Well, I've now been to all of my classes at least once. Pretty exciting business, I know!! I really like all of them (except math is ridiculously elementary at the moment, but I know that will change in time.) The only problem is that I have 10 minutes to walk what normally takes about 15 minutes to walk...so that's pretty exciting...HA. I basically speed walk the whole walk and hope that I make it in time. However, I do love that my days all go from 10-1.

This week has been signing up for/auditioning for/learning about all the groups on campus. Important news: I GOT INTO DSO!!! (Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra) Funny thing is that they told us we needed to come at 7:30 one morning to fill out paperwork and it ended up being that they made us breakfast instead. Kind of a cruel trick as we all walk for 15 minutes in the freezing cold in our PJs, expecting to be done in 2 minutes.

I've been to the Hanover ward now (best sacrament meeting in a long time) and I also went to the bishop's house where he and his family had a barbeque for all of us students. It was so nice to be away from the dorms and being with people I didn't really feel like I needed to be so guarded or fake with (I mean, I just felt a lot more comfortable I suppose.) Plus the food was great! And seeing all these people, many of them seniors, so easily interacting with each other made me hopeful that things do get better. You do make best friends. You can find your home and feel completely comfortable. I just gotta wait it out.

Also, I've signed up for fencing PE (how awesome does THAT sound?!), possibly joining Cabin and Trail (part of the Outdoors Club), and I signed up for lots of community service opportunities.

I'm definitely finding out who I think I'll be hanging out with a lot, but I still get bouts of loneliness. I think it's that when I am home in Oceanside, I don't feel lonely when I just sit at home by myself. But when I'm here, I feel like the only person in the whole world. Like I can't even describe it. I don't have my mom in the next room over. I can't just call my best friends up and figure out something to do. I can't play with my dog or watch one of my favorite movies. I don't feel home here yet. So while I am loving meeting all the new people and going to classes and having all these experiences, I still feel like I'm not entirely 100% in love with life. Which is sad, cause I love to love life!

Classes start tomorrow! I got all my first choice classes, which I am pretty stoked about.

Bio 11: Cooperation and Conflict in Biological Systems
Music 20: Introduction to Music Theory
Math 3: Introduction to Calculus

I'm not SUPER excited about math haha, but the other two sound super interesting. I have class everyday from 10-1, but then I don't have it any other time (except for a shortened bio class period on Wednesday from 3-4:15 called an X-period). Yay for college life finally getting started for realsies!

Also, had a deep talk with Hannah today about how we're both homesick and just really wish we could have our old friends with us. I'm really glad that we're roomies, even though we may not be best friends. I'm glad we can talk about stuff and then watch Gossip Girl illegally on the internet and then walk down to Food Court (FoCo) just to get soda.

EDIT: Forgot to mention anything about Convocation (Dartmouth's 240th year!) and Jim Yong Kim's inauguration. For those of you who don't know anything about him, Jim Kim is like my idol, especially after reading "Mountains Beyond Mountains." He's worked with the WHO, working on treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and basically he is just amazing. Every time he talks I can't help but listen and I get all teary-eyed. I'm so glad that he gets to be part of the class of 2013 and that I get to be part of his first class. I've seen him speak like four times now and I still listen so intently every time he speaks, even if he is saying the same thing. He's just amazing and I love that I get to be here when he is too.

I've been avoiding this blog because I think that it would be convenient if I started from the beginning, but that is more than a week ago. Main highlights from my DOC trip include: throwing up twice, being the slowest person by far, hiking the steepest part of the Appalachian Trail (Beaver Brook!), amazing burritos, meeting some cool people, H-croo (Hanover Crew), Lodj-croo (Lodge Crew), and meeting JIM KIM :). There were only 6 trippees (myself included) on our trip and 2 trip leaders. We played a million trail games, including one called Botticelli which is like an extended version of 20 questions (you have to think up stumper questions that will stump the person at which point you can proceed to begin asking normal 20-question-like questions until you get "no" for an answer). We learned a million dances, like the Salty Dog Rag, one to Party in the USA, Ice Ice Baby, and Blame it on the Boogie and we also learned the Alma Mater. Also, may I just say that I love how at every planned meeting, it ends up turning into a High School Musical-esque event (including a safety talk by H-croo and an entire dinner production by Lodj-croo.) So all in all, a good experience.

Orientation has been nice. Met up with my parents on move in day and proceeded to meet Hannah and unpack my room while still all GROSS from extreme hiking. Took my first shower, which was glorious, and finally started trying to get used to the idea of living here for a whole year. Still hasn't sunk in yet. We got matriculated! And got our '13 pins, which are actually pretty awesome :D

They have been having lots of events and it's nice not to have any responsibilities. However, it gets a little boring sometimes and I wish I had a more structured schedule. But don't worry, cause classes start on Monday, so I should be alllllll good as far as structure goes.

I've also had random attacks of loneliness. It just gets really hard when your roommate has already made a pretty close group of friends that you don't really mesh well with and you don't really feel like you've been making any potential best friends. There were definitely a couple days in there where I would cry for a while. But things have been getting better as our floor hangs out more (9 girls and 18 boys? Yes please.)

I've attempted going to frats, but I have yet to be impressed. Everything smells like pee and beer, the floors are disgustingly sticky, and I haven't been able to play pong yet (I would play with water naturally.) Mostly what ends up happening is that we walk around for a long time, trying to find a frat that isn't being broken up, and don't. My favorite times have been just sitting in people's rooms getting to know them better and hanging out. Also, had to deal with drunk floormates at least 2 times which is not exactly the funnest thing in the world. Actually, it is the exact opposite of fun and definitely makes me appreciate my friendsies at home.

I've been attending a lot of department open houses, met with my faculty adviser today (he's in the theater department?), and signing up for classes today. Exciting business!

All in all, I'm really liking it here. Though it definitely has its downs, I think the ups are starting to outweigh them. Just hoping things can only go up, up and up from here.