Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Bon Voyage


I have been waiting for this trip for months now. Anticipation, nervousness, and excitement are just a few of the feelings I am experiencing right now. Anticipation for the adventures at the colleges; nervousness about the class and fellow students/roommate; and excitement for the entire summer excursion and the opportunity we are given.

Though I had finished packing a few days ago, I keep finding things in my room that I could shove into my already bulging suitcase. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that I keep remembering/finding items to bring along, or if it's bad that I am bringing so much stuff. I suppose that as long as I stick to the weight limit, who cares how much I bring.

Today was not just spent inside packing for the trip to Georgia and Tennessee though. I decided that for my last day here for the rest of the month, I would get out of the house and hang out with at least one friend before I leave. My close friend Jennefer and I hung out around town, and had a much needed summer treat on this hot day: Popsicles.

My mom on the other hand, worked her last day of summer school at Lincoln Elementary, before coming home to finish her own packing. My mom thinks that my leaving is the perfect opportunity to go on her own trip. So she is off to Thailand tomorrow to make some adventures of her own. I dared her to eat a fried cricket or some other strange food while over there.

Also today, after five years, I finally got a haircut. I figured that since we were going to be in muggy weather for three weeks, I might as well not be weighed down by my heavy and thick hair. To all my surprised friends reading this, yes, I finally chopped some of that curly mess off. And I love it.

As for this trip, I am so thankful and ready to take the World Religions course at Vanderbilt University. Though it's not your typical Ivy League College, Vanderbilt is considered to be the Ivy League of the South. This school brings southern flare and style, and I am glad to be part of the first group of students representing the school in the ILC program.

Our first stop is Atlanta, Georgia. We will be visiting Emory and Georgia Tech colleges first.

I hope you all enjoy reading my, Kye's and Julia's adventures this summer. We will be giving you all the information and our opinions on the schools and cities we visit. Hopefully it will inspire some of you to visit these places or maybe even attend one of these colleges or programs in the future.

Wish us luck!

3 comments:

  1. Best of luck, Vanderbuiltians! The haircut looks great. Packing took me three days and I still felt like I was forgetting something. No worries, you can always buy whatever you need at a nearby convenience store.

    I have met some people at Brown that live in Georgia. My friend Rachelle recommends Atlantic Station and the Georgia Aquarium if you guys have time.

    You're going to have a great time. Enjoy your travels!

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  2. Dear Aiyana,

    Best of luck to you as you head off to Vanderbilt with Kye and Julia. It's so exciting that your mother is also going somewhere too (let me know what she thinks of crickets).

    Also, I can't wait to see better shots of that haircut of yours. :-)

    Have lots of fun traveling and learning. Pinole Valley, represent!

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  3. Aiyana,

    I'm sure the photo is deceptive but those bags look HUGE. Are you sure you left any of your stuff behind?

    Maybe it's just me being a guy but I need to look at some of your 'before' photos to see how much hair you left on the floor. Guys are damned if we do and damned if we don't. If we mention something about your looks and nothing's changed then we're in deep do-do. If we fail to mention it then we're still in trouble. How do we win except to always compliment a lady on how she looks.

    Had your mother talked to me before booking her trip I could have saved her a ton of money. I know a couple of restaurants where insects are routinely included in the menu (just don't tell the Board of Health). She could have gotten a taste of a wide variety of creepy crawly things and still she could have slept in her own bed at night.

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