The end of the beginning

Blogger didn't work for me during this whole week, so I was unable to talk about all of orientation. I can't believe it's finally over, and classes start tomorrow morning. I went through one of the biggest emotional rollercoasters of recent memory. I have been so stressed out lately, it's crazy. Mostly because of all the buildup to choosing classes, and then thinking did I make the right choice? And then, am I ready? I finally identified the source of the stress as the fact that I haven't done any schoolwork in more than 7 months. Then I talked to my mom about it, and she made a very good point: people in Israel go to the army for 3 years before going through law school, med school, or any sort of higher education. 3 years > 7 months (at least I remember that!). So now I'm feeling better, especially as I'm making more friends. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the first day since tuesday when I will sleep well (ie not wake up 3 hours before my alarm clock after going to sleep at 2 the previous night/morning).

On saturday night I went to my first MIT frat party. Party is a very loose term here, since we got there after it ended. The Sigma Nu guys were very nice, though; they had rented vans to drive freshmen around during rush week (their house is sort of far away from campus), so they picked us up from the bus stop and then drove us all the way back to campus. Don't worry kids- it was dry, and we just talked, got a tour of the house, and played pool & ping-pong. The following night, ie last night, my roommate went out again and came back at 3:30am, which was not very good for my sleep.

My classes right now are Calculus II, Women's Studies "Social Construction of Gender", History of Jazz, and French 201. Actually it's 205 right now, but I have to wake up bright & early tomorrow for the beginning of online add/drop to get 201 instead. Never listen to smiling French professors who tell you that you should take a higher level. That was dumb. My earliest class is at 9:50 3 days a week, and on tuesdays & fridays I only have one, at 2:50. Now the trick will be good time management...

I guess I am obligated to talk about the whole Women's College thing I've got going on. It's actually quite nice, even for me. Yes, Ezra- I use the same bathroom as everyone else and no one calls the police if they see me. Everyone is very friendly, really. We don't make out with each other randomly. Girls here are more out than I've seen before, though. They don't mind talking about it, being excited about their dates, etc. I like it, it's a more honest environment in my opinion. Like, live and let live. Some are really boy-crazy though. The hall I live in, Munger, is... different. It's "the only hall without a complex", meaning it's the only one by itself. Look at a map of campus and you'll understand. We're close to the Quad though, which is good since we don't have a dining hall. For people in other colleges that seems like a silly thing, but when most people on campus don't have to go outside for meals, and we have to get fully dressed (especially in winter) to get breakfast, it's an issue. But it's growing on me. There are no huge living rooms like in many of the other dorms, and it's not very gothic-style. There are 3 smaller living rooms on the first floor, which makes it feel more like a house . Our room is not huge (like in the new dorms, but maybe they deserve it because they're so isolated from the rest of campus), but it's not especially tiny. It's just right, and we don't want to bunk our beds. My side is sort of messy right now... I feel bad. Munger is fairly close to the campus center (Wang or Lulu, depends on what you want to call it), the academic quad and the science center, which actually makes it a convenient location. Fun fact: Wellesley was built on hills in order to improve women's figures. It is a bitch to walk around sometimes.

Frisbees appear to be the gift of choice here- I already have 3 or 4 from all different organizations. First open practice is on the 12th, right on Munger Meadow. How convenient! There was a Labor Day BBQ today, which was nice. I'm beginning to eat more (I barely ate the last few days. Stress does no good), and there are a lot of veggie options. Pomeroy (aka Pom), the closest of the Quad halls, is kosher vegetarian, and Cazenove (aka Caz) usually has a lot of veggie options too. Those are mostly the two I've eaten in, except for last night's dinner at Tower Court. Tower is beautiful, but rumor has it that it's not the best place for lowerclasswomen. Neither is Stone-Davis (aka Stone-D). Fun fact: Hillary Clinton lived in Stone-D and was college president. If she runs for president this entire school will be on its feet, for sure.

Alright, I have to go form friendships. Fun, I know. It's not like Israel at all- I don't know anyone. My roommate's best friend goes here, and her roommate's best friend goes here too. Weird. But it gives me the feeling that I'm the only one who doesn't have anyone from highschool here. It will get better, I know.
Toodles!