Why I love having friends from Ithaca!

Many high school students eagerly anticipate the freedom they’ll find in college; in particular, for many, that means freedom from home and from parents. But when I went to Barnard I was a short 40 minute train ride from home, and instead of feeling suffocated by the proximity of my family I loved having them so close by. During my first year and a half of college my house was the holiday destination for all of my friends who lived too far to go home for the more minor holidays or days off. Because my family lives in Westchester, a suburb of NYC only 40 minutes away, I would go home and bring with me an army of hungry college students starving for a home cooked meal and a brief respite from the electricity of the university.

Now I do not have this luxury. What was then a forty minute train ride is now a four hour drive, so my trips home must be restricted to long weekends and holidays; no more mid-week trips home to do laundry or nag my little brother.

I really miss the convenience of having home so close by, but I feel like I have found the next best thing: friends that live close by. In my transfer orientation last January I was lucky enough to meet some other transfers whose families live right outside of Ithaca, and now these people are my best friends here. It is so nice to be able to take a night off from college life and step into a family, with a house and a yard.

Last night I got to go home with my friend Jessie, who lives right outside Ithaca on an unpaved road in a house with a pond instead of internet. We went with several friends to watch the Leonid meteor shower and spend the night at her family’s house.

It was incredible. Everyone felt relaxed and playful, and Jessie’s family made us all feel welcome and at home. We all lay outside for hours watching the sky, bright with stars I didn’t know existed. We saw lots of meteors, drank chai and hot chocolate, spent some time in her sauna (!!!), and had an overall great night. And even though staying the night meant waking up uncomfortably early, it was well worth the fatigue I now feel.

Plus, that’s what coffee is for!

The wonders of having your own kitchen

Though I have many fond memories of dorm life from freshman year, there was one thing I always wish I had that the dorms could provide only an inadequate replacement for: a kitchen.

Most freshman dorms come with one communal kitchen per floor, complete with a few cabinets, an oven, a sink, and a stove. But at least in my freshman dorm, no one really cooked. It’s just so inconvenient- there’s really nowhere to put your dishes in your room; and plus, you’re on some kind of involuntary meal plan. Why bother cooking when an all-you-can-eat buffet is only floors away?

I’ve always enjoyed cooking with my mom, but I haven’t really found the time to learn to fly solo. Recently though I’ve been cooking more, using the cookbooks my parents sent me as more than just centerpieces.

Last weekend reminded me of just how great it is to have my own kitchen when I helped make a delicious meal with my neighbors, complete with zucchini parmesan, pasta, sweet potato fries (my contribution), and garlic bread. Making dinner was just as much fun as eating it (well, nearly).

Sadly, my weekend after that took a turn for the worst when I discovered on Sunday that I had swine flu. But fear not! I’m doing much better today and no longer have a fever, so as much as I’ll miss sitting inside all day watching reruns and chugging tea, I hope to be back in circulation soon!

How many days until winter break??

Well, it’s official. I went to Wegmans yesterday and they had their fake frosty-tipped Christmas tree display up- it is that time of year. You know, the part right after Halloween when it is still way too early to be getting excited about the holidays, nearly 2 months away, but the first “Jingle Bell Rock”s are beginning to play on the radio and you see neighbors abashedly put up their lights once again (or, if they’ve kept them on since the previous year, it is finally no longer a faux- pas).

Halloween was great this year. I was a 1940’s pin up girl, and I went to a friend’s party and it was really fun. But then the next day I remembered all the homework I’d been neglecting. And daylight savings threw me off big time.

It’s finally setting in that the thermometer may now remain strictly under 50, and though some people around campus are wearing denial shorts the need for more substantial layers will soon become non negotiable.

All college students know what time of year this is. When, though it seems like school just started, there’s actually only a month left of the semester and all of those term papers and final projects that you’ve put off are really close to being a problem…

I have no final exams this semester, which is both a blessing and a curse: though I sit for no tests, it means I write many papers. So this semester I have a term paper in Evolution and Culture and Politics of the 1960s, a final project in Survey of Jazz and a final (long) story for Creative Writing.

At least I have my 21st birthday coming up soon

They say a picture is worth a thousand words

So here are a few thousand that speak to the beauty of the Ithacan, specifically Cornellian, Fall.

Cornell at its best!

Law School

Annabel Taylor Chapel

If you don't already have the t-shirt or bumper sticker, Ithaca is gorges!

I simultaneously envy and pity the people that live in that house…

Even ivy changes colors! Who knew??

A Comparison

I have received several questions about my experience at Barnard: why did I transfer, what didn’t I like about Barnard, why Cornell, etc. So I’m going to explain what factors led to this decision. I know that it can be difficult during the college application process to truly see the difference between schools after awhile, so hopefully the insight I’ve gained during my transfer will help some of you to reach a decision.

The reasons why I transferred were varied and many.  First and foremost was my desire to get out of New York City.  Although I love NYC and hope to live there someday, in my experience it makes for a crappy college town.  Perhaps your first reaction to this is, “what are you talking about?  There’s ALWAYS something to do in the City!”  And yes, this is certainly true- if you’re a millionaire and not a poor college student.  Movies cost $12.00; Broadway shows, even those purchased at the discount ticket counters, are often more than $70.00; museums are free with your Barnard id, but most of my fellow students went to museums around once or twice a semester.

Sure there are plenty of places to go shopping, like the Village or 5th Avenue- that is, if you don’t mind spending $200.00 on each article of clothing.  And because the assumption is that there is so much to do all the time in the City, there is little to do on campus on the weekends.  In fact, the only thing there is to do on weekends is go out to bars, which, while fun once in awhile, gets extremely boring week after week.  Plus- we have the rest of our lives to be over 21 and go to bars, but only a few years in which it is acceptable to go to college parties, which don’t really exist in the City due to space limitations.

At Cornell, on the other hand, movies play on campus for $4.00 for students; Ithaca is practically overrun by great  secondhand clothing and book stores; and weekends boast so many events happening on campus that many students rarely feel the need to leave.

Another reason I wanted to transfer was the fact that Barnard is all girls.  While this seems obvious, when I was looking at Barnard as a high school senior I got the impression that it’s not really an all girls school, what with Columbia across the street and NYC at your disposal.  However, do not be fooled:  Barnard is definitely all girls.  Even though there is cross-registration with Columbia, so there may be boys in your classes, the dorms are all girls and it has a distinctly all-female feel.

This is exacerbated by the final reason why I transferred: the tumultuous relationship between Barnard and Columbia.  While their relationship is defined as Barnard being a separate, undergraduate college of Columbia University, this is muddied by the perceptions that many Columbia students have of their Barnard classmates.  Because Barnard’s acceptance rate is higher than that of Columbia, many Columbia students see Barnard as the “backdoor to Columbia.”  That is, they believe that the only people that go to Barnard are those women who were unable to get into Columbia but wanted to take advantage of Columbia’s offerings.  I have also experienced firsthand the belief held by many Columbia students:  that Barnard women are dumber, easier, and prettier than Columbia women.

The result of this relationship is that Barnard has an inferiority complex.  Its students take the same classes as Columbia students and receive the same grades, which shows that they are just as able to deal with the Ivy League as are Columbia students, but for some reason this never enters into the minds of Columbia students.  I got sick of feeling as though I needed to prove myself whenever I talked to someone from Columbia- I chose Barnard because of its great dance program and rigorous liberal arts curriculum and applied early decision, as did most of my classmates there; it never even occured to me to apply to Columbia.

And while I have read articles in the Cornell Sun discussing a similar rivalry that occurs here between the undergraduate college, it is nowhere near the extent to which this happens between Columbia and Barnard.

Hopefully this comparison will prove useful to some of you out there, feel free to ask me any more questions you might have!

Fall!

Well one thing has recently become certain: it is definitely fall. Leaves litter the sidewalk, the horizon now includes many shades of brown, yellow, and red, and temperatures are dropping steadily. Midterms are monopolizing our time, but with a short break now tucked under our belts and Halloween just around the corner, things are looking up.

I apologize for my hiatus from the blogosphere; this past weekend (Saturday-Tuesday) was our annual Fall Break, which is actually just a long weekend. And before that I was bogged down in the mid-semester papers and prelims. But, fresh from a relaxing break and with at least a week before anything big is due, I have time to catch up on things I’ve neglected.

I was unfortunately unable to go on the hike with the COE for fall break, which I was looking forward to so much, due to an untimely ankle injury Instead I went home to Westchester, NY and enjoyed my mom’s amazing cooking and caught up with some old friends.

Now that I’m back I must attend to the subject that causes so much grief for college students everywhere: housing. Back at Barnard, the stress of housing is lessened slightly due to the fact that on-campus housing is guaranteed all 4 years. So basically, by the time you’re a junior or senior you can pretty much get whatever housing you want, because the housing lottery is done according to seniority. At Cornell, however, housing is guaranteed only for the first two years; after it is very hard to get good housing on campus.

Living off campus has its ups and downs- mostly ups. It’s cheaper (for the most part), no RAs, you have a kitchen and living space, etc. The only downside, really, is that you’re probably farther from campus than are the dorms.

And the whole process of finding an apartment or a house in Collegetown. Sadly the Ithacan housing market is similar to presidential campaigns: they get started earlier and earlier each year. I’m looking for a 2 bedroom apartment with a friend in Collegetown and it’s amazing how much is already rented for 2010-2011- in October!!

Still trying to figure out what to be for Halloween…

Lists are fun!

Things that I like:
My Evolution lecture today, concerning free will. Turns out we don’t have any, so the fact that I’m currently watching an episode of The Tudors instead of doing my homework is not my fault; rather, it’s the result of a combination of my genes and my environment.  Ha!
The 2 tv shows I’ve become obsessed with (instead of doing homework): Dexter and The Tudors
The baked apples I made last night!!

Halloween is on a Saturday night this year!!

Things I don’t like:
The fact that it’s only the beginning of October and I’m sitting here in my kitchen writing this post in slippers, socks, jeans, a sweater, a winter jacket, and a hat. My landlord apparently didn’t get the memo that fall in Ithaca= COLD.

The 35-50 pages of writing I must complete within the next 2 weeks. FML.

Being sick (Don’t worry, the pig didn’t get me.  The cold did.)

Annoying things:
The other day I was at the Cornell Cinema for their semester-long celebration of Hitchcock, watching the incredible thriller Rebecca. One of the previews was for a Christmas movie. In September.

Thinking of a really good Halloween costume.  And I do not count the standard “hippy” or “pirate” or “witch” as really good.  Any suggestions?

Exciting things:
Tonight I get to see Toni Morrison speak at Bailey Hall!! For free!!!

The Great Outdoors

One of my goals in coming to Cornell was to become more acquainted with nature; although Central Park is lovely, it is kind of like the canned cheese of the great outdoors. You may have noticed a nature-y theme. I continued this trend on Saturday, when I had my first encounter with COE (Cornell Outdoor Education).

Every semester COE offers p.e. courses for 1 credit that focus on nature, from downhill skiing to figure skating to backpacking. So, in furtherance of my goal, I signed up for Backpacking in the Finger Lakes over fall break (read: long weekend), and spent all day Saturday hiking through the Cornell Plantations and playing games for our first meeting. Including the most enthusiastic game of red light green light that I think I have ever played.

We will meet one more time to discuss logistics, and then over fall break we will go backpacking in the Finger Lakes. Just in case you were confused by the class name. And the class is composed of 3 instructors, other Cornell students, and 6 students. I can’t wait.

Check out COE: http://www.coe.cornell.edu/goto.jsp?page=home

Happy New Year!

So I haven’t really figured out this whole”blogging” thing yet. Should I write this like it’s a page in my diary (that everyone can see…)? Or a casual yet informative essay directed toward an audience (ie my family)?

Anyway.

I went home this weekend for the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashana, which celebrates the beginning of a new year in the Jewish calendar.  I had a great time with family, friends, and food (the three great f’s), and my mom sent me back to school with enough food to fill my empty refrigerator.

So happy new year to all!

Today it really struck me how important it is to have good professors.  A class whose subject sounds so interesting, exactly what you’re looking for, can be the worst hour you’ve ever spent if you have a bad professor.  And I’m not talking about a professor who doesn’t know enough about his/her subject; at such an institution as Cornell, this is rarely, if ever, the case.  But knowing something and conveying it to others are two different things entirely.

Great professors are hard to find.  I feel that I can say this with some authority, having experienced the best of the best at the two excellent schools I’ve attended: Barnard College/Columbia University in NYC and Cornell.  And you know that if I say that great professors are few and far between at schools like these, able to attract top people in nearly every field, it is certainly the case.  I have had many mediocre professors, teachers who possess an immense knowledge and passion for their field but whose lectures are disorganized, or who are unable to rouse their students’ interests for whatever reason.  And even though these prestigious schools should be able to attract the best there is, I have had quite a few bad professors as well, those whose passions have waned and it seems as though even they have trouble staying awake as they prattle on in monotone.

However, there are too those professors that turn science majors to antropology; that are able to incite discussions that last well past the class; that are able to connect with their students in such a way so that their students becomes excited to do a 10 page research paper.

I am happy to report that my experience today fell into this latter, rare category.  I am taking Professor Provine’s Biology course, Evolution, and he  is truly a great professor.  His lectures, attended by his 100+ students, include a combination of powerpoint slides set to classical music and discussion.  And even in the large lecture hall in Warren where the class meets, there was no rustling of paper; no whispers or glancing at watches; no one leaving early.  Every person in the room was captivated by Professor Provine’s energetic discussion of Charles Darwin and the implications of evolution on the idea of free will.  This is a man who loves his job, which is very clear in that he still teaches despite the large brain tumor that he has had for many years and which plagues him with seizures (and which he loves to talk about in an extremely upbeat and casual manner).  He teaches passionately and compassionately, answers any and all questions with gusto and with more information than you would think he could possess, and has awakened in me that quality that many professors strive, unsuccessfully, to instill in their students: curiosity.  

So thank you, Professor Provine, for being such a great professor.  Who knows, maybe this American Studies major will consider a change of major?

Well probably not.  But when I left lecture today I found myself thinking about it.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is saying something.

Camping!

This weekend I once again communed with nature at Fillmore Glen State Park, a short 40 minute drive from Ithaca, where some friends and I went camping and hiking. It was glorious. We pitched a tent and built a roaring bonfire, made some s’mores and sandwiches, and enjoyed the beautiful evening with some beers and good conversation. The next morning we awoke early(ish) and went on a 3 mile hike along a gorge (yeah yeah it was gorges). Pictorial highlights:

Nothin like a good ole campfire.

One of the many beautiful waterfalls we saw along our hike.

Who knew such plentiful and colorful fungii existed??

After reconnecting with nature it is hard to force myself to go back inside and hit the books.  Hence this blog entry.