Sunday Crunch

I jumped out of bed after an early morning wake-up call from Ms. Bulls. Apparently, I had slept through my alarm by pressing the darn snooze button at 6:30 this morning.

I met Aiyana on my way to the communal bathrooms, and soon, we were both sitting outside our dorm building awaiting Ms. Bulls and Ms. Kronenberg, as well as Kye who lives one floor up from ours.

Breakfast at the popular Pancake Pantry was delicious, although it did not live up to my expectations. The place is constantly packed with eager customers that begin to form a line circling the block daily about eight in the morning. Luckily, we arrived at the Pantry much earlier than the rush hour and were seated promptly.

I ordered a simple serving of sausages and eggs, which was accompanied by a plate of fluffy buttermilk pancakes.

After breakfast, we decided to visit The Hermitage, the home of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

The feeling of stepping on the same wooden floor that Jackson walked on and staring at the same intricate Paris-imported wallpaper that Jackson looked at nearly two hundred years ago was phenomenal. It truly was a fantastic historical experience.

Inside the Heritage Mansion was much larger than the outside of the building would suggest. Beautiful paintings of the Jacksons adorned the walls and original furniture kept the home from looking too abandoned from its previous owners’ absence. We viewed the Jackson family’s drawing room, dining room, and even the very bed Jackson took his last breath on.

We also had the opportunity to view a smoking house as well as a cabin where some of Jackson’s slaves resided in.

It was indeed a trip back into the past, and it was wonderful to have spent it with Ms. Kronenberg and Ms. Bulls as well as Aiyana and Kye.

We told Ms. Kronenberg and Ms. Bulls our goodbyes as they dropped us off back on Vanderbilt grounds.

Lunch was again in Rand Hall, and we then headed over to a carnival that was scheduled on the Wyatt Lawn later in the afternoon.

It was such a beautiful day to be out on the fields of green grass as well as get some healthy exercise.

We had fun playing Frisbee and kickball, and we also partook in clumsy potato-sack racing, which was also very exciting.

Afterwards, we were awarded a bountiful three hours of free time until the Dean’s Dinner at six in the evening.

The Dean of the Commons hosted a wonderful dinner for the Vanderbilt Summer Academy in the backyard of his house, which is situated on the beautiful campus itself, right next to Hank Ingram.

I am grateful to the Dean for the enjoyable supper and fun time we had.

I await tomorrow with excitement to dive deeper into our studies of the Islamic faith, as well as my new Arête class.