Calendar

What have I been doing for the past few weeks?

August 17
It was Saturday. Along with my fellow-students, I went to the Yellowstone National Park--the largest and oldest national park in the United States. We visited hot springs, interacted with very wild animals (grizzly bears, elk, buffaloes etc) and took pictures behind the very majestic waterfalls situated in between a very deep canyon. The trip was a stress reliever, and we were given the chance to step into the lands of the State of Wyoming too.

August 18-20

Stressful days! We hardly slept because we were busy finalizing our research papers, and creating the PowerPoint for the presentation! Michael Phelps was such a booster. We followed his quest for the 8 medals (an Olympic-record) and when he won them one by one, we were like winning too. We shouted in front of the television and cheered for him. After that, we went back to our respective research papers. Haha.

August 20

After sending our research papers online, our professor reviewed them and returned them to us. I was extremely happy and proud when he returned my papers to me. He wrote:

"Rashid, this is outstanding! I am very impressed with the writing, the research, and the organization. I wish I write this good when I was your age."

August 21

I presented my PowerPoint presentation before my classmates and professor. She invited some guests to listen to our presentations too. I knew I did good. However, I wasn't aware it was that good until my professor gave me my feedback form (which contains our grades and some comments/merits regarding our presentation). It was all 5s. Excellent! The words of my Advance Speaking Class professor will remain indelible to me. She said,

"You nailed it Rashid! See? You just have to slow down. I am just so fascinated. That was excellent!"

I may sound so 'mayabang'. However, just let me be. I'm just very overwhelmed. For a Juan de la Cruz attending a very big Uncle Sam university, those things mean a lot. I wasn't expecting it. I really didn't. I am just so thankful that my 'pagod and puyat' paid off. I really worked hard.

August 22

Thank God It's Friday! This day marked the end of my pre-university classes. We had a party at the Language Institute that served as our culmination program too. Today, we moved out from our residence halls and transferred to our respective halls for the entire Fall Semester. I moved to Langford Hall which is an all-male dormitory. I am sharing a room with someone who's identity is still completely unknown to me. He's coming on the 27th. I just wish he isn't a jerk. That's all. Haha.

While moving out, I came across with my Taiwanese friends in the lobby. I asked them if they are moving out too. One of them replied and said, "No. We're going back to Taiwan tomorrow." Uh-oh. I felt a sudden surge of weird emotion. I felt envious. They're finally going home, while I still have 9 months to spend here before I can finally be back. Sad.

August 23

I bought my laptop online thru my debit card. This was the first time I purchased something online. I have a lot of apprehensions. What if my order will not reach me? What if I get deceived? What if my money will be lost for nothing? Oh. Ang baguhan nga naman. I'm going to be fine. That's what my American friend told me, and I believed him. I expect to receive my new laptop three days from now. I am very excited.

Today, I also registered for the following classes:

Elementary Particle Physics (3 credits)

Computational Physics (1 credits)
Intro to Logic Circuits (4 credits including lab)

Intro to Computer Science (4 credits including lab)

Creative Writing (3 credits)

Physics of Photography (2 credits)

The maximum units a student can register here is 15. Thus, I have to eliminate one subject above. I'm really confused. As of now, I am convinced that Physics of Photography can possibly be taken out of the list. I badly want to take up that Creative Writing class.

So, what lies ahead?

Tomorrow, Chin, a co-scholar from Laos is celebrating her birthday. We are organizing a surprise party for her.

This will be all for now.