first day on the big campus

the first day on the big campus of michigan state university went as well as possible. i had intended to take a snapshot of my holding a piece of paper that said 17th grade... but instead... (this was purely for maggie of course).
new first year students were excruciatingly evident from their other more casually dressed counterparts. from their brightly colored tees and black biking spandex to blue dresses and pearls, one thing united them all... they were lost on campus and all holding maps trying to figure out where they needed to be. had i not arrived on campus earlier than they, i may have been in the same, but much more comfortable shoes. unlike wesleyan, people do not really walk... they instead bike everywhere because it is much faster. but similarly, this generation of students has reserved interpersonal communication to foreign students or for conversations with themselves. otherwise it is a world of cellular devices and ipods streaming a modified reality into their ears. i cannot say that i am not one of these students, but today, i was merely a casual observer.
in my purest attempts to become less of an impact on this earth and to aid in increasing my overall health, i decided to walk the 2.3 miles to and from campus. what i didn't realize (mostly because i didn't check) was that it was going to take me nearly 45 minutes to walk to the building i needed to reach. thankfully, i left early just in case something like that would happen. and from this i have learned to very valuable lessons. number one... wear a good pair of shoes. i came away from today's excursions with several blisters on my aching feet and severely swollen lower limbs. i have learned my lesson! and number 2... never forget to put on deodorant, for by the time i arrived at the biomedical and physical sciences building, my shirt was drenched and i smelled like... well you get the picture.
my lab rotation should be interesting over the next 10 weeks. i am working in a lab of all females, a first for me. i feel that this experience will be lucrative for latter lab rotations. i will also be primarily on my own working with cyanos because the grad student working on the project is preparing to defend her thesis next month. i wish i were in her shoes so that i could almost be done!
my first class as a graduate student proved to be another interesting experience. though it is designated an undergraduate class, 90% of the students are graduate level. so in all actuality, it is a dumbed down grad class. this is also the first class that i have taken to be taught by a non-native english speaking graduate student. the person who was supposed to teach the class has taken ill and is currently in the hospital, unsure of when he will return. so i guess we'll see how this all turns out.
other than that, all has been going well. i have integrated into the microbiology graduate student population with kickball and ihop. apparently i have found my new home at shortstop, or so i've been told. i love returning back to a new place :) unfortunately however, my room has not managed to order itself. i didn't have the handy decorating skills from my dear friend this time around, so i guess i'm just going to have to make due for the time being. i also really wish my clothes would fold themselves, but unfortunately, i think they are still lying limply wrinkled on my bed. thank god for floors....