I headed to the mall - The three-story mall definitely would’ve kept
us occupied for a while – but we had just enough time for Damian, Eric, and
Liam to pick up some Dairy Queen. After a short search for Ben & Jerry’s
that ended in vain, it was time to leave Providence for the time being and
Amtrak our way into New Haven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sju8VPUazlk/Ufsi2wf6JxI/AAAAAAAAANQ/dcmWkYdUrsM/s1600/20130801_06UnionStation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sju8VPUazlk/Ufsi2wf6JxI/AAAAAAAAANQ/dcmWkYdUrsM/s320/20130801_06UnionStation.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The walk into
Union Station and to our shuttle to the hotel was a study of interesting
contrasts. The station was bright and modern while maintaining that classic
train station feel. However, when we
walked outside, we were thrust back into an environment with people everywhere,
jostling my arm, accidently hitting my suitcase. We climbed aboard a free
shuttle. A series of homeless people
boarded the bus and started asking the other members of my cohort for
money. The homeless man’s fiancé was
pregnant and they needed to look for a house.
Another man climbed aboard and asked for a quarter, only a quarter. Eric mentioned he didn’t have one and the man
repeated over and over, “Don’t worry, it’s okay. Don’t worry…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The mist dripped
through a cloudy, sunless afternoon, with water droplets falling down the
opaque windows. We climbed off the bus
and headed toward the hotel. I turned
around to see the bus: windows clouded, the people staring down, straight
ahead, up; anything but out the window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We checked into
our hotel rooms (I decided to room with Damian this time) and set up our
things. Damian opened up the window to check out our view. At first, we only saw the dirty rooftops and
another ugly building built in the ‘70s.
But as we looked off in the distance, we saw the beautiful spires of
churches and of Yale. It was a moment
stinged with contrast – the beautiful and ugly stuck in our view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AygGiMytAfU/UfsivcjatrI/AAAAAAAAANM/aVe5YZP7Sys/s1600/20130801_08Octopus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AygGiMytAfU/UfsivcjatrI/AAAAAAAAANM/aVe5YZP7Sys/s200/20130801_08Octopus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grilled Spanish octopus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HCNJOm837Fs/UfsiulxAQTI/AAAAAAAAANE/cJfES1StSVU/s1600/20130801_09Duck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HCNJOm837Fs/UfsiulxAQTI/AAAAAAAAANE/cJfES1StSVU/s200/20130801_09Duck.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">duck leg confit & crispy potato galette</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I Yelped out New
Haven on the train ride there, so after being presented with options ranging
from Ethiopian to Mexican, our cohort decided on Union League Café, a French
restaurant. The food wasn’t the only thing
that was high quality. Our waiter actually hailed from France, so Eric, Damian,
and Liam attempted their French throughout the evening. My French vocabulary
consists of “Ouí,” “Mercí beaucoup,” “Bonjour, mon amie,” and the names of
cities and food. It was interesting that we were treated slightly differently
because of our more casual attire and the fact that we were a) “kids” and b)
people that looked more “lower-class” than the others dining in the
restaurant. It wasn’t anything by our
waiter, but more the general attitude of the place in general. Don’t worry, I really enjoyed my experience
there, but that fact will come up again shortly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gBIZDPRDHBs/UfsjA9usd2I/AAAAAAAAANk/3jrX45E1HVI/s1600/20130801_10Beef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gBIZDPRDHBs/UfsjA9usd2I/AAAAAAAAANk/3jrX45E1HVI/s320/20130801_10Beef.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh's main course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We started off
with poulpe grillé (Grilled Spanish octopus, chickpeas, baby arugula, & Romesco
sauce) and confit de canard (Boneless duck leg confit, crispy potato galette,
Granny Smith apple and walnuts, watercress salad), with onion puffs and
baguettes provided. The octopus reminded
me of scallops in terms of texture, and the flavor was definitely embedded
well. I wasn’t a fan of the confit as I
didn’t feel the duck and galette went well together. For my main course, I had
the filet de bouef cressoniè (Pan seared 8 oz tenderloin of beef, watercress soubise, fork
mashed potato macaire, whole grain mustard sauce). The beef was incredibly
tender and almost melted in this eater’s mouth. The watercress soaked in the
beef juices and were extremely soft, as were the macaire. We closed out with chocolate espresso mousse
for dessert. Truly a satisfactory meal,
although I’m not sure if it beat yesterday’s lobstah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
Yalies and I walked out, satisfied with our meal, only to return to the
underbelly of the New Haven “ghetto.” A
homeless man, standing in the dark, cried out “Help, help!” We kept on, not stopping until we had made it
back to our safe, comfortable hotel rooms. I don’t know how to solve the
enormous poverty problem that millions of Americans face everyday. I don’t know how to solve homelessness and
suffering. I do know that simply ignoring the problem won’t go away. Yesterday,
I dove a little bit into the world of race relations, and today saw me
experiencing the world of class relations.
These are complicated issues that we face. It’s important to remember when we think
about these things to treat people as <i>people</i>
and not demographics. The poor aren’t
necessarily poor because they earned it, and neither are the rich. The way classes treat each other sometimes
ravages what it means to be a human.
Good leaders stand strong and fix the problems of our society by
standing class-blind. As the acceptance officers at Brown said, everything in a
student’s application is taken with a grain of salt so they can try to
understand the student in a more contextual and conceptual manner. They want to
see, as they put it, “who you are and who you could be.” If we only took that
much time to understand others.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Follow us on our college tour throughout this week! Send me feedback by commenting below and emailing <a href="mailto:jandakocompany@yahoo.com">jandakocompany@yahoo.com</a>. And for a more intimate look at my Yale experience, follow me on Instagram </span><a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #0000e8;">@joshthebosh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to see a more visual Ivy League Connection.</span></div>
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="710" scrolling="no" src="//instagram.com/p/cele3XxBzG/embed/" width="612"></iframe>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-61322409894187154682013-08-01T19:54:00.000-07:002013-08-11T17:43:39.413-07:00The Final Leg<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well that was it. Our last day in Providence just finished.
Now we are at the Omni in New Haven enjoying the luxury while we can. After
tomorrow we check in to our dorms at Yale and the work begins.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKE_sfUoeaM/UfsbkyiZceI/AAAAAAAABqc/5ocIEzv6FS8/s1600/20130801_094604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKE_sfUoeaM/UfsbkyiZceI/AAAAAAAABqc/5ocIEzv6FS8/s320/20130801_094604.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Interesting Sculpture At Brown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Last night the jet lag hit me and I did not fall asleep
until pretty late. Luckily we got to sleep in until eight. That is pretty late
considering how things have been the last couple of mornings. We then met up with
the chaperone from Brown, Ms. Neal, who had been staying at the same hotel as us this
whole time (we just had no clue until this morning). She is renting a car, so
she gave us a ride to Brown. I am glad she did that because the walk was a lot
longer than we thought it was earlier. At Brown we grabbed breakfast at a
campus café and got to the tour just in time. The campus tour at Brown was
excellent. Our tour guide, Jordan, had all the enthusiasm and humor that the
Yale guide had, but she also have us all the information that a potential
applicant would want. She was a sociology concentration (Brown’s fancy word for
major) on the premed track. I wanted to talk to her more about what that meant
and what it was like, but after the tour ended we had to go immediately to the
information session. Luckily, a lot of my questions were answered there.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Brown was the first, and is now one of the only top tier
colleges to have an open curriculum. This means that there are no required
general education courses; the only required classes are those that are necessary
to your concentration. Students chose their concentration at the end of
sophomore year and can have a dual concentration if they fulfill the course
requirements. I do not really think that the open curriculum would be that big
of a deal to me, since I mostly like general education and my impression is
that there are opportunities at most colleges to take classes that do not fit
in to your major but that interest you anyway. What was significant to me was
Brown’s way of handling pregraduate programs, like prelaw and premed. They do
not offer concentrations in those areas, but instead have special advisors to
help students who want to follow that path to make sure that they take the
correct courses. I like that because it would mean that I could major in
something unrelated to medicine (for example) but still keep my options open if
I did decide to follow that path. The other program that Brown offered which
really intrigued me was their eight year medical program. When applying to
Brown you check a box and fill out an additional supplement which is evaluated
by doctors at Brown’s medical school. If accepted than over the course of the
next eight years you spend four at Brown taking normal classes along with some
at the medical school. Then, for the next four years, you study at Brown’s
medical school. The advantage is that you are exempt from MCATs and are
automatically accepted. If I decide for sure that I want to go in to medicine
then I will definitely apply for that program.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kc_OtVbokiA/Ufsbk01GIaI/AAAAAAAABqc/Hx2d3UNUVK8/s1600/20130801_094940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kc_OtVbokiA/Ufsbk01GIaI/AAAAAAAABqc/Hx2d3UNUVK8/s320/20130801_094940.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arts Building at Brown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
All in all I really liked Brown. The campus was beautiful,
and somehow felt both compact and spacious at the same time. Providence is a
large city that does not have the feel of large cities that I normally dislike.
It is also a college town that has many interesting things for college students
to do and good employment and internship opportunities. It also is focused on
supporting its undergraduate community and students have opportunities to do
research with professors as early as freshman year. I am definitely applying to
Brown, and if I get in it will be one of my top choices of schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After the information session we went to meet with the Brown
cohort to have lunch. It was there that I realized how spoiled I was last year
with Cornell’s college food. We ate at one of the dining halls which was a
buffet. The food was fine, but not as tasty and with FAR fewer choices than at
Cornell. In the grand scheme of things however, I heard that Cornell has some
of the top college dining in the country, and Brown, while not as good, is
still excellent compared to some of the other options out there. I really
enjoyed having lunch with them and spending time with them while getting to
hear about their impressions of Brown. After lunch and a group photo they had
to leave, so we headed back to the hotel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We went to the mall in Providence to pass time until our
train arrived. Aside from being biggest mall I have ever been in it was not
that interesting. We did get some ice cream though! Soon enough however it was
time to go to the train station, so we headed back to the hotel to get our
things then took a cab to the station.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXQIEgY--_s/Ufsbk7JKbWI/AAAAAAAABqc/iW42qPOU5ks/s1600/20130801_123328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXQIEgY--_s/Ufsbk7JKbWI/AAAAAAAABqc/iW42qPOU5ks/s640/20130801_123328.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group Photo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I learned my lesson well last time I did the ILC and got
almost my entire blog (except for the stuff that had not happened yet) done
about halfway through the two hour train ride. I then spent the rest of the
time on the train observing the countryside and drawing while listening to and
rating the new music I got from my girlfriend before leaving. The country is
beautiful and green (as I said previously) in the summer, and I tried to
imagine it in the other seasons, and I could see it being just as beautiful to
look at, although almost definitely not as nice to be in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rD1SpN4RrA/Ufsbk14m5pI/AAAAAAAABqc/N3yZBcNVVJA/s1600/20130801_191058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rD1SpN4RrA/Ufsbk14m5pI/AAAAAAAABqc/N3yZBcNVVJA/s320/20130801_191058.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Cool Design We Saw In New Haven</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After arriving in New Haven we took a shuttle to the Omni
Hotel, where we will be staying until we start our Yale course. The hotel is
very nice, but a little older feeling than the Hotel Providence. For dinner we
went to a local French restaurant. I really enjoyed the food, and got to try
things that I would never normally be able to eat. We had octopus and foie gras
(which I believe is illegal in California) for an appetizer. I then had a
gnocchi and artichoke dish for my entrée, which was something I would not
normally order but it was excellent and I am glad I did. I finished with a chocolate
mousse dish for desert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
These last couple days have been fantastic, but went by so
quickly. Now we only have one more, and we are going out with a bang… in New
York City. I personally am not a big city person, but I am sure I will have fun
with the group many of whom have never been to the Big Apple before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
P.S. The “camera” in our room was actually a heat sensor. I
do not know why they would need a heat sensor in the room except maybe to
adjust the air conditioning. One question being answered leads to more
questions; such is the way of the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
Eric Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919179697812466318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-71044644690002462452013-08-01T19:30:00.004-07:002013-08-11T18:04:00.544-07:00Women and Leadership at Brown<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know what you’re thinking:
why did he title this blog after one of the Ivy League Connection programs?
Well, the reason is because today my cohorts and I got the chance to tour Brown
University and eat with the Brown group at the end. But before I jump to that,
let me start at the beginning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Josh and I got up later than
usual, about seven o’clock in the morning. We got ready and by eight forty we
were downstairs. We left our bags behind the counter and Ms. Tiffany, who is the
Brown cohort chaperone, was kind enough to offer us a ride to Brown and told us
that later we would have lunch with the Brown group. When we first arrived on
the Brown campus I loved it. The buildings were pretty, the campus was nice and
big, and the best part was that it is right in the heart of a metropolitan area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It took us a while, but eventually we found the tour meeting place and
picked up some grub. Ms. Tiffany then decided to join us on the Brown tour and
presentation and we were glad to have her. I half expected the tour to be like
that at Harvard, but man was I wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The walking portion was
considerably shorter than the Harvard tour, by about half an hour, but was
packed with so much more information than the Harvard tour. Don’t get me wrong,
I enjoyed the Harvard tour. It’s just that the Brown tour focused less on the
history and famous alumni and more on the housing, majors, and classes. Our
tour guide was great. She told us why Brown was such a good school, including
freedom of majors, or as they call them concentrations, how good the
cafeteria’s food is, and finally that the atmosphere is very friendly and
student oriented. She showed us a couple of the science buildings, the dean’s
office, and finally where the old Brown woman’s college was. The way she
described Brown made it all the more interesting. This was definitely a better
tour than the Harvard one.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BhdOFTtCncA/UfsWhnT7gaI/AAAAAAAAAKs/T7DIeDVPmU4/s1600/LG.1.1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BhdOFTtCncA/UfsWhnT7gaI/AAAAAAAAAKs/T7DIeDVPmU4/s1600/LG.1.1.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">A shot of the Brown campus</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SvKsosO8HZI/UfsWsicfCHI/AAAAAAAAALA/vQDJUBeqs9E/s1600/LG.1.2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SvKsosO8HZI/UfsWsicfCHI/AAAAAAAAALA/vQDJUBeqs9E/s1600/LG.1.2.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">In the back is the tallest building in the Providence. It is the Brown Science Library.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then we proceeded to one of
the largest auditoriums on the campus inside the dancing and performing arts
building.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eToiut4Ran0/UfsWzSwDsyI/AAAAAAAAALI/C8aQGTN4010/s1600/LG.1.3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eToiut4Ran0/UfsWzSwDsyI/AAAAAAAAALI/C8aQGTN4010/s1600/LG.1.3.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">The performing arts building.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was a nice auditorium,
able to hold at least four hundred people. My friends and I sat in the front
row and got to talk to one of the speakers before the show. He shared that he
was from the San Diego, California and that he was a rising sophomore. He spoke
quickly yet eloquently and knows exactly what to say to get his point across.
He told us that he applied to Brown on a whim, thinking that it would be great
to attend and really hoping he would get in. He had been a few times on
university tours when he was younger and his cousin had gone and told him how
great it was, but he never considered seriously applying. As he got older,
however, he became more and more determined to apply and get in. He eventually
did, and told us the wonder that he felt and the adventure he was on when he came
to the East Coast. He was going to tell us a bit about the admissions process
when the presentation began. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The main man who was our orator for the morning
was Mr. Degulio. He told us all about the admissions process, how they count AP
test scores, what the ACT and SAT with two subject tests really means to them.
He also went into depth about the flexible concentrations we could have and that
there were no basic prerequisites that all students had to complete. He also talked about that when you pick a concentration, you get an adviser who is almost like a mentor in some respects. Your adviser discusses
with you what university classes you should take and lends an ear if you are
having any problems in your classes. He also told us that our advisers would be
experts in the field we are studying, so they would know what we are going
through. Then Degulio passed the mike over to the man we were talking to before
the presentation began. His name is Manuel. He told us that the first year on
campus can be kind of rough, especially if you don’t know anyone. But he told
us not to worry because making friends comes naturally if we just be ourselves.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They then went on to talk about
how when you take a class, you choose whether it is pass/fail or if you will
receive a letter grade. It’s a nice system because let’s say that you are a
math major and you want to look into how you like computer programming. You can
sign up for the class in a pass/fail way so that you don’t have to worry about
getting an A in the class and focus instead on the material and maybe
understand it better. Manuel then told us that when you sign up for classes,
there is a “shopping around” period where you go into and out of classes to see
whether you like them or not. You may find that a class you signed up for is
not for you, but another one that you walked into is something you would like
to study further. Manuel usually picks six classes to look into, and then picks
four and sticks with them for the rest of the semester. Some of his friends,
however, pick twenty classes, try to keep up with each of them, feel hyper
stressed out, and then pick their four favorites and continue. He says that he
doesn’t know how they do it, but they must need a lot of coffee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next they went
over talking to the officials at Brown. There are certain hours during the day
that you don’t have to make an appointment to see an official of the college or
even the dean. This freedom allows students with problems and not enough time
to make an appointment the opportunity to talk to the highest authority on
campus. Degulio then took the mike and lastly told us about the housing
situation at Brown. It was nothing new, just dorms and Greek life, along with a
majority of the senior students living off campus. But all in all, I’m sold. By
the time Degulio and Manuel finished talking, I was juiced and can’t wait to
apply. I just hope that I’m good enough to get in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At eleven, when the presentation
was over, we headed on out towards the Brown cohorts class area. We pull up and
walk into this modern building that is just beautiful. The steps to the top
floor were long and winding, but I loved them. The offices were laid out to be
very open and on any give floor, the only way to get from one side to the other
was by these neat bridges that skewed left or right. It was an inspired design.
The building also let a lot of natural light in, so that brought the outside
world inside, if you know what I mean.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRBxn6Vc6ho/UfsW50Ig57I/AAAAAAAAALQ/vi5bgl3sUDc/s1600/LG.1.4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRBxn6Vc6ho/UfsW50Ig57I/AAAAAAAAALQ/vi5bgl3sUDc/s1600/LG.1.4.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">A shot from inside the building of the street.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We stayed on the building
third floor for a while and found this great library in honor of Kim Koo. Then
we were called down stairs to meet up with two of the young ladies from the
Brown group.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8VqE6gEnljQ/UfsXAqiWHyI/AAAAAAAAALY/Kim_KwTIO1w/s1600/LG.1.5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8VqE6gEnljQ/UfsXAqiWHyI/AAAAAAAAALY/Kim_KwTIO1w/s1600/LG.1.5.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They were Michelle and Julia. After exchanging
pleasantries, we headed over to one of the eating halls where the rest of the
Brown group was. I talked with both Michelle and Julia about the program, the
teachers, the seminars, how they liked, what they didn’t enjoy, and more. The Women & Leadership program really sounds very interesting, and from what they
told me it sounds like it was more about finding yourself so that you can do
your best and be confident with yourself and who you are. It sounds very
empowering. Then we got to the lunch. I had a burger and veggie sandwich with a
side of rice, nothing special enough to take a picture of though. I then talked
with a few more of the women in the program and they told us that it was very
interesting and quite different than anything they had taken before. We ate lunch for about and hour and afterwards we proceeded to go outside to take a group photo. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Afterwards we had a pretty
lazy afternoon. Ms. Tiffany took us back to our hotel and then showed us where
the mall is. Afterwards we went our separate ways. It was nice to have her with
us for the day. She is a no-nonsense woman who is fun to be around. In the mall
we got some ice cream, looked through a few stores, and then got a warning from
Eric not to enter this store called Spencer’s because of the weird stuff they
have in there. I’ll take his word.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We then proceeded to the
train stations with our bags, caught the train, and arrived in New Haven,
Connecticut. The ride was a couple of hours long and were we happy when we
entered the Omni.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qplx4PmWWKU/UfsXQtUn0DI/AAAAAAAAALw/6r279eILVYo/s1600/LG.1.8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qplx4PmWWKU/UfsXQtUn0DI/AAAAAAAAALw/6r279eILVYo/s1600/LG.1.8.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">A shot of the countryside as it passes us by</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Then we wrapped up the
night by going to a restaurant that serves delicious lamb shanks and serves a
pretty good filet. I am a fan of lamb, and I must say that this is in my top
three favorite lamb dinners ever. The meat itself was nice and tender, as if it
melted in your mouth after the first bite. The spices that they used along
with the medium rare meat was just fantastic.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then came desert. The waiter recommended something called decadence, which was a chocolate mousse with a
chocolate cake cover on top of a chocolate brownie within a small lake of dark chocolate
sauce. The first few bites were very good, but about half way through I experienced
chocolate overload. Never had I had so much concentrated chocolate in such
short time. I finished it, but man do I regret it.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh67CUW8Ftg/UfsWpDBMtOI/AAAAAAAAAK4/1OwcAtqiDyY/s1600/LG.1.10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh67CUW8Ftg/UfsWpDBMtOI/AAAAAAAAAK4/1OwcAtqiDyY/s1600/LG.1.10.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yet another great day here on
the East Coast. I’m starting to like this place a lot and would love to study
here. Tomorrow we will go to New York University, get a tour and then see
New York City. I can’t wait! Goodnight.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-46446250556962378282013-07-31T20:16:00.003-07:002013-08-25T14:54:37.577-07:00Hahvahd Yahd<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There's nothing quite like following a four hour sleep night with a five hour one (Here's hoping I can go for six tonight - I need as much as I can get before Yale). Thankfully, we started off our morning (6:30 AM, mind you) with a Starbucks run. I started off my slightly disgruntled, happy morning with a vanilla mocha and some very berry Starbucks coffee cake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After getting lost thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we eventually found our way to Amtrak (also thanks to the eventual wonders of Silicon Valley). As we walked through the streets of Providence, we noticed a surprising lack of the homeless compared to home, let alone people. Morning me is a lot more grumpy and snarky than afternoon me, so I continued to pound my Rhode Island population of five joke. We climbed aboard Amtrak and found about fifteen people on our train - the conductor told us that we made rush hour. And the Rhode Island population jokes just keep on writing themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately for the East Coast, we soon arrived in Cambridge, MA; a city with too many people to tease its size. The vast amount of people on the subway was ridiculous<i> </i>(<i>Toto, we ahtn't in Rhode Island anymah</i>)! We signed up for the Hahvahd tour and we were on our way.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vWZcc50cx9Q/UfnQPSrZKdI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/EzpuEYENKG0/s1600/20130731_06Largermemorialhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vWZcc50cx9Q/UfnQPSrZKdI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/EzpuEYENKG0/s400/20130731_06Largermemorialhouse.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">[Charming] bombs away!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our tour guide, Taylor, was a rising sophomore at Harvard who had grown up in Cambridge. Needless to say, she was pretty familiar with the place. We started off in Harvard Yard (or as the Bostonians and I like to say, Hahvahd Yahd) and went throughout most of the main campus, learning about Harvard's rich history. It's the oldest Ivy League university, founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and has many different historic buildings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Taylor mentioned that all of the buildings were modeled after the current popular style, so the architecture itself stands as a visual history of the university. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The tour was filled with stories, such as the burning of Harvard Hall, the Memorial House exclusion, the lies about John Harvard, and the reason why no films are shot at Harvard (which is technically not true, <i>The Social Network </i>filmed one of the opening scenes illegally onsite). Taylor made a number of beautifully cringe-worthy puns throughout the tour as she told these stories; they added elements of awkward humor throughout the tour with wonderfully maladroit silences. From a slightly better but still terrible fellow pun connoisseur, I asked the rest of the tour participants in my head this question: <i>Why so serious?</i> We ended close to <i>The Lampoon </i>office, the second-oldest student-run newspaper in the country, a publication that has had many authors that would later become established writers on many popular TV shows. The most famous is Conan O'Brien, who's a legend at Harvard for pulling off the theft of <i>The Crimson</i>'s (another student-run Harvard paper) president's chair and getting the Cambridge police officers to arrest the Harvard police officers who were trying to arrest him! With similar, but not nearly as much, craziness, we engaged in a famous Hahvahd tradition - the primal scream. Every winter, students run around stark naked in the snow and scream. Luckily for the ILC's dignity, all of us on the tour did our primal scream with clothes on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We commented over lunch that none of us had gotten the experience we had hoped. All of us had assumed that we were to get an academics/admissions tour, but the tour we had gotten was definitely a lot more touristy. While I enjoyed the history, I would've enjoyed a different focus on the tour. Harvard really didn't appeal to me, and it never did. I couldn't see myself on that campus for four years. My negative stereotypes of the "Harvard snob" were also further reinforced when it was mentioned that Harvard has "special terms" that they use to describe certain things. Majors are "concentrations" and graduations are "commencement exercises." While I'm not interested in the university, I understand its prestige and its rich history, shown everywhere through its people and its buildings (lots and lots of brick).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We also had somewhat of a debate as we enjoyed our bi bim bap. Liam had mentioned meeting a rising sophomore at Harvard in the store who planned to go into the Marines after graduating. The discussion soon turned into a debate, as we discussed value, belief, service, and career. The thought-provoking disputation certainly added more flavor to the cooking Korean ribeye and galbi.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pX5_75D1gCc/UfnQ4SMGXUI/AAAAAAAAAKM/TH_tTnrJvgk/s1600/20130731_07FrontLongfellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pX5_75D1gCc/UfnQ4SMGXUI/AAAAAAAAAKM/TH_tTnrJvgk/s1600/20130731_07FrontLongfellow.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our Korean BBQ, we headed over to the Longfellow House/Washington's Headquarters, which was a short ten minute walk from Harvard Square (Hahvahd Squair). The house was full of history and we had a fabulous tour guide, a literature enthusiast of the transcendentalist age. Gen. George Washington (yeah, that Washington) lived in the house for nine months and ran the Continental Army there, encompassing in the end of the Siege of Boston. A General Peleg Wadsworth would serve him in the house. His grandson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, would later happen to move into the house in 1837, when the current owner, Elizabeth Craigie, was in debt and needed a new source of income. After Craigie passed on, Longfellow's newlywed's father, Nathan Appleton, purchased the house for Fanny and him as a wedding gift. Sadly, a man named Charles Sumner (the man severely beaten by Preston Brooks in the Bleeding Kansas incident) was his best friend. As a staunch pro-abolitionist, Sumner did <u>not</u> get along with his neighbor, a textile magnate who depended on slavery for his business, whose name was...Nathan Appleton. As a result, when Appleton died, five million dollars went to every one of his children, except for Fanny.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ysyT343apE/UfnQ7QFz-UI/AAAAAAAAAKU/4OniGRLDOAU/s1600/20130731_11Longfellowlivingroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ysyT343apE/UfnQ7QFz-UI/AAAAAAAAAKU/4OniGRLDOAU/s640/20130731_11Longfellowlivingroom.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Longfellow living room.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Longfellow told his father at age seventeen that he planned to work in literature. This sounded insane at the time, since America had no formal literary style, and most Americans read books written by European authors. However, as the American literary renaissance kicked off, with works being written such as <i>The Scarlet Letter </i>(Nathaniel Hawthorne), <i>Moby Dick </i>(Herman Melville, the namesake of me and Liam's suite), <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> (Harriet Beecher Stowe), and <i>Walden </i>(Henry David Thoreau), Longfellow "retired" from teaching at Harvard and started writing poetry full time. In the process, he became the most famous American poet of all time. Not bad for the first professional poet - he went from making $1500 (approx. $18,000 when adjusted for inflation) at Harvard teaching four languages to the equivalent of $89,000 writing poetry. Not bad at all. Our tour guide told us that when he died at the age of 75, he was worth nine million dollars. His bust at Westminster Abbey remains the only American to have the honor to be "bust-ed" at the British poets' corner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Longfellow mentioned George Washington only once in his poetry in a poem entitled <i>To A Child</i>, written in 1845. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once, ah, once, within these walls,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One whom memory oft recalls,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Father of his Country, dwelt.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And yonder meadows broad and damp</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The fires of the besieging camp</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Encircled with a burning belt.</span></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xd0h_4shNBk/UfnQ3WXn94I/AAAAAAAAAKY/OK9o1rOYMJ8/s1600/20130731_10Longfellowstudy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xd0h_4shNBk/UfnQ3WXn94I/AAAAAAAAAKY/OK9o1rOYMJ8/s400/20130731_10Longfellowstudy.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Longfellow's study, where he wrote nearly all his poetry</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Longfellow was extremely proud of the fact that he lived in a house that had seen people such as John Adams and John Hancock walk through the door. He was a gentle, kind man who loved reading in all different genres and languages. Our guide mentioned that he isn't studied as much as often as other poets are because of his lack of problems. As a leader, Longfellow is an inspiration in terms of working hard and being successful without losing sight of the things that truly matter. The contrast between both tours - from one focusing on architecture and the other focusing on people - illustrated the divide leaders often have. Some focus on material things in their attempts to make things better, while others take the time to focus on <i>people</i>. I find that incredibly refreshing, even though Longfellow lived two centuries ago.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wL3MpWEXbw/UfnRrqxxOVI/AAAAAAAAAKk/xVm_x53GXhs/s1600/20130731_14Legalwindow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wL3MpWEXbw/UfnRrqxxOVI/AAAAAAAAAKk/xVm_x53GXhs/s200/20130731_14Legalwindow.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thankfully, several locals took the time to focus on us. My aunt's friends, Nancy and Steph, gave us dinner suggestions, while other locals asked about the Ivy League Connection and helped us find our way. I talked with Eric and Liam about why we thought people on the East Coast were so much more friendly and trusting than on our side of the country, helping us out and leaving Coach bags alone on the train for a moment. Was it a particular mindset? Were they just genuinely good people? Were differences because of race or class? These were real, true human conversations. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Hm0nPmyPQo/UfnRrnuEIPI/AAAAAAAAAKs/8z40vpzjchw/s1600/20130731_15Providence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Hm0nPmyPQo/UfnRrnuEIPI/AAAAAAAAAKs/8z40vpzjchw/s400/20130731_15Providence.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We ended our day in Cambridge with dinner at the famous Legal Seafoods. I indulged myself on filet, lobster, baked potato, and rice pilaf; before heading back on the Amtrak to the quiet, slightly busier streets of Providence. The buildings may stand as physical representations of the state, but it's the people (the very small number of people) who have direct representation. That's the beauty of democracy - from an idealistic and optimistic standpoint, democracy allows leaders to use their humanity for the good of humanity. At least it's supposed to - but that's another question-filled conversation for another day.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Follow us on our college
tour throughout this week! Send me feedback by commenting below and
emailing jandakocompany@yahoo.com. And for a more intimate look at my Yale
experience, follow me on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh"><span style="color: #0000e8;">@joshthebosh</span></a> to
see a more visual Ivy League Connection.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-6276785985723629972013-07-31T18:33:00.000-07:002013-08-01T01:34:28.018-07:00A Learning Experience<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hSi2vFUaadk/Ufm1k0AUoAI/AAAAAAAABks/Yfv3NDzN51s/s1600/20130730_180418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hSi2vFUaadk/Ufm1k0AUoAI/AAAAAAAABks/Yfv3NDzN51s/s320/20130730_180418.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sculpture from the hotel lobby that I liked</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today was an early morning. We woke up at 6 AM, but compared to yesterday it felt like a full night's rest. Damian's alarm gently woke me, and as I opened my eyes I saw the room was already brightly lit. It was a beautiful day! After quick showers Damian and I headed down to the lobby to meet the rest of the group. We went to a local Starbucks for breakfast and headed off to the Amtrak station. Unfortunately, we got lost on the way due to a technology malfunction and had to take a later train than earlier planned. That was a minor setback however; we still made it to Harvard with time to spare.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The train ride was very pleasant. We spent the time getting to know each other better, mostly by talking about our favorite songs, movies, and TVs shows. The East Coast countryside (at least the part we saw) was much more green than California, which I personally really like. The East Coast in summer is fantastic, but that is the only way I have seen it. I would like to have a chance to visit in the thick of winter before I commit to four years at a school. As a Californian I have never experienced a whole winter of snow and freezing weather, and I worry about going to college in a place where the winters are extreme.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KH9W7b5c0TM/Ufm1kxXcNTI/AAAAAAAABks/xKf08IVB6oY/s1600/20130731_111519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KH9W7b5c0TM/Ufm1kxXcNTI/AAAAAAAABks/xKf08IVB6oY/s400/20130731_111519.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvard's Science Building. It is supposed to look like an old Polaroid<br />
camera, since the Polaroid family donated the building.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We arrived in Boston and took the Red Line (subway) to Harvard Square. At Harvard we took the Hahvahd Tour. This is the phonetic spelling of how the local Bostonians pronounce Harvard. It was a great tour... for a tourist. As a potential applicant, however, I did not feel like the tour was that helpful. Our tour guide was energetic and funny, and she was very knowledgeable about Harvard's history, but her goal was not to sell Harvard to us as a school. We got very little information about what makes Harvard unique or special as a university (I had to look up if "a university" as opposed to "an university" was correct) and other things that I would want to know before applying, like what clubs the school has and what the surrounding area has to offer for a college students. That being said, I thought the campus was beautiful even though we only saw a small section of it on our tour. Harvard is definitely on my list of schools to apply to; it's reputation speaks for itself. However, on the chance that I do get accepted, I would want to do more research on what makes it special to make sure it is the right school for me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeeMIsQK5Hs/Ufm1k-JWC2I/AAAAAAAABks/UhRQjJv1ygg/s1600/20130731_132541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeeMIsQK5Hs/Ufm1k-JWC2I/AAAAAAAABks/UhRQjJv1ygg/s400/20130731_132541.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Longfellow House</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
After the tour we ate lunch at a local Korean restaurant. I thought the food was good, but I have only had Korean a few times before so I do not have a lot to base that on. We then headed to the Longfellow National Historic Site to take a tour. Our tour guide was a young man named Rob who was extremely knowledgeable about the house and it's inhabitants. He made the tour a really fun and informative experience. The house itself was fascinating; it contained thousands of artifacts and was preserved almost exactly how it was over a hundred years ago. Our guide made the tour about more than the house however. He made it about the people who lived in it. He explained the connections between the houses inhabitants. One being that the grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stayed in the house with George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He also told us a little about the American Literary Renaissance and how Longfellow was America's first professional poet.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Josh, who has become our unofficial culinary navigator, helped us find a restaurant called Legal Sea Foodswhere we could supposedly get some excellent seafood. It did not disappoint. I had the steak and lobster dish along with Josh and Damian. During that meal I learned something very important about myself; I do not like whole lobster. I love lobster meat, but something about seeing the entire animal laid out before me and having to take it's guts out before I ate it really ruined my appetite. Aside from that aspect I really enjoyed the meal, even the lobster. Well the meat, not the presentation.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zx78NQ9aWPY/Ufm2iDtZWrI/AAAAAAAABlA/o9xR-vyWMUU/s1600/20130731_160848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zx78NQ9aWPY/Ufm2iDtZWrI/AAAAAAAABlA/o9xR-vyWMUU/s320/20130731_160848.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little friend</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
After we ate it was time to return to our hotel in Rhode Island. Unfortunately we had an hour of time before our train left, enough to be annoying, but not enough to do anything significant. We used the time efficiently, however, and got a lot done on our blogs. This continued on the train ride home; by the time I was back at the hotel I was almost done which was quite a relief as I am tired and looking forward to a relaxing night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tomorrow morning we take our tour of Brown University, which I am really excited to see. A lot of my friends did the summer program there and I look forward to seeing the place they told me so much about. Then in the afternoon we leave for New Haven and start the final part of our journey.</div>
Eric Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12919179697812466318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-70307054234492709472013-07-31T18:31:00.000-07:002013-08-01T02:04:55.106-07:00Harvard Visit<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had a dream last night. It was interrupted by my alarm
clock, but I remember some of it. I was in Yale, in the middle of a lecture. I
was near the middle of this amphitheater style classroom and the professor was
talking about one of the books we read, I just can’t remember which one now.
The classroom is too hot to take notes but I’m engaged in what the professor is
saying. I then get up in the middle of class and run out because I am just too
warm. Then, the alarm goes off. I wanted to finish that dream, but I needed to
get up. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The alarm went off at 5:00 AM and I got five hours of sleep last night.
One more than the night before, so at least I’m doing better than yesterday. A
quick shower, I comb my hair, brush my teeth and at 5:45 I wake Josh and just
chill on my laptop. I look at a couple of the restaurants in the Cambridge
area, check the weather, and then just look over some of our required reading.
I then remember that I told you all in my blog last night that I will be
visiting Brown University. That was a faux pas on my part because we are in
fact going to visit Harvard University. I apologize and will make sure this
won’t happen again. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After that Josh gets out of the shower, changes, and we are
set to go. He and I decide to bring our back packs just in case we need
anything. I decide to take the “Eric Wilson Experience” by walking down the
stairs while Josh took the elevator. I call it the “Eric Wilson Experience”
because last night Eric ran right up the stairs to get to this room, and I
figure I would like to experience that. The view of the city outside of the stairwell
windows was very nice and I wish that the view from our hotel room was that
nice. Anyway, my friends and I met up in the lobby, and at 6:35 we are gone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We pick up some breakfast, and head over to the Amtrak
station in a bit of a confused state. We go the wrong direction a few times
before this nice woman shows us the way to go to get to the station. When we
arrive, we have missed our train. It’s okay though because that gives my
friends and me some time to catch up on our reading. One thing we could not get
over though was that the train station in Providence was more or less deserted.
We saw no more than thirty five people at that train station, and after Tracey
talked with the ticket salesman, he said that this was the rush hour. Providence really
is a bit of a ghost town. We then boarded our train and got to see more of the
beautiful New England countryside. In less than ten minutes we had left Rhode
Island. What a small state.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then at our second or third stop on our way to Cambridge,
this woman in a seat not too far from ours gets a phone call. She then
proceeds to leave her large Coach brand purse on her seat to get someone from
the platform. Now I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t just leave a very
expensive bag on a train just to save my seat. She is gone for about eight
minutes and just moves her bag like it’s no big deal that she left it. Let me
tell you, if someone left their bag unattended while on BART, which is the
subway station of the San Francisco Bay Area, it would have been taken without
a second thought. I wonder why people feel so secure on these trains.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">My comrades and I talked for most of the way there, and on
the train Tracey was talking to a man who wanted to know where we were from
after we had said “like” a few times in our conversation. After hearing that we
were from around San Francisco, he said that that explained our uncommon slang.
We then got off the train and took a subway ride to Harvard. We were about an
hour early for our tour of the campus, so we just hung around and went walking, saw some
nice architecture, and then hung out at a Starbucks for a while. Then the tour
began.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some pictures of Harvard Square. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iuWEP5U5iY0/Ufm4a8lT4gI/AAAAAAAAAJg/_76-93mdLjc/s1600/LG.31.1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iuWEP5U5iY0/Ufm4a8lT4gI/AAAAAAAAAJg/_76-93mdLjc/s1600/LG.31.1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksHz-Z1-6IE/Ufm4bu5ufwI/AAAAAAAAAJs/ifrprLD_E5o/s1600/LG.31.2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksHz-Z1-6IE/Ufm4bu5ufwI/AAAAAAAAAJs/ifrprLD_E5o/s1600/LG.31.2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We were led by the highly intelligent and beautiful Taylor.
Taylor is a rising sophomore at Harvard and was full of energy during the tour.
She knew quite a bit about Harvard’s history, alumni, and the architecture. She
told us all about Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook's co-founder, Conan O’Brian, Matt
Damon, and President George Washington. She told us how Washington stationed
his troops at Harvard during the Revolutionary War. She talked about how the
original library was made in honor of Mr. Harvard, who donated his entire
library to the university but was burned down late one evening in the late 18<sup>th</sup>
century. Only one book remains from that collection, and the way it survived
was that a student had been reading this book from the library and was so
enthralled with it that he brought it to his dorm, even though it was against
school rules. When the student presented it to the President of the university
as the only book that survived, the book was taken and the student suspended
from classes for taking the book out of the library. This President sounds like
a jerk and I would never want him as a President of our school.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9KBIJ2-Xqg/Ufm4blYSdKI/AAAAAAAAAJw/ESTESbHyKYU/s1600/LG.31.3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9KBIJ2-Xqg/Ufm4blYSdKI/AAAAAAAAAJw/ESTESbHyKYU/s1600/LG.31.3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reconstructed Harvard library.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We even got to see a
statue of Mr. Harvard which is known as the statue of three lies. The first of
the three lies is that on the plaque it says that Mr. Harvard was the founder. He
wasn’t He simply donated his money and library to the university after his
death. The second lie is that the college was founded in 1638. It wasn’t. It
was in fact founded in 1636 and the reason it says 1638 was because that was
when Mr. Harvard died and left his estate to them. The final lie is that the
statue is in the likeness of Mr. Harvard. It isn’t. It is believed to be in the
likeness of one of the Presidents or of a distant relative. Any portraits of
Mr. Harvard were burned down in the fire, so no one knows what he looks like.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yT36ZsFEsPs/Ufm4cSbv-CI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/6nH7oDFz-a0/s1600/LG.31.4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yT36ZsFEsPs/Ufm4cSbv-CI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/6nH7oDFz-a0/s1600/LG.31.4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We then looked at
some of the beautiful architecture, including a freshman eating area where the colors look similar to those of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjcpYXx8aKg/Ufm4dniHVpI/AAAAAAAAAKE/oXl5Qcj6XLQ/s1600/LG.31.5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjcpYXx8aKg/Ufm4dniHVpI/AAAAAAAAAKE/oXl5Qcj6XLQ/s1600/LG.31.5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We wrapped up our
tour by doing what the Harvardians call the Primal Scream, where you start
growling and then build up to an all-out scream. It was quite fun, but then
Taylor told us that if we get accepted to Harvard that we would have to do this
Primal Scream in the nude in the middle of the night in winter. I guess it
could be fun if you keep your eyes closed.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I then spoke with Taylor a little bit about the application
process, what kind of people Harvard is looking for, and some of the majors,
including foreign languages and government. She was quite informative and I
thank her for her time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">My cohort and I then headed out to find some grub. We
found this Korean restaurant which served some excellent barbecue and a mixed
vegetable with rice. Now that I know what Korean food tastes like, I will
definitely want some more in the future.
We then headed over to the Longfellow-Washington house, which George
Washington used as his headquarters during the Revolutionary War and
specifically was critical during the Siege of Boston. Also, Henry-Wadsworth
Longfellow lived here for most of his adult life. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ef9949QaghM/Ufm4d6qU2uI/AAAAAAAAAKI/Or0h5YJM6t4/s1600/LG.31.6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ef9949QaghM/Ufm4d6qU2uI/AAAAAAAAAKI/Or0h5YJM6t4/s1600/LG.31.6.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Longfellow house.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We got there at about one thirty, but the next tour didn’t
start until two o’clock. Our tour guide, Rob, is a smart, quirky guy who has a
knack for storytelling. The entire tour of the interior of the
Longfellow-Washington house was only fifty minutes, but it felt much longer
because of all the information he packed in. I don’t mean to say that it
dragged on and on in one long, hypnotic, and monotone sentence; just the
opposite. His energy was through the roof, and that’s what really kept me
interested. As we went from room to room and he told us the stories of mostly
Longfellow and how he lived, what he did, when he wrote, and so much background
on a world famous poet I knew nothing about. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before I tell you about Longfellow
though, I would like to touch briefly on Washington’s effect on the history of
the house. As I said before, the house was Washington’s headquarters during the
Siege of Boston, which isn’t that far from Cambridge where the house is
located. The Siege was when, early in the war, the Americans decided to set up
a land blockade around Boston, which was under English control. Washington
would spend nine months planning on how to win Boston from the English. In a
bold move, he sent Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow’s great grandfather, who was
under Washington’s command, to steal sixty tons of cannons from the English and
position them within striking distance of Boston and the English fleet in
Boston Harbor. Washington then sent a message that told the English to evacuate
the city or have their fleet destroyed in the harbor. The English retreated and
the Americans liberated Boston. But, what the English didn’t know at the time
was that when Washington positioned the cannons to fire, he knew that he didn’t
have enough ammunition to fire to sink the ships in the harbor and would
probably lose. It was a bluff that paid off so much.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tRgGFNFZe5k/Ufm4esevZlI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/EeI-ygx3iuI/s1600/LG.31.7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tRgGFNFZe5k/Ufm4esevZlI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/EeI-ygx3iuI/s1600/LG.31.7.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bust of George Washington.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, Rob went into depth about Longfellow’s life. The life
this man led was amazing. From the time he was a young man he knew that he
would make a great literary impression on the world. One example of his
greatness was that when he was young, he taught four different languages at
Harvard University. He was also trying to write as well and create a truly
American style of literature that would be read all over the world. Yet when he
talked to an Englishman that American literature will flourish, the
Englishman mocked him. He asked, “Where in the four corners of the world do
they read American literature?”
Longfellow would rise to this challenge and become the most well-known
American poet in the world. You may wonder how this is possible. There have
been many poets after him that were just as, if not more, famous. Well, he
became so well known that a bust was created of him in Westminster Abbey,
England. The place where the literary greats are extolled for their great feats
had up to that point only had famous English authors, poets, and playwrights.
Longfellow broke that tradition.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PcGHDzPsTnQ/Ufm4jhK-UoI/AAAAAAAAAKg/yoRIi9lpj3s/s1600/LG.31.8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PcGHDzPsTnQ/Ufm4jhK-UoI/AAAAAAAAAKg/yoRIi9lpj3s/s1600/LG.31.8.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of his family room.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rob then told us more stories of how he quit his job in 1854
and at first sold his poetry for five, ten, and very rarely fifteen dollars, in
today’s money, just barely putting bread on the table. But as he got older and
more well known, his craft more refined and perfected, his poems began to be
sold for much, much more. He became so famous that he one day sold a poem for
the equivalent of fifty eight thousand dollars. By the time he died he had the
net worth of over five million dollars in funds and house property. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Longfellow was also so famous that in his later years that
he was inundated with the fan mail he received. But he replied to every single
letter. This man, whose father told him to get a real job when Longfellow told
him he wanted to be a writer, was now the equivalent of a rock star with all
the mail he received. In his later years, though, his health betrayed him and
he was no longer able to send letters. Instead, he sent a form letter
apologizing that he could not personally reply because he was in ill health and
let them have a copy of his signature. He was a one of a kind poet. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lord knows that I could go on and on with the information
that Rob gave us on Longfellow. But I know that there may not be a lot of
history buffs reading this, so I’ll stop here. If you would like to know more
about this incredible house, please <a href="http://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm" target="_blank">click here</a>. I would highly recommend
it just to hear Rob speak volumes on the life of Longfellow so eloquently. It
was the highlight of the day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">After that
unforgettable tour, we had an early dinner at this place called Legal Sea
Foods. Each of us got lobster in some form or another, except for Tracey, and
the lobster was so good. I got one claw, which was a bit of a let-down, but I
shouldn’t have expected much in my cioppino. They gave me so many scallops and
mussels, so that made up for it. Oh, and the shrimp were cooked to perfection.
Every bite was flavor packed with this salty, tomato, and shrimp combination
that was to die for. The clams, however, were a bit too salty for my palate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then we headed on over to the train station to catch our
ride from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island. We were about
an hour early, so we all talked and read a little, started this blog, and then
boarded the train. This train wasn’t as nice as the one we got on going to
Cambridge, but it was all right. A bit more reading, and then we came back to
the hotel.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Man, what a day. A tour at one of the most prestigious
universities in the world and finding out what kind of people they want for
Yale has really opened up my eyes. Who knows, maybe I will apply. The best part
of the day was the Longfellow-Washington house. The story was great, the
architecture was outstanding, and the art was breath taking. Bust after
beautiful bust of people like Aristotle, Sophocles, and Washington and painting
of such people like Congressman Sumner and Nathanial Hawthorne. This has been a
great day to be on the East Coast and I have high expectations for tomorrow.
Let’s hope they meet them. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-81907229934063682582013-07-31T17:37:00.004-07:002013-08-01T01:07:40.254-07:00Cambridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My alarm woke Eric and I up at 6:00 AM. After getting ready, we all met at the lobby at 6:30 AM. We left our hotel and found a Starbucks where we had our morning coffee and breakfast. Liam's order took longer than expected and we ended up missing our train. But all was good because the next train came fairly quickly. In the train station, it was practically barren, there were about 15 people including us. According to Tracey, this was considered their busy time. One observation I didn't point out yesterday was the lack of homeless people in Providence. Unlike San Francisco, the city I'm used to, Providence has barely any homeless people. My cohort and chaperone agreed with my observation. We wondered if there ever were any and if so where did they all go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After some waiting, our train came and we hopped on the train. Again, barely anyone was there. As the train got to closer to Boston, Massachusetts, more people hopped on, this was the most people I've seen in an enclosed area in 12 hours. During our train ride, a woman ran downstairs to ask the train to stop so she could get her friend on board. What was so shocking was that during her panic, she decided to leave her Coach bag right there on her bench. I've never seen someone do this before and what was even more shocking was that no one tried to take it. In the Bay Area this is practically unheard of. Instead people might try to snatch the purse right out of your hands. We had absolutely no idea that this area was so morally upright.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After some conversation about our favorite TV shows and what not, we got to our destination. We got off and boarded the subway, taking the Red Line. After a few minutes the train stopped at Harvard, or as the Bostonians would say, "Hahvahd." I was really excited because Harvard is absolutely amazing. It has housed some of the biggest names ever! From Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, to Natalie Portman. Our guide told us all this. Our guide named Taylor, with a T-shirt that said "Hahvahd," took the Yale group and a few others around the Harvard campus. We went to the Harvard Yard and we saw the famous Harvard statue. I went up to the statue and touched it's foot. Rumor has it that if you touch the foot it will bring you good luck. The statue's foot has been touched and rubbed so much that it has turned gold.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x5zLRtrmzUI/UfmRsikyTgI/AAAAAAAAAF4/p3YixDS5Zyg/s640/blogger-image--185296780.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most photographed statues, the statue of John Harvard and his golden toes.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x5zLRtrmzUI/UfmRsikyTgI/AAAAAAAAAF4/p3YixDS5Zyg/s640/blogger-image--185296780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our tour overall was fun, but it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. We were expecting an admissions tour, where we could go inside some of the building, but we never stepped foot in a Harvard building at all. She talked about the famous rivalry between Harvard and Yale, the famous people that went to Harvard, and the rich history of Harvard itself. She talked about how the original library was burnt down, who lived where, the growth of Harvard etc. The three facts I really enjoyed were the three lies that are inscribed on the famous Harvard statue. One of them being that the man on the statue was not sculpted to look like John Harvard. In fact, no one knows what John Harvard looks like because any record of him was burnt down in the library fire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our tour, we stopped for lunch, we walked down the block and ate at Bon Chon. The Korean cuisine was okay. The meat was good, the bibimbap was nice, and the fried rice was delicious, but we didn't want to eat too much because we planned to have some seafood, particularly lobster.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-idMtnv0nFk0/UfmRunXf5yI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/-38wn7F0PsQ/s640/blogger-image-277520945.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The steak that we had at the Korean BBQ, that we actually had to barbecue.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-idMtnv0nFk0/UfmRunXf5yI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/-38wn7F0PsQ/s640/blogger-image-277520945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After lunch, we planned to take a tour of the Longfellow house. This is the house of the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the only American writer who has a bust in Westminster Abbey. This house was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe all the history this house contained. George Washington and his wife stayed in his house during the siege of Boston. Many famous people like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Sumner visited this house. I don't know why, but the power of poetry, be it spoken or written, has always given me goosebumps and it didn't change when the tour guide recited some poetry to the group. I was very calmed and interested in this house. Almost everything in there is from the time the Longfellows stayed. They were about 200 hundred years old. I couldn't believe how beautiful the furniture is and how big the house is. the house had nice busts, paintings, clocks, and books. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bust from the Longfellow house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The study of Henry Longfellow where he wrote standing up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lovely dining room of the Longfellows.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our tour, my cohort and I decided that we wanted seafood. I was excited because Cambridge is right outside if Boston and Boston supposedly has excellent lobster. We decided on a place called Legal Seafood. We had to take the subway there, but we had some problems with the map. A kind lady helped us with the map. Again, another shocker because in the Bay Area people normally wouldn't willingly come to you and help a confused tourist with the BART map without being asked. Another reason this act of kindness shocked me was because I expected people on the East Coast to be a much more cold because that is the reputation that many New Yorkers are rumored to have. This restaurant was not a disappointment. Legal Seafood is said to have the best seafood in Boston and I was delighted. Josh, Eric, and I had the lobster and filet, Liam had the scallion, and Ms. Tracey had the seafood casserole. I was very pleased with my choice. The steak was good, the butter gave it a nice salty flavor and it was cooked how I wanted it, but the thing that blew me away had to be the lobster. It was absolutely delicious. It was fresh, it was soft, and it was whole lobster. I was kind of hesitant because I don't like to crack all the bones or work too hard to get my food into my mouth, but the meat came out without much work. I didn't have to use the shell cracker at all.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lobster and filet at Legal Seafood.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our early dinner, we started walking back to the station to board the Amtrak. After the train ride back home. We planned to wake up at 8:30 AM tomorrow and prepare for our tour for Brown. I can't wait.</span></div>
Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-43150473694232800782013-07-30T20:32:00.002-07:002013-07-30T23:21:42.500-07:00Welcome to Providence, Rhode Island<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>2:00
AM, Pacific Standard Time, my radio clock goes off. It startles me not because it
is an alarm going off, but because of the fact that the radio announcer is
speaking Spanish. I could have sworn that I set it for another station, but I
suppose that it must have gotten stuck there. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I jump out of bed, full of energy
because I know that today is no ordinary day. True, I don’t usually get up at
two o’clock in the morning but that is not what makes today special. Today I
know that I am going to go the East Coast for a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I know that phrase is used a lot, but I cannot think of any other way to describe
the experience that I am going to have in the New England area. I think to
myself, “For the first three days I’ll be touring world renowned universities and
then my cohort and I will actually be studying in a world famous university!” I
rushed to the shower, got ready, and before I knew it, it was two thirty. Got
my hair ready, checked my luggage to make sure I had all that I needed, and
then at three my parents, sister and I left. I said goodbye to my grandmother who
had been working very hard these past three days hemming some shirts that were
a bit too big for me. We drive and my sister and I talk a bit about video games,
her boy band, and how later today her concert will start. I hope she has a good
time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We arrive at three twenty,
the first ones there, besides Don and Tracey. I’m happy that we have some time
to kill. Don checks my bags, I sign a form, and I move my luggage to the
shuttle pickup area to throw it in the back. We shoot the breeze until all the
boys arrive. The bags are weighed, Don gives us a pep talk and a few warnings,
and then we take some pictures. They came out pretty nice, even though I’m sure
each one of us was pretty sleepy. Then the shuttle arrives, and I know that it
is time to depart. I say “See you later” to my mom, dad, and sister. I don’t
like to say goodbye. It implies that I won’t see them again. But I will, and so
I boarded the shuttle. So my adventure begins.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the way to the airport,
though, the driver asks Tracey, “Where are we going.” I don’t know about you,
but I kind of like to know that our driver is taking us where we want to go.
Tracey tells him, and then he is quiet for the rest of the drive. I look out
the window, seeing the West Coast pass me by and ready to embrace the East. The
drive doesn’t feel that long, and we get there at about five. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We join this long line to
check in our bags, with all sorts of characters around us. There was this man
behind us with this wild hair and mopey face, but I just thought it was too
funny. After check in, there is another big line at security. We wait patiently
get through, and at six we head over to our gate. We literally just sit down
when we are called to the line. We board Southwest for Chicago, Illinois and
then we will transfer to a flight for Providence, Rhode Island. We leave at
about six thirty, and man do I love it when a plane takes off. The G-forces you
feel as you are thrust into the sky is just surreal. That we can literally be
across the country in one day is amazing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Indian man that I sat
next to was nice enough, and mostly slept for the flight. We also talked
briefly about my Kindle Fire, but nothing more. He mostly just wanted to keep
to himself and read his four or five newspapers that he had brought. To each
their own I suppose. Then we landed at Midway airport in the windy city. We got
a bite to eat, a drink, and then boarded our next flight. Damian and I sat near
the back next to this Navy veteran who had served from 1958 to the late 1970’s.
He is a wise man, yet very outspoken; he was fun to talk to. His name was Boyd.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Damian and I talked with him
about politics, wars, China, submarines, and Boyd’s family. He told me a lot about
the various 60 Minutes episodes that he watches and where he learns quite a bit
about the world, definitely more than the news. He talked about how his
submarine was sent to spy on the USSR during the Cold War in 1958 after Sputnik
had been launched to keep the US informed. He was also on duty in a submarine
when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He was in a submarine that
could fire ICBM’s with up to five thermonuclear warheads. If they received the
orders, they would attack the USSR and potentially kill hundreds of thousands.
The day after the assassination they were put to battle stations, and Boyd was
ready for World War III, should it come. Thankfully it was just a drill.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He was the engineering chief on
the submarine and was in charge of keeping the nuclear engine running. We then
shifted over to talks about drone warfare, pulling out of Afghanistan, and how
wars aren’t going to be fought the same way as when he was serving. I liked
hearing what he had to say on drone warfare because that is one of my seminar
classes and to hear someone who was in the armed forces talk about it gives me
another pair of eyes to look through. It was fantastic to hear this man’s
stories about Beijing and Hong Kong, how he met many different Chinese women,
and how five US dollars at the time could get you a lot in China. I wish I
could have kept talking to him. But alas, all good things must come to an end.
We landed in Providence, which I was excited about, said “until next time” to
Boyd, and we went our separate ways. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We then grabbed our luggage,
and headed outside. The air was humid, but not as bad as I had imagined. I like
it to be more humid than it was, but my comrades were happy just the way it
was. The air was sweet smelling and reminded me of visiting the Oak Alley
plantation just outside of New Orleans.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-icxUvzYLpew/UfiDq4gls2I/AAAAAAAAAIw/dMgBLt7_f94/s1600/LG.30.01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-icxUvzYLpew/UfiDq4gls2I/AAAAAAAAAIw/dMgBLt7_f94/s1600/LG.30.01.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">A shot of the Providence area. I love all the trees around here.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We got a cab and checked in to the hotel,
killed an hour checking out our rooms, and then went for dinner.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEFQ4HYjWTU/UfiDqCgEYlI/AAAAAAAAAIk/4tz-hpl-lhg/s1600/LG.30.03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEFQ4HYjWTU/UfiDqCgEYlI/AAAAAAAAAIk/4tz-hpl-lhg/s1600/LG.30.03.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Off to dinner!</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We found this place called
CAV, which in Italian means antique and small food, or at least that is what
the first page of the menu said. We talked, ate, and had a good ol’ time. I had
poulet aux poires, which is French for chicken with pears. The chicken was so flavorful,
grilled not to be too dry and it had a hint of rosemary. The pears were soaked
in red wine that gave it a nice pear-wine fusion of taste. Finally, it had sautéed
Asian chive dumplings which are so unique. The exterior was crunchy and covered
in a thin, sweet film that added so well to the chives. It was magnifique as
the French would say.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For desert, I had crème brulee which just
melted in your mouth. It wasn’t too sweet and just had a creamy texture where I
loved every bite. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">But overall, I got to get to
know my fellow travelers a little bit better. We walked home, and Damian had
been saying that the streets in Providence were so empty.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Where is everybody?</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I figured it was because all of the college
students had gone away for the summer, but even at night they were still pretty
lifeless. We got back to hotel at about nine o’clock Eastern Standard Time. I
would like to note that for the remainder of my trip until I return I will be giving
time in Easter Standard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">All in all, not a bad first
day. The planes were loud, but the company was good. The lines were long, but
the wait was worth it. The time it took to get our dinner ready was longer than
we expected, but that allowed us to savor it all the more. Tomorrow, we will go
on a Brown University tour. I can’t wait, but getting up tomorrow will be
tough. With the help of my friends though, I’m sure we’ll push through. Good
night and see you tomorrow.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The town at night.</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116657510175608690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-70971915403917123552013-07-30T20:17:00.000-07:002013-08-25T14:51:52.682-07:00Air<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">There's nothing quite like waking up at 2:45 AM to leave for a nineteen day Ivy League Connection adventure to Yale/the East Coast. I expected to follow up that first sentence with something snarky like, "It's a perfect kind of hell - the wind chill burying your body in a blanket of cold and ice-o-lation." However, I got up relatively easily, well, for sleeping 4 1/2 hours, and grabbed some quick bites of homemade banana bread before leaving the house. I took extra care to check my room one more time - I wouldn't be seeing it for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After we all arrived and filled out our paperwork, we took our departure group photo (so graciously provided by Don to you a couple posts below this one) and headed off. Our airport shuttle driver rolled in at 4:25 - five minutes late - and proceeded to ask us where he was taking us. After Tracey graciously mentioned to him that since he was an <i>airport </i>shuttle driver, he might want to take us to SFO (San Francisco International). We all thought that sounded like a great idea. I said my last goodbyes to my dad (who'd stayed up all night) and Don (short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt and shorts waving in the soft breeze), and we headed off, one of the only vehicles insane enough to be driving in the middle of the night, a low wind dabbing the shuttle and the hum of whatever makes noise at that hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After informing the shuttle driver what airline we needed to be dropped off at ("<i>Geez, how much is the ILC paying for this?" </i>were one of the many thoughts running through my head), we waited in line to drop off our luggage - a half hour line. "Why are so many people here at five in the morning?" I asked everyone. No one had a good enough response. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And so began our aerial odyssey. We had all been told to meet new people and have new experiences on the plane rides there, so I was interested in what interesting and exciting people I would meet. On the first flight to Chicago, I sat next to an Asian man who promptly stashed his carry-on below the seat and closed his eyes. So much for conversation. While he dozed, I indulged myself in on-demand episodes of my favorite TV show, <i>Parks and Recreation</i>, and reviewed through some Yale readings. If you learn nothing else from my bloggings (though I hope you do), please make it a point, if you watch TV, to catch <i>Parks and Rec</i>. It's the comedy version of <i>The West Wing </i>and a brilliant political satire (which makes it sound boring, but it's actually the funniest show on TV). In one episode I watched, the main character, Leslie Knope, sets up a rival girl scout troop to the existing boy scout troop, but chaos ensues when the boys want to join the girl scout troop because it looks like more fun. The commentary on "separate but equal" doctrines and Millennial attitudes actually gave me lots of food for thought for an upcoming lecture on Frederick Douglass and seminar on social capital. So it goes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I ended up having a short conversation with the man after he woke up as the plane headed to the gate. I started talking to him about the Ivy League Connection, but he asked me if I knew an Andrew Goo. He was a big tennis fan, he said, and he wondered if Goo went to my school. I conceded that Goo actually went to the school two blocks away - in the <i>Albany </i>district. The unfortunate turnaround of my ILC pitch to the amazing Albany was sadly humorous, but I went with it. Don't worry, Albany, you have a special place in my heart; you just didn't in that conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We had just enough time to grab a bite to eat and then get in line just in time to board our connecting flight to Providence. I sat next to a tired-looking mom who threw her carry-on under the seat and shut her eyes. I later found out that Damian and Liam had gotten to talk to a Navy veteran who worked in a nuclear submarine and went under the North Pole to spy on the Russians. Of course they sat next to him. For more on this fascinating man, check out their blog posts! </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RVHyyD9xLG8/Ufh-97sV5LI/AAAAAAAAAJM/yUScTlQji28/s1600/20130730_02HotelProventry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RVHyyD9xLG8/Ufh-97sV5LI/AAAAAAAAAJM/yUScTlQji28/s400/20130730_02HotelProventry.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We walked through the beautiful, but small, Providence airport and got our bags (of course, at the end of the carousel), proceeding to the exit. I expected to be blasted with hot East Coast humidity. Luckily for me, we came out to an 82 degree sunny day. The humidity wasn't as bad as I expected, and it would be wonderful if it stayed like that for the next eighteen days. The shuttle from the hotel never showed up (What <i>was </i>up with transportation today?), so we took a taxi to Hotel Providence. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAe5uab4sMw/Ufh-9qy_v1I/AAAAAAAAAJE/BXpliK5kr2k/s1600/20130730_03Liamdooropen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAe5uab4sMw/Ufh-9qy_v1I/AAAAAAAAAJE/BXpliK5kr2k/s400/20130730_03Liamdooropen.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tracey asked us to choose between the 5th floor and the 6th floor room. Liam and I decided on the 5th, and headed up to...the Herman Melville suite! We walked in to a luscious living room, followed by two comfy looking beds and two televisions. I could get used to this. I unpacked and started looking up the Providence dining options that I had gotten earlier in the day. (Muchos gracias to my dad, David Ko, and my aunt, Donna Ko, for taking time out of their day to get those to me!) It turns out that Liam and I were the only ones to get a suite - <i>the odds were ever in our favor</i>, I joked. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After little debate, we decided on, well, we couldn't decide, so Tracey and I used the electronic concierge assistant in the lobby to pick Cav, a short fifteen minute walk away. As we walked there, thanks to Google Maps, we noticed how eerie the streets were. There were hardly any people walking <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iju7hL3F_kM/Ufh_AFImxJI/AAAAAAAAAJg/FDA6Fq3TyCM/s1600/20130730_06HotelProvBed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iju7hL3F_kM/Ufh_AFImxJI/AAAAAAAAAJg/FDA6Fq3TyCM/s400/20130730_06HotelProvBed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"When was the last time you did something<br />
for the first time?"</td></tr>
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around anywhere. I joked that "the population of Rhode Island must be, what, twenty?" We eventually made it to the restaurant and walked in to - one table occupied. "Where is everyone?" I thought to myself. Well, regardless of patronage on a Tuesday night, the food was sublime, especially after eating that soggy mess of a lunch - a "Chicago-style hot dog." Was the soggy element inspired by the Chicago rain? Anyways, we decided to start off this more delectable meal with two appetizers: pistachio crusted crabcake with Sriracha aioli and taro root chip, as well as the butter poached Maine lobster with crispy noodles, shallots and sauteed Shittake mushrooms in a lobster sherry fumet. The crabcake was light and went well with the aioli, while the lobster was poached with great flavor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As we went through the bread and butter while waiting for the main courses, we reflected on the day's travelventures and proceeded to head into random conversation-land (which, if you read yesterday's post, is in the same vicinity as Nowhereland). My entrees were pan seared scallops and shrimp, finished with lobster butter and balsamic reduction, served over lemon zest risotto with julienned snowpeas. I'm an East Coast fan because I'm also a seafood fan, so it was a treat to dig into fresh seafood! The risotto was a little rich for me, but it still went well with the scallops and snowpeas. We closed off the evening with dessert - and I went with the blackberry merlot sorbet. To say it was short and sweet should say enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We walked out of the restaurant, all of us content with our first official meal together. We walked down the alley and through the quiet streets of Providence, ready to blog - and realizing that my joke about the population of Rhode Island being only twenty five might not be too far off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Follow us on our college tour throughout this week! Send me feedback by commenting below and emailing <a href="mailto:jandakocompany@yahoo.com" target="_blank">jandakocompany@yahoo.com</a>. And for a more intimate look at my Yale experience, follow me on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/joshthebosh" target="_blank">@joshthebosh</a> to see a more visual Ivy League Connection.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227969133062306781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196526572567549221.post-31155396837080662422013-07-30T19:56:00.005-07:002013-07-31T17:35:26.882-07:00Capitol Ghost Town<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Finally, after many essays, e-mails, miscommunications, and waiting, I am here on the East Coast for the first time in my life. I never fell asleep the day before we left. If I hadn't stayed up all night, my father would have never gotten up because his alarm clock failed to go off. I woke him up, telling him that it was almost 3:00 AM. He threw off his blankets with some profanity and got dressed. I began to pack some last minute things and I threw my luggage into the van. I got to El Cerrito High School at about 3:45 AM and had my luggage weighed, some forms signed, and some pictures taken. It was absolutely freezing outside, but the shuttle finally came! In the van my cohorts and I spoke of our classes, teachers, and our seminars. I found out that I have a few seminars with Josh. </div>
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When we got to the airport we had more waiting in the freezing cold weather to do. After about half an hour we finally got to the front of the line. The personnel threw our luggage onto the belt and we proceeded to enter SFO. We crossed the custom and security and bought ourselves a little snack. Our trip had one stop in between our starting point and destination. We were to stop in Chicago, Illinois, then board another flight to Providence, Rhode Island. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I sat in the corner window and took a photo of the view I had. I wanted to speak with the woman who sat next to me, but she seemed a bit distant and worried, and I thought it best to leave her to herself. Without any Internet, conversation, or entertainment I became pretty bored. I started thinking and staring out the window looking at the beautiful scenery.</div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KxMdosejdaA/UfhszyFNWuI/AAAAAAAAAEo/E5XRKljB2jc/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KxMdosejdaA/UfhszyFNWuI/AAAAAAAAAEo/E5XRKljB2jc/s400/photo+(2).JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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Finally, after a while of thinking the pilot announced that we will be landing. This excited me quite a bit, because I had never been to Illinois at all. I stepped off the plane and followed my cohort and chaperone to our next gate. This time, I knew that I would not be able to fall asleep. During the flight, we flew over New York, then Rhode Island. I was shocked to see so many houses that have swimming pools in their backyard, and so many trees. It's not something that you see very often in suburban Northern California.<br />
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The entire time I was on this flight, I was speaking with Liam and an elderly Navy veteran name Boyd. I learned that Boyd was fairly liberal when it came to politics, he is from Kansas and moved during the Dust Bowl, and had a 99 year old sister along with some adopted grandchildren. Now, to be honest, I hadn't expected the ex-Navy man to be so liberal. I don't know why. He told me and Liam of the adventures he's had, like going to the North Pole, staying in China for a few years, and his time in a nuclear submarine. He was a fascinating man, with many fascinating stories. He's lived for a long time and had a lot to share. He kept me entertained for quite a while. Before I knew it, we had landed in Providence, Rhode Island.</div>
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We got off the plane and went to collect our luggage. Not surprisingly, my luggage was one of the last ones to come out. We waited outside the Providence airport for a while, but our shuttle was nowhere to be found. Ms. Tracey went into the airport and called us a cab. After a few minutes of discussing my 9th grade Geography teacher, our taxi came. He drove us to the hotel that we are staying in, Hotel Providence.<br />
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On our way to the hotel, I was shocked to see so many cars. For a small state, Rhode Island sure has some heavy traffic on its highways. I looked out and saw some nice houses and then some not so nice houses. Though even the highway was packed with greenery, I realized that there are many people who live in not so nice neighborhoods, the type of neighborhoods that plague the WCCUSD name. I've been to the scarier parts of some places and know that there are a whole bunch of dangerous neighborhoods, but seeing one from across the country made me wonder about how many people are actually forced to live like this. And I also wonder more about how we can fix this. But I'm sure the program will help me find an answer in a few days.</div>
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We finally got to our hotel. Hotel Providence was beautiful on the inside. There was artwork, a big clock, and a fancy restaurant that made everything looks beautiful. Josh and Liam decided to room together and Eric and I decided to room together, while Ms. Tracey gets her own room. Eric and I made our way up to the room and were confused as to why the door had two room numbers on it. We put in our key, opened the door, and found that there are two rooms behind the door we had just opened. Our room and a stranger's room. A door that led to more doors seemed a little strange to me, but I can't complain because this place was nice. We opened our door and found a medium sized room, with plenty of outlets, a great view, and one television. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvf-WbpuezI/Ufhyw4SW93I/AAAAAAAAAE4/UbmIK1C6aZs/s1600/photo+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvf-WbpuezI/Ufhyw4SW93I/AAAAAAAAAE4/UbmIK1C6aZs/s640/photo+(5).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The room that Eric and I are sharing.</td></tr>
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After exploring our room I layed down on the bed and looked up only to see some strange thing on the cieling. I exclaimed "Is that a security camera?!" both Eric and I were surprised to see something like this attached to our ceiling. I couldn't help but argue in my head that this has to be an invasion of privacy. A few minutes later Josh called about what restaurant we wanted to go to. We were to meet at 7:00 PM in the lobby. Eric and I both agreed that we didn't really care for choosing. Preparing to leave was our next course of action. We finished preparing a bit early and surfed the hotel's cable and found nothing to our interest. Afterwards, we left.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vc-XHeZSLcE/UfmsUsFvD7I/AAAAAAAAEQA/Pa9wKizKZTE/s1600/DW.30.01A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vc-XHeZSLcE/UfmsUsFvD7I/AAAAAAAAEQA/Pa9wKizKZTE/s640/DW.30.01A.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The evil security camera fixated on the ceiling above my bed that Eric and I deemed to<br />be a normal random light.</td></tr>
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When we arrived at the lobby we all decided to go a restaurant named Cav. It was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Our walk there was interesting. I noticed that the capitol city of Rhode Island, an urban area, had no one walking its streets. It was nothing like San Francisco where there are <u>always</u> people around. This place seemed like a ghost town compared to San Francisco. We also got a bit lost on our way there. We probably took a wrong turn, but I'm not sure since Josh was in charge of getting us there. After a few turns and some critical thinking we found Cav. It was hidden in a little open lobby area in between a few buildings.<br />
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What interested me about Cav was that under its canopy were the words "Restaurant" and "Antique." I thought that this would be quite the interesting dining experience, and it was. I walked in and saw a bunch of antiques from around the world, be it Asia, Africa, Europe, or the Middle East.<br />
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We sat down at the table and ordered two appetizers, the crab cake and the Maine lobster and noodle. Then I proceeded to order the duck, Josh ordered the shrimp and scallops, Liam had the chicken and pears, Eric had the filet mignon, and Ms. Tracey had the salmon. To say that this dinner was delicious isn't enough. I was in awe. The crab cake and it's sauce was very different. The crab cake tasted, well, like a crab cake, but the sauce was sweet, tangy, and spicy and very good. The Maine lobster was fresh and it's noodles and sauce were great as well. My duck was absolutely delicious. I don't know why they even gave me a knife! It was so soft that only a fork was needed. We finally finished our entrees and got to dessert. Liam and I ordered the creme brulee, Eric had the Concorde cake, Ms. Tracey had the Tiramisu, and Josh had the sorbet. The creme brulee was delicious. The burnt sugar at the top was nice and crunchy, and the bottom portion was soft, rich, and creamy. I was extremely pleased and I think my cohort was too.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T32tNz1wyUE/Ufh50ho8QJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/9iAJC9E6yQQ/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T32tNz1wyUE/Ufh50ho8QJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/9iAJC9E6yQQ/s640/photo+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lobby of Hotel Providence.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O3ag33oU99k/Ufh6PCppBxI/AAAAAAAAAFs/opxQJzyZ63E/s1600/photo+%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O3ag33oU99k/Ufh6PCppBxI/AAAAAAAAAFs/opxQJzyZ63E/s640/photo+%25289%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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The delicious duck that I ate.</div>
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We finished our dinner and walked back to our hotel. We said our good nights and decided to meet at 6:30 AM tomorrow to tour Harvard. I can't wait!</div>
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Damian Wonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213167469842521923noreply@blogger.com1