Nothing but Awesome

My morning started off in the wrong direction, and the blame goes to the fact that I barely had 5 hours of sleep. By the time I finished drafting my previous blog, it was already around 1:30 AM. It took even longer trying to publish it because my laptop kept losing Internet connection. I even had to transfer my files to Iris’s laptop and publish it from there. Until now, my Internet is still frustrating me. Even though it’s already connected to an Ethernet source, I still can’t get a steady connection. Anyway, Romina and I tried to relax and watch a movie, but our Netflix account wasn’t working. We ended up just chatting. We both had difficulties sleeping because we had too much energy. 

Around 3:00 AM, we started hearing noises all around our hotel room. From someone, or something tapping our windows to shuffling noises near the closet… I KNEW that there was something going on. The energy and vibe of the room felt so strange. And trust me, I’m never the one to be freaked out by anything. We started talking about scary movies, which seriously didn’t help. We ended up just falling asleep on my bed after FaceTiming with two of our friends from back home.

Waking up was a drag. Destiney and Abby knocked on our door around 8:50 AM. We were all supposed to meet at the lobby for breakfast, but Romina and I just opted out because we were too tired to get up. I asked Destiney to text me the time we really had to be ready to leave to the Plimoth Plantation Museum. An hour later, she texts me saying that we had to be in the lobby by 10 AM. Unfortunately, I slept through her text and didn’t see it until 10:15 AM. I was so frustrated. I was more angry at myself for making an irresponsible decision the night before. I should have just sucked it up and slept through the stupid noises. I mean… I made it through a 5-hour plane ride without being hurt. I’m sitting in Rhode Island without my family. I’m going to go to Brown University next week. WHY in the world was I scared of noises? I shouldn’t have been. I felt silly. Well, Romina’s lamp’s flickering light bulb and its sudden decisions to turn on or off by itself was probably what convinced me otherwise. Anyway, we met up with everybody ten minutes later. I felt even more embarrassed because I forgot that we had visitors! Brown I students joined us and we all headed to Massachusetts for the museum. I fell asleep in the car for the whole duration of the ride.

This is actually our hotel....

When we stepped outside of the van, I felt the sun slap my face with its flaming hand. I never in my life knew that Massachusetts could be so hot AND humid. We watched a small presentation of the tour and then proceeded to wander about in the museum. Since I’ve never been to a living museum, I had no idea what to expect. Many of the workers were really amazing in staying in character. It was almost like going back in time. The Plimoth Plantation gives its visitors a perspective of American life before the revolution. It showed how the Native people called the Wampanoag and the early English settlers interacted and went about with their lives. I took a bunch of pictures (aside from the ones posted) because I thought that my US history teacher would appreciate them.

A Womoanoag man describing his daily life

Cooking channel?

When we reached the end of the museum, the craft center, we had a little chat with a craftsman. He was amazed by how far we’ve come and was even more interested in the fact that some of us are doing the Women & Leadership program. He gave us a little fun, relative fact about the role of women of the Wampanoag. He told us that the women of Wampanoag were actually the leaders of the tribe despite the fact that the English thought otherwise. It seems that the role of women was overshadowed by the idea that men are naturally more dominant. The little chat we had with him made me look forward to doing the program next week. We also visited the Mayflower II replica, a couple of miles away from the Plimoth Plantation.

An early English settler's kitchen. Getting a little too cozy in here...

The 17th century feel of the village was apparent

Romina and I had a long talk with David Fang on the walk back to the car. He gave us a lot of heads ups about Brown. He talked about the dorms, which turns out to be super super dusty because there is not a single vacuum around. I don’t know if that is true, but hey, I will just have to find out myself. He also told us that the best way to get around would include a bunch of walking and taking the bus. He mentioned that Brown students ride the bus for free as long as they show their cards (Awesome!). Most of the information about the residential floors, dining halls, and activities I have already learned from the dinner at Camille’s. Aida talked a whole bunch about Brown’s never ending activities. David confirmed this by revealing that Brown sends an email every week, which has a list of festivities available to every student for the rest of the week. I actually received one already, but I have yet to actually thoroughly go over it. Activities include ice cream socials and trips to the beach. How exciting! As we waited for Jackie and Kat, who took a quick bathroom break, I realized that the surrounding area was very festive, considering the fact that today is not only dad’s birthday but also THE FOURTH OF JULY!

Mayflower II

This brings me to our last activity of the day. After the trip to the museum, most of the Brown I & II cohort decided to have a trip to the theaters to watch Spiderman. Knowing that I am not a very big fan of Spiderman (I prefer Batman…), I stayed at the hotel. Romina and Destiney did the same. After a couple of hours of down time, we headed to a park to watch the fireworks. I can’t even describe how happy I get when it comes to fireworks. Watching the amazing influx of lights, colors, and explosions in the sky gives me this uplifting feeling. I always start to get all nostalgic because I’ve always loved fireworks as a kid. This is the first time in 6 years that I spent 4^th of July away from my family. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but I’m grateful nonetheless.

Best part of the whole day!

I have a huge day waiting for me tomorrow. We are all required to get up and be down at the lobby by 6:30 AM, meaning I would have to give myself an hour in advance to get ready. Dartmouth, get ready for me! I sure hope nothing disturbs me tonight, or else I might have to channel my inner spirit whispering skills and deal with it.