The First Glimpse

I awoke and rose from bed early this morning, spent after yet another night of three refreshing hours of sleep.

We had all spent some time the evening before packing our suitcases and preparing for the four and a half hour drive to Nashville. We all agreed to meet up early for breakfast at the Prime Meridian restaurant for breakfast once again.

We hit the road soon after feasting on scrambled eggs, orange juice, and toast, awaiting a new, exciting adventure laid out for us in the music capital of the world.

Tired, I fell asleep for, essentially, the whole ride, only waking once to see Ms. Bulls trying to take a photo of something outside to the right of the car while driving simultaneously. I turned my sleepy head to that direction, laying my eyes on a beautiful lake over which the highway we were driving on was built. It was flowing with sparkly, shiny water—a truly beautiful sight—and then, I was knocked out again.

The next time I awoke, we were already in Nashville. I gazed drowsily at the city from afar on the highway, and noticed that it was a much smaller and condensed city than Atlanta. The weather also differed between the two.

Back in Atlanta, the weather is very tropical and humid—I could almost feel the moisture in the air between my fingers. The air in Nashville is much drier—almost comparable to the warm weather in California.

We finally arrived at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, which is located right across the street from the university itself. After checking in, we decided to rest up before dinner since it was still a bit early for supper. Curious to see if there was a pool in the hotel (apparently, the Omni Hotel did not have one), we paid a visit to the concierge table only to discover that this hotel did not possess one either. Their game room was also under construction. We decided on an alternative to amuse ourselves: going to the fitness center after dinner instead.

While we were on the elevator on our way to our rooms, I noticed a plaque on the wall that advertised a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, located on the same floor of the lobby. I remembered having eaten at a Ruth’s Chris in San Francisco, and suggested it to our group. We decided to have dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse instead of barbecue, and it was wonderfully delicious.

I ordered a watermelon summer salad, a garlic crusted halibut fillet, and a crème brûlée for dessert. The salad’s dressing was a bit too sour for my favor and tasted funny with the melon; now I will be sure to order dressing on the side from now on, just to be on the safe side.

Other than that, we all enjoyed the delectable dinner immensely.

A very restful and relaxed day we had; however, we still had one more thing on our agenda: a visit to the hotel’s fitness center.

I never ran on a treadmill before, let alone even set foot into a fitness center. This was a completely new and incredibly fun experience for me; I had tons of fun learning new exercises from Kye. Some of them were, however, extreme and intense (he's a football player), but it was very amusing as we laughed and had a really good time.

I am awaiting tomorrow with anxiousness and the determination to learn, not only through our course of world religions, but through my own experiences on campus, such as eating dorm food, sleeping in dorms, and the gut feeling I'll have while there that may determine my future.