Twosday

Today was wonderful. Absolutely Nerd-Tastic. I felt like I wanted to learn again--exciting for sure, because with the ending of school I was afraid my brain would drain before Gov School began. I was lucky to have my interest reignited today by a wonderful lecturer named Schuyler Foerster. He opened his lecture (read: discussion) by stating, "We live in a world that is stunningly confusing," and identified with us with such gems as "I'm quite cognisant of the fact that you were born after the Berlin Wall came down Most adults aren't, but that's okay." and "We're all victims of our own autobiographies...mine just happens to be longer." We quickly launched into the most dynamic 90 minutes I have ever experienced discussing American Foreign Policy. The powerpoint we were shown introduced us to the most important global issues facing McCain and Obama as they compete for a place in the executive office. Our group had so many questions and comments, we led Dr. Foerster on quite a few tangents, and had to cut the lecture short at 11:30 for lunch. We were left with "Power is capacity to influence," a new definition that our presidential candidates should pay special attention to. Also: "Get a passport. Do something. Understand the world." While the statement was intended as a jab towards many members of the legislative branch, I think it's an important piece of advice for everyone to keep in mind...

Leah and I, creepers that we are, had to go up and shake Dr. Foerster's hand and tell him how absolutely brilliant the lecture was. The man nearly had me convinced that I wanted to switch my focus again and be a college professor. Intellectuals like him make the world go around, and they ask for little in return (just, you know, book revenues, and no gum-chewing in class). Well, it's something to keep in mind for the future. The lecture was far more dynamic than some of the things we sat through yesterday, notably "Police Safety Meeting," a.k.a. art class, as I spent the entire half an hour doodling all over the front of the safety pamphlet, donating about a quarter of my attention to the nice police officer. Yeah yeah, Utility Card, Blue Light Phones, Walk with a buddy; got it, chief. I think we're all set here.








After lunch, we had our introduction to Japanese Class--one of very few language classes conducted in sweet, sweet english, which I will miss sorely in our immersive environment. Of course, I look forward to the chance to learn a new language, and to try out an asian language before tackling mandarin in the spring. Our homework tonight was to memorize ten phrases often used in the classroom. The book's pronunciation guide? Not super-helpful. I'm glad we don't have to learn written japanese (well, I'm dissapointed, but I have a feeling that takes much longer than 5 weeks), but japanese written phoenetically isn't much easier to understand!

After an extended period spent in the Cathederal of Learning (meals) and Provost Hall (Lectures), our wing finally got to spend some time on a street other than Forbes Avenue. Molly, our (incredibly sweet) RTA, led us around our boundaries, so we would know the territory we were allowed to wander during our break time. The grand part is that you can see the Cathederal of Learning pretty much no matter where you are in Oakland, so there's really no getting lost. The city is a very interesting mix of old and new, where "old" mostly means "industrial" and "new" mostly means "cultural," with the exception of the original Pitt buildings. We ended the tour (which pretty much killed the effects of the double white mocha I had purchased that morning) with a trip to Dave & Andy's....which is incredibly good ice cream. Finally, we were (wisely) allowed some time to chill out in our dorms between the walk and dinner. Whoever thought of that gets a prize, we really needed that time to relax before continuing with the whirlwind pace of gov school. Chao and I finally broke out the window markers and decorated our dorm windows--our room is definitely becoming our home, slowly but surely.

All too soon, we had to get out of lazy mode and head to dinner, then our first ICONS meeting. The ICONS teams are different from the wings and from the groups in which we are divided for class, so it's a great chance to meet new people. Tonight, our group introduced ourselves and then dove right in to researching some background of the country we represent, Kenya. ICONS is essentially like Model UN, but it all takes place on the internet (except for a few key summits). Very hip. Very Mod. Plus, my group is very cool--we all get along well, we have a good sense of humor overall, we are all equally (read: very) invested in the project.

So at 9, When ICONS ended, Elsa came over to my room so she and I could research Kenya's foreign and domestic policies together. She, of course, was greeted by the beautiful windows...

And I actually broke out my lovely dishes so she and I could enjoy our brain-stimulating microwave popcorn in pretty plastic bowls. Chao came back from her ICONS right around 10 and she and I both got homework done. I've figured out that as long as you keep eating and drinking, you can stay up as late as you need. I'm just drinking water and eating applesauce and pretzel goldfish. Another golden nugget of advice from Shelby: caffeine seems like a good idea. Until it wears off. Then caffeine sucks. You hate it. And you hate everyone around you and you hate what you're doing and...just trust me, K? By all means--pull all-nighters, pep yourself up with some coffee or tea in the morning, but don't become an addict, because coffee isn't always readily available and teachers do not tolerate food or drink in class.

Plus Starbucks is freakin' expensive, 'specially on an out-of-work teenager's budget.

Goodnight (morning?)