First Day!

I moved into nerd camp today! The nerd campers don't get here until Sunday so I don't know if it can fairly be called "nerd camp" yet, but I'm here and I'm a nerd so I guess that counts for something...

Let me just say that today was really bloody hot. As in, the-instant-you-step-outside-you're-covered-in-a-fine-layer-of-sweat hot. I was wearing flip-flops with black bottoms and my foot sort of slipped out of one as I was walking, and when I slipped it back on all of half a second later I actually yelped because it was already so hot it burned, and I am a wuss. So I had fun moving all my stuff up three flights of stairs and then walking all the way acrosss campus three times (to the place where you register for internet access, then back to my room because I needed to know the little number written by my ethernet jack, then back to the internet place), then realizing that I forgot my little shower caddy thing with all my showering stuff in it in my bathroom in Frederick. I did manage a sort of hobo shower anyway...I just used the hand soap from the bathroom. Fortunately JHU is only about 45 minutes from my house, so my lovely mother is going to drive back tomorrow with proper showering supplies, and also a bag of socks. Because I am so cool, I managed to forget to pack those too.

JHU is definitely very different from MIT. There are trees and green space everywhere and all the buildings are very traditional looking with brick with gables and other fancy architectural things I don't know the names of. I feel like I'm walking around in a college brochure, everything is so picturesque. For example, here is the dorm I am living in. It is pretty much identical to all the other buildings on campus.

The dorm's insides are also pretty different than what I'm used to. I think I've been spoiled by living in EC, my room here seems really small but I think it's an average size single for most schools. I was going to post a picture of it, but there's no place in it where I can stand far enough back to get more than one piece of furniture in the frame. And in case you're wondering why I don't just stand in the door, it's because the door can only open about a foot before hitting the dresser. Thankfully it has air conditioning, but I don't know how I'm going to function having to walk all the way to the bathroom just to use the sink... It was especially awkward tonight; there's some other camp that ends tomorrow sharing the building with us, so when I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth I was met by a bunch of half-naked high school girls showering and otherwise getting ready for some dance-type activity. They seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see them, we just kind of sized each other up for a moment before I headed to the sink and we proceeded to ignore each other for the rest of my time there.

The only official CTY activity planned for today was a barbecue dinner so all the staff could meet each other and mingle a little. I met a few interesting people, including one girl who's already been an RA here for three summers. That means it must be fun, right? I guess I'll meet more people tomorrow when we start all the RA-training activities in earnest. And since by "in earnest" I mean "at 7:30 in the morning," I think it's about time for me to go to bed. If the hub of hairstyling and gossipping that has sprung up outside my door ever quiets down, that is...

(This was actually written around midnight on 6/22, I just didn't get internet access until today).