Debate states at Susquehanna University. I love these kids. Debate might be what I'll miss most about high school, maybe.
The speech girls mean business. Cathy and Christina in their power suits.
Mike's Angels? Party at the Econolodge! Cathy and Christina tried to teach me to dance. I think I'll always be dancing in the awkward hippy govschool manner. and that's not so bad either :)
Debaters! A rare sighting of the Burger Maker, Mr. Husick, Supadawg, Gusher, and Andres. As you can see, it was a very riveting awards ceremony.
Then after that...nothing happened. School was boring until the college kids came back for Spring Break.
We were walking to the Franklin Institute, and well, it was just too good. Check out that color integration.
Then...Spring Break came at long last, and I went off to visit Hahvard and see what the big fuss is about.
After being stuck at the airport for 3ish hours, I was excited to be on the plane. However, I'd been forewarned by Michael (Yale 09) that Airtran Airways does not have the most secure airplanes. And indeed, I could not help but wonder if the plane was falling apart as we rolled down the runway.
But it didn't, and this is suburban New York. The view was ridik. tenements and little clusters that looked like they were laid out with sea shells by a 5 year old during a day at the beach. incredible, and I thought about things along the lines of existentialism. But now I forget what they were.
I LOVE the Boston subway system. It's incredible. Street musicians and super moms who carry their kids up several flights of pretty steep stairways...all for the low low price of $1.50. You can basically go anywhere in Boston and its surrounding area on a budget of less than $2. Food is kind of expensive though. Bartley's on Mass Ave has really good burgers and Au Bon Pain's pretty good too.
The Harvard Yard, as in I pah'ked mah cah in hahvard yahd.
That's all for now. 10 mb photo upload limit. :/
But yeah, to sum up, here are my impressions from the trip:
-campus wide wireless internet...which means that kids are checking LJ and looking at facebook in class, also that most psets are online
-rumors of a rough freshman year (isolation, desolation, depression, stress-olation) could definitely be true
-sat in on some good classes- Chinese seminar, econ lecture with Larry Summers, history and implications of post-WWI economies, and developmental psychology (based on Pinker); conclusions: british people are so so cool, Harvard classes aren't exceptionally brilliant but they're not bad at all
-sat in on some bad classes, namely E&M. Frankly, Doc teaches better. I think the professor used his left hand to do the right hand rule. But there was no one to verify that with because...20% of the people were sleeping and 60% were doing other homework or web surfing. hmmm
-everyone is really smart. I feel ill-prepared for the monstrous problem sets and marathon midterms/finals. ahhh college.
-Harvard boys pee on the foot of the John Harvard statue, so don't rub it. It may or may not be good luck, but it's definitely not sanitary.and side note for serena: Yale boys>Harvard boys. srsly.
-everyone I met, except the saints, seemed really stressed out. These kids don't sleep. it's kind of crazy.
-VES kind of sucks for people who can tolerate but don't really understand modern art. It's cool as a cursory drop-in once or twice, but eh...not so good for what I'm looking for.
-Church life in cambridge is pretty sweet. If anything, this may be the deciding factor. I'd probably be happier at Yale, but if I survive Harvard, I'd be happy with who I am...if that makes any sense.
Hmmmm next week: New York, New Haven, half of Hell Week at school, then back to Cambridge. Then the final 15 Hellish days before China and temporary freedom. Science Olympiad at the end of the month. | 
