I am exhausted. This morning, to combat a bought of homesickness, I headed out on my bike to explore Boulder. After striking out in a random direction, I biked along a few large roads on the outskirts of town before veering off into a quaint little residential area. After about half an hour of admiring the pretty domesticity of the scene, I looked up to find that I had no earthly clue where I was. So, I turned down a random street and wandered my way around for another three miles until I found a bridge over a highway. As I paused to look around at the top of the bridge, I spotted the mountains through the clouds. For a moment, I enjoyed a glimmer of hope, only to realize with a sinking feeling that this view looked nothing like the view from campus. By my calculations, I was at least ten miles south and another six mile east of campus. But, having no other choice, I climbed back on my bike and struck out in the right direction. It took me another forty minutes of winding my way through back streets, crossing church parking lots, and in one strange scene, crossing a stream, before I found Broadway. I eventually made it back to campus, after running into Williams Village, the somehow making it up to the hill, crossing a lake that I had no idea resided in the middle of campus, and finally stumbling into my hall.
Now, as I sit curled in an amazingly comfortable chair in my dorm, I realize that this morning’s adventure is a perfect analogy for my first week of classes. I wandered around aimlessly in interesting directions until I realized that I was hopelessly lost, then headed toward the largest landmark I could find, and eventually ended up in the right place.
Thanks to my peer mentor, and a good quantity of dumb luck, I never got physically lost finding my classes. But, I did have an adventure finding the classes in which I should be enrolled in the first place. I started out in Intro to Business, Intro to Environmental Studies, Ethnic Literature, and Calculus Two. On Monday, everything was going well, until I sat down in my first class—Calculus Two. My professor rolled in on his long board, wearing cut-off jean shorts and a Polish beer tee shirt. He spent the first five minutes of class going over the syllabus—while I took a few notes and admired the tattoo of the man who meets a tragic end as an ink splat, adorning the back of his shaved head. I was just settling into the class, and enjoying having such an eccentric professor, when he abruptly stopped discussing the syllabus and launched into a full-blown calculus lecture about the nature of functions that need to be integrated by parts. As he took off discussing at marathon speed a back door approach to logarithmic functions, I sat in the second row, drowning. I was so overwhelmed by the end of class that I was nearly in tears. So, after escaping from that terrible classroom, I headed to the only place I could think to go—the Leeds Advising Office.
There I met Jose′, who proved to be my lifeline. He agreed with gentle good humor to see this particularly petrified looking walk-in, after hours (oops), and help her out. He took me to his office and asked me what I needed. That is when the floodgates broke, and everything came pouring out; about how I thought I could handle the class, how lost I was already, how everyone else seemed to know the answers, how there was a quiz the next day, how I couldn’t face that right now, and please, please, please save me!
Poor Jose′ was stuck sitting in his office with a quasi-hysterical teenage girl breaking down in front of him. He was extremely nice about it though. He told me that it was all right, and that he would be happy to switch me out, and that I could take calculus later—or never—if I wanted. So he switched me into Business Statistics and Anatomy (for fun). It seems I never learn.
The next day, I went to Anatomy, and realized that I had once again gotten myself into an upper-division course that I was woefully unprepared for. This time, I did enjoy the class, and it broke my heart to walk into the Leeds Advising Office again and ask to drop the class. But, it was a huge time commitment, I did not have the pre-requirements for, and it was just not feasible. So, I left behind Anatomy (for now) and picked up a second RAP class in meditation, which looks like fun.
I ended up walking out of Leeds that first week feeling that the Business school really was my haven. I stumbled around, with no idea the direction I was going; I have seven different book-return receipts to show for it. But, because the people at Leeds put me in classes I can handle, give me tons of support in those classes, and occasionally let me break down in an emotional fit in their offices, Leeds has quickly become the big landmark of safety, which leads me back to where I need to be.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
I Wish I Could Bathe in Purell
After a short and sunny stroll home from my literature class, I high stepped up the stairs in double time, strode down the hallway to the door of my room, stretched the last remaining stiffness out of my back, and walked through the door contemplating an afternoon nap, only to come to realize that my roommate was wearing a white mask, and had swine flu. Now, she is in quarantine…as are half the girls in the hall. The other half of the girls have, in the last few hours, developed an obsession with disinfectant and vitamin c, and have adopted the mantra “you don’t have swine flu” every time we cough, or have a headache, or touch anything in the hall.
But, containing the virus is proving to be a big problem. We all share a bathroom, live in each other’s rooms, and even share one drinking fountain. To top things off, there have been outbreaks in several other dorms on campus as well. It seems that the only thing that is spreading faster than the flu itself is the gossip and anxiety about it. But, before we all break down in hysteria, CU is doing everything they can to combat an epidemic.
In the last few weeks, we have subtly seen signs telling us to wash our hands and cover our coughs appear on all public walls, and small clusters of industrial sized disinfectant and tissues gather on cashier’s counters and in dining halls. Emails have been flying around the campus discussing absence policies and emergency procedures.
Cu has created a website with everything you could possibly need to know about H1N1 at:
http://www.colorado.edu/safety/h1n1/prevention.html
But, to summarize their advice, H1N1 is spread between humans through physical contact or by sneezing or coughing on people or anything that multiple people touch. So to decrease your risk of catching the flu, practice healthy habits (sleep, exercise, eat right, don’t drink to excess), wash your hands often with soap and hot water, take advantage of the disinfectants offered by the university in public places, sanitize anything that you share with others (like your buff one card), and encourage others to seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY if they are experiencing any of the following symptoms: dizziness, fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea, or vomiting. Since Swine Flu is very contagious, officials are urging anyone feeling ill to stay home.
If you are confirmed to have Swine Flu, university policy is to quarantine anyone with H1N1 until they are completely clear of symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent Swine Flu and there are no medications that can cure you of the virus. However, CU does what it can to provide for its sick students. If you are living in the resident halls and are quarantined, the university will provide you with a quarantine box of chicken noodle soup, saltines, Gatorade, fruit cups, and other staple “sick” items. If you visit the Wardenburg Health Center (http://www.colorado.edu/healthcenter/infectiousdisease.html), they will also give you a very stylish white quarantine mask, which my roommate is now wearing (I am very jealous).
If one of your close friends (or your roommate) has the flu, wash your hands and disinfect anything that you share. Generally, just avoid close contact (on a hormone ridden campus, this can be difficult I know). If you are living with the infected party, you may want to consider re-locating for a few nights until they are out of quarantine. However, you can go and see them, retrieve anything in their possession that you may need, and even sleep in the same room if you are willing to risk it. I called the Wardenburg Health Center, and spoke to a very nice nurse who further informed me that there is no need to come in the be “checked” if you have come in contact with a sick person but are not experiencing any symptoms yourself.
Overall, just take care and live a healthy lifestyle, and you should be ok. I just spent the last three days sleeping in the same room as an infected person, and I am fine, so there is no reason to panic. Even if you do catch the flu, my roommate does not seem to be suffering much (except from boredom) and I have been having fun playing nurse and fetching soup and water for her. And even the professors are doing their part to support those who fall ill. Almost all of my professors have stated that they are willing to work with students who miss class because of quarantine, and that they would MUCH prefer that infected student’s stay home. I live in the middle of the outbreak, and my view from the eye of the storm is that so long as we are all responsible we can avoid having this become a full blown epidemic and can weather the storm.
But, containing the virus is proving to be a big problem. We all share a bathroom, live in each other’s rooms, and even share one drinking fountain. To top things off, there have been outbreaks in several other dorms on campus as well. It seems that the only thing that is spreading faster than the flu itself is the gossip and anxiety about it. But, before we all break down in hysteria, CU is doing everything they can to combat an epidemic.
In the last few weeks, we have subtly seen signs telling us to wash our hands and cover our coughs appear on all public walls, and small clusters of industrial sized disinfectant and tissues gather on cashier’s counters and in dining halls. Emails have been flying around the campus discussing absence policies and emergency procedures.
Cu has created a website with everything you could possibly need to know about H1N1 at:
http://www.colorado.edu/safety/h1n1/prevention.html
But, to summarize their advice, H1N1 is spread between humans through physical contact or by sneezing or coughing on people or anything that multiple people touch. So to decrease your risk of catching the flu, practice healthy habits (sleep, exercise, eat right, don’t drink to excess), wash your hands often with soap and hot water, take advantage of the disinfectants offered by the university in public places, sanitize anything that you share with others (like your buff one card), and encourage others to seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY if they are experiencing any of the following symptoms: dizziness, fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea, or vomiting. Since Swine Flu is very contagious, officials are urging anyone feeling ill to stay home.
If you are confirmed to have Swine Flu, university policy is to quarantine anyone with H1N1 until they are completely clear of symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent Swine Flu and there are no medications that can cure you of the virus. However, CU does what it can to provide for its sick students. If you are living in the resident halls and are quarantined, the university will provide you with a quarantine box of chicken noodle soup, saltines, Gatorade, fruit cups, and other staple “sick” items. If you visit the Wardenburg Health Center (http://www.colorado.edu/healthcenter/infectiousdisease.html), they will also give you a very stylish white quarantine mask, which my roommate is now wearing (I am very jealous).
If one of your close friends (or your roommate) has the flu, wash your hands and disinfect anything that you share. Generally, just avoid close contact (on a hormone ridden campus, this can be difficult I know). If you are living with the infected party, you may want to consider re-locating for a few nights until they are out of quarantine. However, you can go and see them, retrieve anything in their possession that you may need, and even sleep in the same room if you are willing to risk it. I called the Wardenburg Health Center, and spoke to a very nice nurse who further informed me that there is no need to come in the be “checked” if you have come in contact with a sick person but are not experiencing any symptoms yourself.
Overall, just take care and live a healthy lifestyle, and you should be ok. I just spent the last three days sleeping in the same room as an infected person, and I am fine, so there is no reason to panic. Even if you do catch the flu, my roommate does not seem to be suffering much (except from boredom) and I have been having fun playing nurse and fetching soup and water for her. And even the professors are doing their part to support those who fall ill. Almost all of my professors have stated that they are willing to work with students who miss class because of quarantine, and that they would MUCH prefer that infected student’s stay home. I live in the middle of the outbreak, and my view from the eye of the storm is that so long as we are all responsible we can avoid having this become a full blown epidemic and can weather the storm.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Camp Orientation
I finished my orientation and tomorrow I begin classes. I have unpacked my dorm, gotten my books, and (thanks to my Leeds peer mentor) have found all of my classes. As I was washing my dishes in the dorm room sink today, I realized that I am slowly, but surely, starting to feel like I am in college.
The first week of my “college experience” really did not feel like college at all. Orientation was a lot like summer camp. We had our schedule of activities, which we all moved to in large, confused herds. People in official-looking tee shirts would walk us from A to B. We played games, had activity stations, and spent hours with people whose names we did not know. In the evenings we were strong-armed into going to all of the University sponsored, non-alcoholic events. Some of them were pretty fun—I enjoyed Ice and Dice (a party at the Student Recreational Center) and the Pretty Lights concert was probably the happiest day of my life!
Being in the Leeds School of Business definitely dominated my orientation experience. Not only do they host a separate orientation, they had all sorts of follow up events, like the Diverse Scholars Meetings and Leedsapalooza (the welcome event for new business students). The diverse scholars program is very impressive. They have everything from mandatory retreats to mentors and co-seminars. It seems like a great community to plug into—and I already met a new friend there named Maya. She is great—she is friends with almost everyone already, and is always inviting me to some event!
Leedsapalooza was well executed. As Maya put it, is was a nice mix of fun and information. As I arrived, I was ushered into the building by a throng of faculty, all of who were eagerly waving neon wristbands at us. After donning a wristband, I was escorted into a classroom, where I watched a video on life at Leeds. For a student spoof on a reality TV show that I avoid like the plague, it was not too bad—kind of campy. After that, we were escorted to a field where we were given free ice cream and swag. One thing I can appreciate about Leeds is that they are very dedicated to giving their students free food! I love it. I learned about tons of student organizations, like the Multi-cultural Business Student Alliance (which is open to all students by the way, not just Business Students. Their website is at http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/mbsa/), the Environmental Center at CU (http://ecenter.colorado.edu/livegreen), and the Business Fraternities (Alpha Kappa Psi’s wedsite is at http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/akpsi/about.html, and Beta Alpha Psi at http://www.bap.org/) Who would have thought that a fraternity and professional would ever mix?
Continuing on the string of Leeds events, I met with my Leeds assigned peer mentor this weekend. She is great! She also brought us free ice cream and goodies and showed us around to all of our classes. She even told me about the Math Resource Center—which will save me from failing Calc 2 (of which I am terrified).
Unfortunately, I know that lots of people did not enjoy orientation as much as I did. My roommate said that she almost quit CU because she had such a terrible time. She said she felt like she was in kindergarten, and her parents weren’t there, so she had trouble with meeting people. Apparently, her orientation group was very disrespectful about the rape education course, and rape is a sensitive subject that she feels should be taken seriously. It is a shame she disliked it so much, but I found the experience relatively pain free—and even enjoyable at times.
My room is now plastered in CU and Leeds stuff, my roommate is convinced that Leeds is some sort of elite cult that eats your whole life (which it may well turn out to be true) and I am looking forward to my classes. Maybe I am still honeymooning (please forgive me) but it looks as if, by sheer luck, I have landed in the perfect place for me.
The first week of my “college experience” really did not feel like college at all. Orientation was a lot like summer camp. We had our schedule of activities, which we all moved to in large, confused herds. People in official-looking tee shirts would walk us from A to B. We played games, had activity stations, and spent hours with people whose names we did not know. In the evenings we were strong-armed into going to all of the University sponsored, non-alcoholic events. Some of them were pretty fun—I enjoyed Ice and Dice (a party at the Student Recreational Center) and the Pretty Lights concert was probably the happiest day of my life!
Being in the Leeds School of Business definitely dominated my orientation experience. Not only do they host a separate orientation, they had all sorts of follow up events, like the Diverse Scholars Meetings and Leedsapalooza (the welcome event for new business students). The diverse scholars program is very impressive. They have everything from mandatory retreats to mentors and co-seminars. It seems like a great community to plug into—and I already met a new friend there named Maya. She is great—she is friends with almost everyone already, and is always inviting me to some event!
Leedsapalooza was well executed. As Maya put it, is was a nice mix of fun and information. As I arrived, I was ushered into the building by a throng of faculty, all of who were eagerly waving neon wristbands at us. After donning a wristband, I was escorted into a classroom, where I watched a video on life at Leeds. For a student spoof on a reality TV show that I avoid like the plague, it was not too bad—kind of campy. After that, we were escorted to a field where we were given free ice cream and swag. One thing I can appreciate about Leeds is that they are very dedicated to giving their students free food! I love it. I learned about tons of student organizations, like the Multi-cultural Business Student Alliance (which is open to all students by the way, not just Business Students. Their website is at http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/mbsa/), the Environmental Center at CU (http://ecenter.colorado.edu/livegreen), and the Business Fraternities (Alpha Kappa Psi’s wedsite is at http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/akpsi/about.html, and Beta Alpha Psi at http://www.bap.org/) Who would have thought that a fraternity and professional would ever mix?
Continuing on the string of Leeds events, I met with my Leeds assigned peer mentor this weekend. She is great! She also brought us free ice cream and goodies and showed us around to all of our classes. She even told me about the Math Resource Center—which will save me from failing Calc 2 (of which I am terrified).
Unfortunately, I know that lots of people did not enjoy orientation as much as I did. My roommate said that she almost quit CU because she had such a terrible time. She said she felt like she was in kindergarten, and her parents weren’t there, so she had trouble with meeting people. Apparently, her orientation group was very disrespectful about the rape education course, and rape is a sensitive subject that she feels should be taken seriously. It is a shame she disliked it so much, but I found the experience relatively pain free—and even enjoyable at times.
My room is now plastered in CU and Leeds stuff, my roommate is convinced that Leeds is some sort of elite cult that eats your whole life (which it may well turn out to be true) and I am looking forward to my classes. Maybe I am still honeymooning (please forgive me) but it looks as if, by sheer luck, I have landed in the perfect place for me.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Dorm Room Woes
Hello everyone,
I’m Becca; I will be taking over for Heidi as this year’s student blogger, since Heidi is no longer fresh meat. Congrats on that Heidi!
It is a gray and rainy day in my hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, and I am still drying from my very wet bike ride. It had just finished raining when I left, so I figured I should have at least half an hour before the next downpour. I was wrong. See, I never check the weather. I just don’t care if I get wet, or a bit cold…though on days like today, when the Weather Gods seem to be trying to make up for three months of drought in one morning, this philosophy can get me into trouble.
I plan to spend my rainy afternoon cloistered inside, trying to figure out just how much I can cram into my teeny-tiny dorm room. I am one of those people who like lists, and true to form I am working on a list of what to bring (this list actually translates into piles on my floor, so I can no longer get into my room). Thus far, I have:
• Essentials:
o Yoga mat
o Rock climbing gear
o Clothing
o Coats
o Shoes
o Hiking Boots
o Bedding
o MacBook, Ipod, Wii
o Shower shoes
o Toiletries
o Fist Aid kit
o Paper, pens, stapler, etc.
o Important documents and financial records
o My camera
o Commuter Bike
o Boxed food
o My chocolate stash
• Other stuff that would be nice to have
o Photography books, a few favorite novels, all the books I am half-way through and think I might actually finish
o Photos of friend, family, and my puppy dog.
o A poster of Mount Everest (it is one of my life’s goals to climb the summit)
o Camping gear
o Mountain Bike
o A plant
I am still very lost about what to bring. They have this nice list on the CU site about what not to bring (curtains, most appliances, pets, parents, etc.) but their list of what to bring was depressingly short. Meanwhile, I have been facebooking my roommate and she is trying to determine if she can bring her backpacking gear, her skis, and her snowboard, while I am trying to find a place to store my second bike.
In an attempt to answer both our questions, I went out and bought this book I have heard about, The Naked Roommate, hoping that it could give me some guidance. So far, I am 113 pages in, and it has given me good advice about how to deal with the klepto roommate, the smelly roommate, the roommate you hate, the roommate that comes with her boyfriend attached, the drunken roommate, and of course, the naked roommate. Though I have talked to my roommate, and she seems really cool, this book totally has me convinced that everyone in college is doomed to live with a neurotic, thieving, smelly, puking crazy person. To top it all off, I still have no idea what to fill our new prison cell with!
I guess I am just going to have to keep floundering around until I figure it out. Maybe this is a good example of what college will be like—you have no idea about what you are doing, but you just keep stumbling around, acting like everything is under control, until everything works itself out. The Naked Roommate did tell me to ask for advice when I am lost, so does anyone have any advice?
I’m Becca; I will be taking over for Heidi as this year’s student blogger, since Heidi is no longer fresh meat. Congrats on that Heidi!
It is a gray and rainy day in my hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, and I am still drying from my very wet bike ride. It had just finished raining when I left, so I figured I should have at least half an hour before the next downpour. I was wrong. See, I never check the weather. I just don’t care if I get wet, or a bit cold…though on days like today, when the Weather Gods seem to be trying to make up for three months of drought in one morning, this philosophy can get me into trouble.
I plan to spend my rainy afternoon cloistered inside, trying to figure out just how much I can cram into my teeny-tiny dorm room. I am one of those people who like lists, and true to form I am working on a list of what to bring (this list actually translates into piles on my floor, so I can no longer get into my room). Thus far, I have:
• Essentials:
o Yoga mat
o Rock climbing gear
o Clothing
o Coats
o Shoes
o Hiking Boots
o Bedding
o MacBook, Ipod, Wii
o Shower shoes
o Toiletries
o Fist Aid kit
o Paper, pens, stapler, etc.
o Important documents and financial records
o My camera
o Commuter Bike
o Boxed food
o My chocolate stash
• Other stuff that would be nice to have
o Photography books, a few favorite novels, all the books I am half-way through and think I might actually finish
o Photos of friend, family, and my puppy dog.
o A poster of Mount Everest (it is one of my life’s goals to climb the summit)
o Camping gear
o Mountain Bike
o A plant
I am still very lost about what to bring. They have this nice list on the CU site about what not to bring (curtains, most appliances, pets, parents, etc.) but their list of what to bring was depressingly short. Meanwhile, I have been facebooking my roommate and she is trying to determine if she can bring her backpacking gear, her skis, and her snowboard, while I am trying to find a place to store my second bike.
In an attempt to answer both our questions, I went out and bought this book I have heard about, The Naked Roommate, hoping that it could give me some guidance. So far, I am 113 pages in, and it has given me good advice about how to deal with the klepto roommate, the smelly roommate, the roommate you hate, the roommate that comes with her boyfriend attached, the drunken roommate, and of course, the naked roommate. Though I have talked to my roommate, and she seems really cool, this book totally has me convinced that everyone in college is doomed to live with a neurotic, thieving, smelly, puking crazy person. To top it all off, I still have no idea what to fill our new prison cell with!
I guess I am just going to have to keep floundering around until I figure it out. Maybe this is a good example of what college will be like—you have no idea about what you are doing, but you just keep stumbling around, acting like everything is under control, until everything works itself out. The Naked Roommate did tell me to ask for advice when I am lost, so does anyone have any advice?
Move over Rover
Dear Readers,
It's time to say au revoir to our dear first-year student blogger, Heidi. Heidi is retiring from the First-Year blog and is on to the world of "sophomore-ness". Please welcome our newest blogger, Rebecca. We are all excited to have her and to follow her experiences as a First-Year student at Leeds. Welcome Rebecca!
It's time to say au revoir to our dear first-year student blogger, Heidi. Heidi is retiring from the First-Year blog and is on to the world of "sophomore-ness". Please welcome our newest blogger, Rebecca. We are all excited to have her and to follow her experiences as a First-Year student at Leeds. Welcome Rebecca!
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