First Day of Class

Today I woke up at 6:00 and headed over to the IMU with a friend for breakfast. She had a friendliness about her that welcomed all sorts of people. We watched a rerun of Rachel Maddow and had a few laughs, after which we walked to breakfast.

We talked hometowns as she ate her citrus fruit and I devoured French toast covered in chocolate chips.

“Sometimes we have grizzly bear attacks,” she said. “A grizzly bear swims to the island and everyone freaks out. It’s pretty scary and awesome at the same time.”

“That’s really cool.” I ate some toast. “I wish we had stuff like that.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”

We finished breakfast and headed out. We walked to the Pentacrest and split at MacBride Hall.

“Well, here I am,” she said.

“Take care.”

I waved goodbye and headed for the library. The walk was sunny and hot, and the hill lengthened it a little, but I didn’t mind. The trees shaded the streets and I’d be inside soon enough.

As I waited for class to start, I discussed college with sophomore who reminded me of a lap cat (those cats who plop onto your lap as you read or watch TV—they’re cute and funny) and we sat together during the lecture. She gave decent advice—show up for class, keep up with the reading, ask more questions in discussion than in lecture—and being an unknowledgeable college freshman, I was happy to listen.

“If you don’t show up to class and keep up with the reading,” she said, “You’ll miss a lot of information. Some of the things on the test are only discussed in lecture and if you don’t read, you’ll find yourself reading 100 pages a night before the final.”

She laughed and said:

“I learned from experience.”

After lecture, I went to lab. The hill seemed harder to cross this time, and I went to the wrong classroom (Doesn’t anyone else think room 35 would be on the third floor?), so I entered late. It was a little shameful and everyone watched me…not the right way to start a new semester.

“I hate it when people are late,” said the TA as I took a seat. “It’s a sign of disrespect.”

Although the statement wasn’t intended for me (it was spoken as I entered), I still felt embarrassed. I was pretty silent the whole time and completed the homework before leaving, but I didn’t want to worsen my first impression, so I left as quietly as I came.

The hour between lab and lecture, a friend took me to this organic grocery store called The Bread Market. She got a sandwich and I had a truffle (it was cookies and cream—I highly recommend it). We talked about the origin of her incredible math skills as we walked to the Pomerantz Center. She said, “My parents didn’t start us off on books or anything. They let us go straight into math and science.”

“That’s really cool. I wish my parents did that.”

“My parents are big on education.”

“Yeah?”

“They’re professors.”

I thought that was pretty awesome. It seemed like all my friends who had professor parents head-started their education. I envied them a little.

We entered the auditorium and sat through an intense slideshow about fluffy dinosaurs; dinosaurs with wings and extended torsos; dinosaurs that came about with flowers and many other dinosaurs I can’t recall. We took a few notes, but we mostly watched the slides and listened to the professor describe their descendents, traits and many other things difficult to recall at 10:36 pm.

Generally it was a pretty good day. I got lost after class a couple times, but things worked out and I found where I needed to go. Iowa City needs some navigation, but after a while, the roads and buildings become familiar and everything falls into place. It’s a sweet little city with all sorts of people and lots of kids who play on the playgrounds and in the sprinklers of that cobblestone section by the grocery. At night, musicians come out and you can hear the bongos playing as you move from the business of class to the comfort of your home. The light of the bars can guide you back sometimes, and there’s always a crowd around if you need a conversation. Tonight there was a yellow moon that lit up the sky and everything tied together in a strange, lovely kind of way.

It’s nice, I thought as I headed home, and I think I’d like to stay here a while.