Mission Accomplished

As today marked the final class of the second week, our cohort and Mrs. Kaplan all decided to coordinate a meeting to talk about our experiences so far. We returned to Rick's Roadhouse, mostly to discuss our classes, but also partly because of the 'WINGS FROM HELL.' After eating one during our last trip (I may or may not have cried...), I decided to sit this one out with Kelly and David. Brave souls Tayler, Ying-An, and Nick all chose to willingly put themselves through copious amounts of pain, all to get on the wall of fame. Honestly, just sitting next to Nick was painful for my taste buds, but I tried to help as best as I could by taking lots of embarrassing photos. Incredibly, however, all three challengers proved that Cali taste buds could handle whatever Rhode Island could throw at them. This theme of overcoming obstacles has been reoccurring during this whole trip, both academically and socially.  

I'm overjoyed that Summer@Brown provides trips on the weekends; tomorrow, I'll be going to Boston! After already having gone to Newport with them, I know that I can expect a lot of freedom, with only a time to return limiting what I can do. Having been born and raised on the West Coast, a lot of the East Coast's famous cities and sites are hidden beneath a shroud of my ignorance. It's disappointing to me that, even with internet and cable TV on my side, I still don't know what some of the main attractions of Boston are. On the bright side, I've become friends with someone who lives right outside the city, so we'll have our very own tour guide to show us around.

When I checked in with my RA tonight, I was asked for a 'nag and brag.' Or, in other words, what's something that's bringing you down, and what's something that making you happy. My brag was easy: at home, my parents just got a new bed, so they moved their old queen sized Tempur-Pedic into my room. I had more trouble with my nag. I'm honestly so happy here that finding fault with my experience seems dishonest. Then in an illuminating moment, I realized that next week is the last week of class. A little more than one week, and I'll be home, napping in my comfy bed, and sorely missing the rock-hard dorm mattresses.