An Early Start

Whenever you are forced to get out of bed at 2:00 AM, you can be sure that either some remarkable event is occurring, or you are a parent. Today was a case of the former, because today was the day that we were leaving for St. Louis.

An odd sight at 3:00 AM.

Though I barely slept due to an all-night commotion on my block, I woke up barely tired and enthusiastic. After a quick check through all the stuff I was bringing, my dad drove me to El Cerrito High School to meet with my cohort and Don. The pre-departure procedures took about an hour. Don weighed our luggage, checked for our IDs and med cards, and took a few pictures of our cohort. Although I didn't feel tired, I was barely functioning through the whole process.

We took a large shuttle to the airport. I thought that we all seemed exhausted: We barely made conversation, and Brandon took the opportunity to snooze. But despite the fatigue, things went smoothly. Our flight stopped in Phoenix, Arizona, and then after a short break continued to St. Louis, Missouri.

The moment I stepped outside of the airport, I was greeted by warm, humid air, with a side of rain. When you are introduced to this kind of weather, you quickly realize that there is no escape. If you choose to wear more covering clothes to shield from the rain, the muggy air will suffocate you. If you wear shorts and a t-shirt, you get soaked from the rain. This seems like an issue if I want to come study in St. Louis.

Outside the restaurant. It was raining and I forgot an umbrella...

I had the filet of rainbow trout, and it was like...so good.

After a couple of hours of rest and snacking on free food in our hotel, we headed to Atlas Restaurant to dine with three students and two admissions officers from Washington University in St. Louis, the school we'll be touring tomorrow. I had a wonderful evening talking to Jenny Alessi and Chrystal Okonta, who are both admissions officers for the Bay Area, as well as Michelle Zhang, a student at WUSTL who happened to be from California.

We talked about many things, from good books to read to the general quality of life at WUSTL. From what I heard, it seemed like WUSTL really took care of their students, providing challenging but fun courses, letting the students keep their flexibility in terms of majors, and providing pizza and unlimited chips, cookies, and soda for just $3. I'm not kidding. This is available every Wednesday throughout the school year. Another thing that intrigued me was the students. Throughout the entire dinner it seemed like all of the WUSTL people agreed that the student body was very friendly, and supported each other. This contrasts with the atmosphere at larger schools and universities, where it seems like letting anyone else succeed means failure for yourself. 

Having a great time eating great food and having great conversations.

Overall, I was very impressed tonight, and not just by the incredible food we ate. Washington University seems like an incredible school, and I can't wait to tour the campus tomorrow! I think that I'll end my first day here...zzz...