First Day of Class

Today was our first day of class. I got up at 8am, and packed a lunch and breakfast and headed up the hill. I got my free birthday cookie from the Cage (I wasn't planning on being on campus tomorrow, my birthday, but it turns out I will), and ate breakfast and read the paper. I checked my email and hung out with Katie during Chapel.

After that relaxing morning, I took the plunge and am now in the full swing of school and all the hectic activities that go with it. 10:45 I have Anthropologic Theory, which seems like a fun and interesting class. At 11:50 I have Russian and Eurasian Politics, which also seems like an interesting class. At 12:55 I have Women in Politics in Asia, which I think will be a very different Political Science class than any other I have taken. At 2 I have Intro to Women's Studies, which will be fun and exciting and relaxing.

All of my professors are amazing. Tom Williamson, my Anthro prof, is a favorite of most students of the department. This is my first class with him. He seems really awesome. We listened to a clip of "This American Life" about talking to kids. He is funny and easy to listen to.

John Patrick Dale (MCKA Paddy Dale) is from Liverpool, went to Essex and the University of Moscow and started teaching at St. Olaf with a focus in Soviet Politics in 1988. Bad timing. So he switched his focus to Russian and Russian satelites politics, and have focused on Central Europe as well. He is so entertaining and endearing. He is the prof leading the trip abroad I am doing in January to Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.

Nanaho Hanada is the new visiting professor for the political science department. She's from Japan, but she went to college in Montana and Ohio. Her hometown, Osaka, has 8 million people. The colleges in Montana, Ohio and Minnesota do not. She is super cute and peppy. And humble. She laughed at herself endearingly. "I was a gymanast. What happened to me?"

Nancy Thompson is such an endearing weirdo. She giggles at seemingly random moments (she giggled at the spelling of my name, for example). She says really weird things in really weird ways. I like her. She's an art history professor, if that helps explain anything. Her hair is fuzzy and unkempt and her glasses are thick and her clothes seem to just happen to be there, like she doesn't even notice them.

Anyway, after classes, I ran down Thorson hill and home to meet Chris, the guy who installed our internet. Turns out the internet cable got ruined when they replaced the sod and sidewalks, so they've laid a cable for us today and will come back and bury it next week. We are getting my new modem and router (free after rebate!) in the mail soon, so we can return the rental.

Then I ran back up the hill for a GLOW coordinator meeting, and am now waiting for the GSC leaders meeting.

Yay busy school!