Hello, Everything

So, I was walking down the stairs of Old Main after my First Year Preceptorial class, honestly not trying to listen in on anyone's conversations or anything, when I heard one of the two guys in front of me say something that sounded distinctly like, "The Mikuru-beam was real." I did an instant double-take in my mind, and then I started listening; I couldn't really hear the next couple of sentences, but I did eventually catch "Bamboo-Leaf Rhapsody" and some other reference to "And if you look back at Season 1, the bamboo tree just suddenly appears in the room."

Knox has Haruhiists!

I seriously almost said something like, "So, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, huh?", but a) they were in the middle of their intense discussion, and b) they were these two kind of big guys I'd never seen before, so I decided it might be a little odd. That's okay. Just knowing that they're out there makes me really happy. I kind of laughed as I walked past them. I wonder if they saw and thought I was a freak... But seriously, I had JUST watched the last two episodes of Season 2 before I went to that class (Japanese listening practice/exposure! Yay!), so how ironic is that? Very ironic, I say. Very ironic, indeed.

Unless, of course, watching those episodes made me subconsciously start wishing that there were other Haruhiists here...

So, today I had Music 101 and FP for the first time. Both seem like they're going to be good. It sounds like a lot of our Music 101 homework is going to involve listening to music on the CDs we had to buy for class while reading about it in the book, which sounds pretty cool to me. Listening to music as homework? I support that. Very much so.

We took a diagnostic test, though, to see whether people really needed to go over the first chapter (about basic things like rhythm (Yay! ...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I said I was done...), tone, color, etc.), and those who need it will have session things with the TA on Monday nights. First, I have to explain that there really aren't all that many Freshmen in this class. Lots of sophomores, some juniors, some seniors, although them mostly to fill their arts requirements. So a lot of them have more years of experience, not to mention musical training, than I have. Which is sort of reassuring, seeing as I kind of bombed that test. I had to leave a lot of questions blank because I just, honestly, truly had no idea what the answer was. I'm so used to doing music by ear; I don't know all the terminology. Oh well, extra study days for meeeee...

On a brighter note about that class, there are quite a few guitarists, jazz musicians, drummers (like, three or four - I wasn't expecting that many), and other non-classical musicians in there. I was afraid it was going to be all aspiring opera singers and cellists (I think there might be one cellist, actually), but in this class, at least, it sounds like not. That's a bit of a relief.

And as for FP, I don't think it's going to be too terrible. We only have four books to read, and then one writing guide to use over these four years. Some of the books are kind of big and probably pretty dense, but I'll get through them. And I think I can survive the writing part, too. I'm not too bad at writing essays. I just need to get back into the swing of writing.

Um... I have to go to the club fair now, so I'm going to make this last part quick. I got the last slot for voice lessons, so I will be taking them after all. I can't remember if I had anything else to say, but if I did, it can go in my next post. Yay for the weekend!

The Beginning

First day of classes! Yay!

I only had the one to go to, but it was still fun (some people didn't go to any at all - there seems to be less classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays than the rest of the week). My Japanese professor actually is Japanese, which I think is going to be totally awesome, especially in terms of learning pronunciation and the actual usages of words in daily conversation. The class is probably about the size of a small high school class, but we meet in a very small classroom, so it's a little on the cramped side. Also, I'm glad I started studying over summer, because it looks like we're going to be powering through material. There's so much to learn... After finally reaching I-can-carry-on-a-basic-conversation level in French, I can already tell it's going to be a little frustrating to start over. But I really want to learn Japanese, so I can do it.

What else... oh, I guess I can go back to yesterday. Yesterday was Pumphandle, a Knox tradition where all the students and even some of the faculty go through a line and shake hands with everyone else at the school. It's kind of cool; you get extremely tired of saying "Hi" by the end of it, and it's a bit unnerving for a germophobe like me, but it's fun to feel like I've met everyone on campus, and they brought a bottle of hand sanitizer down the line at the end, so it's all good.

Then tonight, I went to go listen to a visiting musician who played a set in the lounge in our hall. He was a good singer and a fantastic guitarist, so it was pretty fun. Actually, halfway through his second song, I realized that he sounded almost exactly like Gabe Dixon (I'd thought he sounded oddly familiar somehow). Like, even down to a couple vocal mannerisms. This guy's diction was awfully weak, though (I stopped really trying to understand what he was saying pretty quickly), and he wasn't quite as inviting a performer as Gabe (yes, I treated an evening concert like class and took mental notes). Still, a lot of fun to listen to. Especially up until his fourth song, at which point I thought of a concept for a song I really want to write, which kind of made me want to just go back to my room. When I got back here, I tried to work it out on Laura's guitar, but it's got a different kind of strings than I'm used to, and it's obnoxiously out of tune, so I'll just wait until this weekend when I go get my own guitar. Not having one has really made me really miss playing. Maybe if I can't get voice lessons, I'll see if I can't take guitar this term instead.

'Cause, see, I got an e-mail earlier today from the music professor saying that I (and one other girl) had somehow not done all of the steps to sign up for voice lessons, because she hadn't heard from us about teachers yet. Apparently, she's not sure if she can still fit us in with teachers for this term. Which irritates me a bit, because the school has known all along that I planned to take private voice lessons here - it was on the class preference card I sent in this summer and everything - but no one ever contacted me about taking any other steps to make that happen. I'd really like to be in lessons still, since I'm still just finishing up my recovery, but I guess whatever will happen will happen. I sent her an e-mail back explaining my situation and that I do want to take lessons, so who knows? Maybe she'll find me a time and a teacher after all.

One of my boxes came today! It was the one from home with my clothes, tea, etc. in it. I somehow had it in my head that we sent two of those boxes right before I left, so I sent the guy in the mailroom back to look for the hypothetical second box. Hehe... go me. I don't know when his hours are, but it's possible that I'll get to know him and his co-workers pretty well as I keep going down to collect all the boxes I have coming in the mail. Jeans and contacts from home, a pair of boots, my posters, a couple other boxes... The mailroom is going to become my home-away-from-my-home-away-from-home for the next couple weeks. The mailboxes are kind of cool looking, though. Maybe I'll show you a picture sometime. You guys could use a photo tour. Maybe tomorrow...

For now, to bed. I have all three classes tomorrow, so I want to be awake.

One Day Out

Do staplers usually come with some staples in them? Because I thought so, but my $8.00 purple plastic stapler from the student store did not. Talk about a rip off. I wish I'd remembered to get a stapler at Target yesterday.

I got a good deal on notebooks, though - way plain, but way cheap. As soon as my printer gets here, I'm making collages for the covers. I'm very excited. I hope the printer comes soon, though, because I want to get all that out of the way before my classes get really intense, or else I'll never actually have time to do it.

And classes start tomorrow. Sort of, anyway; I only have one class. See, see, here's my schedule:

MONDAY:

Elementary Japanese (Per. 2)

Music 101 (Per. 3)

Freshman Preceptorial (Per. 6)

TUESDAY:

Freshman Preceptorial Common Experience (Per. 5s, 6)

WEDNESDAY:

Elementary Japanese (Per. 2)

Music 101 (Per. 3)

FP (Per. 6)

THURSDAY:

Elementary Japanese (Per. 2)

FRIDAY:

Elementary Japanese (Per. 2)

Music 101 (Per. 3)

FP (Per. 6)

With private voice lessons thrown in there somewhere. Don't know when yet. Or who my teacher's going to be, for that matter. I assume I'll get an e-mail about that sometime in the next few days (that just seems logical, right?).

Actually, maybe class sort of has already started: We had our first FP lecture yesterday. It was kind of about the idea behind the class (the theme is "Conversations in a World of Strangers"), but to my surprise, it was quite interesting. I didn't even have trouble keeping my eyes open like during the Scripps Freshman Core lecture we had when I was there applying for a scholarship. I don't know who my teacher's going to be for that, either, but my class is in Old Main, the humanities building (and the building where one of the Lincoln Douglass debates took place, for you history folks out there), so it'll probably be some English or history teacher.

Great. That sounds way more intense than having a math teacher assign and grade my papers.

But all whining aside, I like my schedule. I'm super excited to start Japanese tomorrow (my month of self-teaching finally pays off!) - I think if I had to pick any class to start first, that would be it. Something to make getting up in the morning worth it. Not that starting class at 9:20 is too traumatizing after starting at 7:30 for the past five years. Plus, Laura and I both start class second period, so we'll be getting up at about the same time instead of having to worry about not waking each other up (except on Tuesdays, when I don't start class until 1:00, in which case I can just go back to sleep if I want to).

I think that's the basic down-low so far. I set up my own PayPal account the other day; now eBay once again owns my soul and probably will until I finish decorating my room. Not that I've been buying a ton of stuff or anything - more like obsessively comparatively shopping. All I've ordered so far are two posters, and I managed to find them both from the same vendor, so I saved money on shipping. 'Course, it'll take about two weeks for them to get here from China, but I got them for a buck or two cheaper than if I'd bought them separately. I'll post some pictures of my room once it's all decorated and ready. It's going to be fabulous.

Okay, I guess there was really more to the basic down-low after all, but now I think I'm done. Things are going well over here, and they're about to get even more exciting. Let the educational experience begin!

Orientation, Day 3

My father once laughed at me when I told him that in college, I was going to use the dorm kitchen to make sushi. Laura and I started talking about what to put in our fridge yesterday, and the ingredients for California rolls are now on our shopping list, between the ingredients for rice balls and some sort of baked brie thing that sounds amazing. She also knows how to make bubble tea, although they don't seem to call it "bubble tea" around here (at least not in her town, a few hours away from here).

Speaking of tea, all my tea is in the two boxes I shipped at the last minute, which haven't arrived yet. Which is fine, I guess, because it's sort of warm for tea right now, but I'd really like those to get here...

I got my student ID picture taken a couple hours ago. Those pictures don't get retaken over the four years you're here at school, so I'm kind of scared to see mine. Everyone's will probably look humiliating in four years' time, though, so I guess it's not too bad.

Also, cicadas. They're my new favorite thing. At least, I think it's the cicadas making all the noise outside. It's a constant cricket-y sort of sound that's quite calming and goes well with the constant trains (constant, right nearby, and loud, although I'm already getting used to them). I don't think I've actually seen one of these cicadas yet, so I may change my mind when I come face-to-face with one of them, but for the moment, I love them.

I love bugs. That's new.

Orientation, Day 2

NOTE: This entry was written on the evening of my second day at school, before I had my Internet up and running.

Sunday, Sept. 6

Day two, and overall, things are going quite nicely.

The one problem is that I seem to break everything I touch. First I knock the cover off my under-desk light just by poking it, then I break off the push button (NOT flip-able switch) of said light, then I get a (now removed, thankfully) stain on my new comforter, then I discover that my plush-ish shower shoes were probably not intended to actually go into the shower lest they get eternally waterlogged, and now, to top off (I hope) the damage of these first two days, I snap part of the clip of one of my two skirt hangers. It’s still usable, though, luckily. Oh, I also lost my orientation week schedule, forgot my extra contacts at home, haven’t been able to get the wireless Internet to work, and almost lost my entire collection of socks.

College is a time of growth, right? So this just means I have lots of growing room, right? So it’s all good! ^^;

But all Lady Destructo jokes aside, there have been many more highs than lows. I like all the girls in my suite (I can never remember how many of us there are – I want to say either 14 or 16), and my roommate and I get along very well so far. Her name is Laura, for future reference.

Names… I’ve learned more people’s names in the past two days than I can ever remember doing before. It’s kind of ridiculous. I didn’t expect to play this many name games in college, of all places (what ever happened to the whole, “We’re adults now” theory?). But honestly, it’s all been fun. There are some fascinating people here – lots of international students and students with very diverse backgrounds. World cultures… Maybe I’ll end up with some sort of international culturally related major. Learn some languages, do some traveling… some sort of anthropology thing. Ha, vague much? I still don’t know much about the individual major programs here. Hopefully I’ll be a bit clearer on all that tomorrow.

That’s when we have our individual meetings with out faculty advisors. My advisor is the chair of the Asian Studies program, which is awesome, in my opinion. Asian cultures are probably the ones that have always interested me the most, but I’ve never had a good chance to study them. I’m set on starting to learn Japanese this term, though – I started teaching myself the very basics at the beginning of August so I wouldn’t be too behind. And Knox’s study abroad program in Tokyo looks pretty fabulous. I figure I can learn whatever I need to know about the Asian Studies program in the meeting tomorrow. I can’t remember whether that’s a major or not… I know Japanese is only a minor…

Major. I have no idea what I’m going to major in. I read through the course catalog a bit more today (we alternate between running around like crazy and having nothing to do for long stretches of time), and I basically reaffirmed that the music program looks pretty classical-based. I do love classical music, but can I major in it? Can I get through my composition classes if all they have me do is classical music? And I’ve already pretty solidly decided that I’m not going to major in creative writing. I have no way of knowing yet whether the creative writing professors would accept my genre-leaning work, but still… I just don’t feel it.

Feel free to remember all of this so you can pull it out and wave it in my face someday if all these predictions turn out to be wrong.

Also on tomorrow’s schedule – I hope – is a trip down the street to the music store, where I will get my college guitar. I decided against shipping my guitar from home (“United Breaks Guitars,” anyone? Any of you seen that song?), and I’ve been kind of sad not having it. Laura’s got one, but it’s a classical (she plays some classical guitar already, and she’s probably going to take lessons this term, which is really cool), and it’s not… mine. I need to go get one that fits better, in the sort of lofty metaphorical sense that any of you musicians will understand. There’s apparently a talent show/open mic deal going on Tuesday evening, and I keep telling people that I’m probably going to do it, so I’d like to make good on that.

What else… my room is very nice – pretty good sized, nice big window, not a loft bed (we had the option of having them lofted or lowered, and our room just happened to be already set up with one lofted, like Laura wanted, and one lowered, like I wanted). I have a big space over my bed, though, and even with the five posters I brought, it looks empty. As soon as I get my Internet up and working, I’m running straight back to eBay to see if I can’t find a few more.

I definitely HATE not having Internet. I feel so cut off from the world. And based on passing references in things I’ve read so far, it sounds like the Internet here is not particularly reliable. I’d better find out if any of the local cafes have free Wi-Fi…

Well, this is already painfully long, especially considering that by the time I can actually post it, I’ll probably have more to add, so I think I’m going to stop there. Nothing big has happened yet, but everything that has happened has gone pretty well. Now I’d best get to bed and recharge my social battery. Everyone’s so cheerful and talkative these days, and I was no different until I finally got worn out a few hours ago… ^^;

Miss y’all, and I’ll see you again before we know it!

P.S. I spent a good long while today organizing all my stuff, and you’d be amazed at how neat my side of the room is now! There’s not a big pile on my desk anymore! Could this be a new trend?

…yeah, I know, not in this reality…

Obligatory Setup Post

I'm pretty terrible at convincing myself to sit down and start writing those long, update-on-my-life emails that I know a few people are going to want to start receiving in (let me count)... seven days (wait, I had to count that?), when I take off for college. My couple of long-distance friends who have, every now and then, waited for months on end to hear from me can attest to that. My thinking is that if I have a blog where I can tell all these stories just once for everybody, then I'll be more inclined to do it.

Also, one of my good friends started up a college blog here, and I'd really like to follow it.

I guess a third reason is that it could be interesting to have this little life story-sort-of-thing to look back on in the future. In that case, maybe we should lay down some baseline statistics:

NAME: Madison

ATTENDING: Knox College

EXPECTED MAJOR: Music composition? Maybe?

ALSO PLANNING TO STUDY: Creative writing, Japanese, and French

I guess there's really not much more to say until I get to school. Until then, it's packing, and that's unlikely to yield many interesting stories (not to mention that I'm still going to see in person a majority of the people who would care about this blog). I'll be back once I reach Illinois. :)