@Ballerina016 I like Super Shuttle for her early morning flights because it’s a shared ride. She uses Uber for weekDAY short rides (like today when she got her hair done in Georgetown) and weekend short rides with her roomies/friends. She only does Uber on the weekend when she’s with friends. I’m always telling her to “stay safe”. She always responds “momma, I have my knife and I’ll kick’em in the you know what!” When she worked at her summer camp a young man gave her some advice on purchasing a pocket knife and showed her how to use it (very nice young man I might add )
She takes it everywhere with her…but she knows she can’t get on a plane with it
@HappyFace2018 - are they allowed to carry knives on campus? Even a pocket knife on some campuses can be deemed a weapon, and I’d be surprised if they are allowed. Just curious.
@carlson2 Well, there you have it…pocket knives are prohibited. Just looked it up and they are prohibited “and will be confiscated if found”. Since there are no LEGAL ramifications if she’s found with it…I guess she’s gonna have to resort to kicking them in the you know what’s ON campus.
In all seriousness, I strongly encourage all college students to take a self defense class,males and females. I took it as my PE class when I went to college over 30 years ago. I learned a lot . It actually saved me from being seriously injured on my psychiatric OT fieldwork when I was grabbed from behind and placed in a headlock by a young male with schizophrenia. I learned how to keep my airway open long enough for help to arrive without injuring my patient.
@carolinamom2boys I couldn’t agree more. As part of my employment I am a self defense instructor (not sure if anyone is familiar with The Gracie Brothers ground defense system). Several of the Gracie brothers came to our training academy to demonstrate and teach several defense tactics to our initial group of Use of Force Instructors (I was in that initial group) which we incorporated into our ground defense system. Absolutely nothing like having your bell ring in training (as opposed to in a real life scenario). After being taught we trained newly hired and seasoned agents. I’ve taught my sweet girl a few specific moves. Specifically being grabbed from behind and transitioning to a position of power if she’s ever taken to the ground. There is something to say for having the ability to scream (which not all people do in a life or death situation…they hold their breath while fighting and pass out) and beat the living hell outta someone.
The Gracie defense system is excellent. My daughters have taken the women empowered class. I plan to buy the CDs soon so we can refresh and learn more. They also have an excellent youtube channel.
@happyface2018 It’s about a 15 minute, $3.00 Metro ride from Foggy Bottom to National Airport. That’s also a shared ride, haha. Don’t let all the fires and derailments put her off! (20 year Metro veteran here)
My D has a black belt in kung fu and can do a pretty decent grab and takedown pretty well even though it’s been a few years. My husband sent her a pocket knife, but I don’t think he intended that she would use it as a weapon! I actually have no idea why he thought she would want or need a pocket knife.
She knows a few kids who have cars on campus, so I don’t think she’s Uber’d anywhere or even taken the free buses in Fort Collins. She finally received her bike (we shipped it from home) and said she’s so used to longboarding at this point that she isn’t using it anyway. We’ll see what happens when it snows - the bike might be more attractive then.
I found sellers on Etsy that make blank note cards and envelope sets, college-themed.
I sent a set to each D this week. I don’t recall exactly which search terms I used. Something along the lines of Etsy thank you cards (or note cards? blank cards?) then the name of the school.
@eh1234 We’ll give her some time to become more comfortable with the “metro” area before she starts hopping the “metro”. She’s gonna be in DC for a minute between undergrad and law school so it’s all good…although she did quickly conquer public transit in France
@HappyFace2018, there’s a fantastic free ap that takes the stress out of public transport called CityMapper. We used it in London, Paris, and Barcelona this summer (trip of a lifetime!!), and couldn’t have survived without it. I see they have it available for DC, too! It syncs with all of the schedules, and shows where the bus/metro stops are, how fast the trip would be using different alternatives (bus, train, walking, Uber), even which direction you’re facing. I can’t recommend it highly enough! Might be a good alternative for your daughter once she gets more comfortable with DC. And did I mention that it’s free?
Re: stupid decisions…when you have four kids in the family, they end up all over the place temperamentally. Eldest was never one to learn from others’ experience if there was an opportunity for her to see the more interesting things close up! (Never mind who she might have gotten that from.) And she was…adventurous. Far more adventurous than I was comfortable with, frankly, and I had made a few stupid decisions of my own at her age. But you know…I turned out fine, she turned out fine. and while it may have shocked the people who were just watching and waiting for either of us to self-destruct…we didn’t. In fact, Eldest is a thoroughly lovely and respectable human being, and anyone who met her now would likely attest to that.
Second-eldest was a Sweet and Brilliant Paragon of Virtue all through high school and part of college, until the pressure of perfection got to be too much and then she wasn’t (And she learned from it, and then she pulled herself back up and went on about her business.)
By the time Three and Four came around, I’d learned not to make assumptions and just be supportive. It works a whole lot better for everybody.
@auntiek Now that’s an awesome idea. I’ll chat with our sweet girl about it. I’m almost tempted to use it when we head to GW for parents weekend in October. =D>
Got two of those of my own, @Happyface2018. I still look at them and remember how hard it was to get them here, even though one now towers over me by several inches and they both can out-eat the defensive line of the New England Patriots. I daresay, though, all of our kids are miracles to the people who love them, yeah?
Google Maps will also give you walking directions, but I don’t think it has Uber. D uses it all the time when she and friends are going someplace. They’ve managed to find their way around their new city quite well both walking and driving. So far, no public transportation, but that is on Google Maps too.
And tip from a student, I don’t know if this happens as much at other schools but at my school lots of upperclassmen become friends with freshmen and they are a great resource for not getting lost!
So, other than a few who have mid-September start dates, I’m thinking most of our kids have had some time to settle into their new routine. How’s it going?
D called today while walking to a shopping area looking for the ideal (and cheap) fall shoes, something other than her trainers but not yet winter boots. I got a whole 25 minutes of talk time! Anything your student has needed to buy that didn’t occur to them until they had some time at school?
This call marked a shift from previous communication about new people/roommates/clubs/exploring the city and campus and a lot more about the workload. I think she pushed for a first semester class schedule that is much more strenuous than needed. She said her big plans for the weekend are study, study and more study. She says the dining hall is her favorite spot. She uses one meal swipe to eat and then just stays for the endless “free” coffee. How do you feel about your student’s workload?
The final thing that struck me is how many people she has met. Coming from a smallish town that she has lived in for over 10 years, she’s probably met more new people in two weeks than she’s met in five years. I know it shouldn’t be surprising, but it just wasn’t something she thought about ahead of time. She said another student asked for a selfie to go with her contact info in their phone. She thought it was a great idea to keep everyone strait because right now she is getting texts from people when she has no clue who they are. How is the newness of people, places, and experiences for your student?
@palm715 thanks so much for the update on your DD! I am glad you got a nice long chat with her. No such luck with DS. Only one 10 minute phone conversation but it was great to hear his voice. He sounded fine. He did mention lots of homework. Rest has been by text. He is coming home for 2 nights next weekend and I am looking forward to more info.
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