Pain is Temporary (Stains are Forever)

The Parthenon (Disclaimer: Not the Original)

This morning we went to have lunch at noon at Biscuit Love, because we had heard that it was amazing. It also had a very long line out the door, so while Jenny waited in line we went window shopping at Urban Outfitters down the street. We ended up each getting colorful friendship bracelets, because they were only three dollars each. (We also justified it as cohort bonding.) After lunch we went back to the Parthenon. I was very excited because it was raining pretty heavily all the way over, but predictably it stopped just before we got out of the car. We spent about half an hour inside the Parthenon, and it was really fascinating learning about the history of it and the myths behind it. We got pictures of the 40-foot statue of Athena with Nike, the goddess of victory, standing in her hand. (Personally, I thought Athena's face and especially eyes were painted very unrealistically and looked creepy.) I had to try about ten times to get a close-up of Nike that wasn't blurry. Also, while Katherine and I were looking through the museum we saw through the window that it was pouring rain outside, so I rushed out and caught the last few minutes of it. I also saw a very impressive lightening strike in the distance. (Katherine called me crazy when I came back in soaked, but hey, you can't please everyone.)

V for Vanderbilt!

Then we picked up our luggage from the hotel to go check into our programs at Vanderbilt. Jenny seemed very determined to take us to Moore College (where there was apparently sign-in for another summer program), but we showed her the map we got from Don and convinced her and the shuttle driver to take us to Hank Ingram House, which was about a mile away. Signing in was very quick and easy. Arnold is in S House, on the sixth floor, Katherine is in A House, on the third floor, and Hummd and I are both in V House, on the fifth floor. We're only a few doors away from each other. When I got to my room, my roommate, Lucy, was already settled in. Lucy is from east Tennessee, and she has a very strong accent. Sometimes it's hard to understand and I have to ask her to repeat things, and I feel really bad about it. I had an hour to unpack and get settled before we met our proctor groups at 5:00, and I also got to know Lucy better during that time.

Nike, Goddess of Victory

Then I met my proctor group, a group of ten girls on the same floor as me. We all went out to a grassy lawn, in the shade, and played name-games and got to know each other. Shortly thereafter we went to dinner, which started at six. I had heard that Vanderbilt had really good food, so I have to admit I was kind of disappointed, because there didn't seem to be a whole lot of options. There were hamburgers and hot dogs, some sort of stir fry, a salad bar, and pizza. I hope the food changes every now and then, because if I can only choose between those for three weeks, this will be rough.

After dinner we went to the Opening Ceremony, where we basically just met the proctors and directors and were reminded of the expectations and rules. There was also a very brief overview of the schedule and a short explanation of the House Cup, a sort of competition between V, S, and A House. Whichever has the most house points at the end of the three weeks is the winner. (V House is the current reigning champion, though that doesn't reflect anything about this year, since the students change completely every summer.) While they were mentioning different things you could win house points for, one thing caught my attention. "You can win house points for winning a game of assassins..." Well, then. I think I know what I'll be doing. (Plus, water guns and extremely hot summer days: what part of that doesn't fit?)

Then we played a "person scavenger hunt" as our first chance to win house points. Basically, one of the people running it would call for something (first person to arrive who is an only child, or person who has visited the most countries, for example) and each proctor group would send up one person. Whoever got there first, or whoever did it best, won two house points for their house. One of them was the first person to crabwalk over to them. (They were about twenty or thirty feet away from everyone.) I was the one my proctor group sent up, but unfortunately when I was almost there I... tripped? (What do you call it when it's your hand that trips and not your foot? Is there a word for that?) Anyway, I bruised the heel of my hand, and also got a large grass stain on the back of my shirt. Grass stains are not easy to get out of pale shirts... My favorite one, however, was "whoever can get the highest number of people from their proctor group to me, only using two feet." Some groups sent up one person carrying two other people. One group sent up two people, each carrying one person and hopping on one foot. I had a brainwave, and got everyone in my proctor group (all ten of us) to crawl over on our hands and knees. (We won that one. Go V House!)

Eventually it got too dark to see, and we had to go inside. Then we had proctor meetings, where we got Vanderbilt hats, T-shirts, and water bottles. Our proctors also told us what afternoon "classes" we got put into, which we were all really curious about. This week, I'm in juggling, which I'm really excited about. I've wanted to learn how to juggle with pins for a while, so I hope I get to learn that! I also found out this evening that there is only one other person in V House who is taking Knot Theory... If that's typical, then our class could only be six people, which would be great but also really weird, because that seems so so small. We only got out of our proctor groups between 10:00 and 10:30, and were exhausted. I am so, so excited for tomorrow though! First day of Knot Theory, juggling, a scavenger hunt scheduled after dinner.... It's going to be great.